Ultralight aviation
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Ultralight aviation is a category of recreational flying. The aircraft used are small, and comply with limits on design and operation so as to allow for fun, economical operation and minimal regulation.
Ultralight aircraft are generally called microlight aircraft in the UK and New Zealand, and ULMs in France. Some countries differentiate between weight shift and 3-axis aircraft calling the former microlight and the latter ultralight.
The governing regulation in the United States is FAR 103, and allows single seat aircraft of less than 5 US gallons (19 L) fuel capacity, empty weight of less than 254 pounds (115 kg), a top speed of 55 knots (102 km/h), and a max stall speed (slowest flying speed) not exceeding 24 knots, to fly over unpopulated areas during daylight hours. Many other countries have similar restrictions, however the weight limit is generally higher (544kg), the fuel limit removed, and the aircraft may carry one passenger. The United States has recently introduced Sport Pilot which seeks somewhat to allow these "heavy" ultralights.
In the United States no license or training is required by law, but training is highly advisable. In other countries some form of license is typically mandatory, often regulated by one or more delegated pilot's organisations. A common misconception is that ultralight pilots are poorly trained, whereas in reality the quality of ultralight pilots is easily the equal of "traditional" pilots, partly owing to the fact that ultralight pilots often fly more often than general aviation pilots, and partly because many ultralight pilots are also private pilots, and even, sometimes, airline pilots.
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Types of aircraft
- 3-Axis Fixed Wing. This has what may be considered a regular airplane configuration - conventional 3 axis control for yaw, pitch and roll using ailerons, elevators and rudder control surfaces. There are many 3-axis ultralights on the market.
- 2-Axis Fixed Wing. Some of the first generation ultralights were "2-Axis" which don't have ailerons, this means that to turn only rudders are employed. An example of a 2-Axis ultralight is the "Pterodactyl".
- Weight Shift. Known more generally as "trikes", these ultralights have their roots as powered hang gliders. These are essentially a hang glider style wing below which is suspended a three wheeled cart. The aircraft is controlled by shifting the body weight by pushing against a horizontal bar in roughly the same way as a hang glider pilot flies. Trikes generally have impressive climb rates and are ideal for rough field operation.
- Powered parachutes - cart mounted engines with parafoil wing.
- Powered paragliding - backpack engines with parafoil wing.
- Gyrocopter - rotary wing with cart mounted engine (see autogyro), a Gyrocopter is different from a helicopter in that the rotating wing is not powered, the engine provides forward thrust and the airflow throught the rotary blades causes them to "spin up" creating lift.
- Helicopter - there are a number of capable single-seat and two-place helicopters which fall under the microlight categories in countries such as New Zealand. Within the United States there are some ultralight helicopter designs, however these are somewhat basic due to the more restrictive limits on ultralight category aircraft in the USA.
The future
Ultralight/microlight aircraft were once regarded as "flying clotheslines", owing to the fact that early aircraft were typically completely open, wire, tube and rag aircraft - naturally these aircraft were seldom used for anything more than local area flying.
However ultralights, especially outside of the US where the restrictions are less severe, are rapidly transforming into high performance, aircraft capable of very respectable speed, and range. In recent years there has been a dramatic rise in the number of General Aviation pilots flying high performance microlights due to the cost benefits.
These aircraft are now often referred to as recreational aircraft.
A rapidly growing area of the class is scale-replica "Warbirds", such as the offerings from Titan Aircraft and Loehle Aircraft.
Ultralight/Microlight Organisations
- Aero Sports Connection (http://www.aerosports.org/)
- Experimental Aviation Association (http://www.eaa.org/)
- United States' Ultralight Association (http://www.usua.org/)
- Ultralight Pilots Association of Canada (http://www.upac.ca/)
- British Microlight Aircraft Association (http://www.bmaa.org/)
- Recreational Aircraft Association of New Zealand (http://www.raanz.org.nz/)
- Australian Ultralight Federation (http://www.auf.asn.au/)
Ultralight/Microlight Manufacturers
- RANS Aircraft (http://www.rans.com/)
- Titan Aircraft (http://www.titanaircraft.com/)
- Loehle Aircraft (http://www.loehle.com/)
- CGS Aviation (http://www.cgsaviation.com/)
- Kolb Aircraft (http://www.kolbaircraft.com/)
- Kiwi Karatoo (http://www.karatoo.recwings.com/)
- Pegasus and Mainair Aircraft (http://www.pegasusaviation.co.uk/)
- Sport Flight Aviation (http://www.sport-flight.com/)
Ultralight/Microlight Clubs
New Zealand
- Canterbury Recreational Aircraft Club (http://www.recwings.com/)
USA - Oregon
- Ultralight Flyers Organization (UFO), USUA Club #26 (http://www.ultralightflyers.org/)
Other Links
- Ultralights and Terrorism (http://globalguerrillas.typepad.com/globalguerrillas/2004/05/global_guerrill_1.html)