Ultralight crash at CLM

The article said: "[FONT=verdana, arial,geneva]The pilot, identified as Patrick W. Rose of Sequim, was pronounced dead when crews arrived."

George
[/FONT]
 
Thanks for the update. It was posted sometime after my initial post. FAA and NTSB are taking a pass as it was an ultralight. I wonder what the coroner will come up with?
 
The article also stated that the "noise (sic) was pointed straight down."

They may have updated the article since Ghery originally posted the link.
 
Do you need a current medical to fly an ultralite?



Name : ROSE, PATRICK WYMAN
Airman's Address : XXXXXXXXX SEQUIM, WA, 98382-9276
FAA Region : Northwest/Mountain
Date of Medical : May, 2004
Class of Medical : 3Expiration of Class 3 : May, 2006

Airman Certificates : Commercial Pilot Airplane Single Engine Land Mechanic Airframe and Powerplant Repairman, experimental aircraft builder

Could be the database is not current I suppose. If he had no medical, would life insurance be void?
 
Do not need a medical for an ultralight.

They can be just as safe as a certified aircraft if you maintain them properly and know how to fly.

They can also be as dangerous as all hell if you do not maintain them properly and do not know how to fly.
 
jangell said:
They can also be as dangerous as all hell if you do not maintain them properly and do not know how to fly.
Click to expand...

They can also be "dangerous" if you maintain them and know how to fly but don't give them the respect they deserve like any other aircraft.
 
lancefisher said:
They can also be "dangerous" if you maintain them and know how to fly but don't give them the respect they deserve like any other aircraft.
Click to expand...

Wouldn't that come under, "don't know how to fly"?

BTW: Even fairly light wind from the straights swirling off those hangars can be a nightmare for any ultralight, or even light GA aircraft.
 
Last edited:
lancefisher said:
They can also be "dangerous" if you maintain them and know how to fly but don't give them the respect they deserve like any other aircraft.
Click to expand...

From a PNW Flyer's post by another local pilot, "Watching the late news last night, I found out that Pat Rose was the pilot who was killed. Pat was a long-time local pilot who was also an A&P/IA, as well as an FAA-appointed DAR for homebuilts. Apparently he was test-flying the newly-completed aircraft for the owner when something went horribly wrong.
He will be missed......"

Looks like probably he was a responsible pilot.
 
Dave Krall CFII said:
Wouldn't that come under, "don't know how to fly"?
Click to expand...

Not really IMO. I've seen multi-thousand hour airplane pilots who certainly "know how to fly" but failed to consider that an ultralight can kill you just as dead as a Gulfstream. There's a tendency to think of them as "toy airplanes" and to expect that if you can fly a King Air, any ultralight flying should be a piece of cake.
 
lancefisher said:
Not really IMO. I've seen multi-thousand hour airplane pilots who certainly "know how to fly" but failed to consider that an ultralight can kill you just as dead as a Gulfstream. There's a tendency to think of them as "toy airplanes" and to expect that if you can fly a King Air, any ultralight flying should be a piece of cake.
Click to expand...

...then they don't really know how to fly, just partially.
 
Dave Krall CFII said:
...then they don't really know how to fly, just partially.
Click to expand...

The problem is they don't know that they don't know!;)
 
I used to own and fly a Kolb UltraStar ultralight. It was a lot of fun -- some of the funnest flying I've ever done. From the ground they look so slow that you think there would be nothing at all to flying them, but as soon as you get about ten feet off the ground in one, you realize you are in a real airplane and you can get into trouble just like a real airplane. I had a pilots license before I flew the UltraStar. In addition, I took an hour of training in a Kolb two-seater before soloing the UltraStar. I can't imagine flying any kind of ultralight without proper training, even though it is not legally required.

Our UltraStar had a second generation two-stroke engine and it was just not reliable. The current two-stroke Rotax 503/582s are much better but they are still two-strokes. Ultralights can be flown safely, but you need to fly them over flat, open areas where you can make an engine-out landing.

... Bill
 
Last edited:
flybill7 said:
I used to own and fly a Kolb UltraStar ultralight. It was a lot of fun -- some of the funnest flying I've ever done. From the ground they look so slow that you think there would be nothing at all to flying them, but as soon as you get about ten feet off the ground in one, you realize you are in a real airplane and you can get into trouble just like a real airplane. I had a pilots license before I flew the UltraStar. In addition, I took an hour of training in a Kolb two-seater before soloing the UltraStar. I can't imagine flying any kind of ultralight without proper training, even though it is not legally required.

