Ultralight aviation

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding reliable references. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (April 2008)

During the late 1970s and early 1980s, many people sought to be able to fly affordably. As a result, many aviation authorities set up definitions of lightweight, slow-flying aeroplanes that could be subject to minimum regulation. The resulting aeroplanes are commonly called ultralight or microlight, although the weight and speed limits are rarely the same between any two countries.

There is also an allowance of another 10% on Maximum Take Off Weight for seaplanes and amphibians, and some countries (such as Germany and France) also allow another 5% for installation of a ballistic parachute.

The safety regulations used to approve microlights vary between countries, the strictest being the United Kingdom, Italy, Sweden and Germany, while they are almost non-existent in France and the United States. The disparity between regulations is a major barrier to international trade and overflight, as is the fact that these regulations are invariably sub-ICAO, which means that they are not internationally recognised.

In most affluent countries, microlights or ultralights now account for about 20% of the civil aircraft fleet.

In countries where there is no specific regulation, ultralights are considered regular aircraft and subject to certification requirements for both aircraft and pilot.

Ultralight aircraft are generally called microlight aircraft in the UK and New Zealand, and ULMs in France and Italy. Some countries differentiate between weight shift and 3-axis aircraft, calling the former microlight and the latter ultralight.

The U.S. light-sport aircraft is similar to the UK and NZ Microlight in definition and licensing requirement, the U.S. 'Ultralight' being in a class of its own.

Contents 1 Definitions 1.1 United States 1.2 Canada 1.3 Europe 1.4 Australia 1.5 New Zealand 1.5.1 NZ Class 1 1.5.2 NZ Class 2 2 Types of aircraft 2.1 Electric powered ultralights 3 Safety 4 The future 5 Ultralight Manufacturers 6 Ultralight/microlight organizations 7 References 8 External links

[edit] Definitions

[edit] United States

Main article: Ultralight aircraft (United States)

The USA FAA's definition of an ultralight is significantly different from that in most other countries and can lead to some confusion when discussing the topic. The governing regulation in the United States is FAR 103, which specifies a powered "ultralight" as a single seat vehicle 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 or 64 mph), and a maximum stall speed not exceeding 24 knots (45 km/h or 27.6 mph). Restrictions include flying only during daylight hours and over unpopulated areas. Unpowered "ultralights" (hang-gliders, paragliders, etc.) are limited to a weight of 155 lb (70 kg) with extra weight allowed for amphibious landing gear and ballistic parachute systems.

In 2004 the FAA introduced the "Light-sport aircraft" category, which closely resembles other countries' ultralight categories.

In the United States no license or training is required by law for ultralights, but training is highly advisable. For light-sport aircraft a sport pilot certificate is required, which is similar in requirements to other countries' ultralight license.

Ultralight aviation is represented by the United States Ultralight Association (USUA), which represents the US portion of the sport to the world through its affiliation with the FAI.

[edit] Canada

Main article: Ultralight aircraft (Canada)

[edit] Europe

The definition of a microlight according to the Joint Aviation Authorities document JAR-1 is an aeroplane having no more than two seats, maximum stall speed (V_S0) of 35 knots (65 km/h) CAS, and a maximum take-off mass of no more than:

• 300 kg for a landplane, single seater; or
• 450 kg for a landplane, two-seater; or
• 330 kg for an amphibian or floatplane, single seater; or
• 495 kg for an amphibian or floatplane, two-seater, provided that a microlight capable of operating as both a floatplane and a landplane falls below both MTOM limits, as appropriate.

Foot-launched aircraft are excluded from this definition.

[edit] Australia

Main article: Recreational Aviation Australia

In Australia a "Sport/Recreational aircraft" must have:

• a maximum all-up weight (MAUW) of 544 kg or 1,200 lb or less;
• a stalling speed under 45 knots in landing configuration and
• a maximum of two seats.

In Australia, microlight aircraft are defined as one or two seat weight-shift aircraft, with a maximum takeoff weight of 450 kg, as set out by the Civil Aviation Safety Authority. In Australia microlights are also referred to as trikes and are distinguished from three-axis aircraft, of which the smallest are known as ultralights.

In Australia, microlight aircraft and their pilots can either be registered with the Hang Gliding Federation of Australia (HGFA)^[1] or Recreational Aviation Australia (RA Aus)^[2]. In all cases, except for privately built single-place ultralight aeroplanes^[3], microlight aircraft or trikes are regulated by the Civil Aviation Regulations.

[edit] New Zealand

In New Zealand microlight aircraft are separated into two classes, basically single and two seat aircraft. All microlights are required to have a prescribed endurance testing period when they are first flown, and all microlights must have a minimum set of instrumentation to show airspeed (except powered parachutes), altitude and magnetic heading.

[edit] NZ Class 1

Single seat aircraft with a design gross weight of 544 kg (1,200 lb) (landplanes) or 579 kg (1,275 lb) (seaplanes or amphibians), or less, and a stall speed in the landing configuration of 45 knots or less. Requires aircraft registration, and annual condition inspections, but does not require a permit to fly.

[edit] NZ Class 2

Two seat aircraft with a design gross weight of 544 kg (landplanes) or 614 kg (seaplanes or amphibians), or less, and a stall speed of 45 knots or less in the landing configuration. Must meet minimum type acceptance standards which may be foreign standards which have been deemed acceptable, or via a temporary permit to fly and flight testing regime. Requires aircraft registration, annual condition inspections, and a current permit to fly.

[edit] Types of aircraft

While ultralight-type planes date back to the early 1900s (such as the Santos-Dumont Demoiselle), there have been three generations of modern, fixed-wing ultralight aircraft designs, which are generally classed by the type of structure.

