Well, it may take you slightly more than that to choose the right ultralight helicopter, to save the money, to buy it and to start flying with it. But it will take you exactly or less than ten minutes to read this article and to understand the most important that you need to know about owning an ultralight helicopter.
What is an Ultralight Helicopter?
It's a helicopter like each other, but classified as ultralight, because... well because it is ultra light. The ultralight helicopters have much simpler and lighter construction than the regular ones, they often have no cockpit at all, can't fly as high or as fast and can't handle such load. The ultralight helicopters usually have one or two seats only.
Besides these differences, the ultralight helicopters are fully functional, have rotor wings and you need to know how to fly a helicopter if you want to fly on them.
Buying an Ultralight Helicopter
For some people the first time they hear about ultralight helicopter is when they talk to me. But don't get miss leaded, it's not because the helicopters are hard to find. Most people don't know that there are literally hundreds of companies and small workshops producing ultralight helicopters or kits for them. Just search the Web and the aviation classified sites and you'll see what I mean.
It's still quite possible that you won't find a company which is producing ultralight helicopters in your city. That's why the best approach is to search the Web for sites with aviation classifieds or sites providing resource links about ultralight aircrafts. You'll easy find all kind of used and new ultralight helicopters to be sold. The prices can start from as low as $10,000.
Building your Ultralight Helicopter
If you have some construction skills or just like to build things you can really build your helicopter on your own. This does not mean you have to be an aviation engineer and to construct it yourself. There are two options for you:
- To build your helicopter from a kit. Many companies sell ultralight aircrafts and helicopters in kit form (in fact the kit offers are more than the ready airplanes). The kits are documented and tested packages of parts ready for you to build. Usually it's cheaper to build aircraft from a kit, but it takes significant amount of time and efforts. It's a fun however.
- If you are a really big enthusiast, you can purchase only construction plans (usually the prices start from just $50). The plans contain information what materials and parts you need and how to build them. It's harder than when using a kit, but can be a greater fun and can save you more money.
Flying your Ultralight Helicopter
Learning to fly your ultralight helicopter will certainly take you more than 10 minutes. In some countries you will be allowed to fly ultralight (in EU called "microlight") without a pilot's license. But it is strongly recommended that you attend an aircraft school and get real fly training from experienced instructors.
If you have not yet flown a helicopter, you should know it's quite harder than flying a fixed wings airplane and the ultralight helicopters are not an exception. Get prepared for one of the greatest - and most rewarding - challenges in your life.
