Best Practices for Transitioning to an Ultralight Aeroplane

From: Transport Canada

by Gordon Dyck, Director of UPAC and member of the Ultralight Working Group

The lack of transition training has been cited as a factor in many aviation accidents. These accidents often result from pilots being unprepared for the challenges of flying new or different aircraft than they’re used to. Some pilots may believe that training isn’t needed, because ultralight planes seem so simple.

If you’ve decided to start flying ultralights, this article includes information that will help you become a safe and competent ultralight pilot, regardless of what planes you’re used to.

In this article:

What is “transition training”?

The goal of transition training is for you to become comfortable in a different aircraft so that your reactions are automatic. In an emergency, you may not have the time to think about what to do. It’s important you get to know your ultralight before you fly, in case things go wrong. This way, you’ll be able to react quickly.

Ultralight aeroplanes—the lighter side of flying

In Canada, all ultralights need to be registered. Canadian ultralights may be registered as either a basic ultralight aeroplane or an advanced ultralight aeroplane. Although not all ultralights can be registered as advanced ultralights, in some cases, the same model of plane could be registered as either a basic or an advanced ultralight aeroplane.

Ultralights are powered aeroplanes and have 1 to 2 seats. In addition to being registered, they must be insured. You need an ultralight aeroplane pilot permit or some other aeroplane pilot permit or licence to fly one. They can only be used for daytime visual flight rules (VFR) flying.

Basic ultralight aeroplane (BULA)

  • Max take-off weight 1 200 lbs
  • Max stall speed of 39 kts (45 mph) indicated air speed
  • No min useful load requirement
  • No regulatory requirements for construction or manufacturing
  • Maintained by their owner
  • Anyone in the plane must wear a helmet
  • No passengers allowed—only instructor and student or 2 licenced aeroplane pilots

Advanced ultralight aeroplane (AULA)

These are ultralights that meet the Light Aircraft Manufacturers Association of Canada (LAMAC) design standards (LAMAC DS 10141).

  • Max take-off weight of 1 232 lbs
  • Min useful load
  • Kits or complete planes from manufacture
  • Maintenance by owner as per manufacturer guidelines
  • Helmets not required, but are strongly recommended
  • Passengers allowed as long as the pilot has a license, permit or rating that allows passengers

How are ultralights mechanically different?

Before you fly that new ultralight, you need to understand and mentally prepare to fly the aircraft you’re about to transition to.

Construction

There’s no international certification standard for ultralights. Basic ultralights don’t have to meet any material or construction standards and don’t need to get a “fit for flight” status. Transport Canada strongly recommends that basic ultralight manufacturers use accepted design criteria, materials and practices.

Advanced ultralights do need to meet the LAMAC’s design standards and appear on Transport Canada’s list of accepted aircraft.

Engines

You should understand the limits of and how to use your ultralight’s engine. Many ultralights use two-stroke engines. These are less mechanically reliable than four-stroke engines and need more attention to keep running properly.

Two-stroke engines are lighter and have a greater power-to-weight ratio. Most pilots will know the typical horizontally opposed, air-cooled engines. Ultralights usually have newer engines with new features and technology, including:

  • liquid vs. air-cooled mode,
  • geared drives, and
  • electronic ignition

Some ultralights use converted car engines, like a Volkswagen (VW) engine or a half VW engine. Some have electric motors, like the Icaro2000 and the Pipistrel Velis Electro.

Credit: Gord Dyck
Pipistrel Sinus Aircraft

Technology

The technology used on ultralights can vary greatly. Some have no instruments; in this case, your airspeed is indicated by the wind in your face and the flapping of your pant legs. Others, like those with a glass cockpit, are more technologically advanced than some common general aviation aircraft.

Control

Pilots transitioning from tricycle landing gear aeroplanes to older tailwheel aeroplanes often need to get used to heel brakes. Many ultralights use a simple hand braking system, heel or toe brakes, or sometimes no brakes at all.

Ultralights usually include a rudder bar instead of pedals, which have a different feel. Ultralights have no standard rudder pedal arrangement.

Ultralights have no standard throttle arrangement. Some have a vernier throttle or a lever-style throttle. On a powered paraglider, the throttle is controlled by squeezing your hand, and on a trike, you’ll control the throttle with your feet.