The first generation of modern ultralights were actually hang gliders with small engines added to them, for self-launching. The wings on these were braced by wires, and steered by shifting the pilot's weight under the wing.

The second generation ultralights began to arrive in the mid-1970s. These were designed as powered aircraft, but still used wire bracing and usually single-surface wings. Most of these have "2-Axis" control systems, operated by stick or yoke, which control the elevators (pitch) and the rudder (yaw) -- there are no ailerons, so may be no direct control of banking (roll). A few 2-Axis designs use spoilers on the top of the wings, and pedals for rudder control. Examples of 2-Axis ultralights are the "Pterodactyl" and the "Quicksilver MX".

The third generation ultralights, arriving in the early 1980s, have strut-braced wings and airframe structure. Nearly all use 3-Axis control systems, as used on standard airplanes, and these are the most popular. Third generation designs include the "T-Bird," "Kolb" and "Challenger" families.

There are several types of aircraft which qualify as ultralights, but which do not have fixed-wing designs. These include:

• Weight shift - while the first generation ultralights were also controlled by weight shift, most of the current weight shift ultralights use a hang glider-style wing, below which is suspended a three wheeled pod which carries the engine and aviators. These aircraft are controlled 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, but are slower than other types of fixed-wing ultralights.

• Powered parachutes - cart mounted engines or motor scooters with parafoil wing, similar to parachutes used in skydiving.

• Powered paragliding - backpack engines with parafoil wing, which are foot-launched.

• Gyroplane - 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 through the rotary blades causes them to autorotate or "spin up" to create lift. Most of these use a design based on the Bensen Gyrocopter.

• Helicopter - there are a number of single-seat and two-place helicopters which fall under the microlight categories in countries such as New Zealand. However, few helicopter designs fall within the more restrictive ultralight category defined in the United States of America.

• Hot air balloon - there are numerous ultralight hot air balloons in the US, and several more have been built and flown in France and Australia in recent years. Some ultralight hot air balloons are hopper balloons, while others are regular hot air balloons that carry passengers in a basket.

[edit] Electric powered ultralights

Research has been conducted in recent years to replace gasoline engines in ultralights with electric motors powered by batteries to produce electric aircraft. This has now resulted in practical production electric power systems for some ultralight applications. These developments have been motivated by cost as well as environmental concerns. In many ways ultralights are a good application for electric power as some models are capable of flying with low horsepower, which allows longer duration flights on battery power.^[4]

In 2007 ElectraFlyer began offering engine kits to convert ultralight weight shift trikes to electric power. The 18 hp engine weighs 26 lbs and an efficiency of 90% is claimed by designer Randall Fishman. The battery consists of a lithium-polymer battery pack of 5.6kwh which provides 1.5 hours of flying in the trike application. The power system for a trike costs USD $8285. to $11285. The company claims a flight recharge cost of 60 cents. ^[4][5]

[edit] Safety

Historically, ultralights have had a poor safety reputation. Most of the early designs were fragile or unstable, and this resulted in a number of accidents. However, the reputation came largely from rumor and distrust of the new type of aircraft.^{[citation needed]}

As designs matured, pilot error was shown to be the cause of the vast majority of incidents involving ultralights. As a result, most countries now require an Ultralight Pilot's license/certificate, often regulated by one or more officially-delegated pilots' organizations. The United States does not require any training for ultralight pilots; however, experienced ultralighters are nearly unanimous in recommending that no one solo before receiving dual training. Instruction may be given in two-place light-sport versions of the ultralight. An instructor must be certified by the FAA to give dual instruction in a light-sport aircraft.

The build quality and airworthiness of ultralight aircraft (and homebuilt light-sport aircraft in the USA) can now equal that of Certified light aircraft. Some types satisfy both sets of requirements and are available for registration to either Ultralight or Certified status. When registered as an ultralight (or Experimental), the pilot is permitted to do more of the simple maintenance tasks, resulting in a lower cost of operation, although this comes at the cost of restrictions such as avoiding densely populated urban areas, bad weather, or night. Many older pilots are willing to trade these operational restrictions for a lower drain on their retirement incomes, and as a result many ultralights are now flown by experienced General Aviation (GA) pilots or ex-commercial pilots. One other reason for this increase in acceptance is that any pilot is "only one medical away from being an ultralight pilot" -- a reference to the requirement that most other pilots must pass periodic physical examinations, but not to fly ultralights.

[edit] The future

Ultralight/microlight aircraft were once regarded as "flying clotheslines", since early aircraft were typically completely open, wire, tube and rag aircraft – these aircraft were seldom used for anything more than local area flying.

However, ultralights 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 ultralights 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.

[edit] Ultralight Manufacturers

• Aerospool
• Ace Aviation
• Comco Ikarus
• Corvus Aircraft
• CGS Aviation
• Electric Aircraft Corporation
• Evektor-Aerotechnik
• Fantasy Air
• FK Lightplanes
• Flight Design
• Fly Synthesis
• Hart Aero
• Jabiru
• Loehle Aircraft
• Quicksilver Aircraft
• Rans Aircraft
• Remos Aircraft
• Storm Aircraft
• Titan Aircraft
• Tecnam
• Urban Air

[edit] Ultralight/microlight organizations

• Aero Sports Connection
• American Aerotrekking Society
• Australian Ultralight Federation
• British Microlight Aircraft Association
• Danish Ultralight Flying Association
• Experimental Aircraft Association
• Recreational Aircraft Association of Canada
• Recreational Aircraft Association of New Zealand
• Ultralight Pilots Association of Canada
• United States Ultralight Association
• Vintage Ultralight Association
• US Powered Paragliding Association
• Island Microlight Club - Malta

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Ultralight Regulations in Various Countries
• Type Acceptance information for New Zealand Microlights