They have been deliberated for some time, and now, USUA has changed some of the rules written in the Ultralight Airmen and Vehicle Registration Program. According to Dale Hooper, USUA, Director of Membership and Registration, "We believe these changes reflect USUA's attitude about appropriate training requirements for all airmen registrations and that they will continue to provide for safe training as well as promote increased participation by future pilots and instructors."
The changes come as the results of requests, complaints and/or recommendations from USUA members nationwide and will be implemented immediately.
The following information relates only to specific elements of the rules as specified in the USUA Ultralight Airmen and Vehicle Registration Program. Other requirements of these rules remain in effect.
1. Student Pilots -- Age: This rule changes the minimum student age to 12 years old, and adds the requirement that candidates for solo flights under instruction shall have reached 16 years of age. All students under 18 will have written parental consent.
Lowering student registration age from 14 to 12 enables more participation by youth and youth organizations such as Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts and others. It allows BFI/AFI's to introduce youngsters to ultralight flying at an earlier age but limits the solo age to 16.
2. Basic Flight Instructor Requirements -- Fundamentals of Instructing: Allows this test to be administered by either FAA or a BFI/AFI of an organization holding a training exemption to FAA FAR Part 103.
Successful completion of the Fundamentals of Instructing examination is a prerequisite for BFI candidates and historically has been administered by an FAA certified testing center. This rule change enables USUA BFI/AFI's to administer the exam for a fee and will also be accepted by the FAA to meet requirements for sport pilot instructor candidates in the future.
3. Basic Flight Instructor Privileges and Responsibilities – BFI Candidate Training: This pertains to current BFIs who want to train a BFI candidate. The modified rule requires a current BFI to have trained and tested at least one (1) USUA registered pilot and logged at least seventy-five (75) hours of dual ultralight training in the air. (Note: this is not to be confused with the requirement for one hundred (100) hours logged to become a BFI)
The previous requirement for BFIs to train and test five (5) pilots before being allowed to train a BFI candidate proved to be restrictive, and was not a meaningful gauge of the BFIs training abilities. Many BFIs have spent hundreds of hours training ultralight flyers but received no credit for doing so. This rule change allows credit for the experience gained through logged training time, and provides the assurance that the BFI has completed all the administrative tasks of registering a pilot at least once.
4. Qualifications for Advanced Flight Instructor (AFI) – Requirements: AFI Candidates will have conducted the required minimum BFI ground and flight training and the endorsement for BFI examination required for at least three (3) registered BFIs.
As the result of many requests from AFI's and BFI's, USUA realized this rule also created an unnecessary restriction to a transition from BFI to AFI. Many AFI's said they had learned what they needed after completing their first three BFI candidates. USUA anticipates this rule change will help alleviate the current shortage of Advanced Flight Instructors.
These new changes take effect immediately, and the revised Ultralight Airmen & Vehicle Registration Program will be available as a download from the USUA website. Instructors are encouraged to call USUA Headquarters with any additional questions.
EDITOR'S NOTE: These rule changes will appear in the June issue of Ultralight Flying! Magazine and will be mailed to instructors and USUA Clubs shortly. The changes will be incorporated into the Ultralight Airmen and Vehicle Registration Program. Any questions, please call (717) 339-0200.
A printable version of these changes, can be found in our Online Forms page.