Or at least that is what Larry Mednick owner of Evolution refers to his latest offering, the REV. For those familiar with high end trikes his company's Revo is the Corvette of trikes, US made and 105 mph cruise. The REV on the other hand has 1/2 that speed but pops off in less than 100' with a 275 lb pilot at a DA 7400', which is impressive. Even though it has tundra tires it still manages 103 weight limit of 254 lb. A major reason for this performance from a true and legal UL is the Polini Thor dual plug engine that cranks out 36.5 hp from a 45 lb fully water cooled package.

As some of you know I've been on the fence for 10 months since moving to this airpark in SW New Mexico. I still want to do some back country flying but have never been a fan of government involvement in something so personal as the freedom that flight offers. This is a holdover from my hang gliding days, and even though I'm no longer that 30 something guy, I want to fly. Not to go from A to B, definitely not to meet any schedule (I leave that to the pros), but just local flying on perfect weather days and social fly-ins reached by trailering. Well I already had the trailer, been taking lessons, and have bought a new REV that will be delivered to my airpark home next week. My CFI Jim who is now considered a friend and the local dealer (250 miles) Chuck will trailer (3) trikes to my place for a 4 day gathering and further lessons for my transition. Today I was up in Albuquerque for lessons and Jim noticed when he entered the flying time in my log book that the last entry was in 1982. Well, better late than never, after all that time I'm back in the air.

I do hope with the more narrowed mission statement of this great forum, that I'll still be welcome as a weight shift back country flyer.

Mine is white, better for my dirt taxi ways and runway. It does have a MGL V6 Radio and LED Strobe and NAV Lights.

Fantastic! Trikes sure are fun to fly.

I have had a few over the years.

Good for you!

That looks like fun!

Congratulations on getting something to fly!!! That thing looks awesome and perfect for the southern NM flying you will be doing. Keep us updated on your new flivver.

That looks so fun. Congrats

Now you and your neighbor at the airpark will have to arrange for onsite fuel delivery for all the airtime y'all will be enjoying together

I'll be the first to admit, compared to other's videos posted, mine is a real snooze. This is part way into my first lesson and after watching it reinforces what a laid back CFI Jim is when he has a "know it all" student like me. I was really wanting tactile feedback from the control bar and I felt that feedback was muted by his forces on his instructor bars. I felt the need to re-position my feet on the pegs because using the foot throttle gets tiring and Jim thought I was trying to use rudder which of course doesn't exist. I understand the need for the foot throttle for take offs and landings because you want both hands on the control bar during those events, but I would have liked to use the cruise throttle during our flight. I think Jim gets a lot of GA pilots making the transition to weight shift, hence his rudder comment. I only have 39 hours in a 150 and a bit over 200 hours in a hang glider. I was pleased that on this first lesson Jim put me in the front seat unlike his zero hour students.

That looks like a ton of fun and I'm really glad to see you flying again.

Aerial dirt bike indeed. You'll visit some excellent places. Enjoy!

DeltaRomeo wrote:Now you and your neighbor at the airpark will have to arrange for onsite fuel delivery for all the airtime y'all will be enjoying together

I did in fact give consideration to on site fuel delivery because the nearest gas station with 91 octane is 28 miles away. Minimum tank size for the service is 500 gallons. The Polini burns < 2 gph and since the compression ratio is a high 11.4 to 1 combined with a 2 stroke's desire for fresh fuel, I'll be going the jerry can route to insure fresh fuel.

For those needing a sleeping aid I'll share my entire first training flight. Feel free to critique me or my CFI.





The first video posted is the sequence after the above.

And this ends the first lesson. I wanted to go longer because bumpy air doesn't bother me but the helmet was too small for my big head and it was hurting a lot. Now 24 hours later my forehead is still sore and tender from that helmet.

Looks like a lot of fun! I'm afraid of heights though, so I'm not sure I can fly a totally open cockpit like that though
Had a fighter pilot tell me one time the most fun he ever had was flying an ultralight. I think you're on to something

Looks like you're gonna have a blast with that thing! Glad to see you back in the air.

CFOT wrote:Looks like you're gonna have a blast with that thing! Glad to see you back in the air.

I sure wish we had "GoPro" technology 40 years ago when I was learning to fly my hang glider. Those videos would have been quite funny. I also would have valued videos of my training in GA aircraft 37 years ago. At least now every training step can be captured and reviewed for a better understanding of what the flight instructor was teaching.

Ultralights are without a doubt some of the funnest flying you can do!
I have lots of fond memories in Quicksilvers and Phantoms.

Not so good for getting somewhere but just the flying and watching scenery go by!

Happy to see you having a good time!

That looks like an absolute blast!!


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TangoFox wrote:Ultralights are without a doubt some of the funnest flying you can do!
I have lots of fond memories in Quicksilvers and Phantoms.

Not so good for getting somewhere but just the flying and watching scenery go by!

Happy to see you having a good time!

Trent, that is the idea. I live in a airpark in the middle of the vast SW New Mexico desert, perfect for putzing around any time conditions allow. The amount of traffic at my 5200' dirt strip is about 1 per week.

I noticed you have two locations, Alaska and Green River, I used to live in Valdez and when driving I-70 through Colorado, Green River marked the beginning of the beauty of that drive.

scottnt wrote:Looks like a lot of fun! I'm afraid of heights though, so I'm not sure I can fly a totally open cockpit like that though
Had a fighter pilot tell me one time the most fun he ever had was flying an ultralight. I think you're on to something

I agree, it looks like a lot of fun, but I'm also afraid of heights--used to interfere with the hiking trails my Sis used to want to take me on, because she has no fear of much of anything. My fear evaporates as soon as I'm in an airplane, but that's because I have all that fantastic protective aluminum or tube and fabric around me!

Cary

I guess I'm returning to my roots. Here is that 30 something guy I once was. Now as age slows me down I've added a seat, wheels, and an engine. Sounds like I've gone from madly running down a mountain carrying my wing to sitting in a powered wheelchair. Flight is flight, and I have missed it.

DO: There was a time that I could have told you the make of that HG in a second, that time is past! Somewhat unusual full length battens for the time. I think I see "Seahawk" on the wing? I remember the Seagull, with the cambered leading edges. A lot of the smaller companies came and went so fast it was hard to keep up.

I flew Eipper's, starting in '72, taking one on a 3 month trip through Columbia and Ecuador, then an Electra Flyer (briefly) then a slew of Mantas, ending ++ up with the rigid wing (but still foldable) Fledge, which morphed, with the help of Jack McCornack, into the infamous (in a good way) Pterodactyl ultralight. After experiencing the freedom and independence of powered flight (no need for drivers anymore) it's been powered aircraft ever since.

The trikes seem to do a real good job, as long as you have a hangar door tall enough to fit that king post in!

Courierguy, your the real deal and I respect your dated early flying history. My first glider was a Seagull 3, then as you noted in my picture a Seagull Seahawk 200, much improved performance over the 3 but a slug compared to what you clicked into. The Fledge was cutting edge and intended only for very experienced pilots like yourself, not for the Sunday flyer like me. You have accomplished flying skills that very few have because in the 70's and early 80's your level of flight had way too many fatalities.

My hangar door is the typical 9' so of course I only considered topless wings with struts instead of a king post like my old gliders.