Used Ultra Light Planes

When buying an ultralight plane, choosing a used plane can often save you from paying 50% or more of the price. However, if you don’t know what needs checking this is not a risk worth taking. The wings, fuselage and the engine all need to be in good working order or you could be wasting your money - or even your life. If you don’t know about fixed wings and flex wings, you don’t know enough. Lots of research before buying your ultralight is needed. Having a friend who knows their planes and can check out a used plane you have found is a good idea.

Used ultralight planes can cost as little as around $10,000 but I wouldn’t recommend going any lower than that. There are all sorts of options available and various types of aircraft so you don’t want to miss out on getting something you would have really enjoyed just because you didn’t know about it.

Another thing to think about is where you are going to keep your ultralight. Some types (like a flex wing) may fit in a normal car garage while others require more space such as in a local aircraft hanger. Finding out if the used ultralight you are looking to buy was kept in a hanger is important as those kept outside suffer much more damage from the weather. A plane can be 50 years old and still in excellent working order if it has been looked after well indoors.

If there is fuel left in the engine when you buy it you will have to clean it out, it’s not an advantage!

This is a fantastic video of the Challenger Ultralight. It really captures the beauty of flying and will surely inspire the most suborn landlubber to take flight. Keep watching till the end when the the pilot lands the Challenger in the water!

The challenger ultralight is one of the most well known ultralight planes.  There are over 3500 challengers flying around the worlds’ skies and and this large number of users in turn encourage more pilots to buy this plane as there is a large user and support network, which is very useful with such a ‘challenging’ hobby.

The challenger ultralight plane is reliable and versatile. It can use skis and amphibious floats as well as the standard wheels and it also can be flown all year round, the engine has no requirement for preheating.

The challenger Ultralight has been around for 25 years, during which time it has has advanced a lot. The latest Challenger Ultralight II plane can fly 30mph faster than its predecessor and it can take off from the run way (or “fun way” as I like to call it) more quickly and ascend faster too. The handling is more precise and the cockpit is bigger. The noise of the plane is also reduced and its appearance has been improved too (of course that’s subjective, but I’m yet to meet someone who thinks the latest model looks worse!). You can even remove the doors for the hotter days.

Despite being tough, the Challenger Ultralight is still susceptible to damage like all aircraft are. Riding over bumpy landing zones takes its toll, as do so do rust, mud and rain. For this reason pre-flight safety checks are very important.

Price wise the Challenger is competitive at $14,000 - $18,000, or if you buy a used plane you will be looking at $4000-$5000.

I look forward to reading your thoughts in the comments about this wonderful ultralight plane.