Well hello my lovelies,

The time has come for me to throw money down the toilet, as I realized I have no tangible hobbies. I figure what better to blow good money on than something I might get a summer worth of use out of, then to let it sit and rot in the garage for the next 10 years.

I've been looking at a few of the different types, and what I noticed is the simplicity of the overall assembly. The place you spend your money is on the engines that drive them.

You do not need a pilot's license if your aircraft carries less than 5 gallons of fuel, flies no faster than 55 knots, has a stall speed of no more than 24 knots. There's also some kind of weight restriction, but it's eluding me at the moment.

Check it:
http://www.northwing.com/products_trike_atf.shtml

What do you guys think? Do any of you have any insight, or maybe even know someone who's into this already so that I might be able to get some questions answered?

 

There is 2 guys that do it about every day up here. I staying next to a small airport. I would be cool a few time but id get bored and want something faster and id want to go higher. The guy that I see and really hear use a parachute instead of a fixed wing. I guess they are kind of different. I think I could find something better to spend my money on like THIS!

 

A turbo would destroy my engine in relatively short order. Thanks for reminding me of my truck's flaws and shortcomings...

Anyways, I'm thinking that instead of buying one of these kits for 10-12K, I could probably piece together a pretty damn nice one for about half that. The unfortunate part for me is, since I'm 240lbs, I'm going to need a 60+hp engine just to haul my fat *** into the air without the constant worry of power failure induced immolation. Rotax seems to be either the only manufacturer of light aircraft engines, or simply the most reliable, and their stuff is 4-5K for what I need. (The supreme antithesis of cheap)

The trike part I could make myself out of aluminum, and everything I'd need can be easily sourced from craigslist. Seat, rudder pedals, harnesses....etc.

 

I have no personal knowledge to add to this but I would like to comment that when it comes to something that flies, you wanna be able to trust it with your life. So unless you are REALLY knowledgable about building something like this, I would look into atleast buying the parts pre-built and then just assembling it all myself. I know price is a major factor in everything these days but you don't wanna put your life on the line for a few moments of enjoyment followed by 5-10 seconds of screaming, cardiac arrest, and soiled shorts.

 

You can rebuild that motor and turbo it for less than 10grand!!!! If you did that you would be flying but in a different way.

 

Oh sweet. I want one!! I really like those ultralights, but you really have to be careful. It would be my luck I'd come in too low and cross-phase two power lines.

 

Screaming... soiled shorts... cardiac arrest... Where do I sign?

You have to live life to the fullest dude, even if it means you have to take stupid risks with your life.
Thanks for caring Charger. I thought you'd want to get rid of me.

Anyways, I sure as hell hope you guys don't think I'm retarded enough to take flight in something that looks less than airworthy. I'm definately going to invest some time looking around and talking to as many ultralight owners as possible. It'll be a while before I'm going to gather up my ***** and take to the sky.

 

Are you sure you dont want to go turbo here is a real good deal!!!!

 

Here is a picture of the guy's that fly around here.

 

Paragliders I think they are called. Right?