cdh@BBNCCX.ARPA (09/10/84)
From: Carl D. Howe <cdh@BBNCCX.ARPA> I just read lanl-a!ths's criticism of ultralights as cheap flying. Being a licensed pilot as well as an ultralight owner, I have a few comments, some of which you may find surprising. All of what THS says about ultralights is true (although I haven't seen any C-150s I'd fly in my area for $5000). They aren't real cheap, they don't hold their resale value, they are only single passanger, you have to be REAL careful in wind, the engines are not particularly reliable and have a TBO of about 200 hours (no I didn't leave off a zero). On the other hand, the overhead costs are considerably lower (you don't have to spend between 1K and 2K dollars a year on inspections, for one thing). On the other other hand, YOU must do the inspections yourself (and maintenance) as its your life on the line. So why do it? Because it is an entirely different type of flying. It's the old "wind in the wires and in your face" sort of flying that has left the rest of aviation. Yes, you have to do your own maintenance. You had to do that in the olden days too. Ultralights have set aviation back 50 years; to some people, that is a feature, not a bug. In my opinion, flying any type of aircraft is as safe as you want to make it. Our aircraft (a Vector 637SR, no longer manufactured) is, in my opinion, one of the most rugged ever built. My partner and I are very careful about inspecting the plane every time we fly (a good thing about ultralights is that all the parts are available for inspection, not hidden behind inspection panels), and keeping the airframe in good shape. We took about 8 weekends of training with the dealer before we soloed (remember, I was already licensed). Both of us feel comfortable in the airplane, and figure we are more likely to get killed driving to the airport than actually flying. Ultralight flying is not for the rash, nor for the inexperienced. Taking into account 100% depreciation (would you buy a used ultralight?), it probably costs as much as a C150. But the first time you look between your knees and see 5000 feet of air below you, you realize that it is not the same thing as flying a 150. It's a whole different way of flying; not better, just different. Carl