| AVSIM Column "Contrails" Baptism to Ultralights |
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By Aidan Williams Associate Editor Avsim Online |
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The field of aviation has so many twists and turns it is sometimes very hard to keep up with all that is going on. We find much the same in the flight simulation community. You go away from home for only a couple of days, and it's always a battle to get back up to speed with the news and events. If you have been reading the recent reports that have emanated from the Avsim Conference, you will be more than aware that we attended the Reno Air Racing Championships. As you are also no doubt aware, this is without doubt one of the fastest (and most dangerous) motor sports in the world. My most recent aviation experience could not be further from the racers at Reno. I have recently been introduced to the world of Ultralights. With more and more people wanting to get into the world of aviation but finding the ever increasing costs a factor, this might be just what your looking for. Read on so I can share my experience with you. Ultralights...? I
expect many of you are familiar with the term Ultralights, but do you know
what they really are? Until recently I have to admit that although
familiar with Ultralights, I didn't really know much about them. My
first real dealings on the subject came about 6 months ago when a friend
of mine brought up the subject. He showed me some pictures from various
websites, and I was rather surprised at how much they differed from what I
conceived to be an Ultralight. My mental image was a
hang glider style of wing with a suspended frame with wheels and a small
engine and prop to propel it. I couldn't have been further from the truth.
The picture that I was confronted with was a sleek, almost fully enclosed
cockpit, and flight controls that you would associate with a standard GA
aircraft. The particular website that I was browsing was showing an
Aerolite 103 which was being offered for sale. I was astounded with the
price being asked for it, and had to confirm with my buddy that I wasn't
actually seeing an incorrect price tag. It was then explained to me
that Ultralights are no more expensive (and in most cases even less) than
a good family sized car.
The other thing that literally made my chin
hit the floor in amazement was that no licence is required to fly and
operate an Ultralight in the United States! (Other countries require a
licence.) Yep, you can go out and buy one, take it to a field, fire it
up and shoot down a runway and take off. Now... having said that, it would
be almost suicide to do that unless you had some previous aviation experience
or already held a PPL. To that end, most beginners will go to their
local Ultralight airfield and take a comprehensive course that will teach
them all the necessary skills to be able to fly their UL in a safe and
responsible manner. The course costs around a few hundred dollars which
for what you get has to be money well spent.
My friend in question is a gentleman by
the name of Mr. John Grammer who resides in Indiana. John is a long time flight simmer and author of
various sceneries which can be found in the Avsim File Library. He
has had a passion for Ultralights for many years, and recently decided
that it was time to take a big step and realize his dream. As with
anything that involves a fair sum of money, lots of research was
conducted—probably even more so with it being a flying machine in
question. Eventually, at the beginning of September 2002, John made
the plunge and purchased his very own Ultralight – an Aerolite 103. The UL
was purchased just outside Indianapolis, and flown down to an airfield
near the city of Louisville. The UL is currently in a hangar at a small
airstrip called Paoli (I42). It is a small field with hanger space for small GA
and UL. The strip itself is paved, 2100ft in length and surrounded
by trees. Very picturesque but makes for an interesting approach.
The Aerolite 103 So what do these Ultralights look like? Like all classes of aviation, there are many makes and models available to buy. The one in question is quite a sporty looking bird, and comes in various colour schemes.
You
can clearly see that the basic shape is that of a conventional aircraft. This was the biggest surprise for me, as I was expecting something like I mentioned earlier with a "hang-glider" style wing. Its size is also deceptive. From a distance it looks almost toy-like, but get up close and it's quite surprising how big it really
is. The wings and tail plane are covered in a tough and durable
material called Dacron. It is easily removable if a panel needs to be
replaced, or you fancy a colour change! The frame is made of tubular
steel, and John's example has plastic sleeves covering the tubing for both
protection and streamlining.
The engine as you can see from the pictures
is mounted high. It sits centre line behind the pilots head and between
the main wing spar. The power plant is a Rotax 447, 40hp engine. The
engine will propel the Aerolite quite happily at about 65mph in a cruise,
but is capable of more.
One important addition to the craft is an
emergency recovery parachute. Mounted beneath the engine, it is
activated via a handle above the pilot's head. It is ballistically launched
to the side of the Aerolite, which when inflated will suspend
above the wing and bring the Aerolite down to terra-firma in a slight nose
down attitude. To date it is reported to have only been used once, and
activated at 200ft! The pilot walked away. This pays testament to
the reliability of the Aerolite in general, and the importance of the
recovery system.
The Cockpit
The cockpit area of the Aerolite is quite comfortable... I can't comment too much on how it is for an
extended period of time, but for the brief experience I had it was comfy.
Getting into the seat is a different story! Remember back to the
'80s when "body-popping" was all the rage? Well you better start
remembering! It's a case of hand here, foot there, twist your body this
way, put your foot there etc! John has an upgraded canopy from
what is default out of the factory. Whereas the factory Aerolite
comes with just a lexan nose cover, the upgrade makes the cockpit area
more enclosed and adds small doors as well.
Once seated in the cockpit area, It looks remarkably like a standard aircraft with regards to the
controls. Your feet extend forward and rest on the two rudder
pedals. The main control is yoke based, with your standard
elevator/aileron axis. The throttle is down do the left by your thigh. The
sitting position and location of the controls are also comfortable. The
panel itself on the standard build is quite sparse
but can be fitted with the range of gauges to your liking.
