When it comes to sports aviation, ultralight aircraft, or ultralights as they are commonly known, are the ultimate fun machine.
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Ultralights come in many forms and with the extensive range of types available, provided that you don't mind being restricted to two seats, there is bound to be an ultralight to suit even the most obscure taste. And if there isn't, there is the opportunity to design, build and fly you very own dream machine. To get an idea of some of the types available, check out the members aircraft page. |
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| 95.10 Thruster T85SG |
Although not an Australian first, it is interesting to note that it was in fact an ultralight that heralded the dawn of powered flight as we know it. The year was 1903 and the ultralighters were non other than American brothers Wilbur and Orville Wright, who designed, built and flew the first successful ultralight at a place called Kittyhawk. This sparked off an instant interest in aviation, with all manner of people rushing in to build bigger and heavier flying machines, a trend which continued for some 60 years.
Following some experimentation by NASA, as part of the US space program, using Rogallo wings as a possible means of recovering space vehicles, an Australian Engineer, Bill Moyes, developed a triangular trapeze in 1968, which he attached beneath a Rogallo wing to enable him to use his utilise his weight as a means of effecting control. Bill ably demonstrated the capability of his new flying machine at the 1969 World Water Ski Championships in Copenhagen and in doing so unveiled the Hang Glider to the world.
For the next few years is seemed that hang gliders were going to be the way to go, however the early Rogallo based wings had a few shortcomings which lead to a few Australian experiments with conventional minimum design aircraft utilising the dacron covered aluminium tube frame concepts of the hang glider.
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The first flight of Ron Wheeler's Scout took place in Australia during May 1974 and when it went into production in 1976 it became the world's first commercially available fixed-wing ultralight. |
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The Scout was an extremely basic machine with its single surface wings, a yacht mast main spar and two axis control. Never the less it fired peoples imagination and ultralight clubs began to be formed around Australia.
In 1976 the Australian Department of Transport (now the Civil Aviation Safety Authority) created the first ultralight legislation, CAO 95.10, thereby legalising the operation of the Scout and paving the way for other designs to follow.
Such was the interest in minimum aviation by the early eighties, that the Australian Ultralight Federation (AUF) was formed in June 1983, which was originally conceived as an honorary peak body for ultralight clubs. The AUF was an immediate success with a membership of some 700 individual members by the end of the first twelve months, which had increased to around 2000 by 1985.
By this time it was clear that the minimum aircraft fad was here to stay and that the Commonwealth Department of Transport would have to make a move toward formalising the movement. The end result was the signing of a memorandum of understanding between the AUF and the Civil Aviation Authority for the administration of ultralight aviation in Australia.
The immediate task of the AUF, given its new responsibilities, was the development of Operation Regulations for ultralight aircraft and to address the relatively high accident rate that existed in these formative years. It must be remembered that at that time ultralights were restricted to single seat aircraft, which meant that it was illegal to be taught to fly in an ultralight, and they had a maximum operational height limit of 300 feet above ground level. This was exacerbated by the fact that ultralights of the day had extremely limited flight envelopes, occasional stability problems and somewhat less than reliable engines.
As an emergency means of addressing the training issue, the Civil Aviation Authority introduced CAO 95.25 in 1985, which provided for factory built certified single place and two place ultralights and to allowed the two seaters to be used as training aircraft for the 95.10 pilots. This was a significant milestone in Australian ultralight aviation and enabled the AUF to set up an ultralight training scheme and encourage the establishment of ultralight training facilities.
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Whilst many fine ultralight designs would follow, it would be fair to say that the bulk of the training training load in the early days was shouldered by the venerable Thruster with large numbers of pilots gaining their wings whilst enduring a love / hate relationship with this rugged and reliable all Australian machine. The Thruster was originally conceived as factory built single seater when manufacture commenced in 1983 with 46 being built in that first year. |
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| 95.25 Thruster Gemini |
With the need for certified two seat ultralight training aircraft under the then new CAO 95.25, the Thruster Aircraft Factory responded with the development of the Thruster Gemini which became the first registered two seat trainer 25-0001.
