napalkov
New Member
Hello folks,
As soon as I saw my first video of a guy flying one of these, I was hooked. It seems that ultralight trikes are the cheapest/cost effective way to get into flying (especially for this 17-year-old wannabe). I apologize if this has been asked before, but how can I make my dream a reality on a budget of $7000. I have 2 hours experience in flying a two-seater with an instructor, and absolutely none in trikes. As far as I understand, US law does not require a license for single-seat trikes. That being said, like most other new pilots, I'm interested in making it to my second flight, so I would require a lot of training before I could go out on my own. From this matter stems my long list of questions.
1. Ultralight flight schools are incredibly hard to come by, and the few that I found were a 4+ hour drive from where I live near DC and charge $150+/hour. My guess is that a lot of less tech savy flyers offer lessons but they do not have a website set up. Anyone know any enthusiasts in the DC area? As an alternative, anyone know an area with cheap-ish lessons? I don't know what the learning curve on these things is, but if I end up paying for 10-20 hours of lessons, it might be worthwhile to go on a road trip. How long did it take you guys to get out on your first solo flight?
2. I've come to terms of $7000 not being enough to get a trike and lessons, but regardless I want to get advice for the future when I save up more money. I'm a light guy (160 pounds), and I couldn't care less about speed, convenience, etc. I'm looking for the cheapest, ****tiest, slowest trike possible that would be safe enough to bet my life on. Any advice on a model or where to get it? barnstormers seems like a nice website but are there any alternatives? I take it that a trailer is also required to store it, so that will definitely add to the cost.
3. Navigation equipment, airway space, and places of flight. I'm somewhat aware of a few rules in place regarding trikes and airway space, but I could use some advice. I live in Reston, VA (census-designated-place), does US law prohibit me from flying around the area? "Ultralight vehicles cannot be flown over any congested area of a city, town, or settlement, or over any open air assembly of persons." A good friend of mine mentioned that he saw a trike fly over his house recently, but who knows... This is a stretch, in reality, this is the least of my concerns, that being said, I'm interested what is sufficient and considered legal in terms of a landing strip. Regardless where I fly, do I need navigation equipment or will a simple GPS suffice? I know there are specific altitudes at which non-charted planes are allowed to fly. Is there a map of that I could find?
I apologize for the long post, and I do not mean to be a burden. I have had no place to start, and all my previous inquiries have led to dead ends. I appreciate any help, and I respect your time. Thanks again, please share your experiences with starting up! ANY advice is helpful advice.
As soon as I saw my first video of a guy flying one of these, I was hooked. It seems that ultralight trikes are the cheapest/cost effective way to get into flying (especially for this 17-year-old wannabe). I apologize if this has been asked before, but how can I make my dream a reality on a budget of $7000. I have 2 hours experience in flying a two-seater with an instructor, and absolutely none in trikes. As far as I understand, US law does not require a license for single-seat trikes. That being said, like most other new pilots, I'm interested in making it to my second flight, so I would require a lot of training before I could go out on my own. From this matter stems my long list of questions.
1. Ultralight flight schools are incredibly hard to come by, and the few that I found were a 4+ hour drive from where I live near DC and charge $150+/hour. My guess is that a lot of less tech savy flyers offer lessons but they do not have a website set up. Anyone know any enthusiasts in the DC area? As an alternative, anyone know an area with cheap-ish lessons? I don't know what the learning curve on these things is, but if I end up paying for 10-20 hours of lessons, it might be worthwhile to go on a road trip. How long did it take you guys to get out on your first solo flight?
2. I've come to terms of $7000 not being enough to get a trike and lessons, but regardless I want to get advice for the future when I save up more money. I'm a light guy (160 pounds), and I couldn't care less about speed, convenience, etc. I'm looking for the cheapest, ****tiest, slowest trike possible that would be safe enough to bet my life on. Any advice on a model or where to get it? barnstormers seems like a nice website but are there any alternatives? I take it that a trailer is also required to store it, so that will definitely add to the cost.
3. Navigation equipment, airway space, and places of flight. I'm somewhat aware of a few rules in place regarding trikes and airway space, but I could use some advice. I live in Reston, VA (census-designated-place), does US law prohibit me from flying around the area? "Ultralight vehicles cannot be flown over any congested area of a city, town, or settlement, or over any open air assembly of persons." A good friend of mine mentioned that he saw a trike fly over his house recently, but who knows... This is a stretch, in reality, this is the least of my concerns, that being said, I'm interested what is sufficient and considered legal in terms of a landing strip. Regardless where I fly, do I need navigation equipment or will a simple GPS suffice? I know there are specific altitudes at which non-charted planes are allowed to fly. Is there a map of that I could find?
I apologize for the long post, and I do not mean to be a burden. I have had no place to start, and all my previous inquiries have led to dead ends. I appreciate any help, and I respect your time. Thanks again, please share your experiences with starting up! ANY advice is helpful advice.
