Alltrikes

ok, since some old 'talian guy, name of D'VINCI put out some DIY plans for a hang-glider ( old sepia videos show his 'test pilots' being hurled from the battlements to 'refine' his latest mods) (on youtube) ('those magnificent men') there have been some improvements, i.e. engines, airframes, materials etc. But, apart from 'leonardo d'mednick', with his use of fancy c.n.c. bits and other forward thinking design work, ( blatent arse-kissing here, i've offered to take away FREE a scratched or dented REV ( I LOVE THOSE PHAT TIRES!) from his junk pile, preferably yellow.) there is still MUCH to be done! there ain't been the quantam leap that we are all holding our breath and waiting to see! for instance why aren't wing ribs (batterns) pumped up and down to change wing contour? (like my varicose veins). ON-BOARD AUTOMATIC WING FOLD/EXTEND DEVICES , LIKE BIRDS, would be 'nice'. birds woulda gone extinct i they had to remove their wings and store 'em in a bag between flights. i expect even more 'odious regs' to be in force, some good some not. flying will never be as safe as 'bingo', for instance (though i did witness an old lady bash a guy with her 'marking' pen, 'cos he upset her board!) .' falling from the sky' will no longer be tolerated, but with mandatory transponders, elt's, REALLY BIG AIRBAGS, chutes or retro-rockets etc your significant other, and loan company can sleep easier! the chute, or rocket, will be hooked via satelite to a huge 'HAL' computor underground somewhere in UTAH, ( and thus safe from some 'rolly polly' arsehole from N/korea in case he tries to ruin our runways, as well as everything else!) and will deploy, from afar, if we decide to crash our, by then, 200k$ trike. saving both trike and 'tax paying', and thus FAA funding passengers. that's phase one, phase two the NTSB will arrive at your 'landing site', WITHIN MINUTES, with both refreshments and'paperwork' to sign. i'm pretty sure that bolluminum will give way to composites, both in 'chariot and wing. whitewall tires? maybe. power ?, even though burning old fossils to turn that big fan will continue, with cat converters and any other ' gadgetry ' the ecology boys can come up with, to make it like you never burned ANYTHING, will make electric the 'norm', with the whole wing covered in solar cell fabric and 'super batteries range will be adequate. the down side of the computer hook-up is an easy way for 'big bro' to enforce regs, if your bi-annual is due, the engine won't start, till you do it. the fun-factor of trikeing will still be there, but not like it was. by 2030 i'll be 95 + and probably won't need a REV! what am i missing, cigar lighter? collision-avoidance module? cruise control? reverseable prop, for backing into the hanger? frappoccino spigot? bum warmers? etc ................................................................freazier ballzoff

ps. my use of the term 'trike' is 'cos it's easier to type than 'FLEXIBLE WINGED AIRCRAFT' and is friendlier.

PPS. WITH 'ELECTRO-TRIKES, AND THE LATEST 7 BLADE' SCIMITAR' PROP, COATED WITH 'OWL FEATHER PAINT' THE MILITARY WILL BE USING THEM FOR 'CLANDESTINE' OPS ! BUT 'FLY-BYE' SHOOTINGS BY LUNATIC TRIKE-GANGS WILL BE ON THE INCREASE. THE PRICE OF 'PROGRESS', I SUPPOSE.