Trike landing. (Spokane Regional CVB)By Roy A. Barnes

When Denny Reed of Backcountry Aerosports www.trikeschool.com of Cheney, Washington was first introduced to a trike, his reaction was quite negative. He refused to set foot in what he deemed a “flying weedeater.” But as time has passed, Reed has become one of the Light Sport and Ultralight Aircrafts’ best human friends, taking willing flyers like myself up, up, and away in his $60,000 motorized and natural flying machine that has a 7:1 glide ratio. It reaches speeds of 40-60 mph, and has a 34-foot wingspan and 10-foot fuselage, plus a range of 270 miles. The experimental aircraft can be transported in a pick up and set up in 40 minutes.