I love the Airbike!!! I want one if I ever get to retire!!!!!!! Also love how you did the preflight walk around just like we do with our Hang Gliders. Checking every bolt, nut, and cable. Most folks don't show this, but it's PARAMOUNT for a successful flight and future ones. I also LOVE that P-51 style cowling and nose cone!!!!LOL Good on ya mate as they say,,,,,,, somewhere.
I had a small two seater when I was young and had more money than sense. Funny you mention God because when I sold the plane is about the time I started going to church regularly. This was back in the 1980s when you could buy a decent plane for under ten grand.
Brilliant! "Chocks away!" Proper "flying by the seat of the pants." Nice bit of circuit planning, too. Any chance of you posting some more flights, please?🤔
YEH..... I've got a Legal Eagle WB ( 5" wider than the plans ) in the beginning build stages the jig and it sure looks a lot like this..... This has to be the most fun to fly ever !..... Not sure if I'll ever finish mine but if I watch you video a bit more I am sure this will give me the push to finish....* thinking about an Hirth F23 for mine AND a BRS . Thank You for posting. FLY SAFE .😁 Note; some guy flew one these from N.Cal. ? to the ultralight meet in AZ. a while back🥵
I visited TEAM aircraft and met wayne ison back when this was in development. I built the Max103 and sold it before flying it. It was so much fun. I have a copy of their old promo tape somewhere. I tried to put it on youtube but they blocked it because of the music.
If that's a true airbike, the kit was manufactured by TEAM IN TENNESSEE several years ago. I was friendd with a man who built severzl minimaxes and finally one airbike that I took up knce. Very nice flier. Good video.
It is a "true airbike" but in this case it was not a kit. Within our EAA chapter we formed a group of nine builders who collectively wanted to each build our own Airbike from scratch. Initially Wayne Ison balked at the idea of selling plans only. After lengthly negotiations and setteling on terms Wayne agreed to issue each, individual builder a license to construct one airframe. Each builder purchased the plans and paid their licensing fee and in turn was given a complete set of plans including plans for all the weldments. Anyone buying the kit version of the Airbike from T.E.A.M. were not privy to the propriatairy weldment drawings as the kit included a fully welded fuselage, tail feathers and landing gear legs.
Nice video. Which Rotax is that? Also when I posted my video of my flight star one comment was " What was the point of this you did not go anywhere." I told him that if I had to explain it then he would never understand that the joy is just being up in the air.
Designer Wayne Ison and his manufacturing team at Tennessee Engineering and Manufacturing (T.E.A.M.) came up with the name "AIRBIKE". Maybe "AIRCYCLE" would have been more descriptive.
If we had the FAR103 rules here, I would definitely try to get an Airbike or similar. I don't need more plane that that, in fact I bet you feel the flying more the less plane you have
Sorry to hear of your loss of medical. Flying is truly an wonderful expression of freedom. Wishing you a speedy recovery and opportunities to return to blue skies.
Home built experimental or ultra light are lots of fun. Most have to have mode c in my area but not ultra lights. Looks like your not using a radio either. That's seat of the pants flying.
Because smartphones are inherently unreliable. A mechanical compass or an altimeter is far less likely to fail in flight. A mechanical altimeter can be properly set to the regional air-pressure setting. Mechanical instruments don’t tend to overheat, run out of batteries, or crash because the OS is a piece of crap (like the majority of modern software). I use “moving map” software in my cockpit but I also fly with a paper-chart on my knee because not only is it required by law, it means that when my tablet inevitably fails, I can still navigate.
My Grand Rapids EIS has has a built-in altimeter and up between the wings, attached to the skylight is a magnetic compass. I sometimes carry a small, handheld Garmin GPS, but that's mainly to check groundspeed. The Airbike is pretty much a ground reference machine.
@Ben Chuft What agency is issueing the regulation that is violated? Which regulation? This is not a cellphone aboard a commercial flight. My cellular user agreement does not say the phone must remain on the ground.
