I'm surprised at how expensive cheap ultralights are. My fascination in ultralights began with ''Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines''.Can anyone recall the Frenchman I think it was who flew sitting under the wing in between a pair of bicycle wheels.The aircraft was wood, wire and cloth of some sort probably powered by a motorcycle engine or something.
I always imagined to build something like that would be cheap.
As a kid I remember my father bought me a go kart with a Victor lawnmower motor on it. People soon starting putting twin Mc Cullough? motors on them and priced us out of the fun of a family sport that anyone could afford.
It seems the same thing has happened with DIY aircraft.
Surely there is alternative motors to the Rotax etc what with the high revving high torque lightweight motorcycle motors available today.
Surely we can replicate those sort of flying machines cheaply.
Even home builders now use aluminium, Dacron? and Rotax motors. (Hence what I call not cheap)
Can't we use timber, lightweight canvas, bicycle wheels and a motorbike/lawnmower engine of some sort?
What are your views?
Maybe you know of aircraft built in this fashion.
Google ''Cheap Ultralights'' and you'll see that the cheap ones are all aluminium etc and still expensive.
I read of ultralights you can build in your backyard using materials and tools available in your local hardware store.
To my way of thinking a cheap ultralight should be able to be built for around $3000 and then that aircraft would qualify as cheap.
CHEAP DIY ULTRALIGHTS? FAIR DINKUM.
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