 Longmont Ultralights
OK, Let me see. You take a BFI or AFI right now who is BARELY making any
$$$$$ training in a QS Sprint II under the USUA exemption. Now, take away
that exemption. Now, make him HAVE to take extra training ($$$$$), spend
extra $$$$$ to get the machine accepted as SP, then after 2008 (or 9 or 10)
THAT plane can NOT be used for training anymore, so buy a 50, 60, 70, 80
THOUSAND DOLLAR NEW trainer, make sure it gets annual inspections that YOU
can NO LONGER do ($$$$$), etc., etc., etc. and poof, there goes another USED
TO BE ultralight instructor. They will NOT be training if all they are doing
is losing $$$$$$$.
Oh, but, you say, just go to the friendly, neighborhood CFI. Great, except
he flies a Cessna 152 or 182, which has NO flight characteristics of that
little Airbike or Kolb Firefly you have your eyes on. He tells you ULs are
death traps that NO one should ever be caught dead or alive in and pushes
you towards that PPL. GEE, does HE have some kind of incentive to teach DOWN
(in HIS mind) to the UL level OR does he want you to spend 40+ hours with
him getting that PPL?
In simple terms, once the BFI/AFI exemptions are gone, UL instructors will
be gone and we'll be back to the "good old days" of teaching ourselves how
to fly by crow-hopping and bending airplanes until we finally figure it out
(or die trying). That's how it WAS in the early 1980s, funny how EVEN the
FAA thought THAT was a bad idea (that IS why we got the training exemptions
in the FIRST place).
Ray Abbruzzese
Standard Disclaimer: These are my opinions and you all know about opinions
(they are like butts; everybody has one). I could be wrong and I probably
am. Just please do not sue me.
"Otis Winslow" <OtisWinslow@m> wrote in message
news:4620e$44883712$cf5b3d62$6478@ALLTEL.NET...
>I fail to see how adding Sport Pilot has any effect on pilot training
> other than an option now for people who want to do that kind of flying
> to do something less expensive than the normal PPL route.
>
>
> Ray Abbruzzese wrote:
>> Not anymore. Dean Spencer trained people up at Vance Brandt for 15 years
>> but
>> with the advent of Sprot Pile It the $$$$$$$$$$ involved made it
>> impossible
>> for him to continue. He held on for many years, barely making ends meet,
>> until Sprot did him in. He signed off over 200 pilots in his day. Sad,
>> really.
>>
>> Another guy, Larry (sorry, I can't remember his last name), also did
>> training there in a T-Bird II but he has moved on to a Rans and is out of
>> the training game also. Same reason: the $$$$$$$$$ involved with Sprot.
>> You
>> can thank the FAA for this mess!
>>
>> Ray Abbruzzese
>>
>> Standard Disclaimer: These are my opinions and you all know about
>> opinions
>> ( they are like butts; everybody has one). I could be wrong and I
>> probably
>> am. Just please do not sue me.
>>
>> From: "tfa" <u21984@uwe>
>> Subject: longmont ultralights
>> Date: Wednesday, May 17, 2006 5:14 PM
>>
>> Anyone know of a place to take ultralight lessons at Vance Brand in
>> Longmont?
>> Thanks.
>>
>>
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