Beautifully maintained fun aircraft. Ronald, would you ever consider flying your Airbike without a carburettor air filter? With regular engine maintenance have you ever experienced problems with filter element blockage? Thanks for your help. 👍
I wouldn't alter the air filter. Rotax designed it for the purpose of engine longivity. Unlike a paper element it is the type of air cleaner that Rotax calls "rechargable", meaning it can be cleaned and re-oiled. Engine life could be shortened by removing the filter and inducting dust into the intake.
@@ronaldfranck6960 Hi Ronald. In addition, no air filter increases risk of carburettor fire at the intake. There are YT members that are flying an Airbike with filter removed, I pointed out the hazards, They shot me down as to be expected. To each his own. Thanks. 👍
@@Ronbc000 Also, I would point out the risk of ingesting a large rock during takeoff... which can cause immediate piston and ring breakage (engine failure). I've raced go-karts for decades, with and without air filters .. and have experienced engine damage from rocks / debris. For ONLY this reason I run large over sized air filters, and clean it as often as possible. Extending the service hours of the engine is a low level secondary concern relative to engine failure. Also, based on my experiences, ingesting a rock occurs FAR MORE often than an engine fire from fuel spitting out the carb .. never had that happen, but have lost several engines to rocks.
Tennessee team aircraft I ordered a kit build it took two years I put a 80 horsepower 2 cylinder Suzuki engine on it with the three bladed 63inch carbon prop ,would fly 80 mph , lifetime dream and a lot of fun in Central Florida Year 1999..
Just that lake county Florida had five airports they help me with my flying lessons... The last being with instructor let me fly a j3 Piper Cub to learn how to land a tail dragger. . After applying mine around Florida for a year I put on a small trailer pull it to Tioga county Pennsylvania .. made my vacation ".. then back to Florida.. for more fun lying around the club that I was a member of near the Orange county lake county line. until the world trade center was attacked.. at that time FAA grounded all small planes.. so I spent the time fine tuning to airlarons making some hands-free trim tabs . Hope to start flying again.. unfortunately October 2001 I took it up and I crashed it. From 800 ft up straight down and to about four foot of water.. trauma hospital 8 weeks... Ouch " distractions lead to pilot-arr ( PreFlight check )..
Where is the airport or what is the airport ID, I may develop it for XPLANE Flight Sim, I am working on Illinois, looks like a nice place to soar. Thanks and great video. The AirBike is so sweet.
I'm a A&P mechanic. My boss had one and it fowld plugs all the time. I lived in Alaska for 20 years and had 8 snowmobiles in those years. The only problem I see with the airbike is the engine is upside down which is my opinion it fowld plugs all the time. But fun machine.
580 Suzuki engine was water cooled I run Sunoco supreme high test fuel in it. It came with oil injection but I disconnected it I didn't trust it I mixed my own oil top grade two stroke I think one of my favorites has castor oil.. I brought to the flying Gators flying club in Central Florida must have been about 30 of us I never ever seen any spark plug troubles with any of them. With most of them running 502 road tax engines.. I had planned on in the future putting a 3 cylinder Geo engine in mine. And then locating a blower for it that thay was putting on them in Canada..
"If you wanna be a bird... it won't take much... to get you up there..." couldn't help thinking of that song...nice 'bike'...What area is that, West Texas, Kansas...?
50 to 60 mph is where I normally cruise. My Rotax 447 can be run 5400 to 6100 rpm depending on how fast you want to go or how conservative you are with fuel. The Airbike is not a speed demon by any measure unless you're comparing it to a powered parachute, lol. I'm not sure by what you mean by wind changes. Thermals? Gusts? or an actual sudden change in direction? Choose your weather wisely, the Airbike is lightly loaded. If you are at all concerned about loosing inertia turning downwind of the air currents it's always good to carry a little extra speed and make gentle, shallow turns. Turning into the wind has not been a problem. After 20 years of flying my airbike it becomes kind of a zen thing, you become one with the machine.
