It's not much of a "secret". It's been that way since I got into ULs in 1988. My N3-Pup was legal with a ballistic chute, powered by a 1/2 VW 4 stroke. It was a real dog. Fun to fly though. Later, my 503 powered Hytek Hurricane was a little heavy and had a 6 gal fuel tank, which was, imo, a good power to weight combo. I flew to more than a few fly-ins where FAA guys would be spotted from time to time, and never once did they pay any attention to a single seat UL. Of course, that doesn't mean they wouldn't, if someone gave them a reason. Having said all that, I would stay with all training needed to get your sport pilot lic. As I mentioned, if your buddy feels your airframe can easily handle the 582s power and added weight... it should be a very nice mix. The added weight helps ULs be slightly more stable in choppy air too. The extra power should allow you to dial back the throttle for a quieter ride. Small wing tanks might even be possible (3 gal ea) for addition range.
I actually have two ultralights now, a Kolb Ultrastar (which is part 103 compliant) with a Kawasaki 440, and a Butterfly Ultralight gyroplane which was originally part 103 compliant with its smaller diameter rotor, narrower landing gear and air cooled MZ202 engine. It’s the Butterfly gyro I’ve modified and upgraded to a Rotax 582 with b gearbox and a 24’ rotor. I do have two “back up” engines I’ve gotten by horsetrading, a currently running Rotax 447 with GLP electric start and b gearbox, and a Rotax 503 that hasn’t run since 2008, with e gearbox and Rotax electric start. I’m going to put that e gearbox with electric start on my 582 and I’ll probably resell the 503 with the b gearbox off my 582. Eventually I’ll put the 447 on the Kolb.
Not yet, and I’ve never flown in one yet, but I will get the proper training before I do fly mine. I’m currently driving out to Mentone Indiana for the annual national gyroplane organizations’s convention and fly in, and I’ll get to ride along in several different types. I’m going up in this one on Monday: And I’ll be going up in one like this later in the week:
That looks like fun. Any chance you've been up in a powered parachute? IMO, in terms of safety, PPCs have quite a track record. Using a ram air parachute as the wing, it's engine out possibilities become non events, in most cases. Wind, water and obstacles being the deciding factor, and that's all up to the pilot's choices of when & where to fly. As I got older, I found them to be far more relaxing to fly, than fixed wings. (no airspeed to manage) The ultimate stable camera platform. Steer with your feet. They cruise between 26-35 mph. Ease of piloting and constant airspeed. Pack up the chute, load on a trailer, and head home. Sport pilot has let the PPC evolve into much more dependability (912 four stroke engines), heavier airframes (adds stability), lots of bells and whistles... a company called Powrachute has become the one to check out. Chute manufacturers have also evolved creating a variety of wings. Performance Designs has been a top sky diving company and added their PPC division way back around 1990 I guess. Lots of experience. Just wondering, where you have lots of aviation enthusiasm. Home - Powrachute
For some reason they never interested me to be honest. I think because they require calm conditions. Where I live it’s a wide part of the Shenandoah Valley but the mountains between us a West Virginia are just three miles away. We have a lot of wind. Gyroplanes can be flown when many fixed wing craft are grounded. I’ve witnessed one being flown in 40mph winds, and the pilot purposely goes up when the winds increase. For calmer days I have the Kolb now.
