Alltrikes

Alan Beavis, Marlies and Peter Eicher from Australia experience the pleasure of flying with eagles more often than they like.  Alan flies his self-built Yando-Goat together with Marlies and Peter in their Archaeopteryx.  Besides Goat and Archy, they also fly a hang-glider as well as a trike.

They tow each other up into the sky over Yando-Airfield, a small and private airfield near Boort, Victoria, in Australia, which is located approximately 250 km north-west of Melbourne.  This region is world renowned for very good soaring conditions (Benalla, Tocumwal, Waikerie are gliding sites a few hundred kilometres in either direction from Boort), which is not only appreciated by the few ultralight glider-pilots, but by some Wedge-tailed Eagles too.

Two Eagle-pairs live in the neighborhood of Yando-Airfield, where they have built their nests to breed their eggs and raise their chicks.

Wedge-tailed Eagles are about the same size as the Golden Eagles living in the Alps, weighing up to 6 kg.  With their impressive wingspan up to about 2,3 m, they can soar for hours without any effort or wingbeat, reaching altitudes up to 2.000 m, sometimes considerably higher.  Their keen eyesight extends into the infrared and ultraviolet bands.  A prime ability, glider-pilots would be keen to possess.

Mid-air conflicts between glider-pilots and the majestic "Wedgies" are to be expected, as the eagles often defend "their airspace" against the human intruders.  The Eagles are especially aggressive during the period of breeding and nurturing their fledglings.

During this time of the year, the ultralight gliders are sometimes aggressively attacked by the eagles, who identify the gliders as obvious predators, which must be attacked to defend their eggs or nestlings and maybe also as a fat prey good for feeding to their chicks

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