Word: ultralights
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: during 1982-1982
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
There have been more elegant descriptions of the gaudy, gawky new flying machines called ultralight aircraft, but none more accurate than this waggish observation. The plane that sounds like a low-calorie beer does resemble a plastic -and video-age version of the Kitty Hawk. Or, as a Tolkienian might put it, a petroleum-feeding pterodactyl. In any case, the planes are designed not to lodge beauty in the eye of the earth-bound beholder but, rather, to warm the soul of the seat-of-the-pants pilot. Put-putting along a few hundred feet up at 40 m.p.h...
...ultralight's surge in popularity is almost surreal too. There are 10,000 to 15,000 in the air, about twice as many as there were two years ago. The 30-odd manufacturers of the Dacron-and-aluminum birds, which range in price from $4,000 to $6,000, expect to sell some $90 million worth this year. Unlike many outdoor fads, ultramania is not limited to the Sunbelt, although California, Arizona, Florida and Texas are strong states; the Midwest, particularly the St. Louis area, is also ultra country, possibly because the craft fares best over flat terrain...
...average owner, who is 39 and male, the appeal of the ultralights is not entirely poetic. A typical flyabout, weighing around 180 Ibs. and powered by a 25-h.p. snowmobile or chainsaw engine, will cruise for two hours on a 3½-gal. supply of regular gas. The Eagle ultralight gets 30 m.p.g. Some estimates put an ultralight's cost of operation at $2 an hour, vs. $10 for a conventional private plane. Under normal conditions, it is easy to fly, no pilot's license is required, and the aircraft does not have to be certified or inspected...