With the introduction of formalised training, and the availability of 95.25 training aircraft, the safety record began to show significant improvement, a trend which has continued ever since. These days the ultralight safety record is at least as good as that of the G.A. sector and ultralighters enjoy considerably more freedom in terms of the operation of their aircraft..
From somewhat humble beginnings, the ultralight movement in Australia has grown, in a matter of 31 years, to a membership of over 8,000 and around 137 flying schools. Recognising this growth, and the increased diversity of ultralight aircraft, the AUF in February 2004 changed its name to Recreational Aviation Australia (RA-Aus).
In Australia, it is a powered aircraft intended to be operated for experimental, educational or recreational purposes and is registered with the RA-Aus, who administer ultralight aviation on behalf of the Civil Aviation Safety Authority. An ultralight is restricted to a single engine aircraft and may have one or two seats. It must have a maximum takeoff weight of less than 300 kilograms, in the case of a non-certified single seat aircraft, which has been designed and built by its owner, or up to 544 kilograms in the case of an experimental, amateur build two seat aircraft where a minimum of 51%of the construction is completed by the owner / builder.
Ultralights may be conventional three axis aircraft, weight shift aircraft (trikes and powered hang gliders) or powered parachutes. In Australia ultralights are categorised into groups that are usually labelled with the title of the CAO under which they operate. The various groupings are:
95.10 - This is the category for the true enthusiast and the experimenter. This class provides for a single seat home built non-certified aircraft with a maximum takeoff weight (MTOW) not exceeding 300kg. These non-certified aircraft come in a wide range of designs and technology. This category allows more freedom for the homebuilder than any other experimental category anywhere in the world and enjoys an excellent safety record.
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95.25 - This category has been superseded by 101.55, however ultralight aircraft built to to this specification can still be obtained. It is, or was, essentially a category for two seat training aircraft with similar flight characteristics to 95.10 aircraft although the category also permitted factory built single seat aircraft. 95.32 - This category covers weight shift aircraft, powered parachutes and powered hang gliders. |
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95.25 Drifter |
101.55 - This is the primary category for single and two seat fully factory built and certified aircraft with a MTOW not exceeding 544kg.
101.28 - This was the previous amateur built category, which has now been superseded by the introduction of the new experimental category, known to the ultralighting fraternity as the Amateur Built Ultralight.
Amateur Built Ultralight - This is the only category that is identified by a name. Aircraft built to this standard can be single or two seat, can be designed by an amateur and can carry a passenger and are limited to a MTOW not exceeding 544kg (644kg for seaplanes). Whilst not as flexible as the 95.10 category, is allows access to some of the extensive range of US kit build experimental aircraft. The builder must be able to demonstrate at least 51% fabrication and installation of the components of the aircraft. This category also allows some of the two seat VH registered 101.28 aircraft to transfer across to the Ultralight Register.
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You must have attained the age of 15 years, be medically fit, equivalent to that required to hold a motor vehicle drivers license in Australia, and be the holder of an RA-Aus issued Pilots Certificate. A Pilots Certificate can be obtained with as little as 20 hours of flying, which includes both ground and flight training, from an approved flight training facility - see the flight training page for further information. If you already have some flight experience, portion of this can be counted toward obtaining your Ultralight Pilot Certificate. |
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95.32 Trike |
In Australia, ultralight aircraft are generally able to be flown anywhere outside controlled airspace at altitudes between 500 feet and 10,000 feet, depending on the local terrain. Under certain conditions ultralights may be able to enter controlled airspace and use controlled aerodromes. The operation of ultralight aircraft is, however, dependent on the observance of applicable rules and regulations. More information regarding the operation of ultralights in Australia can be obtained form Recreational Aviation Australia - see the links page.
© Holbrook Ultralight Club 2003