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I am an old member (1986) that has strayed. Now i am back and cannot find much coverage of ultralights. I know EAA went all out on the LSA scene. Does that mean they are discouraging ultralights?
Or has this old man just not looked in the right places?
Whoops! I just found a sight where I can get the "Light Plane World" online.
Maybe EAA hasn't abandoned ULs!
Bob -
We just posted a new album of mostly-ultralight photos from AirVenture yesterday as well:
http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?s...17868041582421
Always some good stuff here as well:
http://www.facebook.com/EAALightPlaneWorld
Cheers -
Hal
EAA has many members that fly ultralights and other experimental light planes that look and fly like ultralights. Check out the EAA Ultralights web site at http://www.eaa.org/ultralights/
EAA maintains ultralight pilot and vehicle registration programs to support the self-regulation intent of FAR Part 103, http://www.eaa.org/ultralights/registration.asp
EAA's chapter network has dedicated EAA Ultralight chapters. Check out this link and select Ultralight Chapters from the drop down chapter type menu, http://www.eaa.org/chapters/locator/
What happened to our handsome hats and tee shirts!!
The UL industry is dying however. It's been getting leaner and leaner around the UL area at Oshkosh the past few years.
It's going to continue to wither on the vine as more and more useful aircraft become available to pilots who would have previously been pushed towards the UL end of things by medical concerns.Quote:
The UL industry is dying however
EAA has pretty much abandoned ultralights... which is a pity, because it's one of the few areas where experimentation is still happening. But the ultralight scene has shifted. It's true that few new ultralights are being made any more. This is unsurprising given the size of the used market; why buy a new $15,000 (or more!) ultralight when you can buy almost the same plane used for 1/4 the price (of course the same logic applies to other light planes). But in other areas... powered paragliders (which are ultralights) are booming, and the powered parachute and trike scene (mostly LSA now, but "ultralight like") are healthy as well.
I wouldn't go that far. There are plenty of us "experimenting" on "regular" aircraft. It's just that we tend to be doing it more as a solution to not finding a kit or plans that suits our particular needs. I fall into this group having figuratively outgrown ULs. There's no commercially available non-turbine aircraft and no kit or plans that meets the payload, comfort, range and cruise speed parameters that I am looking for. So I am designing something to meet those desires.Quote:
which is a pity, because it's one of the few areas where experimentation is still happening.
Also, your average UL builder is a little more free to utilize the forgiving nature of low-speed flight to accomplish oddball configurations and such that would prove problematic from a structural standpoint in heavier designs.
I learned to fly in a Quicksilver with a BFI who trained with a USUA syllabus. At that time there were training manuals from both the EAA and the USUA. The training was both thorough and comprehensive to the point I felt confident in progressing in my training. Private land/sea. I've flown many aircraft types and now own a Starduster Too. I also continue to own and fly a Quicksilver MXL II (N92QK) w/wo floats. So my seemingly trivial remark as to the dwindling EAA store UL inventory was to illustrate the non commitment the EAA is making toward the UL movement. Training is the issue and the more the better. The introduction to Flying will begin on many levels but the UL movement provided mine and many, many others.
And the FAA is trying to reinvent GA through old school methods (encouraging F-16 pilots to become ASEL flight instructors) that do not work after killing off the biggest advance in GA in the last 50 years.Quote:
Originally Posted by Ray Shipway