Hi Guys;
I started out building a mono wheel XS but am now considering buying the Tri
gear
kit and was hoping for comments from the group. As I see it here are the pros
and cons. In the U.S. the cost of the Tri Gear kit is about $2,700 and the
speed kit an additional $400 over and above the mono wheel. However, you save
$800 a year on the hull insurance because tri gears are more forgiving in the
landing and you can't land "gear up." Cruise, climb, and top speeds seem to
be the same. From aesthetics I think the mono wheel is uniquely beautiful while
the tri gear is just another common plane (like Pulsar, Glastar, etc.).
Also my lovely wife likes the looks of the mono wheel better (even though she
says she has no intent of riding in it!). The Lakeland, Florida office says
build
time is the same on Tri Gear as the Mono wheel so no advantages there. There
aren't enough sales of used Europas to be able to tell if re-sale value on
one is higher than the other because that would help with my decision too.
One of my dreams is to fly to fairly high altitude Idaho grass forest strips to
do some camping and fishing. I believe the Tri Gear is a better choice because
it can get off the ground easier because you don't have the drag of the flaps
being down like you do on the Mono wheel. I remember a discussion last year
when someone couldn't get their monowheel off a high altitude Bishop, California
airport without partially raising the gear and flaps since density altitude
that day was fairly high...and all of this was with the turbo 914 engine.
The only other item I can think of is that on-going maintenance should be less
with the Tri Gear since no retractable parts. Please let me know if any of you
think I've missed something... I'm really having a hard time choosing and could
still be swayed either way. Thanks,
Paul Boulet, A212, Malibu, California
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