Many side-by-side planes share a single center mounted control stick between the seats. It might feel a bit like riding side saddle when you first begin, especially if you’re used to a normal stick and rudder airplane. Very few ultralights have control wheels. If you’re used to an aircraft with a control yoke, it’s going to feel different.

Maintenance

Maintenance will differ between types and, in some cases, the owner’s preference. Unlike type certified aircraft, basic ultralights have no maintenance requirements. This means that you’ll have to do a detailed inspection on your pre-flight, and it is up to the owner to determine a suitable maintenance schedule, if none is available.

Advanced ultralights must be maintained according to the manufacturer’s requirements. The maintenance can be done by the owner or delegated to someone skilled in aircraft maintenance. All maintenance is signed off by the owner. While many pilot/owners have the skills to do routine and in-depth maintenance on their aircraft, the average owner doesn’t have the same level of experience as an aircraft maintenance engineer (AME).

Documents

If you learned to fly on certified aircraft, you’ll be used to having a detailed pilot operating handbook (POH). When it comes to ultralights, the plane might be all you get. This lack of documents can sometimes be scary.

How are ultralights different to fly?

Drag

Many ultralights lose energy faster than other aeroplanes. Ultralight wings tend to create high lift at low speed. To keep the wing light but also strong, kingposts, struts and flying wires will create drag that you may not be used to.

Some ultralight aeroplanes have wing tips that can be added or removed depending on whether you want to go fast or have more lift. Other ultralights are available in standard or clipped wing versions.

The thrust/drag couple in a high wing pusher

A large number of ultralights are considered “high wing pushers.” Not only do these craft look different, but they also fly very differently.

When drag and thrust are in line, there’s no real change in pitch with power changes. Most pushers have the engine (thrust) above the fuselage (drag). Drag and thrust are parallel but not in line; this means they are a “couple.” Applying power pushes the engine and wing forward, while drag holds the fuselage back and causes the nose to pitch down. Similarly, when power is reduced, the nose pitches up.

Stability

Certified light general aviation aircraft are designed to handle in the same way from one type to another. It should be pretty simple for a pilot with average skill and ability to move between types, although a thorough check out is always recommended and is usually required by insurance.

There’s no formal approval or certification process for basic ultralights. The level of testing for advanced ultralights is determined by the manufacturer, in conjunction with the LAMAC’s requirements. Transport Canada doesn’t test or certify the quality of ultralight design or construction.

Many aeroplane pilots aren’t used to using the rudder much in the air. Some ultralights will need you to use the rudder to fly properly and safely. Good stick and rudder techniques are key in these light planes.

Yaw instability

Many ultralights don’t have the same yaw stability as other general aviation aeroplanes. This isn’t necessarily dangerous, but you should know about it and how to use the ultralight’s controls to compensate for it.

The side area ahead and behind the center of gravity will affect yaw stability. For this example, we’ll call the center of gravity the “pivot point.” This is the point around which the plane moves on its vertical axis.

If there‘s more side area ahead of the pivot point when yaw is induced, you’ll need to add rudder input to keep the plane going straight ahead. The amount of yaw in some ultralights is no more dangerous than the yaw in a certified aircraft; they simply require more use of rudder.

Useful load

In some cases, the weight of people on board an ultralight can double the weight of the aircraft! The aircraft handling characteristics can change depending on the size and weight of the pilot. Climb performance will dramatically change if the aircraft is solo or has two people on board.

How you load your plane is very important. A big factor for weight is its location within the plane, especially with tandem seating, as this can affect the plane’s center of gravity (C of G). This difference will be even more noticeable if one person is much heavier than the other.

Remember that some aircraft use the pilot’s weight to balance the aircraft. The front seat has an upper and lower weight limit. If the person in the front is too heavy or too light, the aircraft won’t be properly balanced.

Wind

Light weight and light wing loading make a difference in ultralights. If you’ve flown other type of aircraft, you should already know how the wind can affect your flying. Wind will have a bigger effect on an ultralight and on your flight experience. Let’s look at how headwinds, crosswinds and turbulence can affect these aircraft.

Headwinds

When you’re cruising at 75 mph or less (as many ultralights do), a 20-mph headwind can have a major impact on the aircraft. This is important to keep in mind as you plan your flight.

