Silverwing Aviation Ltd. - Home - Freedom to Fly ... With No Limits!

Obtaining an Ultralight Pilot Permit opens you up to many more aircraft and freedoms than you would have thought! And has much fewer restrictions than you would believe!

Simply put, you can fly a lot more types of aircraft than you could imagine, and fly almost anywhere you would hope to!

Aircraft:

Pilots holding an Ultralight Pilot Permit are eligible to fly an ENORMOUS variety of aircraft, including:

• Basic Ultralights
• Advanced Ultralights
• Homebuilt Aircraft*
• Kit Built Aircraft*
• Certified Aircraft*
• Float Equipped Aircraft

*Aircraft falling under these designations must adhere to the maximum takeoff weight and minimum stall speed requirements of basic ultralights.

All of these need no further endorsements or ratings. That means you DO NOT require a float rating to fly ultralight floatplanes or amphibious ultra-lights.

Ultralight Pilot Privileges:

An Ultralight Pilot Permit holder has the following privileges:

• May fly any aircraft falling under the definition of an ultralight.
• May fly nearly everywhere any other general aviation aircraft is permitted, including controlled airspace. (Controlled airspace will usually require a transponder).
• May carry another pilot with no extra qualifications.
• May carry passengers if they hold a 'Passenger Carrying Endorsement' on their Ultralight Pilot Permit.
• May fly any aircraft falling under the ultralight definition on either wheels, floats, or is an amphibious aircraft without requiring any further endorsements - ie.: A float rating is not required.
• May fly any ultralight aircraft during Day VFR - exactly the same as any holder of a Private Pilot License.

A holder of an Ultralight Pilot Permit has nearly all of the privileges of a Recreational or Private Pilot, being able to fly to all the same places, and even being able to take a friend along.
The restrictions are very few - if you wish to fly at night, or IFR, you will need a minimum of a Private Pilot license and then will require those additional endorsements.

Compare Licenses:

This table outlines the differences in privileges between the main license types: 1) Ultralight Pilot Permit - Ultralight; 2) Recreational Pilot Permit - Recreational; 3) Private Pilot License (w/o IFR Endorsement) - PPL

	Ultra-Light	Recreational	PPL
Number of Passengers:	1	1*	No Limit
Airspace:	C, D, E, F, G	C, D, E, F, G	C, D, E, F, G
Daytime Only:	Yes	Yes	Day or Night**
Weather:	VFR	VFR	VFR^
Need Float Endorsement	No***	Yes	Yes

In summary, you have the same privileges as a recreational pilot or a private pilot; with the exceptions that you're limited to a maximum of 1 additional occupant; and that persons with a PPL may operate at night with the addition of a night endorsement. You are permitted to fly in all the airspace, and to all the aerodromes afforded to all general aviation aircraft not flying IFR. The added bonus is you are permitted to fly aircraft on floats without requiring an added endorsement!

Compare Aircraft:

This table outlines the different limitations in aircraft types. Note: This table discusses the differences in aircraft types, individual pilot privileges will vary.

	Basic	Advanced	CUL	Certified
Max Takeoff Weight:	1200 lbs	1232 lbs	1200* lbs	12 500 lbs
Max Number of Seats:	2	2	2	No limit
Daytime Only:	Daytime Only	Daytime Only	Day or Night**	Day or Night
Weather:	VFR	VFR	VFR/IFR	VFR/IFR
Need Float Endorsement:	No***	No***	No***	Yes

Basic Ultralight - Basic
Advanced Ultralight - Advanced
Certified Aircraft in Ultralight Category - CUL*
Certified Aircraft - Cert.

Many aircraft that are certified, home built, kit built, etc. fall into the Ultralight Category, and are eligible to be flown by pilots holding an Ultralight Pilot Permit (UPP)

In summary, ultralights may carry no more than 2 persons and can operate in day VFR only. Only certified aircraft are permitted to fly at night, or in IFR conditions. Ultralight aircraft do not require you to have a floatplane rating to operate.

Fly for free!

Can you really fly for free? Actually, yes you can - in a manner of speaking. Follow along with us on this one:

First of all, ultra-lights typically cost less per hour to fly than their certified counterpart. So for the given amount of money, you can fly more hours in an ultra-light!

Secondly, if you choose to go on to obtaining your Recreational Pilot Permit, 100% of your ultra-light hours can be credited to your time in the more expensive aircraft. That is tantamount to exactly a credit for free hours! Similarly with your Private Pilot License and Commercial Pilot License you are also credited hours.

Thirdly, the more frequently you fly during your flight training, the less review you will require on each flight. This saves you time, and therefore money, in the end. We are committed to making ourselves and our aircraft available to meet your schedule requirements.

