Sport Flying: Just For The Fun Of It

Sport Flying: Just For The Fun Of It

by Diane S. Robl

Publication Date: February 1997

When I tell my friends that I can fly for about the same cost as a meal for two at a nice restaurant, they look at me as if I've grown two heads. It is true. Sport flying or ultralight flying is available to anyone who loves to just play in the air.

With gray hair rapidly collecting on the crown of my head, I set out to recapture my youth this past summer by learning to fly an ultralight. Though I had explored getting a private pilot's license, the cost and time involved consistently steered me away. Ultralight flying, as compared to FAA certified flying is "ultra cheap." (Note: despite my choice to fly ultralights, I envy certified pilots, particularly those who fly ultralights too!) For about a thousand bucks; that is, 10 hours of dual instruction at $50 an hour and 10 hours of solo time at $35 an hour for a total of $950; you can be certified by the United States Ultralight Association to fly ultralights! My actual cost was slightly higher since I added several books on ultralight flying. However, I was able to use an old, general aviation log book from my first attempt at learning to fly twenty years ago.

As an experienced student pilot and only two hours away from certification, I'd like to share with you some pointers to prepare you to become an ultralight pilot.

1. Join the US Ultralight Association. USUA is a membership organization that voluntarily imposes safety criteria on its membership to ensure safe sport flying. You will receive a monthly magazine that can bring you up to speed on the types of ultralights being flown, words of wisdom from those with years of experience, and most importantly, a listing of all members, clubs and Basic Flight Instructors (BFI) in your area. You will likely, as I was, be quite surprised at the number of people involved in this sport.

2. Take an introductory lesson in a two-place ultralight trainer with a BFI. In April, I had weekend plans in Lexington, Kentucky and called the nearest BFI, Alan Laymon, who operates out of the old airport near Springfield, Kentucky, to set up an introductory lesson. By mid-afternoon I was in the air looking over some of the prettiest farming country in Kentucky and learning to judge altitude by the size of the hay bales. I found Alan to be very deliberate and patient in his instruction and willing to let me go at my own pace. It was no hard sell to get me interested in further instruction - the grin on my face was a dead giveaway.

3. If it feels good, DO IT! Alan sold me a book that provides basic flight instruction in ultralight flying with great graphics and encouraged me to study the first few lessons. Though it was some time before I could arrange another lesson, when I was ready I called a day or two ahead of time and Alan worked me in. Some weeks I could arrange a couple of lessons and other weeks were out of the question because of work commitments. I found the more frequently I took lessons, as with all learning, the more comfortable I was flying, as the longer period of time between lessons required additional time to get back to where I had left off. Alan flies year-round. For those of us who don't mind the cold, the winter months provide some very smooth air.

4. And now the moment you have all been waiting for - SOLO. After a number of hours (depends completely on each individual) of dual instruction and progressively learning the basic skills that can get you back on the ground, you and your instructor will mutually decide that you are ready to solo. Solo flying, though not technically different from what you have practiced all along, is definitely a "peak" experience in life. At once, I was beaming with pride that I was negotiating the air currents all alone and simultaneously felt a tightness in the pit of my stomach (and wondered for a brief moment if this would be considered aerobic exercise?) as I repeated to myself the standard procedures for landing over and over. The landings were good. No, in fact, they were a blast!

5. After you solo, the fun and learning really begins. Under USUA rules, you will need a minimum of 10 hours of solo time, pass a written exam that is no piece of cake, pass an oral exam by your instructor, and pass a practical skills test. Throughout the process, you get to meet other student pilots who are as excited to "talk flying" as you are. You soon realize that learning to fly is one other way to meet some very interesting people. It would be difficult to categorize the people I have met who have an interest in sport flying. They range from city folk like me, to country folk with their own grass airstrips. From youthful "flyboys" to middle-age sedentary women, like me, to general aviation pilots who have kindled their love of flying for many decades.

Though ultralight flying is painted in the news as colorful as the old west was more than a hundred years ago, in both cases, exaggeration and newsworthiness beat out truth. Ultralight flying can result in injury, damage or even death, but in this day and age, so can lifting a forkful of fettucini. Ultralight accidents caused by mechanical failures or pilot errors do occur, but have you ever wondered how thorough the last safety inspection was on the elevator you are riding. I subscribe to the theory that if your time is up, it is up. You could be safely strapped in a bed full of non-toxic pillows and inhale a stray polyester fiber that does you in...or you could be flying! As the sign says..."I'd rather be flying!"