Build Easy to Assemble Low-Cost Ultralight Aircraft From Kits

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Twin-powered parachutes such as this Paracenter ($6,300) are used for training.
Twin-powered parachutes such as this Paracenter ($6,300) are used for training.
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What any aspiring ultralight pilot wants is precisely what manufacturers have tried to give him: a rugged, dependable, safe aircraft . . . and here, strangely enough, is where FAA regulations hamper progress.
What any aspiring ultralight pilot wants is precisely what manufacturers have tried to give him: a rugged, dependable, safe aircraft . . . and here, strangely enough, is where FAA regulations hamper progress.
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Team's
Team's "Air Bike" is among the less expensive rigid-wing single-seaters at $5,995.
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Another Team model with more conventional looks is the
Another Team model with more conventional looks is the "Max 103" at $3,645.
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A recently completed ultralight kit ready for the skies, complete with a Rotax 503 engine (top left) mounted on the front of the aircraft. The sailcloth on the wings of this kit has been coated with polyurethane to reduce porousness of the wings and the resulting drag. Cruising speed of the Flightstar is approximately 70 mph. (top right) Airspeed indicator, altitude, and basic engine temperature gauges are all the information an ultralight pilot needs. (PHOTOS: KIT KITTLE)
A recently completed ultralight kit ready for the skies, complete with a Rotax 503 engine (top left) mounted on the front of the aircraft. The sailcloth on the wings of this kit has been coated with polyurethane to reduce porousness of the wings and the resulting drag. Cruising speed of the Flightstar is approximately 70 mph. (top right) Airspeed indicator, altitude, and basic engine temperature gauges are all the information an ultralight pilot needs. (PHOTOS: KIT KITTLE)
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Though officially classified as ultralight, many models more closely resemble conventional aircraft in their styling and aerodynamics.
Though officially classified as ultralight, many models more closely resemble conventional aircraft in their styling and aerodynamics.
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Landing gear can range from classic tricycle gear to amphibious floats.
Landing gear can range from classic tricycle gear to amphibious floats.
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1. Assembling an Ultralight kit.
1. Assembling an Ultralight kit.
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2. Assembling an Ultralight kit.
2. Assembling an Ultralight kit.

Low-cost ultralight aircraft are cheap, easy to fly and assemble . . . and you don’t have to be a pilot to own one.

It starts with a gentle rumbling in the seat of your pants,
and a sudden burst of wind and speed that causes the skin
on the back of your neck to tighten and your hand to firm
on the stick. Tires pitch and shake for a moment over

  • Published on Feb 1, 1997
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