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Thread: Need advice on ultralight build

  1. #1

    Need advice on ultralight build

    Hey everyone, my name is Andrew.
    I am a complete newbie to flying, unless paper airplanes count lol
    I have a friend who has some flying experience, but no ultralight experience, but we both want to go together to build an ultralight.
    The thing is I want to stay under $1500-$2000 if at all possible.
    Is it even possible to still build one for that price?
    Any ideas?
    I have don a lot of research on different old non-copyrighted plans, and have an idea what I want, but wanted to get some advice from people who have been there done that.

    Thanks in advance!!!


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  2. #2

    Join Date
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    The best “”””fun”””” for the amount of money, of that you listed , the best idea.....would be for you and or your Friend, is to join a local glider / soaring cub. ..............................................good luck /good day rick

  3. #3
    Ok


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  4. #4
    Looking mor for the neatness of being able to build and fly my own work


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  5. #5

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    Quote Originally Posted by TheBigSoulwinner View Post
    The thing is I want to stay under $1500-$2000 if at all possible.
    Is it even possible to still build one for that price?
    I don't think that is possible unless you find a free engine and prop and get a heck of a bargain on the rest.

  6. #6

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    About the least cost that comes to mind is something like the Affordaplane. For that you'd need to budget $4000-$7000.

    Not many 'very low cost' options in powered flight I'm thinking.
    Last edited by CHICAGORANDY; 03-06-2020 at 06:49 PM.
    "Don't believe everything you see or read on the internet" - Abraham Lincoln

  7. #7
    Sam Buchanan's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by CHICAGORANDY View Post
    About the least cost that comes to mind is something like the Affordaplane. For that you'd need to budget $4000-$7000.
    He said he wanted to build an ultralight.......

    To answer the original question---I do not believe it is possible to build a viable powered ultralight for $1500-2000. Just the cost of raw material for the airframe is more than that...then there is the engine/prop/etc.....

    The MiniMax I built 25 years ago from plans was over $5000 in 1995 dollars and that was with a used engine. The Legal Eagle I built nine years ago (built from plans, no kit) was $10,000 with half of that being a new engine.

    Here is a very basic ultralight kit that can be flown with a single-cylinder two-stroke:

    https://www.airdromeaeroplanes.com/thedreamclassic.html

    The airframe kit is $3500. Add an engine and you will be $7500+. And to answer the next question....no, you won't save much money by sourcing the materials yourself. The Dream Classic is only available as a kit.

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    Last edited by Sam Buchanan; 03-06-2020 at 07:04 PM.
    Sam Buchanan
    The RV Journal RV-6 build log
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  8. #8

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    Hi Sam, I must have screwed up my Googling? When I punched in Affordaplane, it came back as a part 103 Ultralight kit in that price range?

    Do you have some U/L kits in mind for less than that?
    Last edited by CHICAGORANDY; 03-06-2020 at 06:55 PM.
    "Don't believe everything you see or read on the internet" - Abraham Lincoln

  9. #9
    Sam Buchanan's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by CHICAGORANDY View Post
    Hi Sam, I must have screwed up my Googling? When I punched in Affordaplane, it came back as a part 103 Ultralight kit in that price range?

    Do you have some U/L kits in mind for less than that?
    Google doesn't know much about the fine points of Part 103.

    The AffordaPlane ends up being much too heavy to qualify for 103. See my post above yours for a legal option.
    Sam Buchanan
    The RV Journal RV-6 build log
    Fokker D.VII semi-replica build log

  10. #10
    What kind of power to weight ratio is acceptable on an ultralight engine?


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