Getting rated on single seater.. How?

[shafs64]

this would be a good start in single seat.

 

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Fisher-FP202-Koala-/251925587945?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_15&hash=item3aa7ef67e9

 

 

[kasper]

I dunno Ozzie, from the early AUF days prior to Horscotts I seem remember the figure of 40 deaths in one year..(?edit: mmm might have been the total at that time) but my memory could be fooling me

From HORSCOTS 1987 report:

 

Much of the data around accidents not fatal and incidents was anecdotal at best due to lack of central body (AUF or CAA) being engaged and required to/capable of recording the data ... ultralights back then were not required to be registered so they existed in numbers untold flown by pilots training unknown and enjoyed by many ... killed quite a few though, the best estimate from HORSCOTS was that at the time ultralights were killing people at 10 times the GA fleet.

 

 

[flyerme]

So as the title reads. How do you go about getting rated on a single seater. In fact how do you learn to fly the damn thing?If you want to buy a single seater what is the usual process?

 

Cheers in advance,

 

Shags

Check out my book! the Diary of a Jack a Flyer. Read how it was done in the begining.

 

 

[Yenn]

Those who think it is easy to jump from one plane to another must be special. I jumped into a C172 yesterday, first time since 1998.

 

What did I find, after flying ultralights and real pilots aeroplanes for 15 years. The Cessna was reasonably easy to fly, but needed alot of coaxing, plus brute force to fly well. After fingertip flying for so long it came hard to really push it about. I did have the advantage of having an instructor monitoring my flight revue. When I need the next revue I will have to find a real aeroplane or maybe fix up dual controls in the RV4.

 

The info given on this forum seems to have covered what you need. Just be ultra careful and above all enjoy it.

 

 

[Yenn]

RPL allows aeros, but you have to have an aerobatic endorsed pilot with you, so you can enjoy doing them, but not as PIC

 

 

[shags_j]

Will go PPL eventually. Just as a start.

 

 

[Happyflyer]

RPL allows aeros, but you have to have an aerobatic endorsed pilot with you, so you can enjoy doing them, but not as PIC

Do you have a reference for that? My reading is that if you have an RPL and a class 2 medical you can do aeros by yourself.

 

 

[Roundsounds]

Interesting to see how you can address the requirements of the Ops Manual - section 2.07, para 3©. There doesn't seem to be a provision for single seat aircraft or new types.

 

 

[Guest ozzie]

I dunno Ozzie, from the early AUF days prior to Horscotts I seem remember the figure of 40 deaths in one year..(?edit: mmm might have been the total at that time) but my memory could be fooling me

Yep it is fooling you. They where never that high. I was editor of the MAFA Contact magazine back then for 5 or 6 years.

 

May have been that many accidents but not fatalities. And remember Horscotts was a politically driven report with a predetermined outcome.

 

When the AUF was formed and the 'sport' attained a responsible body there were many that started flying that should have kept on playing golf. They mistook regulation as 'safe' and there was a peak in the first couple of years due to two things, more accurate record keeping and poor training.

 

 

[Guest ozzie]

From HORSCOTS 1987 report:[ATTACH=full]35257[/ATTACH]

 

35 fatalities over 8 years between 78/86 or 4.375 a year. Probably better than today's figures. Definitely better than skydiving in 74 there were 16 deaths and hang gliding in 76 had 15. I started jumping in 75 and hang gliding and ultra lighting in 76.

 

So what do we have so far this year? And how do you fix it?

 

 

[facthunter]

You are not comparing apples with apples. You have to take into account flying hours or takeoff and landing cycles or crashes related to the number of aircraft in a given time period.. Nev

 

 

[bull]

G,day Shags ,getting back to the threads core ,this is my Loehle sports parasol 95-10 503 rotax and shitloads of fun ,no real range bit drafty etc 60kt cruise and classic construction and design the workmanship is superb and to me this plane is the epitome of the Australian ULTRALIGHT fraternity repeat ULTRALIGHT flyers,,NOT quasi GA plastics you know 100 kg luggage 4to 5 or more hours range the list goes on ME i dont think that claiming ULTRALIGHT priveliges for a machine that goes 100 kts plus 700 miles etc is what we are about.Sorry if that offends any fantastic plastics {opps some plastics not really fantastics} but i dont really care,If you sit down and be REALLY honest with yourselves {quasi ga pilots}i mean you would agree that an 130 kt aircraft is not really an ULTRALIGHT ah,,,but each to his/her own as long as the true ultralighters are not forced out by more and more regulation being enforced by the actions of the plastic brigade wanting more weight/range/airspace etc ,,which is all available to them if they want with ga,,,i mean if you can afford 120000 for a new plane ,you can surely afford a ga licence and costs of ga ,without sneaking under the radar at the cost of true ULTRALIGHTERS,,,,Anyway Shag,s here,s my baby............