You can clearly see from the two pictures the difference the upgrade makes. The cockpit is far more enclosed giving greater protection from the elements. The default panel is very basic indeed. The airspeed indicator is the small vertical tube on the left upright! The more advanced panel offers a wider range of gauges. The range of gauges you can use is very much personal. On John's panel he has a compass installed on the left of the panel, which in due course he hopes to replace with a gauge-sized Comms radio.
The Baptism! The airfield at Paoli is
a very quiet and sedate. This gave us the perfect opportunity to give the
Aerolite a bit of a shakeout and do some engine run ups. After watching
John do a couple of gentle runs up the taxi way, he climbed out and
beckoned me to get in the bird and try it for myself. I was a little
apprehensive at first, but soon got the hand of it. Taxiing up to the
runway I was able to feel how responsive the rudder was at controlling the
bird on the ground. At this point I had only powered the bird to about
25kts. As I said earlier, Paoli is a very quiet airstrip, which gave us
the added bonus of going onto the runway and going a little faster! Again,
I was a little apprehensive of going too fast. The last thing I wanted to
do was to go a bit too fast and actually get it airborne!
After a couple of runs along the length of the runway, I was really getting the feel for
it, and on each run increased the power (but making sure I kept the yoke
fully forward!) It's a real buzz being the only person in the craft, and
going down the runway just under its minimum take off speed.
With John having whetted my appetite,
there was only one natural progression to take. See what it was like to
fly myself. Not too far from John, is a local airfield that caters
primarily for the discipline of Ultralight flying.
Kentuckiana Ultralight Inc
- Scottsburg (3R8) airfield is run by a chap called Larry Beckley. I had previously met Larry the day
I had my first experience of sitting in and taxiing the Aerolite 103. We
had originally planned to fly on the Friday evening, but weather was our
enemy. The Saturday was not looking too promising either, a low cloud base
being the problem. As with many activates in the air, weather is a factor.
It looked promising that the weather would clear up, so we decided to hang
around and see what would happen. As with lots of small airfields, there
are always enthusiasts and pilots alike milling around to spark various
topics of conversation. There are two hangers at the Scottsburg airfield,
housing various designs of Ultralights.
The UL that I was to fly in is a Challenger. Being a two seater, it is quite a bit larger than
the Aerolite. The student sits in the front with the instructor to the
rear. The controls are very similar to the Aerolite, but uses a stick as
opposed to a yoke. After waiting around for a couple of hours (in
very good company I must hasten to add!) the weather relented and it was
time to go flying!
The instructor for my flight was a chap called Dan
Machir. His everyday profession is a professor, and enjoys nothing more than the
thrill of Ultralight flying in his spare time. Climbing into the front
seat of the Challenger was again back to the '80s body-popping! Once
settled in it was comfortable and easy to access the controls. The student
and instructor are able to communicate via an intercom system, and the
instructor is able to communicate with other aircraft in the vicinity via
a small Comms radio.
Once all strapped in and comfortable, it was time to taxi out onto the airstrip. Don makes the call on the radio to inform others of our intentions and off we go! Once off the taxi way and onto the airstrip, Don told me to use the rudder pedals to experience the effect they have. It's quite surprising how reactive they are even on a much heavier bird than the Aerolite. Once at the far end of the field, we turned onto the main runway 02.
Making the call and announcing our
take off, it was throttle open and into the air. The acceleration is
quite swift, and we were airborne very quickly indeed! It was quite bumpy
once up in the air, but not so much it was uncomfortable. I was so
pumped with adrenalin and excitement, it could have been a roller coaster
ride and I wouldn't have blinked an eyelid!
Once established Don handed me
the controls to the Challenger. Visibility was pretty good considering the
cloud base earlier in the morning. Keeping at about 1100ft, We flew around
for a bit looking at the various landmarks in the local area. It was quite
a feeling as we over flew a small pond— the Challenger started to rise
quite considerably. With Don back on the controls, we started on the
downwind leg for the approach to Rwy 02. At the end of the runway is a
large lake that you can follow for the finals. Coming in low over
the lake we were lined up for the 02 runway. With small power and control adjustments, Don brought the
Challenger perfectly onto the airstrip. A short taxi back to the hanger
area and my first experience of flying in an Ultralight was over. It
is truly an amazing experience and I would recommend it to anyone who has a
passion for aviation. I have flown in various GA aircraft over the years,
but the Ultralight is by far the most exhilarating experience.
FS2002 Ultralights You will be glad to know that there are a number of Ultralights available for use in Fs2002. The Aerolite 103 that I written about is available as an FS2002 model. Flightsim Models is a small group who specialize in virtual Ultralight and light-sport aircraft as add-ons for the Microsoft Flight Simulator 2002. The Aerolite 103 is a very well modelled aircraft, and makes a pleasant change from your normal Fs2002 flying disciplines. You can view screenshots of the Aerolite 103 here Thanks and Acknowledgments
A big thank you must go to Dan Machir for taking me on my inaugural Ultralight fight. He has a way of making you feel totally relaxed, explaining things to you and enjoying the flight.
To Larry Beckley at Scottsburg Airfield. He made me feel very welcome... Visit the
Kentuckiana Ultralight Inc
website.
To Aero-works Inc for kindly letting me
use photos from their website which you can visit
here.
Finally to John who made it all possible, for the pictures he took and for letting me "play" with his Aerolite 103!
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