Bob Kuykendall wrote:
On Jan 11, 1:03 pm, Nyal Williams
wrote:
Methinks you are treading on thin ice with the phrase
'my interpretation.' ...

I concur, very thin ice indeed. According to 14CFR part 103.1:

**************begin paste from ecfr.gpoaccess.gov **************

§ 103.1 Applicability.

This part prescribes rules governing the operation of ultralight
vehicles in the United States. For the purposes of this part, an
ultralight vehicle is a vehicle that:

(a) Is used or intended to be used for manned operation in the air by
a single occupant;

(b) Is used or intended to be used for recreation or sport purposes
only;

(c) Does not have any U.S. or foreign airworthiness certificate; and

(d) If unpowered, weighs less than 155 pounds; or

(e) If powered:

(1) Weighs less than 254 pounds empty weight, excluding floats and
safety devices which are intended for deployment in a potentially
catastrophic situation;

(2) Has a fuel capacity not exceeding 5 U.S. gallons;

Anyone know why gliders are limited to a lower empty weight than the
power guys? Sounds logical at first, but doesn't make a lot of sense
when you consider that 99 additional pounds can be concentrated into a
chunk of whirling hot metal, and another 35 lbs of additional permitted
weight is in the form of an extremely flammable liquid (hooked to the
hot chunk of metal). Just wondering, is there a good, by FAA terms ;-)
explanation?
The Sparrowhawk seems to really push the weight reduction limits (e.g.
custom wheel brake and tow hook). Think of what the glider industry
could do with 250 lbs of relatively unregulated glider to mess around
with! Here's to dreaming...

(3) Is not capable of more than 55 knots calibrated airspeed at full
power in level flight; and

(4) Has a power-off stall speed which does not exceed 24 knots
calibrated airspeed.

Also, Windward's website shows a stall speed of 32 kts for the
Sparrowhawk. Different rules for gliders here too?


Shawn