A question(s) for the MODS?

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loco, question...

you don't need a pilots licensce to fly ultra lights correct? i know there is a weight limit that you can fly with no licensce if you;re under that weight...


so whats it like to fly a plane, how high have you gone?
they just amaze me, i would eventually like to build an ultralight, or an ultralight helicopter, real home grown type thing, but i'm not sure i trust my skills enough to go up in the air in something i built, just yet....
lol
 
OK... For ultralights, you don't need a pilot's license, but there are quite a few restrictions...

1) Cannot exceed 63 MPH in level flight.
2) Cannot carry more than one person.
3) Cannot carry more than 5 usable gallons of fuel.
4) Cannot be flown over population areas or controlled airports unless you have a radio and transponder.
5) Cannot fly higher than 5800' AGL or something like that.
6) Cannot come within a mile or so of a cloud, or fly above clouds.
7) Must not stall faster than 27 MPH.
8) Must not weigh more than 254 lbs. wet.
9) Must not weigh more than 500 lbs. gross.
10) Must only be operated during daylight hours.

That having been said... since the FAA doesn't inspect every ultralight built, you can fudge things a bit... maybe put a 50 HP engine in for a higher ROC and faster level speed... add more gas capacity for longer flights, add a radio and transponder, ect...

As for what it's like... well, that's like trying to describe sex to a virgin. Some hate it, some love it. There's no real in between. Go to your local airport and say you'd like an introductory flight lesson- it'll cost about $50 and last an hour, and if you love it, you'll be hooked.

If you want to build an ultralight, build a few RC airplanes first. As for the helicopter... I'm not a fan of those... just a bunch of moving parts flying close formation that are statically and dynamically unstable. Bleh.
 
lol, never met anyone that hated sex... unless they liked it IDB instead
bahahhaha
:lol:

thanks for the info, would you advise someone who has never flown before to get some training before attempting to build and fly an ultra light?

i have 2 ew4 si drive trains, perhaps you'd be interested in building 2 ultra lights, i'll give you an engine for yours and an engine for mine :)
well, actually, if you just give me advice on building such a beat i would hook you up with an engine...

would you still be able to meet the weight requirment with an ew4 motor? or were you talking about something bigger that you need a licensce for?
 
Originally posted by reckedracing@Mar 31 2004, 02:22 PM
lol, never met anyone that hated sex... unless they liked it IDB instead
bahahhaha
:lol:

thanks for the info, would you advise someone who has never flown before to get some training before attempting to build and fly an ultra light?

i have 2 ew4 si drive trains, perhaps you'd be interested in building 2 ultra lights, i'll give you an engine for yours and an engine for mine :)
well, actually, if you just give me advice on building such a beat i would hook you up with an engine...

would you still be able to meet the weight requirment with an ew4 motor? or were you talking about something bigger that you need a licensce for?
Click to expand...

I'd HIGHLY recommend you get flight training before you try to fly an ultralight. When your life is at stake, don't cut corners and don't assume you know anything. As for building, if you can build a square cabinet, you can build an ultralight.

The EW4 would most likely be way too heavy. You can get a 40 HP Rotax 477 that weighs under 100 lbs. with a reduction drive, and is air cooled, so you don't have to dick with a radiator.

Keeping it light weight is very important. Heavy cars suck, and heavy planes suck even worse. Reliability is a huge factor too. I'm not sure I'd trust my life to a 20 year old engine, unless it was COMPLETELY rebuilt with new EVERYTHING.

Airplanes need a completely different mindset than cars. There are no short cuts. There is no "good enough 'till I can get the right part." There is no, "I don't need to fuel up because I'm only going a short distance." There is no room for error. If you're incapable of perfection in EVERYTHING you do to and with the airplane, you do not belong in the air.
 
so if a motor takes a shit in an ultralight can you coast(terminology?) or glide i guess to a safe landing? or does the weight of the motor in the front make you nose dive to doom?

EDIT: sorry to hybrid for raping your thread :D
 
You can glide with any plane, but the design of the plane will determine how well it'll glide. Technically, a grand piano falling out of a window is gliding, just not that well.

As for a safe landing... what if you're in the mountains? What if you're over a forrest? What if you're over a large body of water? Or an urban area? None of those situations dictate a high probability of landing safely.

If a heavy engine is installed on the front of an airplane, you need to add weight to the tail. Heavier engine + dead weight in the tail to balance it out = bad thing. If you're planning on a heavy engine while you're building it, you can calculate the CG and move the wing and/ or shorten the nose accordingly. Yes, a nose heavy airplane will have a tendency to dive, but it'd take a grossly nose heavy airplane to enter an unrecoverable dive, and most likely, that plane wouldn't even get off the ground.
 
i just want to know how we went from the weight of a B18A to cessna's? Anyhow, I will post this info by this weekend for ant of you looking forward to it.

matt
 
I asked about the CG of an engine for aviation purposes, and it snowballed from there...
 
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