Finally, we take great pains to ensure our aircraft are well-maintained, reliable and ready for flight when you arrive. Far too often many other flight schools cancel at the last minute, or worse you arrive and discover defects with the aircraft. These cancellations can cause you to lose not only your opportunity to fly that day, but also if you booked time off work, you've lost that income, too. We have been through this, ourselves, as students and it can cause a great loss of time, money and expense. With aircraft down for significant amounts of time, you will regress in your training; which in turn causes you to have to make up with more flights. If we can avoid you that hassle, we will save you money .... ergo: free flying!

Check us out, we've been around long enough to see other schools cause an exceeding amount of grief to students and pilots; causing delay after delay in their training. And WAY TOO OFTEN not even affording access to aircraft after taking student's money.

Unfortunately many students walk away after so much frustration, dissillusionment, and loss of deposits and monies. Those who persevere usually have had to redo much of their training due to ongoing delays. The more money we save you, the more you can spend on flying.

- Free flying!

MORE Examples of Ultra-Light Aircraft:

portfolio — AeroDesigns Pulsar

AeroDesigns

http://www.silverwingaviation.com/files/images/indexslideshow/0004.jpg — Ikarus C-42

Ikarus C-42

http://www.silverwingaviation.com/files/images/indexslideshow/0005.jpg — Rans S6ES Coyote II

Rans S6ES Coyote II

Shattering Ultra-Light Myths

“ Ultra-Lights are Unsafe ”

Well maintained Ultra-Lights are kept to a WAY greater condition than most certified aircraft - Myth #1

“ Ultra-Lights have poor performance ”

Modern ultralights have a lighter wing loading and usually a greater power to weight ratio than aircraft like the Cessna 172 and 152. Ultra-Lights can take off and land on shorter fields. With the greater power and a lighter wing loading, can usually climb much steeper over a given distance than the common 172s, 152s, etc. - Myth #2

“ Ultra-Lights are very slow ”

Some ultralights can cruise at speeds of 300km/h! It is true that ultralights must have a stall speed of no greater than 45mph, however, the ultralights we fly typically cruise at between 90 - 110 mph. - Myth #3

“ Ultralights are loud, exposed cockpit, pusher prop configuration aircraft, with go-kart like tricycle wheels ”

While some ultralights are still constructed that way, most modern ultralights are tractor configuration (propeller is in the front), with enclosed cockpits, where you are protected from the elements and the noise of the wind.
They have conventional, steerable landing gear like any other conventional aircraft. - Myth #4

“ You do not need a license to fly ultralights. ”

Well, it's TECHINCALLY called a 'permit'. But yes, you are required to have a 'license' to fly ultralights in Canada. - Myth #5

“ You are not permitted to carry passengers. ”

If you have a 'Passenger Carry Endorsement" on your ultralight permit, you are permitted to carry passengers in an Advanced Ultralight or Certified aircraft falling under the 'Ultra-Light' guidlines.
If you have a basic ultralight, or do not have the 'Passenger Carry Endorsement', you are still permitted to have someone with you who ALSO holds a pilot permit or license.
All ultra-lights are limited to a maximum of 2 persons on board. Or, in other words, the pilot and one other person. - Myth #6

“ Ultralight pilots are not trained as well as other pilots. ”

At Silverwing Aviation we are hyper focused on safety and pilot proficiency.
Our goal is to provide you with the best training possible.
While it is true that the requirements for an Ultralight Pilot Permit are much lower than other pilot licenses - and many ultralight schools abuse that laxness - we are going to ensure you have the skills and experience necessary to be a safe pilot. - Myth #7

“ Ultralight aircraft are limited in where they can legally fly. ”

COMPLETELY FALSE!:

Provided your ultralight is equipped with a transponder, you can fly anywhere any other Non-IFR certified aircraft can fly, including virtually all civil aviation airports and aerodromes across the country.
And in many cases we can get into and out of airstrips that most certified aircraft are incapable of.
Ultralights are even permitted to fly across the border to the United States, and back. - Myth #8

Ultra-lights are no longer the ultra-lights of old. Ultra-lights are no longer what you think they are!
Click HERE to shatter your misconceptions!

Learn More

Ultra-Light Myths

Nearly everything you think you know about ultra-lights is probably wrong! They can fly nearly anywhere you like, whenever you like; with almost none of the restrictions you presumed. Many have better performance and are just as safe, or safer than certified aircraft! There are so many things ultra-lights can do that you never thought possible.

Frequently Asked Questions

All the most common frequently asked questions are here. Did you know that you do not need a float rating to fly an ultra-light on floats? This and many more questions are answered here!

Avoid Ripoff Flight Schools

Please beware: We have first hand knowledge of the unscrupulous conduct encountered at the other ultra-light schools in the Lower Mainland. DO NOT get ripped off! Please forgive us while this is a VERY VERY rough draft still in the works.

Obtaining an Ultralight Pilot Permit opens you up to many more aircraft and freedoms than you would have thought! And has much fewer restrictions than you would believe!

Simply put, you can fly a lot more types of aircraft than you could imagine, and fly almost anywhere you would hope to!

Pilots holding an Ultralight Pilot Permit are eligible to fly an ENORMOUS variety of aircraft, including: