Thanks for the tip – I hadn’t considered that – and there would be no problem keeping an F-reg ULM long-term at a Belgian airfield? Would there be insurance ramifications for example?
Peter wrote:
For someone doing local burger runs, definitely.
That’s what 90-100% of PPL pilots are doing 90-100% of the time they are in the air in any case. The same can be said for microlight pilots, there is no difference in that respect. The main difference is with a microlight you can do it (in your own plane) at 1/5 of the cost.
Belgian fields are full of F-registered ultralights. Even at my own EBZH, in the heart of “Belgicism” 
, there’s several.
@Jan_Olieslagers
Yes, renting an UL in a club would be maybe (in Germany) 50-60 percent of a certified airplane. But if you buy one, and if do all the maintenance yourself, the fix costs are much lower than that. And if you have one with folding wings and a trailer (a hangar space where i live is from € 400/ month upwards) 1/5 does not seem unrealistic to me. Of course, if you manage to do the whole maintenance on the Cessna yourself, the relation is different.
Look at this German club: http://www.lsvgz.de/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=3&Itemid=104&lang=de
You pay € 895 per year and € 39 per hour for the G3. That’s € 57 per hour if you fly 50 hours/year – including fuel. While that is not “1/5” it’s still a very good deal.
You are not allowed to fly UL with a PPL, you need a UL licence. If you have a PPL it’s easy to get though.
The Annual on a UL in Germany is € 150-200 Euros. That’s not 1/5 but 1/10 of my last one of my 150 hp Piper Warrior, that flies the same speed.
Or take the overhaul of a 912 Rotax: € 7500-8000 AFAIK.
Flyer59 wrote:
if you buy one, and do all the maintenance yourself
haha! and why do you think I did exactly that?! 
Actually I have a trailer and the wings do fold but I was lucky to find a lost corner of a hangar for rent at so low a cost that I can’t be bothered to trailer the bird. Folding/unfolding the wings is the worst part; it doesn’t take long but I am always concerned I’ll either forget some pin or clip or damage something.
Jan_Olieslagers wrote:
I am always concerned I’ll either forget some pin or clip or damage something.
Is there not a checklist or SoP for such activities??!
Yes yes there certainly is. But you know, the one certain way of doing nothing wrong is to do nothing. If I don’t fold the wings I can’t damage anything while folding the wings. If I don’t unfold the wings I cannot forget anything while unfolding the wings.
Jan_Olieslagers wrote:
Yes yes there certainly is. But you know, the one certain way of doing nothing wrong is to do nothing. If I don’t fold the wings I can’t damage anything while folding the wings. If I don’t unfold the wings I cannot forget anything while unfolding the wings.
Very true!
I have a good friend, who is a carpenter, and who always had the dream to fly. He bought a used UL airplane (2 seater open cockpit, Sunrise) for € 1500 with a bad engine, got a replacement engine from a junkyard (Citroen, 23 hp), put in a radio, bought a cheap tablet plus SkyDemon, and flies it all over Germany and even abroad. He even takes one of his 3 kids on every flight.
He takes of the wings, stores the plane at home, and although it’s really slow (40 knots), he had crossed the Alps in it and has flown to the island of Helgoland. It even has a BRS.
The total cost of his flying is about the same as what i pay for my data subscription for the MFD ;-), and i know he has a lot of fun.
That friend COULD afford a used SR22 aswell, but he sees no point in it.
The FUN in flying has very little to do with money, i know that for sure. And humans come in many different characters. I love the technology, the speed – he doesn’t care. But i am not sure i have more fun.
That is an extreme but very valid example!
Only I would think twice before crossing the Alps on 2CV engine from a junkyard – but it is not excluded, not by a long way.
Also, I think the gentleman has more time available than most of us. To each their own!
