When you think about it, my entire life has been spent doing things that are inherently dangerous.

I have been a soldier, a commercial fisherman, a framer and a merchant seaman on tankers for the last twenty-five years. I have also worked at a flying job off and on, too.

The trick has been to find a safe way to do things and not get hurt. Fishing was just plain risky, period. No ands, ifs of buts about it. 

People died like flies out there.

While tankers can be a source of accidents the trick there has been to follow certain safety rules to a T and not be sloppy...EVER.
It really is no wonder I often gravitate toward things that are somewhat risky. 

It looks like things are going to get a bit harder for me to realize my goal in the flying field. I have narrowed things down to what is called Part 103, true ultralights.

I see little if any instruction out there and even fewer places to actually rent a true ultralight bird.

Actually, when you look at the safety record for ultralights they are not that bad. A bad landing is not like a regular plane crash. It's more like a bicycle crash. While you can get hurt in a bicycle crash you can truly get walloped in a bad landing on even a light sport plane.

Forced landings are different, too because with a Part 103 ultralight you have a lot more options. One can actually land safely in decent sized yard or even a suburban street.
Anyway, I am now looking into the Part 103 ultralight field which for me is really a lot more practical. It is a lot less expensive, the speeds are slower and it is a lot more Old School and closer to the ground type flying than general aviation.

General aviation is a money pit to begin with and as I am nearing retirement I can simply not afford to get into a money pit like general aviation. Enter Part 103 which means I can get an entire ultralight airplane for as much as or even less than the motorcycle I was looking at. I am even permitted to do my own repairs.
Still, I have to investigate things a little deeper, though. There are hidden expenses and headaches to deal with.

Where do you store an ultralight?

Of course, some can be broken down and stored in a garage and reassembled in a short time at whatever field one is operating out of.

Still, there are a few aggravation factors to look into. Something like that has to have a certain amount of practicality to it and as retirement becomes closer to being a reality I have to be wary.

Anyway, I am looking into something reasonably priced to do in the early part of my old age so I don't get depressed in my old old age because I missed out on something I could have done while I still could.



To find out why the blog is pink just cut and paste this: http://piccoloshash.blogspot.com/2009/12/my-feminine-side-blog-stays-pink.html NO ANIMALS WERE HARMED IN THE WRITING OF TODAY'S ESSAY