Interesting for sure. Not sure if it is practical unless it has speeds that exceed a Sunday afternoon drive in an 81 Plymouth Reliant K-car. Imagine it was conservative flying for the video. The build must have been fun. Lots of intelligence required that I do not have. Nice scenery.
It doesn't say anything at all. The Rotax 447 and others like it use a "pulse" from the crankcase to drive the fuel pump diaphram. That "pulse" contains vaporized oil that circulates within the crankcase resulting in oil gathering in the pulse line. During my pre-flight I drain the accumulated waste oil from he lowest point in the pulse line, hence the box of oil dry.
I love the Airbike!!! I want one if I ever get to retire!!!!!!! Also love how you did the preflight walk around just like we do with our Hang Gliders. Checking every bolt, nut, and cable. Most folks don't show this, but it's PARAMOUNT for a successful flight and future ones. I also LOVE that P-51 style cowling and nose cone!!!!LOL Good on ya mate as they say,,,,,,, somewhere.
Down under...
awesome video. thanks for posting ... that planes looks like a ton of fun !
Awesome!! That was a wonderful ride. Almost like I was at the controls . Thanks for the great ride.😃
Nice airplane. I’ll say one thing, if you ever have an engine failure you have plenty of flat places to land.
Cool video!! Soundtrack, Sepia and above all the flying. Thanks
Always loved the air bike. Im goin to have one one day. Thank you much for your video. Stay safe.
Outstanding shipmate. Press on. USS Kitty Hawk CV-63. Jan 1980 to July 1983. Aviator for life.
Ronald, God gave you wings to converse with angels. Remember from where the Glory comes while you are up there. Godspeed, brother.
That looks like so much fun! I do miss flying, but as it says in Ecclesiastes, “There is time to every purpose under the heaven.”
I had a small two seater when I was young and had more money than sense. Funny you mention God because when I sold the plane is about the time I started going to church regularly. This was back in the 1980s when you could buy a decent plane for under ten grand.
It’s time
@@fakenews8464 No, it WAS time (for me, anyway).
This Ecclesiastes bloke - was he a Pilot?
I doubt it ......... So what would he know about it.
@@Farweasel haters gonna hate. What's wrong with you that you have to do that?
And that, my friends, is a thorough pre-flight inspection. Love the music
Brilliant! "Chocks away!" Proper "flying by the seat of the pants." Nice bit of circuit planning, too. Any chance of you posting some more flights, please?🤔
I like your style very smooth flyer and an awesome air plane too 🌻
Thank you. Yes, it's been a 20 year love affair with the Airbike. A very honest, forgiving design.
That is simply beautiful.
This is what flying was like during the really early days of flight.
Nice landing, i thought those airbikes were squirrely, he kept it stable
I'll put itin my wish list for christmas...
You have me smiling ear to ear. I'm saving rt now for mine. And this made me even more antsy lol
You too?!?!!!!! lol
YEH..... I've got a Legal Eagle WB ( 5" wider than the plans ) in the beginning build stages the jig and it sure looks a lot like this..... This has to be the most fun to fly ever !..... Not sure if I'll ever finish mine but if I watch you video a bit more I am sure this will give me the push to finish....* thinking about an Hirth F23 for mine AND a BRS . Thank You for posting. FLY SAFE .😁
Note; some guy flew one these from N.Cal. ? to the ultralight meet in AZ. a while back🥵
Thanks for carrying me along as a passenger this morning. To show my thanks, i won't call the FAA and tell them you busted part 103... 👍🏼
Bellissimo ! Complimenti !!!!
I would definitely fold my trousers, pants, under my socks. You don’t want a Hornet or Wasp to get forced up your leg.
