The October 5 First Sunday Open House will be held from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the airport, one of the most popular destinations in the west.
If you hear people crying, “It’s a bird, it’s a plane!” they’ll probably be referring to the unique Trikes, ultra-light and light one- and two-seat aircraft loved by pilots and sports enthusiasts.
They are used not only for fun flying but for also for crop spraying, pipeline patrolling, military and other purposes but no matter the use the Trikes always warrant a lot of attention.
Henry “TrikeLife” Imagawa who has kept his Trike at Santa Paula Airport for almost eight years organized the Fly-in.
A resident of Valencia, Imagawa has a two-seater Trike and his passion for the plane has resulted in dozens of YouTube videos of the Trike flying experience.
Although he had never piloted a plane Imagawa came to the “TrikeLife” easily: “The Trike was the first one I ever flew... so I don’t fly any other types of airplanes. I had never hang-glided, nothing before I got interested in it.”
But he noted many Trike pilots are hang-gliders, and, “It’s interesting that a lot of motorcycle riders,” are drawn to the Trike flying experience.
Some say the Trike is a type of powered hang glider but using a high-performance wing coupled to a propeller-powered three-wheel undercarriage.
There are ultralight Trikes and heavier two-seaters and both are controlled by weight shift control, which explains its attraction to motorcyclists and hang gliders alike.
Trikes, said Imagawa, “Are almost like a flying motorcycle,” but they take enthusiasts on sky adventures like no other.
Imagawa has posted dozens of his adventures on YouTube, from breathtaking flights over Glacier National Park and over Mt. Olympus, sunset rides around Montana’s Flathead Lake to soaring over the Grand Teton and Grand Canyon, taking in the view above Malibu and sharing the sky with hot air balloons, among other flights he has filmed.
This weekend Imagawa said he expects as many as a dozen Trikes - including three each from Santa Paula and Camarillo airports - to arrive on Friday.
On Saturday the fly-in will be staged: “We prefer to fly in calm weather,” usually found between 7 to 9 a.m. and the evening hours of 5 to 7 p.m. to take to the sky in the Trikes, which fly at 70 to 90 mph.
“Then Sunday morning,” he added, “we’ll do the Trike display.”
Visit www.youtube.com/watch?v=cQNsLsAcaAE to view one of Iwagawa’s Trike videos and subscribe to Henry TrikeLife.
Also Sunday will be the famed Flying Flea Market where hangar owners across the famed airport will be selling practical or funky fun stuff in the airport wide swap meet.
There will be delicious food trucks, Flight 126 Café and the tours of the Aviation Museum of Santa Paula and its Chain of Hangars filled with unusual collections; many vintage airplanes will be on display and don’t forget to also visit the AMSP Gift Shop where you can find unique items for every aviation lover.
For more information visit: http://www.aviationmuseumofsantapaula.org/
