Customer Reviews

Ultralight Flight: The Pilot's Handbook of Ultralight Knowledge (Ultralight Aviation Series)

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I built and flew an ultralight (Challenger I) in the early '90s and I'm interested in getting back into this hobby. This book, titled "Ultralight Flight", and subtitled "The Pilot's Handbook of Ultralight Knowledge", would be better titled as "A Primer on Aeronautical Engineering". There is nothing in this book that is instructional about how to join the ultralight community or how to master the joy of ultralight flight.
Fully 1/3 of the book is devoted to the history of flight, beginning with da Vinci. I wasn't looking for a history book! The bibliography is a "Who's Who" of technical (and historical) aeronautical reference material, such as "Theory of Wing Sections", "An introduction to Fluid Dynamics", "Aeroelasticity", and "Aerodynamics, Aeronautics, and Flight Mechanics". These references give you a sense of the book's almost exclusive technical content. This material is supposed to encourage me to enjoy wind-in-your-face fun at low altitudes?
There were no previous reviews when I bought this book, so I didn't have much with which to judge it when I purchased it. If you're an aviation engineer who wants to study graphs of "Breakdown of typical ultralight longitudinal stability" or "How camber affects lift characteristics of an ultralight stall Reynolds Number of 700,000" (I could go on ad infinitum) for your Master's thesis, this book is for you. It's just not what I expected from the title. And I returned it the same day it arrived.

The book is way to technical to be a good student reference material andI was hoping for more from the author. Since the FAA has done away with ultralight instructors I was looking for a good reference material to help student ultralight pilots.. Bottom line, this is not the one.

This book is a well-thought-out, well-written and well-edited volume if you're interested in ultralight engineering and aeronautical theory. It's great if you're going to be taking college-level courses in the same. However, if you want to know how to fly an ultralight, or scenarios you may encounter during flight, look elsewhere.

The title of the book is misleading. It should be called Theorems And Facts Behind The Aeronautical Achievement Of Ultralight Flight Including A History Of Early Flying Pioneers. That may give you a sense of the contents of this book.

Of the three UL books I purchased (they're basically the top three results when searching Amazon), this is the most scientific and in-depth, but perhaps the least useful for my needs. I wanted something to teach me about the pre-buy, inspection and first flights of my ultralight. This book, instead, taught me that should I build a wind tunnel, what I might expect from the airfoil I were to engineer and build myself. It also saved me from reading the wikipedia articles on Reynolds Numbers and the History Of Flight (back to and before even the Wright Brothers).

So take what I said at face value. If you think you'd be interested in this side of flight, then this book is a great purchase. It's clear and concise, and a great scientific read. It just will tell you NOTHING on the purchase and flight characteristics of a new or used ultralight.

This book gives you the knowledge essential to be a safer, better pilot. It tells you and shows you with clear descriptions and drawings what's going on with an ultralight as it is flying. I liked the ultralight vocabulary at the beginning, which is a great introduction for anyone new to flying, enabling you to talk the language of flying. If you want to know more about the theory of flight, ultralight aerodynamics, performance, and handling qualities, it can help you gain a deeper understanding. The first chapter is a history of ultralights, which sets the stage for a fascinating read, whether you're new to flying or already a flyer. An aeronautical engineer, pilot, United States Hang Gliding Association Hall of Celebrities inducteee, and Experimental Aircraft Association Hall of Famer, Mr. Markowski knows what he's talking about. I give it 5 stars.

This is the only book I know of that deals specifically with the technical aspects of ultralight flight. I feel anyone who flies or is thinking about flying an ultralight, or any airplane, would benefit by reading it. The author is an acknowledged ultralight expert and his explanations will give you a better understanding of how and why airplanes fly and what to look for in flying one. He gives you the knowledge of an aeronautical engineer and pilot in an easy-to-understand way. I'm also impressed with the great people who wrote editorial reviews of the book and believe it deserves a five star rating.