Soarmaster Trike

Single-seat single-engined flex-wing aircraft with weight-shift control. Rogallo wing. Pilot suspended below wing in trike unit, using bar to control pitch and yaw/roll by altering relative positions of trike unit and wing. Undercarriage has three wheels in tricycle formation. Nosewheel steer-ing independent from yaw control. Aluminium-tube trike unit, without pod. Engine mounted below wing driving pusher propeller.

The main activity for Soarmaster is trike unit manufacture, its product being simply known as the Trike.

The company is proud of the fact that the trike unit has withstood a static load of 1145 lb (519 kg) applied to the seat, though it has to be said that there are other trike units around which could comfortably exceed this figure. What this translates to in terms of load factors does of course depend on the wing used, which can be any suitable Rogallo.

Various engines are available, ranging from Chrysler units to a 15hp Solo single (with or without a tuned exhaust) and a twin-cylinder Lloyd producing 23hp. The Lloyd has the unusual feature of being provided with both manual and electric start, and all three use belt reduction drives and Soarmaster's own propeller, made from 6061T6 aluminium and featuring replaceable blades. Main wheels diameter overall 20 inch, 51 cm.

Price for the Lloyd-engined trike unit in October 1982 was $1595.

Engines:
Lloyd LS400, 23 hp
Solo, 15 hp
Chrysler
Belt reduction
Fuel capacity 1.2 US gal, 1.0 Imp gal, 4.5 litre in main tank
Optional res fuel: 1.2 US gal, 1.0 Imp gal, 4.5 litre