Posted: 7/3/2026 9:24:29 AM EDT
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I've often thought about how cool it would be to live somewhere where flight is the only practical means of commute like living in rural Alaska. Due to inspection rules and whatknot always seemed like an ultra lite would be pretty practical other than range and weight constraints. But that makes me wonder how feasible is it to fly an ultra lite cross country. How would you go about planning a route where you can refuel when needed? Is it practical? |
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Ultralight. Cross country is feasible, but not practical with a US legal ultralight limited to 5 gallons of fuel, 55 knots, and no practical payload other than pilot. Route planning means using a sectional chart and other resources to determine whether fuel is available at air fields where you could operate. Take along an empty fuel can in case you need to walk for gas. One exception might be a Hummel Ultracruiser with a four stroke engine. Here's one owned by an aquaintance in Kansas City:  12.26.25 MERRY CHRISTMAS flight!!! Dennis scratch built an Ultracruiser, then a H5, then another Ultracruiser from a kit, and flies nearly every day when the weather cooperates. |
Keep your powder dry, and watch your back trail.
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Originally Posted By AeroE: Ultralight. Cross country is feasible, but not practical with a US legal ultralight limited to 5 gallons of fuel, 55 knots, and no practical payload other than pilot. Route planning means using a sectional chart and other resources to determine whether fuel is available at air fields where you could operate. Take along an empty fuel can in case you need to walk for gas. One exception might be a Hummel Ultracruiser with a four stroke engine. Here's one owned by an aquaintance in Kansas City:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jE_0J4O0u5ADennis scratch built an Ultracruiser, then a H5, then another Ultracruiser from a kit, and flies nearly every day when the weather cooperates. What kind of range does that get on 5 gallons? That was kind along the lines of what I was thinking...a clean line kit. My dad was flying out of St Augustine when I was a kid and they pulled out a j3 cub ultra light that they had built and were taking up for a test flight. A big fat dude got into it, must have been over 250 lbs took it up. Lifted and flew like nothing. Any rules about flying into small airports? |
| First question is are you a licensed pilot? If not, then get a sport pilot certificate. That will answer most of your questions about what is practical. |
Dave Funk
Past President and now a Board of Directors member Iowa Firearms Coalition. Past President of the Iowa Chapter-SCI.
Past President and now a Board of Directors member Iowa Firearms Coalition. Past President of the Iowa Chapter-SCI.
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Originally Posted By urbanredneck: What kind of range does that get on 5 gallons? That was kind along the lines of what I was thinking...a clean line kit. My dad was flying out of St Augustine when I was a kid and they pulled out a j3 cub ultra light that they had built and were taking up for a test flight. A big fat dude got into it, must have been over 250 lbs took it up. Lifted and flew like nothing. Any rules about flying into small airports? Originally Posted By urbanredneck: Originally Posted By AeroE: Ultralight. Cross country is feasible, but not practical with a US legal ultralight limited to 5 gallons of fuel, 55 knots, and no practical payload other than pilot. Route planning means using a sectional chart and other resources to determine whether fuel is available at air fields where you could operate. Take along an empty fuel can in case you need to walk for gas. One exception might be a Hummel Ultracruiser with a four stroke engine. Here's one owned by an aquaintance in Kansas City: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jE_0J4O0u5ADennis scratch built an Ultracruiser, then a H5, then another Ultracruiser from a kit, and flies nearly every day when the weather cooperates. What kind of range does that get on 5 gallons? That was kind along the lines of what I was thinking...a clean line kit. My dad was flying out of St Augustine when I was a kid and they pulled out a j3 cub ultra light that they had built and were taking up for a test flight. A big fat dude got into it, must have been over 250 lbs took it up. Lifted and flew like nothing. Any rules about flying into small airports? Maybe 100 miles range in still air with a half VW engine with a tiny reserve of fuel. 55 knots is 63 mph. Some public airports will attempt to restrict operation. They can't if they receive federal funding. The operators will argue about that anyway. The regulations are clear on where an ultralight can operate. https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-14/chapter-I/subchapter-F/part-103 Learning the airspace is close to critical to fly far or near controlled airspace. There are several useful videos on YouTube for the basics and sorting out complicated air space and airports. |
Keep your powder dry, and watch your back trail.
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Originally Posted By JKW: It’s already been done over a hundred years ago - in 1911, look up the Vin Fiz. 😄 Yes, I know it was a whole different world then. If I'm not mistaken, the Vin Fiz had an empty weight that was around three times the legal max empty weight under part 103 for powered ultralight aircraft (254 pounds?). The Wright 1902 glider was around 40 pounds lighter than the part 103 requirement for unpowered ultralights (155 pounds?), so it would appear to be much easier to show up at a hang glider launch site with a replica of a Wright 1902 and fly it as a legal ultralight, than to find a way to shave enough weight off of a Wright EX replica (starting with the engine weight) and attempt to duplicate the Vin Fiz flight under part 103. |
Earthsheltered house - a reinforced bunker that even the treehuggers consider to be socially acceptable.