I visited TEAM aircraft and met wayne ison back when this was in development. I built the Max103 and sold it before flying it. It was so much fun. I have a copy of their old promo tape somewhere. I tried to put it on youtube but they blocked it because of the music.
Beautiful flight and beautiful production/editing skills!
Thank you!
I really enjoyed your flight..!!.. Thanks for sharing!!
Class looking machine! Definitely a minimalist's dream.
This is a true flying machine right here.
One day…. That looks like fun.
If that's a true airbike, the kit was manufactured by TEAM IN TENNESSEE several years ago. I was friendd with a man who built severzl minimaxes and finally one airbike that I took up knce. Very nice flier. Good video.
It is a "true airbike" but in this case it was not a kit. Within our EAA chapter we formed a group of nine builders who collectively wanted to each build our own Airbike from scratch. Initially Wayne Ison balked at the idea of selling plans only. After lengthly negotiations and setteling on terms Wayne agreed to issue each, individual builder a license to construct one airframe. Each builder purchased the plans and paid their licensing fee and in turn was given a complete set of plans including plans for all the weldments. Anyone buying the kit version of the Airbike from T.E.A.M. were not privy to the propriatairy weldment drawings as the kit included a fully welded fuselage, tail feathers and landing gear legs.
A high tech Demoiselle! Fantastic, thanks
Thanks for the ride Pop. Have fun.
Those Magnificent Men and their flying Machines!
Very Intrepid!👍🏻
interesting and funny music pieces for an interesting, funny plane.
Love the dramatic beginning.
Seriously looking at getting one of these. Have my PPL but GA is just too much expense and FAA requirements.
Cool project to dream about.
I miss my airbike.
Whatever you do, don't head up wind!
Nice video. Which Rotax is that? Also when I posted my video of my flight star one comment was " What was the point of this you did not go anywhere." I told him that if I had to explain it then he would never understand that the joy is just being up in the air.
Rotax 447 @40hp.
Looks very flyable with no wind.
Airbike : I came here thinking this man invented an airborne pedal bike ? Lmao 🤣 🤣 🤣
And again : nothing beat HP ! LMAO 🤣 🤣 🤣
Designer Wayne Ison and his manufacturing team at Tennessee Engineering and Manufacturing (T.E.A.M.) came up with the name "AIRBIKE". Maybe "AIRCYCLE" would have been more descriptive.
Ive had a similar idea ^^ cool to see a version of a flybike ^^ "microplane"
That's like the grandpa of all airplanes.
Wow great little aeroplane ✈️
Just happened to run into your video, nice job, good on no music when in the air as we all like the song of the engine purring.
If we had the FAR103 rules here, I would definitely try to get an Airbike or similar.
I don't need more plane that that, in fact I bet you feel the flying more the less plane you have
Would much rather hear some educational narration than elevator music. You have a lot to share and you do this? Best of luck!
fun video of a fun plane, thanks.
Thanks for the video.
Curious what the wing loading is on your cool little bike. Enjoyed the video.
Great video thank you for posting it
Opening sequence (hangar door) cracked me up! 😅
Like it says in some book, 'Sometimes you're doing something, othertimes you're doing something else.'
Thanks for sharing. Going to forward to a friend or two.
Nice pre flight. Thorough.
Really cool vehicle!! Cheers!!
"They go uppity up up" ♫ ♪ ♬
Well Done Sir. I love Ultralights.
Seems like a biplane wing design would be more compact.
A really enjoyable video. It’s the $4 bolts that hold the wing on that I worry about.
I’m the military they call them the” Jesus knot”
I think the spar bolts are the same size as the bolts that keep the wings on an Aeronca Champ.
lovely, i miss flying small aircraft since i flunked my medical due to a stroke last Sep 11
Sorry to hear of your loss of medical. Flying is truly an wonderful expression of freedom. Wishing you a speedy recovery and opportunities to return to blue skies.
If you are in the U.S., you should consider flying under FAR103. No medical necessary.
