RE: Anybody fly Ultralights?
I agree with Flyboy. I had a Quicksilver MXL2 side by side seating ultralight. I did decide to get some lessons before I flew it. I took one 1 hour lesson and realized that there is a lot to flying one of those things. I decided to just "high speed taxi" it one day. I remembered how much speed it took to become airborne with the instructor so I would just stay under that. NOT! I didn't think about what the plane would act like with less weight. I rolled a very short distance and the plane JUMPED off the ground. I found myself at fifty feet before I knew it and the nose was pointed WAY up. I leveled it off and realized that I had to go around at this point. I looked down at the airspeed indicator and realized it wasn't working! Then I looked up to the ballistic shoot pull handle and realized the safety pin was still in it. Now I am freaking out trying to fly a plane around the pattern with out an airspeed indicator and leaning way over the seat trying to take the pin out of the handle. To say the very least I would have givin ANYTHING to be on the ground at that moment. I landed... BOUNCED the plane back down on the runway, the plane turned left and I went straight across the taxi way.
I did finish my training and did receive my ultralight pilots license. (Yes there is such a thing) I had 14 hours of training before I got back in my ultralight. It was the best money I have ever spent. I put 120 hour on it before selling it to buy a full scale plane. I got my ticket in the beginning of March and have logged over 135 hours in my Piper and my Cessna.
The moral of the story is this. I called the ultralight a plane through out the story for one reason... IT IS A PLANE, NOT A GO CART! I recommend taking flying lessons and getting your Private certificate. You may learn how to fly the plane but not knowing how to read weather is what will get you hurt. Especially in an ultralight where weather counts the most. Good luck you will love it!