Belite 254

[chornedsnorkack]

How liked is it here?

Enclosed cabin 61 cm wide. 7,7 m wingspan, 8,5 square m reference area. 115 kg empty weight. With a 77 kg pilot, meets 45 km/h stall speed.

Looks like a plane, yet is ultralight...

[Hagar]

I'm not familiar with the Belite 254 but there are many similar types flying all over the world. The definition of an ultralight varies depends on the country of registration but it's all about weight rather than size. Many microlight/ultralight types are more spacious inside than "conventional" light aircraft. The US definition of an ultralight is different from most other countries & restricted to single-seaters.

I copied this from Wikipedia.

The United States FAA's definition of an ultralight is significantly different from that in most other countries and can lead to some confusion when discussing the topic. The governing regulation in the United States is FAR 103, which specifies a powered "ultralight" as a single seat vehicle of less than 5 US gallons (19 L) fuel capacity, empty weight of less than 254 pounds (115 kg), a top speed of 55 knots (102 km/h or 64 mph), and a maximum stall speed not exceeding 24 knots (45 km/h or 27.6 mph). Restrictions include flying only during daylight hours and over unpopulated areas. Unpowered "ultralights" (hang gliders, paragliders, etc.) are limited to a weight of 155 lb (70 kg) with extra weight allowed for amphibious landing gear and ballistic parachute systems.

In 2004 the FAA introduced the "Light-sport aircraft" category, which closely resembles other countries' ultralight categories.