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If you were to survey a number of
ultralight pilots for some of their hobbies and backgrounds you would find that
some form of "motorcycle" has been or still is part of their make up. Well a
company from Virginia called Flite Bike has come up with a different and totally
unique concept, a Buckeye Powered Parachute built around a Honda Reflex motorcycle.
The original concept for the Flite Bike came about at
Sun N Fun, two and a half months later the working prototype was completed. The
Flite Bike cruises comfortably down the highway at 45 to 50 mph. When used
as a bike, it drives like a "trike" that is it has outriggers, and air shocks
on each side that operate off a compressor. Thus you have your two main
motorcycle wheels plus the two wheels on the outriggers for stability.
When used as a powered parachute the air shocks are
inflated raising the rear motorcycle wheel off the ground, with the weight then
being transferred to the outriggers which extend out for additional stability.
Steering
on the ground and in the air is done by use of the handlebars. On the road
the standard throttle and braking system are used on the bike, in the air the
throttle is operated by a lever on the side of the bike similar to that used on
the Buckeye. The unit uses a standard Buckeye chute, which is capable of
carrying the 550 lbs assembly and a 250 lb pilot with fuel for a nice leisurely
two and a half hours of flight time.
You purchase the unit in two parts. First the motorcycle
from your local Honda dealer, then the Flite Bike installation package. The
package is to be built by Buckeye and installed by ONLY authorized Buckeye
dealers, with installation taking about a day.
For more information contact:
Flite Bike
1800 N. Beauregard Street, Suite 150
Alexandria VA 22311
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