Earthbag house - like an earthsheltered house, but cheaper and easier to DIY.
Earthbag house - like an earthsheltered house, but cheaper and easier to DIY.
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I’m not disputing any of that, it more to the point that a modern ultralight has about the same speed and range limitations as the Vin Fiz. It would be interesting to compare how to do the same trip in today. You would have a much more reliable airplane, but much more difficulty working around the legal limits. |
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Originally Posted By JKW: I’m not disputing any of that, it more to the point that a modern ultralight has about the same speed and range limitations as the Vin Fiz. It would be interesting to compare how to do the same trip in today. You would have a much more reliable airplane, but much more difficulty working around the legal limits. It could likely still be done, but I suspect that you would want a chase crew on the ground, carrying tools and spare parts, along with fuel for the areas where you will likely end up making some off-field refueling stops due to the distance between airports. |
Earthsheltered house - a reinforced bunker that even the treehuggers consider to be socially acceptable.
Earthbag house - like an earthsheltered house, but cheaper and easier to DIY.
Earthbag house - like an earthsheltered house, but cheaper and easier to DIY.
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Not an ultra light, but I've flown helicopters coast-to-coast countless times, sometimes with as little as 150nm of range. Crossing the rockies in an ultra light with a headwind would be my biggest concern. I never had a problem finding jet fuel and there are tons of airports with only gasoline and no jet fuel. If you're talking 100nm or less of range that could be an issue, but in such sparsely populated areas you could just land within walking distance of a gas station if your ultralight needs just a few gallons of unleaded! Flying across the country low and slow (helicopter, ultralight, etc) is a ton of fun. You see the sights, stop in tons of places you would otherwise never know about, and if you pass through the desert SW you will see all sorts of crazy stuff. I knew a guy in graduate school who commuted to work via airplane. He wanted to learn to fly so he got his private license and bought an airplane (his wife was a dentist) to commute to school and work. He left a beater car at the airport near school/work to drive when he flew in, if the weather was bad he just drove to work like normal. Driving was a bit over an hour while flying was maybe 20-30 minutes, but preflight, tie down, fueling, etc. ate up any time savings. He sold the plane after a year or two. |
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Originally Posted By JPN: It could likely still be done, but I suspect that you would want a chase crew on the ground, carrying tools and spare parts, along with fuel for the areas where you will likely end up making some off-field refueling stops due to the distance between airports. I think this is the part that made me wonder. Would local airports be a go or no go and how hard would it be to land for gas if you had no designated airport. I would think google earth would be an immense benefit, being able to find someplace to land at your next pit stop. |
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Uncontrolled airports won't be a problem, but towered fields would be without a radio or transponder. You could also call ahead to private fields for landing permission. In any event, having sectional charts will be necessary if you dont have an aviation GPS. |
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Originally Posted By urbanredneck: I would think google earth would be an immense benefit, being able to find someplace to land at your next pit stop. Google earth would be of some use, but it won't tell you everything you need to know. First problem is the limit on how much detail it will show, with rural areas usually being lower resolution than urban areas. This means the areas where it shows the highest resolution would be of not much use to you, while the areas where you need as much resolution as you can get, will be lower in resolution. Then there's the question of how recently the images were updated. Won't do you any good (could actually hurt if you planned for it) to get to what google earth showed as a long pasture next to a road, only to find it filled with corn. You'll need multiple map sources, starting with aviation sectionals to identify what airspace you should avoid (anything not class G or class E). You'll also need to identify any terrain that is too high for your ultralight to safely (and legally) fly over. Get those areas sorted out, and you'll have a map with 'no go' areas marked. From there the process of connecting dots would probably start - locating uncontrolled airports along your tentative route, then seeing if you can connect them with distances that would allow a safe reserve with your ultralight's range. If you can find a route that doesn't have any gaps between airports that are too long, then off-field stops would be shifted to an emergency issue, instead of a requirement for fuel planning. And there's still the possibility of a NOTAM being issued and throwing your plans off at the last minute, so it would be a good idea to have alternate routes planned out for whatever pops up (such as a storm front) along your planned route. And once the plan is complete, take your estimated time for the trip and at least triple it, due to various delays that will (not 'may', but 'will') happen. |
Earthsheltered house - a reinforced bunker that even the treehuggers consider to be socially acceptable.
Earthbag house - like an earthsheltered house, but cheaper and easier to DIY.
