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Thread: Sorta-Newbie Has UL Questions

  1. #11

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    Quote Originally Posted by wakataka View Post
    That's right, it's the Sprint that has the single surface and the low stall speed, not the Sport like I said in my previous post. A Sprint with a 447 can get in and out of some pretty tight places.

    I fly out of Corning and unfortunately Rainbow Aviation no longer has their 2-place Quicksilver available for training. After the FAA killed the 2-place ultralight training exemption, the trainer had to be classified as an ELSA and could only be used for training under a special approval called a Letter of Deviation. Brain Carpenter said it was taking months to get the Letter of Deviation approved every year. It's very difficult now to find anyone providing training in anything that flies like an ultralight. FAA needs to come up some more reasonable way to allow ultralight type ELSA airplanes to be used for training. The current system requires the LODA be renewed each year and I understand it can take up to 6 months to process a renewal. So how can anyone make a living (or even break even) doing training with their aircraft grounded up to half the year? It's unworkable and it's driving people back to the bad old days of ground based instruction and people basically teaching themselves to fly in the air.

    If the asphalt you are referring to is a county road, you may be heading for trouble there. You can't operate airplanes or ultralights legally on public roads.

    Martin B.
    I talked with a man about a month ago and went and looked at his airplane, legal Eagle. As we stand there looking at his bent up airplane he explains.....

    Quote " I flew weight shift back in the 80's then had to stop for family and work got in the way. Now all this is over or grown and out of the house. So I went and got me this thing. I tried to find some instructions but no one does this anymore. So I thought I would taxi her up and down the runway and teach myself. Then she went air born before I was ready. she got sideways and this is what happened. I had to go get my car and drag her back to the hangar."

    It gets worse...

    Quote " I have never done any work on tube anything but went and purchased me this nice new Oxygen welding kit and am going to repair this airplane. I thought I would work on some scrap pieces and learn how to use this then repair my airplane"

    I tried with all my power to make this man understand that he could not do this. It did not work. I talked with him a couple days ago and he told me he was selling the airplane. I hope the person whom purchases this airplane looks really close at this airplane.

    People need help and the FAA taking training away from this group is causing a lot of problems. I have more stories like this, and this is sad for I have only been part of this thing we call aviation for a very short time, under 4 years. I should have no stories like this, maybe someone flying decades but not me. Not good at all.

    Tony

  2. #12

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    Quote Originally Posted by 1600vw View Post
    I talked with him a couple days ago and he told me he was selling the airplane. I hope the person whom purchases this airplane looks really close at this airplane.
    If you put me in touch with this guy I'd be happy to buy and repair his ultralight.

  3. #13

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    Quote Originally Posted by cdrmuetzel@juno.com View Post
    Sounds like fun!
    I agree. Don't give up Olympus, I'm sure a workable plan is not that difficult to achieve.

  4. #14

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    Quote Originally Posted by martymayes View Post
    If you put me in touch with this guy I'd be happy to buy and repair his ultralight.

    He sold it. I just wonder if he told the new owner he had a prop strike so hard it busted both blades off the prop at the hub. He started the engine for me and said..." It did not hurt the engine" Of course it had a new prop on it. But I saw the old busted prop. It took a yeck of a hit.

    Did the engine run, yes and it ran smooth, so maybe it did not hurt the engine.

    Tony

  5. #15

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    Quote Originally Posted by 1600vw View Post
    He sold it. I just wonder if he told the new owner he had a prop strike so hard it busted both blades off the prop at the hub. He started the engine for me and said..." It did not hurt the engine" Of course it had a new prop on it. But I saw the old busted prop. It took a yeck of a hit.

    Did the engine run, yes and it ran smooth, so maybe it did not hurt the engine.
    I agree with the owner.

  6. #16
    Sam Buchanan's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by 1600vw View Post
    He sold it. I just wonder if he told the new owner he had a prop strike so hard it busted both blades off the prop at the hub. He started the engine for me and said..." It did not hurt the engine" Of course it had a new prop on it. But I saw the old busted prop. It took a yeck of a hit.

    Did the engine run, yes and it ran smooth, so maybe it did not hurt the engine.

    Tony
    No way I would fly that engine.

    I have a Legal Eagle, but a prop strike would result in a total teardown and probably a new crank. Those cranks can crack at the prop hub keyway after a prop strike.
    Last edited by Sam Buchanan; 12-01-2013 at 07:26 PM.
    Sam Buchanan
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  7. #17

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    I have been flying my Starflight for about 2 years now out of a former USAAC airbase in Nebraska. Nothing like a mile of runway to give you many options when learning. That said it would fly off your grass but the pucker factor would be really high on the landings until you were 100 percent comfortable with the vehicle. Learn to fly somewhere with more runway. Look up Starflight Ultralight on youtube and watch a few of the landing and take off videos. On a smooth surface I am off the ground in about 8 or 9 seconds (and I am 250 pounds). On grass it is about the same but landing rolls are a bit shorter.

  8. #18

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    Quote Originally Posted by Sam Buchanan View Post
    No way I would fly that engine.

    I have a Legal Eagle, but a prop strike would result in a total teardown and probably a new crank. Those cranks can crack at the prop hub keyway after a prop strike.
    This eagle had a 0-45 on her. This was a double eagle converted to a single seat.

  9. #19

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    Another thing you might want to look at is the "Backyard Flyer". They're a little higher in cost than you are wanting to pay, but if you could find a used one, it might work for you. I'm thinking of getting one if i can work out a good deal on one. Watch their videos on youtube, very impressive. Take off and land at 25 mph.

  10. #20

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    Olympus--- To fly without the expense of a license, it must be true UL (under weight, speed, fuel cap, etc), and there very few of those these days that aren't from the 80's. With your budget, an LSA is not in the picture. Old Cubs, Champs, etc. qualify as LSA and can be very cheap to buy but require a Private License to fly, must have A&P do the maintenance & annual, certified parts....
    An ultralight flown off the 1000' pavement is the way to go, if the road is legally available. But you need to get some lessons of course, and as has been mentioned, getting quite difficult. EAA has a list of UL instructors.
    As for longevity, yes UL's can get pretty boring after awhile (Hey Guys, I said CAN get) but you sound like your interest is high. So start flying, sell it if you get bored.
    Someone mentioned the small Kolb (Firefly). A nice UL. And the single-seat Quicksilvers. Also look at the Aerolight 103. Just saw one on Barnstormers (great classified shopping!) in the $6K range.
    Last edited by flyrgreen; 12-13-2013 at 03:54 PM.

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