In the late 1970's, an accomplished hang glider pilot, tiring of waiting for the right conditions to be able to soar his glider, decided to add a small gasoline engine to his hang glider airframe, and the ultralight was born. The period from 1977 to 1983 saw an explosive growth in the sport. Ultralights were cheap, transportable and easy to filthy government carved out an exception to the normally restrictive rules which governed powered aircraft. It decided that it would not require pilot's licenses or aircraft certification for ultralights, subject to the following regulations:

1. To be an ultralight, an aircraft had to weigh less than 254 pounds, carry only one occupant, carry no more than 5 gallons of fuel, fly no faster than 60 mph, and stall no faster than 24 mph.

2. Ultralights could not be used for any commercial purpose.

3. Ultralights could not fly at night, in poor weather, or in controlled airspace.

4. Ultralights were subject to the same flight restrictions as other aircraft (for example, no flying over the Grand Canyon!)

That's about it. If you follow these rules, you are free to fly your ultralight whenever and wherever you want. It's a great deal. It was such a great deal that dozens of little companies selling questionable designs sprang up overnight, and by 1981, there were probably 50 or 60 ultralight aircraft manufacturers. Ultralight kits sold for less than $2,000. and came with "teach yourself to fly" instruction books. Unfortunately, without regulation, many of the designs were downright unsafe, and many lives were lost. In 1983, the TV show 20/20 aired a broadcast which included footage of a TV reporter being thrown out an ultralight several hundred feet in the air and plunging to his death. In the flying community, it was learned that the reporter had (1) no training and (2) was not wearing his lap and shoulder belts. Still, the public was terrified, and the ultralight movement crashed, so to speak. Over the last 20 years, ultralights have steadily regained their popularity, and modern designs are safer and easier to fly.

Almost all ultralights are sold as kits, and may take from 3 weeks to 3 years to assemble. The more work you're prepared to do, the cheaper the kit. Most are powered by 2-stroke engines from Rotax, Kawasaki and the like. Many are easily foldable, so they can be stored in a garage.

Everyone who flies an ultralight should take flight instruction. Even though the law doesn't require it, good instruction is essential to survival. Flying safely involves learning about weather, aviation regulations and the physics of flight. An example: most aircraft will "stall". Do you know what that means? Most non-pilots think it has something to do with the engine. A reasonable guess, but wrong. Airplanes will fly very well if the engine quits (after all, how do you thing gliders stay airborne for hours, with no engine at all?) A stall is what happens when an wing is going too slow. Wings are a little like water skis.When the boat pulls a skier slowly through the water, the skier just drags along behind, barely afloat. When the boat goes fast, the skis glide up out of the water and skim along on top. When the boat gets too slow, the skier sinks again. Air is a fluid, like water. Move a wing fast enough through the air and it will be lifted up like a water ski. But get too slow, and the weight of the wing and the rest of the airplane is just too much, and the airplane will "sink" (or stall) downward through the air. Stalls are tricky business in airplanes and pilots need to learn to see one coming, and to recover properly. If you don't know this simple skill, a stall is deadly.

To learn more about ultralights, get your hands on "Powered Ultralight Flying", a great little book.