Those who attempted to copy and duplicate Quicksilvers have mostly faded away but some enterprises (see at bottom) built a business out of supplying parts and components that Quicksilver itself never offered.
One of the most successful of these is 
"Now that I think I've got it perfected," Andy expressed, "we're going to start production on this in 2021."
Falcon has a lot of components so it will be more expensive. "Yes," Andy agreed, "it will be a little higher priced aircraft — it takes a lot of time to assemble — but it will fly like a Quicksilver, so those pilots who want to fly faster now have a choice."
A Quicksilver-type design like the standard "Smithsilvers" that Tri-State makes from scratch typically cruise 40-60 mph where Falcon is as much as 50% faster.
"Yes, this will be a little higher-priced aircraft," Andy observed, "and it must be built as an Experimental Amateur Built." Let's put it in perspective, noting that all prices mentioned below are subject to change.
A standard single place Smithsilver by Tri-State Kite Sales assembled for fly away costs about $28,000, said Andy. A two-place with all the extras gets into the high $40,000s and Falcon with a 
Mark Smith founded the company in the late 1970s and formally organized in 1981. In those 40 years, Tri-State has delivered more than 200 complete aircraft and an uncounted number of aircraft served with replacement parts or Tri-State accessories from fiberglass nose pods to new wing covers and everything in between.
Of all these, Falcon may be the most advanced and sophisticated. It may look like a simple Quicksilver or a Tri-State Smithsilver but Falcon is a step beyond on many ways, for example, creature comforts.
Falcon has a full enclosure, front to back, and even has cabin heat. "I tested this down to 17 degrees ambient temperature, and you can stay about 70 degrees inside the cockpit." While the snow swirls around Tri-State and much of the country, that climate control sounds inviting.
Cross country flying is one of the stated purposes. How fast can Falcon fly?
"I can hit 93 miles an hour," exclaimed Andy, "and cruise is a solid 80 mph." For those unfamiliar with a standard Quicksilver or Smithsilver, that's a substantial increase, more than 20 miles an hour faster on average.
As a nearby image shows, the Rotax 503 engine is nestled down in the aft wing center section because Andy wanted to lower the thrust line to a more neutral position. This means the dual-carb Rotax 503 and its 50 horses push the airplane forwards with less pitch influence, which is a significant part of how it can achieve higher speeds.
"Falcon's standard instrument panel has all your flight information," explained Andy, "while all the engine instrumentation is housed on the right vertical support strut. Above your head are all the electric switches for electric flaps, ignition switches and lighting controls."
Unlike every Quicksilver or Smithsilver, Falcon has a control yoke as does Quicksilver's GT500 and GT400 models. However, unlike those Quicksilver models, this yoke has been configured specially to make entry much easier.
Falcon has a door that props open but when I looked at, I thought entry looked rather challenging. What I missed were the steps Andy took in designing a yoke that neatly folds out of the way. When so retracted, entering Falcon looks easy.
Once in place you pull the yoke back toward you and it latches securely into position. With details like this, no wonder Any spent years getting Falcon right on paper and three more to get the pieces and parts in the right place.
Falcon's cabin even has a hat rack …or in this case, a headset rack as that's what Andy puts in this location.
Andy referred to the current one as a "nostalgia website" because it holds extensive commentaries written by Mark Smith, the patriarch of Tri-State. His words make a fun, and historic, read but what the vintage website does not do is provide clear navigation to the various aircraft models and component parts or assemblies that Tri-State builds. The new website will address these shortcomings while hopefully keeping all Mark's original musings.
Until the new website is finished, visit 
One of the most successful airplane designs of all time is the Quicksilver. Van’s Aircraft of RV fame has delivered more kits, yet with 10,869 RVs presently flying, Quicksilver still remains far ahead with more than 15,000 flying. Naturally, such market success spawned other builders. Those who attempted to copy and duplicate Quicksilvers have mostly faded away but some enterprises (see at bottom) built a business out of supplying parts and components that Quicksilver itself never offered. One of the most successful of these is Tri-State Kite Sales, based in Mt. Vernon, Indiana — and no, not Mt. Vernon, Illinois where the Midwest LSA Expo is held every September. Andy Alldredge started his Falcon project 18 years ago when he was a lad of 20. The airplane looked good enough that I thought it was something new but, nope. This is a well flown aircraft that has been well maintained.
If you know light, recreational aviation, you simply must know the Quicksilver brand. The Southern California company made a fantastic splash in the early 1980s, outselling in one year more total units than Cessna, Piper, and Beech combined! I'm guessing a good percentage of readers have taken a flight in one of their models. More than 15,000 were sold. They are still available and 
One proof among many, Mark Smith created an aftermarket steerable nose wheel system for Quicksilver aircraft before the factory developed their own. Multiple component changes purported to improve handling, performance, and durability.
Tri-State Kites’ selling of Quicksilver brand aircraft went on for many years; Mark was once one of Quicksilver Aircraft's top dealers. Throughout, he was improving, tweaking.
Perhaps it was inevitable that this would evolve into the manufacture of whole Quicksilver-like airplanes built of the numerous changes Mark had engineered over the years.
Smith wrote, "There were nearly 10,000 MX [Quicksilver models] sold over the years, with most of the models sharing many of the design features of the MX. There are many changes that make the plane fly better, handle better, steer better, handle wind and gusts better, and so on."
Directly from their matter-of-fact website, "Modifications to this sturdily-built ultralight abound (they refer to those thousands of Quicksilvers sold). Most are not terribly expensive and create a much more flyable plane. Recommended changes would be lower tail tubes and the tapered stabilizer. They also sell dihedral-reducing cablesets for wire-braced Quicksilvers; earlier models used a large amount of dihedral to enhance the rudder-and-elevator-only controls. Tri-State Kites said, "These install without major modifications."
Those parts are but a few of many alterations the Mark Smith enterprise has created over many years of serving the Quicksilver market. Created to make the airplanes fly faster, handle better and last longer, they also streamline the aircraft, give it distinctive looks, and enhance strength in ways big and small.
Today Tri-State Kites is actively building and selling entire aircraft. Call them a "Quick" or a "Smithsilver" — this is now its own brand of aircraft. Some are Part 103 eligible. Andy assured me single seat models can qualify.
Tri-State Kites reported a active and complete business with sales, training, and maintenance. They even offer on on-site "hotel" for customers to use. Contact 
Except for engine, tires, wheels, and brakes, Tri-State makes every component that goes on the Smithsilvers. They even sew their own wing coverings, assembled from sturdy Dacron sailcloth. Sewing of wings (or sails) is a specialized craft. I have experience with hang glider wings (more complex than you think) and I was quite impressed with the detail and precision shown on their wings displayed at Midwest LSA Expo 2020.
I did interviews with Andy Alldredge about Tri-States' business and his Falcon 503 project plus Tom Smith. Look for them later this year.
