Establishing
an FAA Ultralight Flight Park Nov 3,
2006
Information
provided by Gary Carter. If you have questions, contact Gary here.
At least one powered paraglider pilot, Gary
Carter, has established his flying field as an official, FAA charted
Ultralight Flight Park. He says the process was not as daunting as it may
seem.
The primary benefit is to establish your
field's presence so that, if local officials want to stop your flying
activity, you can prove your longevity. Plus it just sounds good when
attending local zoning meetings that you've gone through proper channels.
As of summer, 2006, Gary established
ultralight flight park (00MK) and listed it with the FAA.
It should show up on the NY sectional
1
2 miles SE of SYR (Syracuse, NY) when the new sectional comes out. He
described the process here:
I had a meeting with my town zoning officer
to see if I needed any permits to operate from my home field. This was
prior to installing my hanger and I wanted to make sure I would always be
able to fly from my site before investing $$$ in a hanger. I was told I
was ok even without a permit but that didn’t make me feel any more
confident for some reason, I guess I would feel better with a permit in
hand.
I then asked the zoning officer if I were
to be listed with the FAA would that give me any leverage if I were to
ever have someone complain. He
thought it would, especially if It were already existing prior to any
complaint so went through the process contacting the FAA and requesting
permission to establish an ultralight flight park.
I filed FAA form 7480-
1
and sent pictures of my site, the FAA can also visit the site but no one
showed up. It was a simple procedure and I feel my site is more secure and
permanent. I do teach sport pilot
fixed wing from here but I try not to be busy with it (so I can enjoy my
own flying whenever conditions are right). |
Once
setup, it will show up on the chart with a glider symbol and the letter U in the diamond.
The glider symbol in use on a chart. For ultralight flight parks, there is
a "U" in the diamond.
|
