WorldWideWayne
New Member
Hi there,
Since I am planning on flying an UL in the US in summer of 2022 I have tons of questions regarding FAR103 and just general questions about flying an Ultralight Aircraft in the US.
This might sound a little crazy.. My plan is to acquire a 103 compliant plane - preferably the "Merlin Lite" - and take it on a tour of my lifetime from the Atlantic all the way to the Pacific, flying through and enjoying as many different states as I can.
I do have some flying experience here in Germany, but no ICAO compliant license and I am not planning on getting one in the near future.
Since there are a lot of restrictions to be aware of when flying part 103 I would like to get an opinion from you as experts wether it is actually doable and what to be aware of when planning ahead and actually flying.
Some questions I have in mind would be:
Would you recommend only taking off and landing on small airports or is it actually possible to take off and land in parks, open grass fields or even on some empty country road? (I have read that people actually do it out in the deserts in the west?!)
Are you allowed to fly over open water for a longer period of time? For example the shortest route flying from somewhere north of Tampa, FL to Pensacola area would be over a couple miles of open water.
By not flying over "congested area" what is actually allowed and what would be definitely not allowed? Would flying over small towns with some fields here and there be considered unauthorized flying over congested area? Are you allowed to fly up to the "edge" of a city (congested area) and surround it as good as you can even though you will fly over a couple of houses or would that be definitely not allowed?
Lastly, what would you recommend regarding planning this adventure? I will for sure take some UL and basic theory classes before jumping into this adventure. And also when buying the UL plane I am planning of getting used to flying it for a couple of days before starting the cross country adventure.
I am really looking forward to hearing some of your advices and answers!
Best Regards and greetings from Germany,
Wayne
Since I am planning on flying an UL in the US in summer of 2022 I have tons of questions regarding FAR103 and just general questions about flying an Ultralight Aircraft in the US.
This might sound a little crazy.. My plan is to acquire a 103 compliant plane - preferably the "Merlin Lite" - and take it on a tour of my lifetime from the Atlantic all the way to the Pacific, flying through and enjoying as many different states as I can.
I do have some flying experience here in Germany, but no ICAO compliant license and I am not planning on getting one in the near future.
Since there are a lot of restrictions to be aware of when flying part 103 I would like to get an opinion from you as experts wether it is actually doable and what to be aware of when planning ahead and actually flying.
Some questions I have in mind would be:
Would you recommend only taking off and landing on small airports or is it actually possible to take off and land in parks, open grass fields or even on some empty country road? (I have read that people actually do it out in the deserts in the west?!)
Are you allowed to fly over open water for a longer period of time? For example the shortest route flying from somewhere north of Tampa, FL to Pensacola area would be over a couple miles of open water.
By not flying over "congested area" what is actually allowed and what would be definitely not allowed? Would flying over small towns with some fields here and there be considered unauthorized flying over congested area? Are you allowed to fly up to the "edge" of a city (congested area) and surround it as good as you can even though you will fly over a couple of houses or would that be definitely not allowed?
Lastly, what would you recommend regarding planning this adventure? I will for sure take some UL and basic theory classes before jumping into this adventure. And also when buying the UL plane I am planning of getting used to flying it for a couple of days before starting the cross country adventure.
I am really looking forward to hearing some of your advices and answers!
Best Regards and greetings from Germany,
Wayne