Crosswinds

The best and safest time to fly ultralights is earlier and later in the day, when the winds are calmer.

Before flying, you’ll need to identify your limits for wind conditions. A rule of thumb is that ultralights should not fly when there’s a 10-kt gust differential or a crosswind component of 10 kts.

Turbulence

The lighter wing loading makes many ultralights behave like a kite when they fly in turbulent air. This can make it difficult to hold an altitude, make your flight unpleasant and make them harder to control close to the ground, like during landing, due to thermals.

Thrust

One huge benefit to ultralights is their high power-to-weight ratio. Because of this, many ultralights can quickly accelerate during take-off and have impressive climb performance. One of the big cautions with this feature is that the aircraft will not be able to maintain these dramatic climb angles if there’s a power loss, and a pilot could quickly find themselves on the backside of the lift/drag curve.

Speed and speed range

Some ultralights fly at very low speeds, while others are capable of flying well over 100 mph.

On some ultralights, the difference between stalling speed and cruise speed can be 20 to 25 mph. Because they can have high drag and low power, their airspeed can drop quickly and recover slowly.

Flight manoeuvres

Most ultralights have high-lift, low-speed airfoils that also create a lot of drag. With a big thick wing, a power loss on an ultralight can lead to poor performance: much more than on a typical general aviation plane. Simply reducing power in a turn can move you from flying normally to descending fast.

Take-off

Expect quite a steep take-off: much steeper than a typical aircraft. If there’s a power loss, you’ll need to quickly bring the nose down to reduce your angle of attack and maintain flying speed.

Flying at lower speeds

It’s here when pilots can get into trouble. Low and slow are not great a combination: even moreso in an ultralight.

Landing

As the high-drag wing gets closer to its critical angle of attack, drag increases greatly. In some aircraft in certain conditions, you may not have enough power to stop the descent when you get behind the power curve.

Engine failure or loss of power

Just because ultralights are small and light doesn’t mean they will glide farther. The amount of drag an airframe produces is a factor of the gliding ratio. While a Cessna 150 may have a 9:1 glide ratio, most ultralights perform much worse due to higher airframe drag. If you lose your engine, your ultralight will descend slowly but won't glide too far.

How to prepare mentally for the transition to an ultralight

Take time to sit in the cockpit and become familiar with the layout. Where is everything? Touch the controls, move them and get a feel for them. Where is the neutral position on the stick for the elevator and the ailerons? Note the location of fuel tank levers, flap controls, fuel pumps, brakes, etc.

Run through the take-off sequence and landing sequence. Run through some basic emergency drills so that you can find the switches quickly, if needed. Get comfortable. You’ll need to be familiar with these things when you’re distracted by other tasks.

While you’re sitting there, take some time to look at the sight picture. For some ultralights, everything is in the open. This is both good and bad. Physical controls and cables, cotter pins, the engine, etc. are exposed and easier to check. On the other hand, everything (including you) is exposed to wind, oil, dirt, insects and other debris.

Many pilots find that taking some time to maneuver the aircraft on the ground from slow to fast (but below take-off speeds) can help them prepare for how the aircraft will behave during take-off and landing.

Need more help?

It’s helpful to find a flight instructor who knows your ultralight aircraft well. Your insurance company may require this. Sometimes it’s not possible and, for single-seat ultralights, it’s impossible to have someone else fly with you.

If you can’t find an instructor, look for someone who knows your aircraft’s make and model, or a similar make and model. In some cases, these pilots may have much more experience than an instructor!

If you don’t have someone to fly with or talk to, at the very least, sit and read through whatever information you can find, such as:

Another source of information may be aircraft forums dedicated to your type of aircraft. These forums provide lots of information, but be aware that they will include lots of personal biases and opinions. These forums usually don’t have any oversight on the info they contain.

At the end of the day, be conservative. If you can’t be trained on your ultralight model, look for training on a similar aircraft and then apply that knowledge to your aircraft.

Transitioning to ultralight aeroplanes can open up a new world of flying for you! Floats, skis and tailwheel flying can be fun and can expand your abilities. But be careful, and get trained when moving to a different, unfamiliar aircraft configuration.

Related links

For more information, please contact one of the Directors of the Ultralight Pilots Association of Canada.

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