Re: Freeze dried in Oregon
Q, nice to hear you have been satisfied with you purchases thusfar. You have quite a collection of horses in the stables!
What attracted you to Chinese Motos in the beginning?
CC
Re: Freeze dried in Oregon
Q, nice to see you here, as well!
Re: Freeze dried in Oregon
Thanks for the welcome.
I needed a small bike that would fit on a small trailer with my PPC (ultralight) that could be used for running around the outback of Oregon. I had ridden a friend's no-name Chinese 200cc dual sport the previous summer. The price was great and it ran just fine so after a bit of research I ordered the Lifan GY5. A couple weeks later 3 of my other ultralight flying buddies ordered the same. Now we fly in the mornings when the air is smooth, and ride in the afternoons.
That winter while my daughter was riding my old Trail 90 in Death Valley it blew a hole in the piston. Rather than junk it I decided to put a Lifan engine it it. Worked great so I bought another engine to put in another old Trail 90 that had died years ago. New life for old bikes for not a lot of money.
Looks to me like China will be taking over the world motorcycle market shortly if they haven't already.
Q
Re: Freeze dried in Oregon
Q,
Oh cool an ultralight flyer! To be honest, I've always been curious about what it's like to own/fly an ultralight but have never meet anyone who actually did. I'd love to see some pics of your setup and learn more about it. Otherwise, if you have some handy links to some web pages about it, I would appreciate that as well. :icon10:
Sounds like you guys up in the PNWet are serious wrenches and I wish more oflks like you would come out of the woodwork and let us know how some of these Chinese engines and such are being put to good use. :thumbsup:
I'm not sure if they've taken over the world moto market quite just yet but they do manufacture slightly over half of all the worlds' exported motorcycles to lots of folks who could have never dreamed of owning a sporty motard or even a dual sport with disk brakes.
A moto buddy of mine has a great email signature quote that says something like: "The greatest people don't always have the most - they just make the most out of what they have." :thumbsup:
CC
CC
Re: Freeze dried in Oregon
Carl,
This is what I fly, called a PPC (powered parachute). I took these pics from my machine. There is a lot of info on the internet.
This is my friend Tom who also owns a Lifan GY5 flying near South Sister near Bend Oregon where we live.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v4.../P5301541s.jpg
This one shows what the cart looks like. It's my daughter on her third solo flight at the age of 16.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v4.../mollyfly2.jpg
I've been flying a PPC for 12 years. They're great fun, and safer than motorcycles.
Q
Re: Freeze dried in Oregon
Q,
Oh man that looks like good fun! Beautiful photos and I'm sure you must be happy to be able to share such wonderful experiences with your family. Some families only dream about being able to do things like that together. :thumbsup:
How are they safer than motorcycles? What's the cost to run one? You need to pass a certification/training class to fly? Sorry for the questions but I'm really curious. :icon10:
CC
Re: Freeze dried in Oregon
Carl,
I'm lucky to have a daughter who likes to do crazy stuff with her dad like ride motorcycles and fly ultralights.
PPCs are very safe because of several factors. The pendulum effect of the cart hanging below the wing prevents stalls and spins. The slow flying speed of about 28 mph. The fact that they will fly perfectly well with no pilot input. Once in the air your hands are free for photography. You could aim it away from the mountains and sit back and read a newspaper or take a nap and be perfectly safe.
Cost for a new PPC is from about $10K to $20k. Perfectly good used ones can be found for under $5k. Once you have one the only cost is for gas (regular car gas). Just keep it at home and haul it on a small trailer so there are no hanger fees.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v499/QDM/shoes.jpg
Q
Re: Freeze dried in Oregon
Q,
That's extremely tempting! Any of them made in China? :eekers: :lol8:
I especially like the part about having your hands free for photgraphy. There are some places in the Blue Ridge Mountains I would LOVE to photo from the air at peak leaf season.
Are there any restrictions in place you can take off and land? Also, do you have to get a license? I've heard there's a "Sport" flying license which has much lower requirements than a regular solo cert.
CC
Re: Freeze dried in Oregon
Carl,
None made in China yet that I'm aware of but some US and Canadian made PPCs have been exported to China.
Here in the states no license is required to fly a single place machine. Two place machines require a sport pilot or general aviation license. You can pretty much take off and land wherever you want on private property or out here in the west on BLM, Forest Service, etc.. Smaller public airports are also OK to use. There are also some restrictions to where you can fly a single place ultralight. You can't fly over a densely populated area, near a large airport where there is heavy jet traffic, over military bases, etc.. You also have to stay above 2000' over national parks and wildlife refuges.
Q
Quote:
Originally Posted by
CrazyCarl
Q,
That's extremely tempting! Any of them made in China? :eekers: :lol8:
I especially like the part about having your hands free for photgraphy. There are some places in the Blue Ridge Mountains I would LOVE to photo from the air at peak leaf season.
Are there any restrictions in place you can take off and land? Also, do you have to get a license? I've heard there's a "Sport" flying license which has much lower requirements than a regular solo cert.
CC
Re: Freeze dried in Oregon
That looks sweet, bags not buying the first chinese made one!
Re: Freeze dried in Oregon
hugemoth,
Beautiful photos.
