Eric:

I meant both. There are specific FARs for flying in close proximity, both
towing and, presumably, thermalling. However, these all refer to aircraft
or gliders, not ultralights.

It also seems that the FAA does not regard "ultralight vehicles" as
aircraft, so my interpretation would be that towing an ultralight by an
aircraft is not specifically permitted by the FARs. I thnk the same would go
for formation flying, including thermalling. Even if not forbidden, I bet
if you ask the question, the answer would be "no!"

(I'm not saying these rules are correct or sensible - I've thermalled safely
with an ultralight sailplane and hang gliders and I'm sure the Sparrowhawk
is safer to tow than some of the flying matchwood that's out there- just
trying to figure out the rules.)

And I have to agree that most pilots don't think badly of gliders, I was
really referring to the local, state and federal infrastructures, which seem
geared to airplanes - the bigger and more engines, the better! I and my
colleagues have landed out at many private strips and have never been made
to feel unwelcome. On one occasion, a retired airline pilot thrust a cold
beer into my hand as I stepped out of the cockpit onto his fromt lawn at an
private airpark!

Mike



"Eric Greenwell" wrote in message
...
Michael Stringfellow wrote:

"snip....Why would I ever register the SparrowHawk?

If you want to fly with other aircraft, especially in formation flight,
you
might have to.

Could you elaborate on this? Do you mean thermalling with other gliders,
or being towed?

Sailplanes are already treated like poor second cousins to
the aviation community and ultralight aircraft and hang gliders are even
lower on the pecking order.

You must be hanging around the wrong "communities"! The ones I talk to
are always grinning and saying "I've always wanted to do that", or "It
must be so quiet up there", and "You flew 100 miles in it!?", just about
anywhere I assemble mine.



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Eric Greenwell
Washington State
USA