Testimonials

Testimonials

"Mike Theeke is the finest trike pilot I've ever met. His knowledge of flying and his ability to teach are unsurpassed. The training facility at the Marion County Airport was fantastic. The views were incredible! As a new trike pilot, I highly recommend Mike as a teacher."

Tim A. Cummins

Whoever Said You Can’t Mix Business With Pleasure?

I took my first flight in a Cloudman 17’ Standard Rogollo 34 years ago. Several years of great flying were followed by law school, 90 hour work weeks, a family and little if any flying. I got back into it in ’94 with a Pulse 11.

The problem. I hung out my own shingle 6 years ago and live about two and a half hours from Lookout. Weekends flying kept shrinking until there were only perhaps two a year.

The solution? The skycycle.

This is simply the perfect fun flying machine. I have cliff launched, towed, flown a number of other ultralights, as well as single and twin engine aircraft, sailplanes and been in helicopters. This beats them all hands down. Why? Let me tell you.

My love of hang gliding was always the silent free flight, right down to carving a turn with a hawk (yes I have had that happen twice). Two seat ultralights are designed to remain under power at all times. In the Skycycle, however, I get to altitude, usually about 6 grand in six minutes with a climb rate (thanks to the Rotax 447, which I strongly recommend you get with your bird) of about 1000 fpm. It will, under full throttle and pushed out climb at 1200, but it is, according to my fellow pilots, standing on the tail when I did it. So don’t do it. (That last comment was for Mike.)

There are a number of wings available. I picked the Northwing Stratus. It is the only one designed exclusively for use with ultralight trikes and for cycle soaring. They rate it with a 250 fmp sink rate. Mine’s close; it averages 300-350, but does, under very soft smooth conditions, go below 250 fpm sink rate. Trim is 32 mph and stall is 20-21. Supposedly, it does not have a great top speed. Hummm, 50+ airspeed with no oscillations seems OK to me. You sure get some distance covered when your ground speed is 80-90 mph. (Yes, been there, done that too in this bird.) It flies as easy at the Pulse, but holds the turns much better; very little bar pressure. The one problem I find is that it simply does not want to come down. (What a terrible thing!) Ask Mike about the other wings; you need to be sure to get the one best suited for the flying you want to do.

The Stratus soars beautifully with the engine off. It climbs as well as a Sting II with VG, which was the last thing I was flying. In my opinion, definitely go with the Rotax 447. Also, while the pull start works just fine (most of the time the first try straight out of the hanger), I would go for the electric start if I had it to do over again. I’m just kinda lazy I guess.

So now to business. Aerial advertising reaches a large number of folks in your immediate area. Doing it on a trike with a hang glider brings folks over wherever you land. (By the way, mine takes off on a postage stamp and lands on an envelope. Well, pretty close to that.) I have only gotten about 10 hours cross country airtime around north Georgia since I started here a few months back and already have gotten several new clients. They simply come out of the crowd and are asking for your card within ten minutes.

I am not a CPA or tax attorney, so you need to run all of the following by your own. That said, the trike purchase was made through my business. It qualified for an accelerated depreciation schedule (3 years on mine) and may even be a § 179 immediate one year total write off for you. Hanger, equipment, gas, maintenance and the rest are also business expenses. (The lessons were not deductible last year, nor have they, as far as I know, ever been. Check for changes this year or when you buy yours). The lettering was done with the standard stick on hang glider material, cut at a print shop. My wife and I had them on in 30 minutes.

So what if you don’t have your own business? Go talk to the owner of the place you work. You would be surprised at the positive response every business has to low cost, high visibility, local advertising. Heck, even if they only make a deductible contribution to the purchase and cover some of the lessons, you’re likely half way there. (Don’t drop the paper flyers from the sky; it’s littering.)

So, why the skycycle? Both because of the machine and because of its maker. Mike has been designing, building, improving and selling these trikes for nearly two decades. (Yes, I know he looks older than that). He designed and has improved the machines over that time and has the best record in the business. Also, I did training with a number of folks, including one who, based on my years of flying experience, said, after the first flight in a two seater, that he could clear me in three hours. If someone tells you something like that, walk away, and do it fast. Mike was the most thorough, detailed, and dedicated no BS instructor I have ever encountered. Suppose you have a power failure on take-off? How about one far away from the strip where you need to get into a bail out LZ (which you will have to show you have been keeping in sight at all times)? Wouldn’t you rather have gone through those things first with an instructor who not only has thousands of hours of airtime, but makes even those exercises not only safe, but actually kinda fun? Also, he completely prepares you for the sport pilot test necessary to fly a two seat ultralight should you decide to get one of those too.

Why else for me? Aside from the obvious reasons anyone would want one of these puppies, I happen to live on a golf course, at the end of a long par 5 and got the permission of the owners to launch and land there. I keep it in a hanger at an ultralight airport about 25 miles away, fly home after work on Friday and tie down next to the driveway. Should you have just a few hundred feet of flat land not surrounded by big trees, you can even pick up a fabric hanger for only about $2,500, so you would have even my situation beat.

I really can’t say enough about this machine. If you get one, the deductions pay for it in a few years, all of your flying is free and you can always tell the wife that you need to work Saturday mornings a few times a month! When you get yours, drop me an email. I’d love to know your experiences, swap some stories and maybe have you fly over to my place for some shrimp on the barbi.

Come on; let’s go commit some aviation!

Steve Saccoccia
Saccoccia & Associates, LLC
418 Pirkle Ferry Road
Suite 112
Cumming Georgia 30040
678-455-3468
steven@saccocccialaw.com
Saccoccialaw.com