Our UltraStar had a second generation two-stroke engine and it was just not reliable. The current two-stroke Rotax 503/582s are much better but they are still two-strokes. Ultralights can be flown safely, but you need to fly them over flat, open areas where you can make an engine-out landing.

... Bill
Click to expand...

Last weekend I took a ride in a Kolb Mark III on floats. I'm looking for something I can certify as an experimental that I can fly from my lake and this one looks like a possibility. Unfortunately there was something way off in the rigging since I needed about 30 lbs of left stick force and a fair amount of right rudder to get it to fly straight. That made it rather difficult to assess it's flight characteristics.
 
I sort of doubt that the elevator was disconnected. As it sounds like the pilot was somewhat qualified.

I don't know about you all..but I tend to check that sort of thing no matter what I fly. Something tells me if I was doing a test flight on a homebuilt I'd probably check it a few times.
 
lancefisher said:
Last weekend I took a ride in a Kolb Mark III on floats. I'm looking for something I can certify as an experimental that I can fly from my lake and this one looks like a possibility.
Click to expand...

Lance,

Are you looking at something amphibious so you can fly from home to the airport too? That would be super-amazingly cool to be able to do. :yes:
 
flyingcheesehead said:
Lance,

Are you looking at something amphibious so you can fly from home to the airport too? That would be super-amazingly cool to be able to do. :yes:
Click to expand...

Probably not, although I'm not ruling that out. Mostly I want something to play with on the lakes around here.
 
I have many, many hours in different Ultralights; Quicksilvers, Phantoms, Flightstars (my fave), Weedhoppers (yes, I barely survived) and Rotax Rally's. I even have a couple of flights in a Sadler Vampire (and if I could find one now)...
All were good capable aircraft (OK; the weedhopper was crap but you were still in the air) None were any more or less dangerous than an Certificated aircraft when flown within the limits of the operating envelope!
True, in the mid-80's, the choice of using "real" or hardware store nut and bolts was a fuzzy area that brought some dummies to an unfortunate demise and there was a FRENZY to come out with "new" designs that were not very good but the overall record of ultralights are no worse than GA of the same time...

You need to remember that Part 103 came into being when there was no other way to get into the air unless you went thru PP training. And people went at it in droves...more than I see happening in the Sport Pilot ranks...

BTW; Ultralights brought about the concept of parachute for the whole airplane, not just the pilot (thank you Jim Hanbury) and the FAA even went along and gave a weight increase allowance if you had one installed (24 pounds as I recall...)
A company called Rotax discovered people needed light aircraft engines that weren't just adapted versions of they're snowmobile engines and started doing some design work...


Part 103 was the Sport Pilots rule of it's time...
and the FAA kept it's hands off and for the most part it was VERY successful for 21 years...

I always considered an ultralight as a motorcycle with wings...I didn't go around obstacles...I went over 'em!.
 
Grumman79L said:
I have many, many hours in different Ultralights; Quicksilvers, Phantoms, Flightstars (my fave), Weedhoppers (yes, I barely survived) and Rotax Rally's. I even have a couple of flights in a Sadler Vampire (and if I could find one now)...
Click to expand...

What do you think is a good setup for an ELSA on floats. I want two seats with decent payload (like at least 400 lbs not counting fuel), and something that can handle 15 kt winds. I'd much prefer a four stroke engine, but that's not mandatory. The Kolb Mark III I looked at would fit the bill but I do wish for something quieter, especially for the folks on the ground.
 
Heres a question: If I do something illegal in an Ultralight, is my PPL on the line?
 
SkyHog said:
Heres a question: If I do something illegal in an Ultralight, is my PPL on the line?
Click to expand...
Yup. FAA always looks for an actionable certificate. Then you have to get it back.
 
Last edited:
Grumman79L said:
Lance,
I'm not sure if this will qualify for SP but I guy at DTN has one and he loves it!
Powered by the Rotax 914 turbocharged four stroke it will cut along @ 110Kts.
Seats two side-by-side. Lands on water or land...

www.abstractconcreteworks.com/essays/SeaRey/BuildingSeaRey.html

Chris
Click to expand...

There are two of those (owned by brothers) at my home base. I've been trying to get a ride in one of them but it hasn't happened yet. Personally I'd prefer floats over a boat hull, but the latter certainly isn't out of the question.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top