Is the New P&M Quik R, set to revolutionize the flexwing microlight world?

New Quik R on the P&M Aviation Stand

I don’t know about you, but if you are like me? a flexwing pilot that is and pay through the nose for hanger space! and the thought of being able to save all that hard earned cash on hangerage has a big pull then read on. Saving your cash and ditching the hanger space is great until you contemplate the prospect of having to rig your machine once you have delivered it to your airfield of choice! Ahhhh, not for me thanks. However I am told that in the not too distant past, well the last century to be precise this is what my fellow flexwing owners did and some still have to do it today, with hanger space being similar to joining that fancy golf club where you end up on an indefinately long list. Well now that Mr Jim Cunliffe and his wonderful team at P&M Aviation not far from hear in sunny Rochdale, UK have developed what has to be a revolution in the flexwing world, the new Quik R. A folding wing on a Quik trike! A long time coming… I’ve been wondering how long it would be before someone designed such a simple concept I hear you say. Whilst the concept may seem straight forward enough, the engineering complexity is not and again it appears those chaps in Rochdale have done it again.

The said machine was on display in all its wonderful glory at last months Sports & Leisure Aviation Show, aka SPLASH at the NEC in Birmingham. Billed as the fastest, most advanced weightshift microlight in the world, the Quik R took centre stage at this year’s show. It is the first topless flexwing microlight, ditching the main mast and wires on the wing top in place of an all new underwing design made up of all new diagonal streamlined struts/braces, where you will find twin wires on most if not all traditional flexwings aircraft. Apart from the obvious benefit of the folding wing, the omission of the main pylon according to P&M’s designers Bill Brooks and Darren Arkwright  significantly reduces drag, resulting in a top speed of 110mph, VNE of 120 mph (5mph faster than the Quik). Albeit that the MTOW(maximun take of weight) climb rate is slightly less than the Quik at 1150 ft/min. The staff on hand from P&M at the show demonstrated how quickly the wing can be stowed away in a remarkable 5 minutes. Similar to the wings of many an insect, the wing on the Quik R folds back in two halves rather than having to be taken off the trike and folded into a traditional wing bag. Once completed the whole machine can be stored in a smaller hanger/garage or put directly onto a trailer and towed in one piece, wing still attached.  If like me you are billed each month for hanger space based on the footprint of your airplane then you should be asking for a decent reduction as an owner of one of these new beauties.

We expect to see the demonstrator at Mainair Flying School, Barton, Manchester, where I will hopefully get to have a fly and give you all the lowdown through the skillful flying hands of Mark Jackson of how the Quik R flies and how it compares to it’s sibling the Quick 912S, which I fly. Keep tuned…