Part 103 ultralight pilot population

[N918KT]

Since Part 103 ultralight pilots are not required to have any training or pilot certificates issued by the FAA they are not counted in the pilot population. Just wondering, how many Part 103 ultralight pilots are there in the U.S. including the ultralight pilots who fly ultralight vehicles besides airplanes, like hang gliders or paragliders?

Give me your best estimate on the numbers of ultralight pilots that you think are out there in the U.S.

 

[Old Geek]

I have no idea. But my little airport has a big hanger full of flying trikes so it must be significant.

 

[N918KT]

I always thought that there are more ultralight pilots out there than I think. Do you think that 20,000 to 30,000 for the number of U.S. ultralight pilots is a good estimate? Or is it too much or too little you think?

 

[Dave Krall CFII]

I will guess well over 100,000.
The Ultralight Association would be able to give better estimates based on known aircraft sales, etc.

 

[zaitcev]

There aren't many fixed-wing UL pilots out here in NM. About as many as SPs, maybe less. And indeed the trike pilots exceed these numbers, because they can fly commercially. Still we probably have about 5 to 10 times more private pilots than trike pilots. Then there's a number of police chopper, FedEx, aeromedical commercial pilots, CFIs, etc.

I hear that UL pilots concentrate in states where they were numerous back in the 80s, such as Ohio, and in bible belt states that have insane airplane taxes, such as Missouri. There's also a number of them in Florida, although in proportion of any kind of small-p private pilots there.

 

[tinerj]

In Missouri, and especially downstate Illinois, the "hidden" 103 pilots are difficult to count. They typically have a field on their farm and typically fly around the patch and home, or when adventurous to other grass fields, seldom do they fly where they might be noticed by PPL pilots. So, if there are 550,000 PPL pilots, I would guess at least 55,000 103 powered ultralight pilots in the US, and that's not counting glider or hang glider pilots.

 

[MachFly]

There is some info on Wiki if you want to trust it.

As of the end of 2011, in the US, there were an estimated 617,128 active certificated pilots.[19] This number has been declining gradually over the past several decades, down from a high of over 827,000 pilots in 1980. There were 702,659 in 1990 and 625,581 in 2000. The numbers include:
118,657 student pilots (128,663 in 1990 and 93,064 in 2000)
227 recreational pilots (87 in 1990 and 340 in 2000)
4,066 sport pilots (did not exist until 2005)
194,441 private pilots (299,111 in 1990 and 251,561 in 2000)
120,865 commercial pilots (149,666 in 1990 and 121,858 in 2000)
142,511 airline transport pilots (107,732 in 1990 and 141,596 in 2000)
15,220 glider-only pilots (9,567 in 1990 and 7,775 in 2000)
21,141 rotorcraft-(helicopter)-only pilots (7,833 in 1990 and 9,387 in 2000)
These numbers are based on the highest certifications held by individual pilots.
The numbers also include:
97,409 certified flight instructors (CFIs) (63,775 in 1990 and 80,931 in 2000)
314,122 pilots overall who held instrument ratings (297,073 in 1990 and 311,944 in 2000)
An active pilot is defined as one who holds both a pilot certificate and a valid medical certificate, for certifications that require a medical certificate.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pilot_certification_in_the_United_States

 

[Brad Z]

Since Part 103 ultralight pilots are not required to have any training or pilot certificates issued by the FAA they are not counted in the pilot population. Just wondering, how many Part 103 ultralight pilots are there in the U.S. including the ultralight pilots who fly ultralight vehicles besides airplanes, like hang gliders or paragliders?

Give me your best estimate on the numbers of ultralight pilots that you think are out there in the U.S.

Your question is sort of like asking how many jet ski drivers are out there. Sure I've ridden one, but I don't own one...do I count? Like part 103 ultralights, there are no licensing for jet skiers, so the best you can get is an estimate. Likely that estimate overlaps certified pilots to some extent.