I am loving all of the folding bikes I am seeing but most of them are slightly too large for my mission. For those of you who have some form of alternate transportation bolted down inside their J3/PA-11 sized cab (S7s are roomy compared to my little bird, especially with the double door option), I would love some inspiration and or photos please?

Electric (or even 2stroke) standup scooters are probably the best candidate for space considerations however are not nearly as flexible as a small bicycle. I am currently thinking of taking my TIG to an old BMX bike to squash a few dimensions as well as add some quick detach wheel skewers to some 16"-ish wheels and make some mounts in the rear "baggage/seat" area but have yet to starting cutting anything...

Any other creative ideas out there not already posted?

...oh, and just to add, $1000 for some of those smallest folding bikes is my motivation behind looking for a homegrown cheaper alternative.

I have 2 Dahon Speed Uno's that I put in the back of my 170, they have 20" tires. I'm not sure if one of these is too big for your plane. Another idea is to start with a 20" folder then put 16" tires on it instead of trying to make your own.

Awesome set up.

The problem I am facing is that the rear seat top rail is a frame component in my plane (meaning it can not be removed). That coupled with the amazingly petite rear seat area (with comparably comfortable front seat) makes fitting a 20" wheel vertical almost impossible. I could probably lay a smaller wheel folder on top of the luggage area...

The layout I was envisioning was to take the wheels off a smaller bike and put the rear of the bike in the luggage area and hook the fork over the rear seat facing forward (like you see mountain bikes in the back of pickup trucks). That might fit, but I was also contemplating flipping the bike upside down and hanging it from the interior upper frame tubes on mounts to allow me to fit a pack in the "rear seat" area...

Only thing I can fit in my J3 is a pair of running shoes.

How much weight can you carry in a J3? I hear guys at our airport that have J3's and some RV4 guys telling the ladies that the weight is so critical that in order to ride in their planes they have to leave their panties and bra's behind. Are you sure you can pack a bike in a J3?

soyAnarchisto wrote:Only thing I can fit in my J3 is a pair of running shoes.

You also have a real (nice) J3 with a real interior. I, on the other hand, have an experimental collection of welded tubing and something that resembles a stool to sit on and a stick to steer with.

175 magnum wrote:How much weight can you carry in a J3? I hear guys at our airport that have J3's and some RV4 guys telling the ladies that the weight is so critical that in order to ride in their planes they have to leave their panties and bra's behind. Are you sure you can pack a bike in a J3?

I can carry as much weight as I can stuff in the plane. Luckily, the interior space allows for *just* below the FAA declared gross weight so I never go wrong...

As far as the "pretty ladies must undress before flight", I have never tried the line myself but look forward to the day I can. Either way, I am going flying with or without her!

My empty weight is 811 and that's w bushwheels and a whole bunch of mods. Gross is 1220 so that leaves me with 409lbs to play with.

I'm a svelt guy at 140 sopping wet but that still leaves zero margin for panties. Bras maybe but only when it's cold out.

Both my empty and gross are higher than that, but I won't say how much so I can enforce the "no underwear" rule as I see fit.

Here ya go Greg -- something that we can fit in the "little" Cubs that resembles a bicycle!

http://youtu.be/4J6fEe42zNM

And TWO spare tailwheels:)

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daedaluscan wrote:And TWO spare tailwheels:)

Wow, look at those wheels. I didn't even think about that. Pure genius!

glacier wrote:How about a small bike for a cub pilot...

I love it.

If I can find a way to mount a full size BMX frame, I am seriously considering wheels just about that size. I know I know, ridiculous. Small spaces force some creativity however...

That's funny, Dave. Still prolly won't fit in my cub tho. LOL.

Hey Guys,

Not sure if this works for you as it only works for hard surfaces, but I have been commuting on an electric skateboard.
I have this one: http://store.yuneec.com/us/e-go.html?gc ... fgodL4wA5Q

its a bit slow at 12 mph, but it gets the job done. It has an 18 mile range but have never tested it that far. i get 10 miles no problem on a charge with some to spare. I am still a student pilot, so I tend not to go places and then explore, but when I do, I plan to throw the board in the plane. I also am a member of the EAA chapter 40 and use it to go from the EAA hangar to the other side of the airport to see a friends hangar. Works great for that too.

if you don't mind it being a bit on the slow side its great. If you want more speed or range, build your own or there are other options out there in the 1K to 2K range. I am now building my own with 2 integral hub motors, 16,000 mah packs and will get around 15 miles at 25mph or faster if i want...

This should fit in a cub no problem...

Addicted2climbing wrote:Hey Guys,

Not sure if this works for you as it only works for hard surfaces, but I have been commuting on an electric skateboard.
I have this one: http://store.yuneec.com/us/e-go.html?gc ... fgodL4wA5Q

its a bit slow at 12 mph, but it gets the job done. It has an 18 mile range but have never tested it that far. i get 10 miles no problem on a charge with some to spare. I am still a student pilot, so I tend not to go places and then explore, but when I do, I plan to throw the board in the plane. I also am a member of the EAA chapter 40 and use it to go from the EAA hangar to the other side of the airport to see a friends hangar. Works great for that too.

if you don't mind it being a bit on the slow side its great. If you want more speed or range, build your own or there are other options out there in the 1K to 2K range. I am now building my own with 2 integral hub motors, 16,000 mah packs and will get around 15 miles at 25mph or faster if i want...

This should fit in a cub no problem...

Wow. That thing is really nice! Do you use it enough to warrant the price tag?

My default has always been to throw the street deck into the plane, although in recent times I have found myself wishing for softer wheels and wider trucks than my standard skateboards have always been. I must be getting old to want to go back to soft cruiser wheels.

I was also leaning towards a bicycle simply because it can be useful whether or not I landed on a Class Delta runway or some dirt road somewhere. A standup electric scooter was another thing I had thought about which is much like your skateboard. 9 times out of 10 it would be exactly what I would want for around the hangar or town.

(I know Greg -- It still wont fit inside your J3. )

I have a pair of older DaHon folding bikes. They pack down small enough that I can put 2 of them into the trunk area of my P172D--they take up about half of it. They have 16" wheels, which makes them look goofier than heck, but they work pretty well. Only problem is that they are heavy, at just over 30# each. Here's me riding around on one of mine--fast forward to 1:36. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O4O6L60cXrY

Cary

You know that airplane company in Kansas that makes bikes...or is it that bike company in Kansas that makes planes...... yeah Randy's Company RANS Aircraft.

Have they ever made a folding or breakdown bike for a plane? Seems they could make a perfect bike that would fit an S20 or S7S down to the last millimeter.. A folding carbon fiber bike would be the bee's knees as they say.in the UK. I know that that there are now separate aircraft and bike divisions, Maybe that will help ?? hinder ??

Oh...and put a small generator/alternator on it for SOS charging of a dead battery while you are at it . Here is a pic of a ham radio operator during field day activities running his ham rig via a battery being charged by a bike powered generator.


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