History

of Recreational Aviation

In the early days, flying recreational aircraft was heavily restricted to flying very light, spartan and under powered single seat aircraft of home built construction and design, (which flew with varying degrees of success). One of the major limitations required that Ultralights fly at lower than 300 feet above the ground. You were not allowed to cross a road or fly over a building, and for many "pilots" with zero or limited training, as soon as a difficulty of any kind eventuated, there was no altitude available (and hence time), to provide for emergency procedures.

The result was a number of "Ultralight Crashes" headlines in newspapers around the country, leading to a slanted view of Ultralight Aircraft being considered flimsy, dangerous and piloted by unskilled "cowboys".

As time passed and the technology of light but more powerful motors arrived, continued lobbying of the aviation regulators has also allowed for heavier and stronger aircraft, flying at altitudes up to 10,000 feet, allowing structure and safety into our flying training today. In fact RA-Aus Instructors are required to train to the same competency as General Aviation, but do not require a "Commercial Pilots Licence" as this is a recreational flying association, not a commercial air charter business.

We can now fly aircraft up to 600Kg in take off weight with engines over 120HP, and speeds over 120 knots, and that is faster than your average Cessna 172.

In a nutshell, flying RA-Aus is now as safe as flying in any General Aviation aircraft, as long as some basic rules are followed to maximise safety, and which compensate for the limitations in aircraft design and performance.