Sylmar Hang Gliding Association

Many pilots have inquired about the wheels I found for the carbon basetube of my new Litespeed S-3.5. I bought them, used but in perfect condition, from an East-coast pilot that Kraig Coomber put me in contact with. That pilot tells me he bought them for 150 euros (about $240) from a company in Germany at http://www.skyline-flightgear.de/index. ... =15&reset=. Their website provides contact information for them in Germany, and lists a dealer in San Mateo, CA.

Here's a photo of the wheel and hub:



These 6.5-inch diameter wheels are sturdy, their drag can't be huge, and it could be made smaller if I bothered to cover the holes with tape or something. They also keep the basetube off the ground during setup so it doesn't get scratched.

There are a few little issues to be aware of. Unless one chocks the wheels, one cannot use the keel-stand while breaking down the glider. Also there isn't space for the right wheel between the VG-cleat and the downtube, so the wheel must be placed just inboard of the cleat. For maximum elegance I suppose one could move the cleat, but by running the VG string through the big hole between the hub and the wheel, the VG works just fine as is. Some wonder about the stress a wheel-landing might place on the carbon basetube, but I believe that the same landing without wheels could only be worse for the basetube.

I've heard the claim that flying without wheels provides greater incentive for perfect landings every time! That may be true, but personally I'm a firm believer in wheels, and I'm delighted to have found these.

These wheels look great. One thing to be careful of, though. When you aerotow, the wheels placement controls where you can put the cart chocks. The farther out those chocks are, the less stress on the basetube. (Don't put them too far out, you don't want them falling off!) Of course, this applies wheels or no wheels, but there is a tendency to move the chocks in too far when you have wheels. Resist if possible.

I have seen basetubes break solely from cart-stress. (Ok, it was a crack, but still...)

But the wheels really do look good. And you can take them off to break down and still use the kickstand, right Ken?

A little expensive but probably worth it.