Are ultralights safe? How safe are ultralight aircraft? Evaluating or judging an ultralight aircraft's condition.

Evaluating an ultralight and it's manufacturer.

Many pilots/aviation enthusiasts are looking at ultralight aircraft, as either an entry level craft, or as just a more affordable alternative to general aviation due to the steadily increasing cost.

If you use this article correctly, it will prevent a great deal of headaches down the road and should save you money when purchasing your craft. The least it will do is prevent you from becoming a "test pilot". The following is a simple ten point program that can be used for either new or used aircraft. In my mind a passing score is 70% or over, to completely fail would be 50% or under.

Now one of the things that you must realize about the ultralight industry is that it is are very fragile, and is effected greatly by the financial climate of the time, news reports, and government regulations.

The recent Mad Cow epidemic nearly put me out of business when I refunded three purchasers their money when they could no longer afford the planes. The long await Sport Pilot put a hold on many U.S. purchasers because they didn't know what was going to happen with the new rule.

In order to build aircraft you also need a skilled staff, of experience people for building, stocking, shipping, customer service and sales. Unfortunately when business takes a nose dive, income does not always meet expenses. The result is companies go out of business.

Another problem is that ultralight manufacturers, especially new ones are not Boeing or Pratt and Whitney. They are not getting their financing from the government or a bank, it is usually someone who wants to become a millionaire, and had two million in the bank before he became an ultralight manufacturer.

When you say R&D in ultralight aviation it does not always mean research and development, in some cases it stands for ripoff and duplicate. When you buy an ultralight and it breaks in two, you own both pieces, their are no lemon laws. In most cases you have were the final manufacturer, assembler or builder of the craft.

Nor can you rely entirely on advertisements or stories put out by many publications. Magazines survive through manufacturers, dealers, distributors advertising in with them. It is in the best interest to bring out the "positive" side of our sport. Thus a manufacturer that has a great flying product will get a glowing review in a flight report, but little mention that the company is not delivering planes on schedule.

Even manufacturers that have been around for many years have had problems. Usually bought on by high expectations, changing market conditions, and poor management.

The good thing about today versus when we started is that we now have a solid base of quality aircraft kits, with hundreds flying, and thousands of hours on them. Thus we no longer have to be the "testing ground." That is as long as you are not getting into something that is new and just entering the market, or are building something from plans with few of the craft completed and flying.

Many pilots/aviation enthusiasts are looking at ultralight aircraft, as either an entry level craft, or as just a more affordable alternative to general aviation due to the steadily increasing cost.

One of the major problems facing this group is in selecting just what craft they should buy. Questions include whether it should be new or used, on floats or an amphibian, the kind of engine and horsepower, should the craft be enclosed, partially enclosed, or fully enclosed. Also, consideration must be given to speed and range. Once you have decided what kind of a craft will fit the bill, the most important consideration is convincing the wife on how much money you can spend!

If you use this article correctly, it will prevent a great deal of headaches down the road and should save you money when purchasing your craft. The least it will do is prevent you from becoming a "test pilot". The following is a simple ten point program that can be used for either new or used aircraft. In my mind a passing score is 70% or over, to completely fail would be 50% or under.

Another thing I would watch for is a lot of the same type of craft up for sale, especially if they are selling for considerably less than what they originally cost!

2 points off for every year less than 5 that the manufacturer has been in business.

2. The number of planes that have been sold, and the number of planes that are actually out there flying: 

It is fine to sell 1,000 aircraft kits, but if it takes 500/1,000 hours to build a kit then it will be some time before those kits are actually flying and problems associated with their use are reported back to the factory, for correction.

Most of the factories that I have had dealings with over the years are selling at least 10 kits a month. This means that if they have been in business for 5 years they have produced a minimum of 5 x 12 x 10 = 600 aircraft. 600 aircraft flying generally means that even if the manufacturer goes out of business it is would be economically feasible for other manufacturers to produce parts and pieces (sails/tubing/brackets) for this aircraft.

Make sure you visit the factory, talk to builders, owners, and pilots that have flown the plane, and FLY in it yourself!

10 points for 100 kits sold.

