HGFA Skysailor Magazine

SKY SAILOR 35 September | October 2018 100hp engine kicked in. It was quieter than I expected, and smoother too. I turned on the radio and transponder, then the nav and strobe lights, then the GPS and TCAS as well. All were working as they should. The temperature was coming up and so was the wind. I was hoping for a calm day but this was not meant to be. The wind was now 10kt and cross, just what I needed for a first flight. I gave my calls and backtracked down runway 01. At the end of the runway I turned around and came to a stop. Last chance checks. Everything was a goer. I applied the power and the HypeR Tiger lunged forward down the runway. It didn’t take long to get to 50kt, I gave the bar a little push forward and away we went, climbing like a homesick angel. The climb rate was impressive, I was climbing at 1500ft/min at only 4000rpm. I climbed to 5000ft and leveled off. It was time to see what the HypeR could do. After 20 minutes of throwing the HypeR around at all angles and speeds, I decided that this is one hell of a great aircraft. Seems all you have to do is think about where you want to go and the HypeR will go there. Time to land this awesome aircraft. I pulled the power back and re-trimmed the HypeR for a 500ft/ min descent rate. Down we went, and with the circuit in sight, I re-trimmed the HypeR for landing. Like the rest of the P&M Aviation Aircraft, once you set the HypeR up for the approach it just flies down onto the runway. The landing was very smooth. The next flight was to give PAX One the flight of her life. Anne is the proud owner of the HypeR, (or that’s what she likes to tell everyone!). Anne decided that the comfort factor was A1, the adjustable seats were a winner, and the take-off was something else, with a fantastic climb rate. Anne loved her first flight and the next flight was to the Tocumwal Aero Club for breakfast. This has since been followed by a number of flights. Anne is back to being my PAX One, this means the HypeR is going to be seen a lot more around the airspace in Australia. Some people say that trikes, in general, are becoming far too expensive, but P&M fully certify their products, which is an extremely expensive task in itself. Overall, we at Yarrawonga Flight Training believe a fully certified aircraft is good insurance to help prolong your life expectancy. Expensive cars are considered to be normal, yet many pilots want to short change their life expectancy with a cheap flying machine. Go figure! I think the PulsR is a great aircraft and I find the QuikR is still one of the best training aircraft I have flown. The HypeR is just the next generation of trikes, and I like the direction it is taking. Y ou love your husband (wife, son, brother, friend, etc.), who has gained their licence and is now a pilot. You are proud of their achievement, but now they want you to be their PAX (passenger) and this involves moving through invisible air, above your familiar terra firma! You trust them, but they want you to totally place your life in their newly capable hands, and in circumstances under which you have absolutely no control! Yes, you want to fly with your new pilot, but, is it wise? What about the other people in your life who depend on you? What about your own life and activities? What if…? As a long term PAX of a very capable pilot of over 30,000 hours and well over 100 different types of flying machine, I may have advice I can help with. I had flown only three times when I was asked to be a PAX in an aircraft with my new partner. My idea of flying was to get from one place on the ground to another. What was this ‘fun’ component all about? I took the plunge, and, together we have created many wonderful memories, but it wasn’t all plain (pardon the pun) sailing to begin with! At first, I was involved in a lot of aerial film work from helicopters, Skyship 600, Cessna, a Zling aerobatic aircraft, a C-47, a Bae 125-800 series private jet, aP3C Orion, where I worked alongside my partner, many with other pilots in control of the aircraft, but under his direction. I lost any fear I may have had about actually flying during these activities. So, fear of flying was not an issue. Over the years, I found that fear of flying, or fear of heights (I still can’t deal with standing on a chair!), usually aren’t problems encountered by passengers, but fear of the unknown is. Let me explain. PAX One by Anne McLean – P&M Aviation Australia