 

 

 

[shags_j]

So how did you go learning to fly it without a two seater equivalent?

 

 

[bull]

G,day again Shags ,Well i have trained all my flying training on a lightwing, so the taildragger ,high wing big tail configeration is much the same , and i found besides being a lot lighter and friskier than a lightwing , the flying styles of the two aircraft to be much the same,and as most 95-10 aircraft of the true ultralight vein are taildraggers i would recomend you do some hours in a plane of similar style ,and dont be afraid to ask anyone anything ,do your research on the type you intend to fly ,ie look up net sites on the aircraft ,handling notes /performance/nasty habits etc , as America has the true vision of ULTRALIGHTS ie; part 103 . they have a lot of forums and discussions on ultralight single seaters and people do talk about mistakes and pitfalls ,great info available, besides it all mate buy that ultralight and learn to fly it and i,ll hope to see you in person one day to talk ultralights {not high cruise speeds/100litres fuel etc etc ,,,,just wow that flight was awesome so much fun all the best mate and being a low time pilot myself i am probsbly not qualified to tell you anything but thats my two cents worth ,,cheers

 

 

[bull]

ps, Shags i also did some time in the old days in one of the first two seater aircraft which was a t300 thruster and that aircraft was similar to the parasol in being high drag low enertia flying {those days not above 300 feet and no licence .This was about 1984 or 5

 

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[Yenn]

I had flown lightwing rtc, when I bought my first aircraft. A Thruster 2 seater. I hacn't done any reading on how to fly them, just been told the numbers by the owner. I flew it with him alongside me and he nearly had kittens when I three pointed it. Told me you can't three point thrusters. There was one very vocal self styled thruster expert, who used to be on this forum. He as good as said thrusters can't be landed any other way than wheel them on. That was one case where listening to experts would be counterproductive. Listening to self styled experts is also counterproductive. Work out for yourself wether or not I am a self styled expert and act accordingly. It is easy to believe the loudest voice in the room is an expert, but you have to just take note and make up your own mind.

 

 

[microman]

Absolutely right Yenn - I flew a 2-seat Thruster for years and always three pointed it - in fact if I tried to wheel it on I invariably bounced. That said, a bit of crosswind could make life interesting if it hit you just as you were stalling it on!

 

 

[Guest ozzie]

you can land a any model Thruster any way you feel. Wheel it on with both or left wheel it or right wheel it hop it from one wheel to the other or three point it or tail wheel first. The earlier longer boom ones were easier they got a bit tricky when they were shortened a bit, but you get used to them pretty quick.

 

When i heard people saying they were difficult or easy to ground loop i thought they were talking about C180s or something. Those people probably trip themselves up when they dance too.

 

 

[shags_j]

Bull: Thanks for the tips. I will certainly do that.

 

 

[Guernsey]

Lots of taxiing with the tail up (talking tail wheel here of course).

 

 

[Marty_d]

you can land a any model Thruster any way you feel. Wheel it on with both or left wheel it or right wheel it hop it from one wheel to the other or three point it or tail wheel first. The earlier longer boom ones were easier they got a bit tricky when they were shortened a bit, but you get used to them pretty quick.When i heard people saying they were difficult or easy to ground loop i thought they were talking about C180s or something. Those people probably trip themselves up when they dance too.

Damn, if you have to be good on the dance floor to fly a taildragger, looks like I'm stuck with a nosewheel.

 

 

[SDQDI]

Lots of taxiing with the tail up (talking tail wheel here of course).

I agree Guernsey, IMHO an hour of highish speed taxis (tail up) is worth four or more hours of circuits as it is working the most important things (your feet) and that time, even though not spent flying, helps heaps when it comes to your control later when you are flying making your feet work automatically which in turn helps your handling immensely.

I guess the hardest part for some is finding a quiet strip where you aren't hassling people doing it.

 

 

[Guest ozzie]

If you do intend to do a lot of high speed runs first make sure that the gear, wheels and brakes can handle an hour of torture.

 

 

[Guernsey]

Damn, if you have to be good on the dance floor to fly a taildragger, looks like I'm stuck with a nosewheel.

No way, the opposite is true, 5 hours of circuits in a tail dragger (must have log book proof) qualifies you to enter 'Dancing with the Stars)..

 

Alan.

 

 

[Yenn]

I have always found that endless taxi ing is not a good idea. Having done a few first flights I find the best way is to do a low speed taxi, followed with a high speed, say up to lift off speed, then do a short hop if the strip is long enough. From then on fly the machine.When I first hopped the RV, I experienced a vicious wing drop and I thought it was just before I got back on the ground. That had me worried, but the run had been videoed and I could see that just after I touched down my wheel had dropped into a bit of a hole. Maybe a second short hop would have been in order, but I don't like them. Just do the least amount that is necessary.