Should I buy a Sky Cycle?

I am a brand-new hang glider pilot with three flights off Lookout Mountain and I'm thinking about what to buy.

Maybe ya'll could tell me if this makes sense:

I'm looking at a nice used Sky Cycle with a Falcon 225 for about $5k. The justification goes something like this:

• The nearest hang gliding launch is a couple hours away, but the local county unattended airstrip is just down the road. It would be awesome to fly the Sky Cycle from there. (after I get trained and qualified of course)
• I'm 215 pounds and I trained on the Falcon 195. As I understand it, I could also use the Falcon 225 wing as a nice buoyant hang glider to foot launch off the mountain.

I wish I could get a two-place so I could take my sweetie with me, but my budget limits me to part 103 for now.

Thanks,
Jeff

Jeff:

I hope this reply isn't too late for you to take advantage of the deal on that used Sky Cycle. The price doesn’t sound too bad, depending of course on the condition of the trike, motor and wing. Does it also have a chute?

I've been flying my Sky Cycle, with a Saturn 167 wing, both purchased new, for well over a decade now, and couldn't be happier. I’m only 20 lbs. lighter than you and it still performs well, even with that smallish, beginner/intermediate wing and a very tired little Zenoah 50 (250cc, 22hp when new). Originally, it climbed out at 600 fpm, but now, with well over 500 hours on the motor, only manages 300 or so. Definitely time for a motor refresh. Yet I can spend 10 to 15 minutes climbing out at full throttle, shut off at 3000’ AGL and spend the next 20 to 30 minutes leisurely gliding about, and either land out or restart and head back up again. My highly loaded wing still manages a respectable 300 fpm glide and is soarable in good conditions. I can often hang around in warm field thermals if I’m really on my toes. On a really good day, I can top out, given time, but everybody and his brother will pass me by. I can also use its slow speed capabilities to fly it more like an ultralight – low and slow. I’ve even packed my tent and sleeping bag inside the wing (partial double surface, you know), strapped on a small auxiliary fuel tank and gone fly-in camping a hundred miles away.
That nice big Falcon 225 should give it great climbing and soaring capabilities, but will limit your “top speed” somewhat. Mine will top out around 45 mph, stalls around 18 or 19. After climbing out and shutting off the motor you should enjoy a very “hang glider” like ride on that big wing.
Be sure to have someone knowledgeable and experienced check out the motor. You didn’t say how many hours it had on it. Have your hang glide instructor go over the wing and wires. Replacing the wires isn’t a bad idea if you don’t know their history. Unlike full-size trike wings, hang glider wings don’t typically have doubled up flying wires. Your hang glider emergency chute will be too small for what is essentially a tandem sized craft. I fly with a BRS 500 on mine.
One of the nice features of a small light trike is its portability. I’ve taken mine to many a fly-in, where the weather outlook was iffy, in the back of my Ranger pickup. It’s been to Sun-n-Fun several times in the past and most every year makes it up to Oshkosh.
One last thing, for what it’s worth. In the beginning, I actually did fly my Sky Cycle about 15 miles to the local hang gliding airstrip, where I took off the wing, pulled my harness out of a storage locker and aerotowed up, flying around in hang glider mode. It was fun, but not real convenient. I would probably get another wing to use just for hang gliding. But it can be done. I would love to make that Lookout Mountain flight someday myself.