An ultralight trike or paratrike is a type of powered hang glider where flight control is by weight-shift.[1] These aircraft have a fabric flex-wing from which is suspended a tricycle fuselage pod driven by a pusher propeller. The pod accommodates either a solo pilot, or a pilot and a single passenger. Trikes grant affordable, accessible, and exciting flying, and have been popular since the 1980s.
Trikes[a] are classified as microlights in Europe, and as light-sport aircraft in the United States. The aircraft are also known by other names, including 2-axis microlights, flex-wing trikes, microlight trikes, deltatrikes[2] or motorized deltaplanes.[3] In the United States, they are formally recognized by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) as weight-shift-control aircraft.[4]
- ^ FAA-H-8083-5: Weight-Shift Control Aircraft Flying Handbook (and Addendum). Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). 2008.
- ^ Deltacat ULM AVIATION: deltatrike
- ^ Motorized Delta plane term
- ^ 14 CFR § 1.1: General definitions.
Cite error: There are <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or {{efn}} templates on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=lower-alpha}} template or {{notelist}} template (see the help page).