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Robert Comperini and Quicksilver

Civil Air Patrol: From 1988 to 2005, I was a Captain in the Civil Air Patrol (CAP). During that time, I served as a Group Finance Officer, Mission Pilot, and Mission Coordinator. 

Sport Pilot Instruction: I am a Certified Flight Instructor (Sport Pilot, Airplane). I can offer ground and flight instruction, leading toward a Sport Pilot certificate or rating. I can also issue endorsements (14 CFR 61.323, 61.325, 61.327, 61.419), perform proficiency checks (14 CFR 61.321, 61.419) and flight reviews (14 CFR 61.56).

Designated Pilot Examiner: I am a Designated Pilot Examiner (Sport Pilot Examiner, Airplane). As such, I am authorized to administer practical exams, for applicants seeking the Sport Pilot rating. I can also issue Student Pilot certificates. 

Maintenance And Inspections: I hold a Light Sport Repairman Maintenance rating (airplane). I am authorized to perform annual condition inspections and 100 hour condition inspections on any airplane in the Experimental Light Sport Airplane (E-LSA), or Special Light Sport Airplane (S-LSA) categories. In addition, I am authorized to perform maintenance and repair on S-LSAs, as allowed by manufacturers of these planes.

I am asked this question a lot. Here's the short answer: There currently is no requirement for people to get any training, or possess any license to fly an ultralight vehicle (as defined by FAA Part 103). That being said, they're still vehicles that fly, and can kill you just as quick as any airplane, if you don't know what you're doing. Instruction is very much recommended!

The USUA requirements for a person with no FAA pilots license, is a minimum of 10 hours
of instruction. If you already have a pilot license, the minimums are 5 hours of instruction. Keep in mind that those are minimum requirements. 

"How much training will I Need"? You're done when you're a safe pilot. Since everyone learns at a different pace, you should expect that it may take you more hours to become a safe pilot. Somewhere between 15 and 20 hours seems to be the norm.

Prices around the country will vary, but most instructors are charging between $75-$95 per hour for dual instruction (which includes airplane, fuel, instructor's time). Personally, I am not a big fan of "package flat rate deals".  More often than not, those are nothing more than advertising ploys, and don't really promise anything except a certain amount of 

Taxi to the runway...

guaranteed hours for that money (you're basically just pre-paying for your flight time).Pre-paying for flight time (often called "block time") can be a good deal, if you plan on using the hours in a fairly short amount of time. But, obviously, if you don't use up those hours fairly quickly, the value of pre-paying goes down, because someone else is holding on to your money, while it accrues interest in their savings account.

I recommend taking one 1-hour lesson per week. One lesson every two weeks is alright too, but I discourage people from taking lessons spread any further apart than that. If you don't train often enough, you'll forget a lot of what you did on the previous lesson and will just end up wasting more time and money reviewing the things you "got rusty" at it between lessons. 

I'm also not a big fan of "crash courses", where you spend 3 or 4 hours per day tring to get through the program as quickly as possible. I believe a student needs to have the time to go home, think about and digest what was just learned.

Flight Instruction Average
Cost Breakdown
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Introductory Lessons
for people who would like to experience ultralight or light sport flight.

Primary Flight Instruction
for people who wish to become a USUA registered ultralight pilot or obtain their sport pilot certificate. 

Advanced Flight Instruction
for those sport pilots wishing to obtain additional endorsements. 

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Ultralight Pilot's Flight Training Manual

Quicksilver Ultralights And Parts

BRS Parachutes

Comtronics Helmets & Intercoms

Getting here
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Take the 14 or 15 freeway to Highway 138. Proceed to the town of Llano and turn North on Largo Vista Road. The pavement ends here. Continue straight down this road to Brian Ranch Airport.