If the manufacturer has not sold 100 kits delete 2 points for every 10 below 100.
Many quick build kits such as the Quicksilver MX are ideal aircraft for this kind of chart. The kit takes about 50 hours to build, sometimes in a little as a week the owners had their craft flying. Because of this they would be flying very quickly resulting in problems being reported to the factory. With the marketing used by Eipper it was reported that in a 4 year span some 10-12,000 kits were delivered world wide.

3. 10 points for 100 aircraft flying. Delete 2 points for every 10 below 100.

• 3 axis standard control gets you 10 points
• weight shift in a trike gets you 10 points
• 2 axis control gets you 5 points*

• weight shift control other than trike gets 2 points

• Standard three axis control systems get 10 points as do trikes because they allow flight in more varied conditions, during more hours of the day. They also give the pilot cross country capability because he knows that he can land in a cross wind at another field.

• Two axis control only receives 5 points due to the crafts limitation in cross wind, and windy conditions. Most two axis control aircraft will be flown in early morning or late evening conditions, and usually just around the take off and landing site.

• *I give this type of craft 10 points if the owner is buying the craft to fly in these conditions. I know of many pilots who own two axis control aircraft on floats, who fly only morning/evenings or on weekends from the lake where their cottages are located.

I also give the Metro Geo car conversion a 10, as it has proven to be a good reliable alternative over the years.

If you are looking at a used craft powered by a Rotax engine, it should be one with low hours, or recently completely rebuilt, with dual ignition. Rotax engines have a reliable aircraft life of 300 hours. Points ignition engines are over 20 years old now and while just as reliable have a shorter reliable engine life, and require more maintenance.

Engines that are used inverted generally have a tendency to flood spark plugs, and be harder to start.

While some of the climb rates and speeds may be different between he single and two place, the basic flying of the two craft is very similar. Having flown/and taught students to fly in the Challenger, Kolb, Buccaneer, Rans Coyote, Airraile, Quicksilver MX and MXL, Carrera in both the single and two place versions I can vouch for the fact that these craft fly very similar.

If the company does not produce a two place trainer, but your local dealer, or instructor has flown the craft and indicates that its flight characteristics are similar to the craft you are training in give it a 10.

If no information on the flight characteristics are readily available, from a knowledgeable source, then I would first grade the aircraft minus this category (90 points instead of 100), and then if it passes the other categories give it the per centage that it passed by e.g. 60 % = 6 points, and then recalculate.

However if it is three axis control and capable of 50 to 55 mph in cruise it means that more use can be made of the craft flying to flyins and other pilots fields. It also is less bothersome to neighbors, since you are not buzzing away in their ears for extended periods of time.

If you are looking doing some cross country flying then find out whether
*is comfortable to sit.
*are the controls comfortable to reach, rudders, joy stick, throttle.
*does it have in cabin trim
*are the seats adjustable so you can reach comfortably reach the control systems. *does it have brakes? Do they work and how easy are they to reach?
*does it have electric start? If not can it be started easily from where you are seated. *does it have adequate instruments, dual egt, dual cht, tachometer, water temperature, hobbs meter for engine, airspeed and altimeter for flying.

You need to take points off for each of the above that the craft doesn't meet.

I have never heard a mother say that her child is ugly! You are not very likely to hear a factory or a dealer tell you about the problems with their aircraft. The more people you can talk to the more feedback, both positive and negative you will receive. Better to make you own judgment.

With the advent of the internet it is a lot easier to find and contact owners of the brand of craft you are looking at buying. My suggestion would be to talk to at least 5 owners who DO NOT have their planes up for sale.

2 points for each owner you can contact.

If there seem to be several accidents with no apparent cause, or of a similar nature I would be a little nervous. DO NOT, I repeat DO NOT get this information by word of mouth from a dealer. Get the facts from pilots, publications or government agencies.

There are also a number of reports on site at http://www.ultralightnews.com

This is part one in an updated  two part series. The second update will be dealing with used ultralights and things that you should look at on the aircraft, prior to buying. Basically it is a used aircraft buyers guide and will deal with many of the major brands of used aircraft, including those that are no longer in production.

It will also list problem areas, parts suppliers, and give an approximate value of an aircraft in Good condition/Fair condition/and the area in between.

Using part one and two together should ensure that you get the safest most cost efficient craft for your buck.