Though I'm a pilot I'm not going to claim I know everything. Guy I know bought a Mosquito ultralight helicopter, claims because it's ultralight no licensing is required.
He's skipping around his property learning control, asked if I wanted to try it. No thank you. Someday he may find himself near other aircraft where there are rules, without training he won't know how to communicate with them or what to do.
Helicopters are sketchy to me anyway, but no license required?
Love to hear from you.
IIRC, under a certain weight, speed, and range are considered ultralights. I think you also have to stay under 400' but I won't swear to that.
They always seemed like an expensive way to commit suicide to me.
Where is he, so that the rest of us can steer clear away?
Looks like FAA Part 103 covers them.
1) Weighs less than 254 pounds empty weight, excluding floats and safety devices which are intended for deployment in a potentially catastrophic situation;
(2) Has a fuel capacity not exceeding 5 U.S. gallons;
(3) Is not capable of more than 55 knots calibrated airspeed at full power in level flight; and
(4) Has a power-off stall speed which does not exceed 24 knots calibrated airspeed.
I'm not sure how a helicopter meets the power off stall speed requirements. They tend to fall immediately when the throttle is closed.
Cool. Not as cool as the WWI biplane styled ultralights, but still cool. I want one.
For the record, I am a licensed fixed wing pilot.
I'd heard experimental/ultra light aircraft didn't need a license to operate. I thought the ultra lightness would make them considerably more dangerous in wind and you should probably have to have a license.
Still, I think that's a little more sane than the people who fly around strapped to drywall fans with parachutes on top. I have no idea what they are really called, but they were pretty popular on the left coast.
It's just not for me, the ground is solid and I'm clumsy and prone to simple mistakes.
This sounds like a problem that will resolve itself in due time.
I was sort of obsessed with autogyros for a while until my wife threatened to take away the internet if I didn't stop. I approve of the freedom that allows people to do this, I'm just not allowed to play. 
There were a couple old-timers at the county airport who took to flying ultra light planes when they couldn't pass the physical, they just wanted to keep flying.
Helicopters do not actually fly. They are just so ugly that the earth repels them.
914Driver wrote: ...asked if I wanted to try it....
Holy crap, is he insane. Do you have any idea how difficult it would be to just jump in one? (hovering is the hardest part btw)
You made a very good decision. It looks like he is pretty good at it though.
Helicopter can "glide" in a way BTW. It's called autorotation and uses the the wind through the blades to keep them turning as you descend and uses the inertia in the blades to flair and land.
This peaked my curiosity, so I found the manufacturer website. While your friend may very well be technically correct, even the guys building these seem to suggest it's a really bad idea if you intend to fly these without proper training.
I thought it was going to be this:
I believe ultralight helicopters do not require a license. Doesn't mean its smart to fly one with no training.
In reply to RevRico:
They're called powered parachute's. Fairly inexpensive and when the engine quits, you still have a parachute! I'd love one but the wife said no.
I grew up in the era of the ultralights. Going to Oshkosh to see the new stuff.
Helicopters may be classified as ultralights under part 103. AC103-7 goes into it further actually naming helicopters as part of the powered flight section, as well as airships and such.
He should make sure that he's very familiar with the regulations and probably spring for some instruction...
mazdeuce wrote: I was sort of obsessed with autogyros for a while until my wife threatened to take away the internet if I didn't stop. I approve of the freedom that allows people to do this, I'm just not allowed to play.
Along time ago when I flew an ultralight and shared a field with several gyrocopters, they were considered devices for which the sole intended function was to get you far enough above the ground that the fall would kill you.
Start a betting pool on when he wrecks it?
I know it's a very bad idea, but if you put a gun to my head and sat me in a fixed wing FAR 103 ultralight in good weather I bet I could take off, fly around, and probably land well enough to not total the plane. Do the same with a helicopter of any kind and I'd probably be dead in under a minute, I can barely fly the helicopters in Grand Theft Auto, let alone in real life.
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RevRico wrote:I'd heard experimental/ultra light aircraft didn't need a license to operate. I thought the ultra lightness would make them considerably more dangerous in wind and you should probably have to have a license.
Just jumping in to point out that an aircraft can be "experimental" and not an "ultralight", and as such will require a pilot's license. An ultralight can be/notbe experimental. IIRC, you're required to have approval of the USUA to fly an ultralight, and if you don't basically any accident damage comes out of your personal liability insurance. ymmv
I was about to say that there was no one there to teach Igor Sikorsky how to fly the helicopter he invented, but then I realized he'd been flying fixed wing aircraft for years.
This guy is too ignorant to realize he might be dead already.
Bobzilla wrote: In reply to RevRico: They're called powered parachute's. Fairly inexpensive and when the engine quits, you still have a parachute! I'd love one but the wife said no. I grew up in the era of the ultralights. Going to Oshkosh to see the new stuff.
The powered parachute sounds awesome.
I bet he won't be able to get any insurance for it.
Appleseed wrote: I was about to say that there was no one there to teach Igor Sikorsky how to fly the helicopter he invented, but then I realized he'd been flying fixed wing aircraft for years. This guy is too ignorant to realize he might be dead already.
Very different skill, but it will help.
I am pretty sure Sikorsky had all of his prototypes well strapped to the ground by a short cord until he was sure he could control them.
Two words: Davey Allison.
I have a friend who flies Seahawks for the Navy. He says that while an airplane's natural tendency is to keep flying unless you do something stupid, helicopters try to kill you every second they're not on the ground.
I'm pretty certain that whether or not you need a license to operate a helicopter has zero affect on your ability to operate a helicopter.
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