Home built experimental or ultra light are lots of fun. Most have to have mode c in my area but not ultra lights. Looks like your not using a radio either. That's seat of the pants flying.
Wonder why they called it an Airbike. I was expecting to see pedals.
I'd want a headrest.
Scott Joplin, excellent choice !
Appreciate the video. Thank you!
Can these be fitted with pontoons ?
Approximate price?
Great video and plane!
She flys good!
YES she does!!!!
Great demo of "the simplicity of flight." Love the un-cluttered instrument panel. Who needs a compass or altimeter if you have a smartphone onboard?
Because smartphones are inherently unreliable.
A mechanical compass or an altimeter is far less likely to fail in flight.
A mechanical altimeter can be properly set to the regional air-pressure setting.
Mechanical instruments don’t tend to overheat, run out of batteries, or crash because the OS is a piece of crap (like the majority of modern software).
I use “moving map” software in my cockpit but I also fly with a paper-chart on my knee because not only is it required by law, it means that when my tablet inevitably fails, I can still navigate.
@@RoadRunnerLaser well said. I intend on installing both. relying heavily on old school instrumentation.
My Grand Rapids EIS has has a built-in altimeter and up between the wings, attached to the skylight is a magnetic compass. I sometimes carry a small, handheld Garmin GPS, but that's mainly to check groundspeed. The Airbike is pretty much a ground reference machine.
@Ben Chuft What agency is issueing the regulation that is violated? Which regulation? This is not a cellphone aboard a commercial flight. My cellular user agreement does not say the phone must remain on the ground.
Jimmy Doolittle just rolled over in his grave...
Wow! Fantastic. 👌🏾
merci
Beautifully maintained fun aircraft. Ronald, would you ever consider flying your Airbike without a carburettor air filter? With regular engine maintenance have you ever experienced problems with filter element blockage? Thanks for your help. 👍
I wouldn't alter the air filter. Rotax designed it for the purpose of engine longivity. Unlike a paper element it is the type of air cleaner that Rotax calls "rechargable", meaning it can be cleaned and re-oiled. Engine life could be shortened by removing the filter and inducting dust into the intake.
@@ronaldfranck6960 Hi Ronald. In addition, no air filter increases risk of carburettor fire at the intake. There are YT members that are flying an Airbike with filter removed, I pointed out the hazards, They shot me down as to be expected. To each his own. Thanks. 👍
@@Ronbc000 Also, I would point out the risk of ingesting a large rock during takeoff... which can cause immediate piston and ring breakage (engine failure). I've raced go-karts for decades, with and without air filters .. and have experienced engine damage from rocks / debris. For ONLY this reason I run large over sized air filters, and clean it as often as possible. Extending the service hours of the engine is a low level secondary concern relative to engine failure. Also, based on my experiences, ingesting a rock occurs FAR MORE often than an engine fire from fuel spitting out the carb .. never had that happen, but have lost several engines to rocks.
running without an air filter sounds like riding a bike without glasses. You could do it, but why, because you like rocks in your face?
Should of named it “the mosquito” !
I would like one
Better sound track would be the man in the flying machine
Awesome video.
Tennessee team aircraft I ordered a kit build it took two years I put a 80 horsepower 2 cylinder Suzuki engine on it with the three bladed 63inch carbon prop ,would fly 80 mph , lifetime dream and a lot of fun in Central Florida Year 1999..
You had me on board until you said Florida
Just that lake county Florida had five airports they help me with my flying lessons... The last being with instructor let me fly a j3 Piper Cub to learn how to land a tail dragger. . After applying mine around Florida for a year I put on a small trailer pull it to Tioga county Pennsylvania .. made my vacation ".. then back to Florida.. for more fun lying around the club that I was a member of near the Orange county lake county line. until the world trade center was attacked.. at that time FAA grounded all small planes.. so I spent the time fine tuning to airlarons making some hands-free trim tabs . Hope to start flying again.. unfortunately October 2001 I took it up and I crashed it. From 800 ft up straight down and to about four foot of water.. trauma hospital 8 weeks... Ouch " distractions lead to pilot-arr ( PreFlight check )..
