Ultralight Trike - Control

Control

Flight control in a trike is by weight-shift. This is similar to controlling a hang glider, in which the aviator or pilot is suspended from the wing made from high-strength aluminium and fabric. The pilot controls the attitude of the wing by changing the aircraft centre of gravity - this is through pushing, pulling, and turning a frame (generally triangular) connected to the wing.

For instance, pushing the bar forward causes the center of gravity to move back. As a result, the nose of the aircraft pitches up, increasing the angle of attack and causing the aircraft to fly slower. In contrast, pushing forward on the control stick of a traditional aircraft would cause that aircraft to dive.

Turns are accomplished by rolling the wing in the direction of the intended turn. This is accomplished by moving the control bar to the left in order to enter a right hand turn. This causes the center of gravity—represented primarily by the weight of the undercarriage and pilot—to shift in the direction of the intended turn. This in itself does not cause the aircraft to turn, but it does cause the aircraft to bank, or tip, to the side. Some adverse yaw is also initially produced, which is soon damped by the natural yaw stability of the wing.

A banking maneuver becomes a turn because of the natural yaw stability of the wing. When a roll is applied, the aircraft begins to side slip towards the lower wing. Since the wing is yaw stable, a yaw is set up in the direction of the bank, thus coordinating the turn. A small anhedral effect may be built into the wing to aid roll response, where the side slip causes increased banking.

This is similar to the way in which a hang glider is controlled. In fact, trikes are essentially propeller-powered hang gliders with seats and wheels. Trikes have often employed wings designed for hang gliding; the Rogallo-winged trike Paresev 1B of NASA's 1960s experiments and Barry Hill Palmer's trike (Fleep inspired) modeled the wing that has evolved to contemporary trike wings. As weight and performance goals have increased purpose-built wings have become more commonplace. They are now long distance cross country machines as shown by record-breaking flights that echo the exploits of fixed-wing aviators in the 1920s and 1930s, e.g., the circumnavigation of the world.