Ultralight Aircraft

This site is all about ultralights...better known as 'Recreational Aircraft' here in Australia.

Recreational aircraft come in many different forms, configurations, and categories - there really is an extensive range of types available! Everything from very basic one seat homebuilt and designed rag and tube aircraft, right through to very sophisticated factory built carbon fibre two seat fast and slippery machines with full 'glass cockpit'. It's an exciting hobby and the people who earn their living from designing and building these aircraft have one of the best jobs in the world!

Ultralights are awesome - as long as you don't mind being restricted to a maximum of two seats and certain weight restrictions (depending on category), and not being able to fly into controlled airspace, there is bound to be an ultralight to suit even the most obscure taste. And if there isn't, within Recreational Flying there is the opportunity to design, build, and fly your very own dream machine.

To get an idea of some of the different types available, check out the photo albums on this site...there you will find some of the many different types of aircraft flying under the Recreational Aviation Australia Inc.(formerly Australian Ultralight Federation) banner.

Australian History of 'Ultralights'

It wasnt an Australian first, but it is noteworthy that it was in fact an ultralight that brang about the dawn of powered flight as we know it. It was in the year of 1903 and the ultralighters were non other than American brothers Wilbur and Orville Wright, who designed, built and flew the first successful ultralight at Kittyhawk. This sparked off an instant obsession in aviation for many people!

The Scout (pictured below) was an extremely basic machine with its single surface flex wings, a yacht mast main spar and two axis control.

This aircraft fired many peoples imagination and it was at this stage that many ultralight clubs began to be formed around Australia.

 It was in 1976 that the Australian Department of Transport (now the Civil Aviation Safety Authority) created the first ultralight legislation, CAO 95.10, thereby legalizing the operation of the Scout which set the way for many other designs to follow.

Because of the enthusiastic interest in Ultralight flying in the early eighties, that the Australian Ultralight Federation (AUF) was formed in June 1983, which was originally conceived as an honorary peak body for ultralight clubs. Immediately the AUF was a success with a membership of some 700 members by the end of the first twelve months, which had increased to around 2000 by 1985.

By this time it was clear that the minimum aircraft fad was here to stay and that the Commonwealth Department of Transport would have to make a move toward formalizing the movement. The end result was the signing of a memorandum of understanding between the AUF and the Civil Aviation Authority for the administration of ultralight aviation in Australia.

The immediate task of the AUF was to develop Operation Regulations for ultralight aircraft and to address the relatively high accident rate that existed in these early years. It must be remembered that at that time ultralights were restricted to single seat aircraft, which meant that it was illegal to be taught to fly in an ultralight, and they had a maximum operational height limit of 300 feet above ground level. This was exacerbated by the fact that ultralights of the day had extremely limited flight envelopes, occasional stability problems and somewhat less than reliable engines.

As an emergency means of addressing the training issue, the Civil Aviation Authority introduced CAO 95.25 in 1985, which provided for factory built certified single place and two place ultralights and to allowed the two seaters to be used as training aircraft for the 95.10 pilots. This was a significant milestone in Australian ultralight aviation and enabled the AUF to set up an ultralight training scheme and encourage the establishment of ultralight training facilities.

Whilst many fine ultralight designs would follow, it would be fair to say that the bulk of the training training load in the early days was shouldered by the venerable Thruster with large numbers of pilots gaining their wings whilst enduring a love / hate relationship with this rugged and reliable all Australian machine. The Thruster was originally conceived as factory built single seater when manufacture commenced in 1983 with 46 being built in that first year.

With the need for certified two seat ultralight training aircraft under the then new CAO 95.25, the Thruster Aircraft Factory responded with the development of the Thruster Gemini which became the first registered two seat trainer 25-0001.

With the introduction of formalised training, and the availability of 95.25 training aircraft, the safety record began to show significant improvement, a trend which has continued ever since. These days the ultralight safety record is at least as good as that of the G.A. sector and ultralighters enjoy considerably more freedom in terms of the operation of their aircraft..

From somewhat humble beginnings, the ultralight movement in Australia has grown, in a matter of 26 years, to a membership of over 8,000 and more than 80 flying schools. Recognising this growth, and the increased diversity of ultralight aircraft, the AUF in February 2004 changed its name to Recreational Aviation Australia (RA-Aus).