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Anyone here knowledgeable about Ultra-Lights?

Navy Chief

Navy Chief

Senior Member
I'm just curious about how much it would cost for a "entry" level type ultralight?

Copperhill, TN airport (1A3) is 20 minutes from my house. It would be so convenient!

Navy Chief
 
This will probably help you NavyChief. I used to fly ultralights a lot and we even had paintball wars until one of our group made too tight of turn and ended up nose down into the ground-he lived but lots of parts on him and the aircraft. My first ultralight was a two place trike because it wasn't too drastic a step down from my Cessna 140. I have really come to like the trikes though. I recommend used and be sure and buy after a good trustworthy mechanic has gone over it. You wouldn't the punishment some people give their ultralights.

http://www.azultralights.com/ulclass.html#trike

http://www.ultralightnews.com/aircraftinfoindex.htm (everything you ever wanted to know)
Ted

Depending on your weight you can jump into a good used trike for as little as $4000
 
Yeah, they are extremly dangerous!

Largest problem is they are ultralight and you cannot fly them in winds above 5 mph safely. My advice on entry level flying is to go to the light sport category, much safer and faster too.

I had a friend killed in an ultralight, he was on his landing run and the wind just flipped him over, broke his neck. I'd rather soar or hang glide.

Caz
 
Cazzie said:
Largest problem is they are ultralight and you cannot fly them in winds above 5 mph safely. My advice on entry level flying is to go to the light sport category, much safer and faster too.

I had a friend killed in an ultralight, he was on his landing run and the wind just flipped him over, broke his neck. I'd rather soar or hang glide.

Caz
Click to expand...

I've been doing it since 1996 and there have been a couple of hairy moments. You really have to know your aircraft's limitations and keep your head about you at all times. Wind and heat (air density) play a huge factor. I even took one flight from San Antonio to Kerrville in the hill country in the spring that was just fabulous, but again you are correct they are dangerous if you forget where you are and what you supposed to be doing.
Ted
 
Txnetcop, do you have a BRS? I thought they might be just called a BRS, but I also see BRS chutes, and BRS ballistic parachutes, but that seems kind of like saying "ATM machine" to me.
 
There are still a few guys around my area that still bob around with their ultralights. Most of em are Quicksilvers from the 80s and early 90s. Every now and then one of those will come up on the market...I want to say for around $5000-7500. Condition varies on em though...I know one for sale locally that is only $1500, but they guy stores it outside so it's just absolute trash.

Like Cazzie said, they have a very low wind tolerance level. This keeps most of em up here in ND grounded most of the time...it just never "not windy" up here. :)

I've kicked the idea around many times, especially since I'm a snowmobile nut and I know the Rotax engines inside and out. But the too much wind conditions keeps stomping that idea out of my head.

I'm still looking more seriously at the light-sport ticket too.
An old fellow that was a flying friend of my uncles and grandpa still has a Luscombe sitting in the hanger at his farm. He's too old to fly anymore and his two boys don't have any interest in it. I still keep in touch with him and I just might wind up with that thing someday. It is fairly low-time (both airframe and powerplant) and needs minimal work to get it back in the air...plus I could get it recertified as LSA.
This is one I'm thinking long and hard about. Vintage wings, all-metal, LSA capable...just what I'd love to own. Especially since all the work of getting a medical sign-off for my Type 1 diabetes threw an extra curveball at me ever getting my PPL a couple years ago.
I know older Luscys can go for around the $15K range in basic configuration...which isn't bad compared to the pricetags on the newer LSAs.
 
Cratermaker said:
Txnetcop, do you have a BRS? I thought they might be just called a BRS, but I also see BRS chutes, and BRS ballistic parachutes, but that seems kind of like saying "ATM machine" to me.
Click to expand...

Nope I am one of those that trust to dumb luck. I don't own an ultralight anymore. Sometimes if I get the urge I will rent but you can end up dead real quick renting a beater! There is a guy in Roanoke, TX who has me put a kit together once in while and test it for him to sell. Those BRS setups are not cheap...anywhere from $2500 on up and heck as low as I fly it would pop about the time I hit the ground! LOL
Ted
 
Back in the early 80s, my oldest uncle went through the mid life crisis thing, got divorced and bought an ultralight. Didn't have a clue on how to fly it and based it out of his cow pasture. He eventually got to where he could fly it, but screwed up a landing, bent it all up and broke his leg. He sold what was left of it. Up until he passed away, we used to kid him about how he would have been better off with a Corvette.
 
There used to be a place about 45 minutes from me, near Cleveland, TN, that offered ultralight rides in a tandem model. I think a couple years ago, someone was killed, and the company shut down.

I'd like to take a ride in one though!

NC
 
I built and flew a Challenger ultralight for some 10 years. I don't believe that ultralights are more dangerous than any other type of aircraft; the danger comes from the lack of pilot training, and in some cases the lack of the necessary background on the part of the designers.

When I flew my little Challenger into Oshkosh in 2000, and met fellow pilots from the US, I was amazed to learn that (at least then) you could fly an ultralight in the USA with any formal training whatsoever!

I think if you know your aircraft well, and have some seriously proper training, they are a great and inexpensive way to get up there and have a good time flying. If I had the time, I'd do it again. When I fly 172's now, I feel like I'm flying a bus.

I don't know what most ultralights go for these days, but I'd say get one that has a good and long reputation for safety in its design, even if it means spending a little more.

Mike
 
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