Soaring and Critical Mass of Participation.

I think ultralight pilots also capture the soaring spirit.
So, let me try something a little less concrete and
go a little more ethereal:

A sample post typical of UltralightTrikes on Yahoo! Groups:

From Windrydr:

Yesterday I spent the morning flying all over here in my home town
for the first time , it was a blast, and i learned a lot more being
by myself. I even hit 1000+ ft per minute lift a couple of times at
around 10,000 feet. That was a new trip. Soon i will post more pics
of my area on my website and looking forward to doing some videos also.
I want to thank all of the group posters with wisdom and
experience for all of ur posts which help educate us rookies
Been quite a transition from stick and rudder to flying a trike
wing, I love it, I am hoping I can be like manfred and his swift
gliders and adapt to either side, depending on which i choose to fly
that day( cuz da dream here is to own a motorized swift because of my
loving to soar....maybe some serious time in trikes will tell
though, and i just may end up with a lite trike under my big wing



From Mark A. Taylor:

Saturday afternoon I'm out in the Racer, thermaling over
a burnt out area of ridge line just SW of the airport. The
engine is still running as I have the throttle pulled back
so that my sink rate is around 150 ft/min. Engine off the
Racer is a rock so this is how I soar my trike... Anyway,
the lift is light and I'm just barely maintaining my
altitude. I had made several circles when off towards another
nearby ridge I see that a bird is heading my way. Thinking
it is a Turkey Vulture I really didn't think much about it.
I've often had vultures join me in lift in the past. I
continued turning and as I come back around the bird settles
off my left wing tip. I almost wet myself at what I saw.
It was fully mature American Bald Eagle! We circled around
each other a few times playing in the light lift but he
eventually got the better of me and climbed out above my wing.
When I saw him last he was flying off towards the NW. I don't
know about him but for me it's going to be a long long time
before I forget that flight. Awesome!


Eric, I think these pilots are a "good fit" with
gliders. I feel more connected to them and their aircraft
than to the Grob 109 I flew last weekend.

I can see them perhaps not being part of the
"sailplane" association. But I certainly think they
fit into the "Soaring" association...

I am still interested in more opinions too. I hope some others
will chime in with what they think as well. Dennis Wright seems
to have already formed some opinions.

In article ,
Eric Greenwell wrote:
Mark James Boyd wrote:

I really, really think ultralights becoming FAA aircraft
has MUCH more in common with gliders than airplanes.

The rules the ultralight community have lived by are MUCH more
alike the glider rules than the airplane rules.

All of the following characteristics match gliders AND ultralights.
NONE of the following characteristics match the majority of airplanes.

Ultralight aircraft (fixed wing, weight shift, powered parachute):

1) Have minimal instrumentation
2) Fly 99% day VFR
3) Fly 90% within 50nm of home
4) Have very light weight
5) Have very slow landing speeds
6) Have minimal training requirements
7) Have excellent motorized climb in FT per NM ratios
8) Need to be aware of the effects of turbulence, slope lift, etc.
9) Used to be hang gliders
10) Never required ELTs or Transponders
11) Fly frequently out of private, dirt, and cropduster strips
12) Remove or assemble wings without a mandatory mechanic signoff
13) Fly for fun instead of practical transportation
14) Wear chutes or install BRS parachutes commonly
15) Have a very high ratio of experimentals vs. standard aircraft
16) Commonly use a stick or bar instead of a yoke
17) Don't require any medical, and a denied medical is no problem

I can see why we disagree: we have very different opionions of what a
glider characteristic is.
Of those in your list, I'd say only # 8 is characteristic of a glider. I
certainly don't think ELT or transponder
usage has anything to do with being a glider, but is just pilot
preference, nor do medicals, pilot rescue systems,
and so on. In fact, I'd say the list fits _ultralights_ a lot better
than gliders. The craft we fly are
markedly different from a Quicksilver


Airplanes don't have ANY of this in common with ultralights.

For me, the essence of airplane is not the instruments, ELTs, medicals,
etc. These are just features of
regulations, as "airplane" can go from an Aeronca Champ to a 747. What's
common is the use of the motor
to sustain flight.

Gliders have ALL of this in common. Think about it.

So do model airplanes and their pilots. Think about it.


Look at that Quicksilver picture again. It's a glider.
USUA, ASC, and the Ultralight part of EAA are
gonna need support to get these things into the FAA system by
Jan 31, 2010. SSA and ASA seem to me the BEST fit these guys have.

Best Fit still does not mean "good enough". If they don't fit with those
other folks, either, maybe by 2010,
there will be a place for them. I don't think it's in soaring. We can
and should be friends with them, as with other
aviators.

--
Change "netto" to "net" to email me directly

Eric Greenwell
Washington State
USA


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Mark J. Boyd