• Welcome aboard HomebuiltAirplanes.com, your destination for connecting with a thriving community of more than 10,000 active members, all passionate about home-built aviation. Dive into our comprehensive repository of knowledge, exchange technical insights, arrange get-togethers, and trade aircrafts/parts with like-minded enthusiasts. Unearth a wide-ranging collection of general and kit plane aviation subjects, enriched with engaging imagery, in-depth technical manuals, and rare archives.

    For a nominal fee of $99.99/year or $12.99/month, you can immerse yourself in this dynamic community and unparalleled treasure-trove of aviation knowledge.

    Embark on your journey now!

    Click Here to Become a Premium Member and Experience Homebuilt Airplanes to the Fullest!

First Ultralight Flight This Weekend

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

Chris In Marshfield

Well-Known Member
Staff member
Supporting Member
Joined
Jan 29, 2008
Messages
1,704
Location
Northwest WI USA
Hi all,

Long time, no see! So, I made my first ultralight flight this past weekend. Climbed into a 447-powered single-seat Drifter and went for a spin. It's my first experience with a pusher of any kind, and it was an enlightening experience.

The Drifter, for the uninitiated, is sort of a mini AirCam. As a matter of fact, Lockwood has the rights to this airplane now, so it make sense that it seems as though the Drifter eventually developed into the Super Drifter and then the AirCam (my interpretation of its history). You sit way out in front of the wing with all the airplane behind you. For a guy who has sat behind an engine inside and under/over a wing for everything he's flown, this is quite an interesting viewpoint.

There's no denying the view is impeccable. It's a smidge disconcerting, too, as all of the visual cues of my attitude (wing tip, jury strut, etc.) are all gone. So getting your bearings, especially during approach, is challenging.

I learned that wire-braced critters glide like stones, and pushers do different things with the nose when power is applied or reduced. While I'm sure, in time, a fella could figure out the power-off glide characteristics while coming in for a landing, I'm told that carrying power during landing is the way to handle these guys. That's not to say that I didn't fall back to familiar habits and drop it in where I should have kept in power. On my last landing of the day, I felt the aircraft sinking faster than I wanted it to be, so I instinctively added power to arrest it, but didn't account for the nose-over that came with it and pushed it onto the ground pretty hard. Hard enough to bend the axle and one of the vertical support tubes beside the king post.

So while I await parts to arrive from Lockwood for repairs, I've been doing a lot of episode recreation in my head, consulting with trusted aviation advisors, and generally over-analyzing the day as I tend to do. Considering my next moves, what not to do on my next flight, and how to have a generally successful day. The film is still running in my head now as I type this, glad that I still have the opportunity to do so!

That's the challenge with ultralights: no dual instruction. So we work with the information we have and make the best of a learning opportunity!

~Chris
 
Back
Top