How To Build An Ultralight Trike
So many people postpone their dream to fly because of lack of time or money. If you knew that for few thousand dollars, few months and a lot of fun you could have your own ultralight airplane, would you still postpone?
Building an ultralight trike yourself is one of the most exciting, yet pretty achievable things you can do to achieve your dream. If you think you need a master’s degree in engineering and construction genius, you are wrong. People like me and you build ultralight trikes every day. And yes, they fly on them!
So how do you go?
Purchase Construction Plans
You can purchase plans online even in download able format. The prices rare exceed few hundreds (and often are under $100), but the plans contain everything you need.
Preferably, get plans with full size drawings to you can avoid inaccuracies in resizing. Make sure that the plans contain a complete list of materials and sources so you an save time looking around.
You can also use a partial kit
Some companies offer partial trial kits. This is an excellent way to gain some experience and expertise and later decide if you want to purchase the kit or just continue building only by the plans. The trial kits of course are much cheaper than the complete ones and take less time to be built. Most companies also provide free phone support.
What kind of airplane to build?
This article is called “How To Build An Ultralight Trike” because I believe the ultralight trikes are the best beginning for starters. They are much simpler and faster to complete than the fixed wing airplanes. Finally, the kits and the materials for them are much cheaper.
How much time is it going to take?
For someone with skillful hands building an ultralight trike from scratch will take 1500 – 2000 hours. Count 2500 if you are not that good in working with tools.
If you want to do things faster, just purchase a kit. With a good kit you’ll build your ultralight trike for 250 – 300 hours.
Just don’t let bias to keep you away from your dream. Building an ultralight airplane yourself is not only possible, it is fun.