Well, that was informative.
Where is the airport or what is the airport ID, I may develop it for XPLANE Flight Sim, I am working on Illinois, looks like a nice place to soar. Thanks and great video. The AirBike is so sweet.
Not an air-bike, more of an air-moped🤔
She looks like fun though
I love seeing how flat earth is, and Earth's not rotating at 1000 mph.
Cool.😊
I'm a A&P mechanic. My boss had one and it fowld plugs all the time. I lived in Alaska for 20 years and had 8 snowmobiles in those years. The only problem I see with the airbike is the engine is upside down which is my opinion it fowld plugs all the time. But fun machine.
In ten years I've never had an issue with plugs fowling. I do run palladium tipped plugs.
580 Suzuki engine was water cooled I run Sunoco supreme high test fuel in it. It came with oil injection but I disconnected it I didn't trust it I mixed my own oil top grade two stroke I think one of my favorites has castor oil.. I brought to the flying Gators flying club in Central Florida must have been about 30 of us I never ever seen any spark plug troubles with any of them. With most of them running 502 road tax engines.. I had planned on in the future putting a 3 cylinder Geo engine in mine. And then locating a blower for it that thay was putting on them in Canada..
Like driving a 1976 Chevy Chevette in the INdy 500....lol....buzzy as all git out! but fun...lol
Отличный самолёт 👍👍👍 блин надо себе такой собрать. Но вообще-то вертолёт лучше даже на работу можно летать 😁😁😁 но трудоёмкость больше. 🤔🤔🤔
Hate to tell you, but it's called ultra light.
HAHAHA
congratulations, it is possible to get the plans of this model, thanks and regards
Esto si es volar......
This looks like Iowa. I imagine you fly it when it's cool, cause some of the thermals in Iowa wouldn't be fun to ride in this bike.
I want one!
if just Leonardo knew
it would that easy.
Nice ....showww...
"If you wanna be a bird... it won't take much... to get you up there..." couldn't help thinking of that song...nice 'bike'...What area is that, West Texas, Kansas...?
Western Illinois, the land of felonious Governors.
Супер!!!
Нам не грозит!
What's a good cruising speed that is gentle to the motor and not falling out of the sky when the wind changes
50 to 60 mph is where I normally cruise. My Rotax 447 can be run 5400 to 6100 rpm depending on how fast you want to go or how conservative you are with fuel. The Airbike is not a speed demon by any measure unless you're comparing it to a powered parachute, lol. I'm not sure by what you mean by wind changes. Thermals? Gusts? or an actual sudden change in direction? Choose your weather wisely, the Airbike is lightly loaded. If you are at all concerned about loosing inertia turning downwind of the air currents it's always good to carry a little extra speed and make gentle, shallow turns. Turning into the wind has not been a problem. After 20 years of flying my airbike it becomes kind of a zen thing, you become one with the machine.
Interesting for sure. Not sure if it is practical unless it has speeds that exceed a Sunday afternoon drive in an 81 Plymouth Reliant K-car.
Imagine it was conservative flying for the video.
The build must have been fun. Lots of intelligence required that I do not have. Nice scenery.
IT could use a FEW more zip ties and a parachute ? HAHAHA.
What does it say about your engine if you must leave a box full of sand or kitty litter under your engine while in storage?
It doesn't say anything at all. The Rotax 447 and others like it use a "pulse" from the crankcase to drive the fuel pump diaphram. That "pulse" contains vaporized oil that circulates within the crankcase resulting in oil gathering in the pulse line. During my pre-flight I drain the accumulated waste oil from he lowest point in the pulse line, hence the box of oil dry.
awesome.....
Thank you for information
Wow ! The Earth is flat ------------