With The Availability Of Aircraft Mounted Ballistic Launch Parachutes, The Safety Factor For Ultralights Had Increased Dramatically.

There Are Several Other Requirements Which An Aircraft Must Comply With To Be A Legal Ultralight. To Be A Legal Ultralight The Aircraft Must Have A Single Seat Only.

I Was One Of The Very Early Ultralight Pilots And Worked As The Demonstration Pilot For Robertson Aircraft, Was A Dealer For The Petrodactyl And As The Marketing Director For Flyer News Paper, My Job Was To Fly Every Ner Ultralight Design And Write A Pilot Report Describing The Design.įirst There Is No Such Thing As A Two Seat Ultralight. The passenger was forced to remain at the crash site overnight before he could be airlifted. The craft plummeted into Hanapepe Valley during inclement weather. The Birds of Paradise passenger’s leg was broken in two places, among other injuries, resulting in a federal lawsuit claiming pilot negligence and fraud.It plunged into the waters off Kealakekua Bay. An Ultralight crashed on the Big Island, after one of its wings apparently folded, killing both the pilot and passenger.A Big Sky Ultralight was severely damaged but no one hurt when the craft made an unplanned golf course landing in Poipu.The pilot, Jim Gaither, 55, and owner of Big Sky Kauai, died together with his passenger, Kim Buergel, 49, who was from Spokane Washington. Big Skies Ultralight crashed into the ocean near glass beach, just east of Port Allen Airport.Crash took place on Kauai’s north shore following take off from Port Allen.The size and weight of these craft could also be an issue in terms of increased susceptibility to fast-fluctuating island wind conditions. Pressure to make money shouldn’t, but could be, an issue when ultralights fly in spite of deteriorating weather conditions.At the same time, the craft have the least requirements in terms of training and proficiency. Professionally built Ultralights have quality design.Ultralights fly at slower speed than airplanes, however, which could moderate the severity of crashes. Ultralight has been compared with a motorbike in terms of crash records.Research (no longer online) from Australia suggested “Ultralight fliers are about six times more likely to die for every hour flown than if they flew in general aviation aircraft.” At least 65 ultralight pilots and students died in Australia from 2001 through 2009.

Our friend, Daniel (pictured above), raved about his experience. Are Ultralights Safe?įirst, I’m not a pilot. They are certainly very popular and we’ve heard from visitors and locals alike that they love the experience. Ultralights, like the one pictured here, are frequently seen taking off and landing at Kauai’s Port Allen air field adjacent to the south shore’s Salt Pond Beach Park. Charlebois was said to have over 50,000 hours of Ultralight experience. Killed were Birds of Paradise owner Gerry Charlebois, a pioneer in Hawaii ultralights, and his passenger. The crash took place at Waiakamoo Valley near Polihale Beach. We’re saddened once again this week by the deaths of two people on Kauai.

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