Earthbag house - like an earthsheltered house, but cheaper and easier to DIY.
|
Originally Posted By JPN: Google earth would be of some use, but it won't tell you everything you need to know. First problem is the limit on how much detail it will show, with rural areas usually being lower resolution than urban areas. This means the areas where it shows the highest resolution would be of not much use to you, while the areas where you need as much resolution as you can get, will be lower in resolution. Then there's the question of how recently the images were updated. Won't do you any good (could actually hurt if you planned for it) to get to what google earth showed as a long pasture next to a road, only to find it filled with corn. You'll need multiple map sources, starting with aviation sectionals to identify what airspace you should avoid (anything not class G or class E). You'll also need to identify any terrain that is too high for your ultralight to safely (and legally) fly over. Get those areas sorted out, and you'll have a map with 'no go' areas marked. From there the process of connecting dots would probably start - locating uncontrolled airports along your tentative route, then seeing if you can connect them with distances that would allow a safe reserve with your ultralight's range. If you can find a route that doesn't have any gaps between airports that are too long, then off-field stops would be shifted to an emergency issue, instead of a requirement for fuel planning. And there's still the possibility of a NOTAM being issued and throwing your plans off at the last minute, so it would be a good idea to have alternate routes planned out for whatever pops up (such as a storm front) along your planned route. And once the plan is complete, take your estimated time for the trip and at least triple it, due to various delays that will (not 'may', but 'will') happen. I am somewhat familiar private flying, controlled airspace and all. I am just more curious about the hypothetical of trying to actually travel with an ultralight. Should probably just disregard heavily populated areas and go back to the original thought of the practicality of using in a remote area....like western US or Alaska. I live at a remote cabin and weigh 180 lbs...how much gear could I reasonably expect to haul with me? Something like the scaled down J3 cub or an Airbike? 5 gallons of fuel and 2 gallon burn rate, I might safely get 100 miles...watch the weather so you don't fight headwinds... Prob get a lot less economy if you wanted to have those big tires for rough landing strips. |
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Originally Posted By urbanredneck: I am somewhat familiar private flying, controlled airspace and all. I am just more curious about the hypothetical of trying to actually travel with an ultralight. Should probably just disregard heavily populated areas and go back to the original thought of the practicality of using in a remote area....like western US or Alaska. I live at a remote cabin and weigh 180 lbs...how much gear could I reasonably expect to haul with me? Something like the scaled down J3 cub or an Airbike? 5 gallons of fuel and 2 gallon burn rate, I might safely get 100 miles...watch the weather so you don't fight headwinds... Prob get a lot less economy if you wanted to have those big tires for rough landing strips. Originally Posted By urbanredneck: Originally Posted By JPN: Google earth would be of some use, but it won't tell you everything you need to know. First problem is the limit on how much detail it will show, with rural areas usually being lower resolution than urban areas. This means the areas where it shows the highest resolution would be of not much use to you, while the areas where you need as much resolution as you can get, will be lower in resolution. Then there's the question of how recently the images were updated. Won't do you any good (could actually hurt if you planned for it) to get to what google earth showed as a long pasture next to a road, only to find it filled with corn. You'll need multiple map sources, starting with aviation sectionals to identify what airspace you should avoid (anything not class G or class E). You'll also need to identify any terrain that is too high for your ultralight to safely (and legally) fly over. Get those areas sorted out, and you'll have a map with 'no go' areas marked. From there the process of connecting dots would probably start - locating uncontrolled airports along your tentative route, then seeing if you can connect them with distances that would allow a safe reserve with your ultralight's range. If you can find a route that doesn't have any gaps between airports that are too long, then off-field stops would be shifted to an emergency issue, instead of a requirement for fuel planning. And there's still the possibility of a NOTAM being issued and throwing your plans off at the last minute, so it would be a good idea to have alternate routes planned out for whatever pops up (such as a storm front) along your planned route. And once the plan is complete, take your estimated time for the trip and at least triple it, due to various delays that will (not 'may', but 'will') happen. I am somewhat familiar private flying, controlled airspace and all. I am just more curious about the hypothetical of trying to actually travel with an ultralight. Should probably just disregard heavily populated areas and go back to the original thought of the practicality of using in a remote area....like western US or Alaska. I live at a remote cabin and weigh 180 lbs...how much gear could I reasonably expect to haul with me? Something like the scaled down J3 cub or an Airbike? 5 gallons of fuel and 2 gallon burn rate, I might safely get 100 miles...watch the weather so you don't fight headwinds... Prob get a lot less economy if you wanted to have those big tires for rough landing strips. I recommend you read FAR Part 103. As far as how much you can carry, there is no legal limit like with certified aircraft- if you can safely fly with it, you can. The problem lies with the fact most ultralights are very pitch sensitive and have a CG range that is extremely small, so you can easily get out of CG and have pitch control issues. I've flown 4 different models of ultrakites and all 4 were that way. Back then, I was kinda heavy- well, actually a fatass- and the birds would get off the ground but they were a bit squirrelly. |
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14 year old Alina Scott flew an Aerolite 103 from Mount Pleasant SC to Oshkosh in 2023. It took a week and 41 25-50 mile hops to cover the 1000 mile trip. Her Dad met her at each airfield with fuel and food. One of the few viable 4 stroke setups is the Aero 1000, based on a Swiss go kart motor that has been used on paramotors, Quicksilver and Aerolite ultralights. It claims 1.2 Gal/Hr fuel burn. On a legal ultralight(5 Gallons of fuel) this would give you 2 hours of flight time, keeping a bit over 2 gallons in reserve. With enough time and reliable support you could go almost anywhere you want. |