Historic Ultralight Documentary 

I remember the St Marys strip, not far from Frogs Hollow west of Sydney. The strip was also used by Benson Gyrocopters and others for training. When the 2 seat trainers like the Thruster T300 / T500 were registered, it made flying safer and good basic flying skills could be learned from a qualified flight instructor. I was a Factory Flight Instructor for Thruster Aircraft and flew from the Picton strip which was a major Parachute centre next to the M5 highway. The Thruster Factory also secured rights to fly out of the Oaks airfield about 20 min from the St Marys strip, the members built a club house at the Oaks and at the time it was the largest club for Ultralights in Australia. Great times and great club members.

it's still there, mate. You just have to look for it. Part 103 is alive and well in the form of ultralight flying, powered paraglider flying, and powered parachute flying. It is bigger than ever. This early model is pretty marginal in terms of longevity and long term safety, and modern ultralights have come a long way

@@scottanthony4511 As much as I'd like for it to be, Part 103 isn't universal. It only applies in the US. I haven't found any other countries where you can (legally) fly unregistered aircraft with no licence.

I miss the 70s. We were on the verge of discovery without going crazy.

Too true. Aside from Watergate. And the winddown in Vietnam. And the Khmer Rouge. And the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. And the oil crisis. And the Chilean coup. And the Iranian revolution. And Munich. And

​@@ZacYates Yeah but we didn't have internet or cell phones so all that bad news wasn't in our faces 24/7 like it is today. I made far less money in the 70's but it seemed to buy me far more fun than I can afford these days.

Russ, Most people that get and buy UL dont get the required trng...They just think its not a "Real Plane", so They can go fly it w/ no instruction...Thats where they get themselfs in big trouble....Its like any thing else...You get trained and then go use it.....Its people that dont even know how to change a flat on thier own car. But w/ proper trng, they can be successful......Also, UL's are no more "weak and dangerous" than riding in a car.....Besides, Look at the Boeing 727 Max, all computerized and modern and it has killed numerous people and was flown by well-trained pilots. Also, most people are too lazy to maintain thier plane.....Let the maint. slip. it will mess you up...And its no different than a $2-4000.00 rifle that you never clean...Sooner or later , its gonna blow up in your face...... This vid is a perfect example of what I'm talking about..I use to fly RC planes....I'm the "Blue bird"...Well maintained and ready to fly....My buds, the "Red Bird".....Always come to the field w/ probs...Field maintenance......Big No No....Fix and repair your stuff at home, not at the field....

robert simmons . It must be a fantastic hobby Robert. Far too scary for me though. Good to watch. 👍👍👍.

@@neilhobson3624 no doubt, these guys were flying with literally 1/2 the weight that is allowed today not to mention the reliability difference.

dav snow mobilagiya

Mobil agiya

i used to watch them fly 1970 engine falures on take off were common so were crashes

dav snow.

The scout first flew and went into production in 1972,,,so it was the FIRST minimal aircraft designed as a minimal aircraft, cheers

Cybair ‘

These are Aussies, Bruce. A beer is mandatory.

Before those in power fucked Australia up

BlackarrowRC

What was your takeoff weight?

Behrouz Movahed m

The name you're after is Ron Wheeler. The Scout started out as the "Tweety" hang glider.

How much did the engines weigh?

They had many ultralights designed decades before this. They just weren't calling them ultralights. The Wright flier is a great example. The Wright brothers certainly played with gliders first but their Wright flier was built especially to go with the engine they had developed.

Damn right, the Scout was a great airplane. The trolls are just armchair internet pilots!

Wish I upgraded to the 277 rotax I had no coin at the time to do so

With a wing spar made of sailing components a fatigue failure was almost inevitable ....the drag wires also had to resist the turning moment of the front spar - there was no load analysis done and its fortunate most of these "aircraft" didn't accumulate many flight hours, or it's likely we would have seen more than one fatality.

Just because it didn't kill you doesn't make it a great aeroplane.

I didnt say it was a great aeroplane - it was a tough aeroplane - and it had characteristics you would expect from a 1st generation ultralight - it wasnt that comfortable to fly, it wouldnt fly "hands off" - but it was the first ultralight aircraft in Australia. I'm glad I owned and flew it. but these days I'd be looking for something more comfortable and better engineered for a minimal aircraft. eg Aeros Ant.

Bill was actually inspired to manufacture the Dragonfly just by the fact that it was demonstrated to be the perfect aircraft to tow hang gliders.

привет, можешь пож. помочь найти чертежи данного самолета?

Megakoss100 From where are you?

Megakoss100 is. Pp

Guardian Observevx to

I'm selling my Mk 3 with the floats and all original documentation on it

Brings back good memories

Shane Arkwright Did you manage to sell the Scout. Where did you buy it in the first place.

I was looking for something like this. Congratulations. May the author whatsap me please : +265994185591

@@shanearkwright1691 Hello

You can fly with less than 100cc. It depends on weight. If it revs too high you will need to gear it though. Propellers don't like high RPMs.

Less than 100cc engines.

+Alejandro Irausquin it was the Skycraft Scout.

+Christian Smith Thanks!

Alejandro Irausquin

っqAlejandro っ

здравствуй. можешь пож. помочь найти чертежи данного самолета?

they were a Robins 18HP hahahaha and I own one of these birds that has 3 axis controls using wing warping

A Robins pump engine modified which with the geared reduction could pull near 50kgs static thrust

Dihedral.

@John Daley At the time it was illegal to fly above 300 ft. You had to stay in the death zone. Have you watched "Dreadlocks In A Flat Spin"?

1973 when no licence required and maximum ceiling of 300 ft auf did not happen until 1986

and yes they are all wheeler scouts

News Flash, We still do!

Gone are the days of the good old aussie pioneer spirt and innovation Today are the days of idiot latte sipping bureaucrats wanting to make a name for themselves with all there over regulation

Steves Projects ......Steve, same thing in the U.S. All a bunch of pussies scared of their own shadows!

I've dreamed of owning one my whole life and built and flew tons of rc aircraft which I taught myself everything. I'm battling buying an ultralight and teaching myself. I hear so many people highly recommend training. But I know all the fundamentals of flying and landing. I'm more than confident I could hop around a field all day until the butterflies subside.