Paul Weiss

Thanks guys for all the info. This airplane has been maintained by a Rotak mechanic and before he sold me the plane he rebuilt the engine and had gone through the entire plane. So, I feel confident that all is well. He also talks to me everytime he see's me about what I am running on Exhaust Temp and Cyl Temp as he is concerned about how the engine is running. So, I have a lot of good advice around - I just need to plant my butt in the airplane and get some time with it to feel more comfortable flying it. Thanks for all the words of wisdom.

Hi....I just joined this forum today. I recently regained my Third Class Medical after a 4 year battle with the FAA. Because of the nature of my special issuance medical I am making the decision to go "Sport Pilot" so I won't have to continue to jump through all the 'hoops' the FAA would require to keep my special medical in place. I just purchased a single place CGS Hawk Classic and am in the process of getting checked out for Sport Pilot certificate. One thing I have learned already is that the Sport Pilot issue is so complicated and everybody I talk to has a different story to tell. Nobody really seems to know about weight classifications and registering with the FAA. I have found that a lot of pilots are flying illegally because they don't know or don't understand the regulations and the Instructors I have talked to don't really know either. So far I have talked to three different instructors and gotten three different stories as to what I need to do to fly legally! So, to say the least it has been very interesting!

I recently bought a CGS Hawk Classic ultralight and it has a two stroke Rotax 503 engine on it. I am a GA pilot so ultralights are new to me. A number of guys at the airport I fly out of keep telling me that Rotax two stroke engines are unreliable and will "STOP" suddenly and without warning while flying! This doesn't give me very much confidence to fly the Hawk as I am afraid the engine will quit without warning and if I am not within gliding range of the airport I will have to find someplace to land quick. I would like to hear from other ultralight pilots who fly Rotax two stroke engines and how you feel about the reliability of the engine.