How to get started in Ultralights
In the United States, aviation is regulated by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). The rules are published in the Federal Aviation Regulations, commonly referred to as the "FARs."
Ultralights are regulated and defined in FAR Part 103. Part 103 delineates what airplane can qualify as an "ultralight." The FAA actually refers to an ultralight as a flying "vehicle," rather than an "airplane." However, most normal people (which is everyone except an FAA bureaucrat) refers to ultralights as "airplanes."
The FAA defines a powered ultralight as a single seat "vehicle," which weighs less than 254 pounds, carries 5 gallons of fuel or less, and is capable of flying as slow as 24 knots and no faster than 55 knots. That’s all there is to the definition.
According to FAR Part 103 a pilot is not required to have an FAA pilot’s license to fly an ultralight. Nor is he required to undergo an FAA medical exam. The airplane does not need to be inspected by the FAA nor is it required to be maintained by an FAA certified mechanic.
The United States is the only country with such lenient ultralight regulations. We are truly fortunate to have such freedom to fly in the US.
There are, however, some additional limitations. The philosophy of the FAA is that it’s O.K. to endanger yourself in a single seat airplane, as long as you don’t put others in harm’s way. Therefore, an ultralight can only be flown over uncongested airspace, where the unlicensed pilot will be less likely to hurt someone on the ground if he comes tumbling out of the sky.
In addition, the ultralight can’t be used for commercial purposes, such as banner towing, crop dusting, fish spotting, or television traffic reporting. Other than a few other restrictions, such as not flying at night, it’s pretty much an unregulated sport.
WHY WOULD SOMEONE WANT TO FLY AN UNTRALIGHT, INSTEAD OF A "REAL" AIRPLANE?
First of all, an ultralight is a real airplane. It’s just smaller and lighter than traditional general aviation aircraft. But an ultralight is much more sophisticated than you’d think. It can carry more payload than traditional airplanes. Many ultralights can carry more than their own weight. For example, an ultralight that weighs 250 pounds can typically carry a 300 pound load—more than a 100% increase in weight. Try that with your Cessna 150!
Some ultralight wings were designed using NASA specifications. The Dacron fabric which covers the wings of many ultralights is especially engineered to withstand the stress of air loads and environmental pollutants.
So why fly an ultralight?
Mainly because it great fun. Really fun. Mankind has dreamed of flying since the caveman days. We’re very fortunate to live in an era in which the technology allows us to take wing, and enjoy the thrill of seeing our neighborhoods from above.
Cars and houses look like little toys when you’re a few thousand feet above the ground. The airplane responds to the wind with little dips and bounces as if it were a living being. You can climb and descend, and turn and jog with incredible versatility and freedom. How fun it is!
Flying an ultralight is less complicated than flying a general aviation airplane. The rules and regulations are minimal. You don’t need to take FAA written and oral tests, or a flight check. The instructors are friendly and truly love flying; they’re not trying to build up time to get hired by the airlines.
If you own your ultralight, it’s much cheaper to fly than a general aviation airplane. Ultralights use only a few gallons of gas per hour of flight. You can do your own maintenance on them. Many have folding or removable wings, so you can store your plane in your garage, and you don’t have to keep it in a hangar at the airport.
Ultralight pilots are sociable. There are many clubs that you can join, plus three nationally recognized ultralight organizations. These organizations and many local clubs have "fly-ins" with contests and cookouts. The contests consist of spot landings and dropping bombs of colored cooking flower. Everyone has a great time at these fly-ins and his flying skills are improved as well.
WHAT TRAINING IS REQUIRED TO FLY AN ULTRALIGHT?
Even though the FAA does not require that you have an FAA pilot’s license to fly an ultralight, it doesn’t mean that you can fly it safely without training. Anything that gets more than a few feet off the ground requires training, even a pogo stick.
As mentioned earlier, according to FAR Part 103, the FAA defines an ultralight as a single seat "vehicle." But it’s pretty difficult, and dangerous, to try to teach yourself to fly.
In the old days people did learn (or try to learn) to fly in a single-seater. The instructor would talk to the student over a walkie-talkie, and tell him how to maneuver. Needless to say, there were a lot of unsuccessful landings. That’s how ultralight flyers originally got an undeserved reputation for being dare-devil pilots. Actually, you did have to be pretty bold to takeoff for the first time in your life with only a walkie-talkie to guide you back to earth.
So the FAA decided to grant a waiver to formally organized ultralight groups to train students in two-seat ultralight-type airplanes. These two-seat trainers have restrictions similar to the single-seaters: they can only be flown in rural areas, and they have certain speed and weight limitations. Most importantly, the two-seat trainers must only be flown for the purpose of student training. It’s not legal, for example, for a pilot to give "sightseeing" rides in a trainer at an airshow.