31–40 of 248 posts
I don't think that's the reason. The reason is that they are unlikely to hurt anyone besides the pilot in a crash.
They can have an engine failure, stall-spin, or fly into a cloud just as readily as any other plane. Those are the biggest risks for GA, and they're no easier to handle in an ultralight.
That covers what you can fly. There are also restrictions on when and where you can fly. These are daytime VFR [1] conditions only, only in uncontrolled airspace, cannot fly over cites or towns or large groups of people, cannot create hazards to other people or property, must yield right of way to other aircraft, and must comply with all FAA NOTAMs [2]. [1] Visual Flight Rules. VFR conditions are conditions where you…
Yeah I wouldn’t want some yahoo playing around with that in my neighborhood.
this is amazing, I had no idea you could just skip the license if u use a tiny plane.
You can also get a pilot's license at 14 years old in many parts of the US. That said, do so with caution. Flying is still dangerous and accidents will often be fatal, license or no. Note the provisions about "no passengers allowed". One reason these planes don't require licenses is that the risk of collateral damage is low enough to be comparable to a car. You can hurt yourself quite badly while not endangering othe…
FAA is federal in scope, so the rules are the same across the US.
You can get a student pilot certificate (allowing you to solo an aircraft) at 16 for airplanes/helicopters and 14 for gliders and balloons. 17 is the minimum age for a private pilot certificate and I believe 16 is the minimum age for a glider/balloon pilot.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
The article doesn't really cover it but being able to fly without a license probably isn't the same as flying near a controlled (ie. towered) airport. If want to commute and aren't in the middle of nowhere you might find that flying in your local airspace does require a radio license in practice at least. Source: I am a licensed pilot but not familiar with flying in the US.
Huh, TIL. I've seen paragliders fly without headsets though near me (30mins from my states capital). Earning a radio license and getting a comms setup seems trivial though.
http://vfrmap.com/?type=vfrc&lat=42.363&lon=-71.006&zoom=10&...
Look for the blue SFC (surface) with a line over it designation around the area for the airport with the multiple concentric blue rings. Those will be class B airports. Typically two rings and magenta will be class C. Class D will be dashed blue.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Part 103 compliant aircraft are meant to have limits low enough to be LESS immediately lethal, but they are still dangerous. Maintenance is absolutely a possible issue, and due to their restrictions the engines are generally MORE needy than normal GA aircraft.
> Maintenance is absolutely a possible issue, and due to their restrictions the engines are generally MORE needy than normal GA aircraft. Interesting! How so? > Part 103 compliant aircraft are meant to have limits low enough to be LESS immediately lethal, but they are still dangerous. What do you have in mind? Quite a lot of what worries me when I fly involves misjudging the combination of weather with the aircraft's…
That covers what you can fly. There are also restrictions on when and where you can fly. These are daytime VFR [1] conditions only, only in uncontrolled airspace, cannot fly over cites or towns or large groups of people, cannot create hazards to other people or property, must yield right of way to other aircraft, and must comply with all FAA NOTAMs [2]. [1] Visual Flight Rules. VFR conditions are conditions where you…
It’s also worth noting that “congested areas” are very loosely defined. Eg: It could be interpreted as a group of people sitting on bleachers.
That covers what you can fly. There are also restrictions on when and where you can fly. These are daytime VFR [1] conditions only, only in uncontrolled airspace, cannot fly over cites or towns or large groups of people, cannot create hazards to other people or property, must yield right of way to other aircraft, and must comply with all FAA NOTAMs [2]. [1] Visual Flight Rules. VFR conditions are conditions where you…
Also there is no flying in an aerodrome and hopefully the person knows what an aerodrome is. Or near hospitals since many are restricted for helicopter air ambulances. Or anywhere near anything military.
I briefly took some flying lessons and there is an enormous amount to know both the flying part and the ground school part.
Setting the legalities aside, flying any of these without the training behind a pilot's license sounds like a great way to have some fun, right up until you have a really bad day. Maybe you can skip the license---I haven't looked at those regs myself---but you can't skip the skills. (I'd also want to take a hard look at the design, parts, and maintenance before I flew something like this---but I don't really have the…
The Mirocopter SCH-2A meets the FAA requirements so it doesn't require a pilots license. You can buy it for $35k on Ebay [0]. It's cheaper than most cars and gas wise (5 gallons for 50min for flight time) would make it about the same cost as commuting to work in a car. 0. https://www.ebay.com/itm/354879150317