26 Vol.3 No.7 / July 2014
ULTRALIGHT FUN
A Kolb Aircraft FireStar fl ying at Sun 'n Fun 2014. Homer Kolb fi rst designed the
Kolb Flyer in the early 1970s and put it into production in the early 1980s. Kolb
went on to design a number of ultralight-like designs. www.kolbaircraft.com
John Moody, fi rst to fl y an Easy Riser ultralight in 1975, is seen here in 2014 doing a
pre-takeoff static engine check with a mouth-controlled kill switch, a carryover from
the early days of foot-launched ultralights.
Paul Mather's 2008 M-Squared Breese has logged 900 hours of fl ight and given
more than 1,000 introductory rides. It's seen here awaiting a soggy sunrise at
the 2014 Sun 'n Fun Fly-In. www.msquaredaircraft.com
The 244-cc Polini Thor single-cylinder, liquid-cooled, two-stroke engine comes
from the powered paraglider fi eld, but at 37 hp it also powers ultralights such as
the Belite ProCub. www.polini.com
Roy T. "Gypsy Pilot" Hanon just seconds before landing his Powrachute Airwolf
powered parachute (PPC) with a passenger in the rear seat. Two-seat ppcs are
not ultralights, but rather operate in the light-sport aircraft category.
A tandem, foot-launched powered paraglider; a single-place, foot-launched powered
paraglider; and a single-place powered paraglider on a tricycle cart represent the
three forms available for this type of fl ying while sharing some premium air time.
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