Leamington Flying Club and Ultralight

By C. Scott Holland

Not everyone can turn a hobby into a business but back in 1987, John Stein did just that.

He was one of four men who resurrected the Leamington Flying Club. The four men owned an ultralight plane and Stein was selling kits to make the planes.

His love of flying began in 1969 with a small Aeronica Champ, then a Piper Tripacer and a Cessina 150 before his love of ultralight airplanes started.

“I trained on a four-seater Cherokee at the Windsor Flying Club,” he stated.

However, after flying an Ultralight, he convinced Edgar Dyck, Neil Klassen and Guy Macher to help him reform the local club.

Conventual flying lessons then ran about $3,000 and the costs of planes were at least $40,000 - certainly an expensive hobby. But with the ultralight, lessons ran about $600 and the cost for a kit to build your own was upwards of $10,000.

John Stein sits at the controls of his 1987 Ultralight aircraft.

from the Scott Holland collection

In order to teach and charge money, he had to take a commercial rating course at Guelph. In 1987, he had been teaching for one and a half years and had 10 students who were ready to write their Department of Transportation tests so they could acquire their licenses.

Stein noted that the Ultralight is slower but only needs 150 feet of runway as compared to 1,000 for a regular airplane.

“It’s like a hang-glider with a motor and an enclosed seat area.”

Its engine is a modified skidoo motor which uses a five US gallon tank. Fuel consumption is about two gallons per hour and three men can lift an ultralight. Assembling the kit takes about 60 hours.

Another benefit was that unlike regular airplanes , “you can make your own repairs and when you do you can add a bit ore time as opposed to a certified, mechanic checking your craft.”

Canada has its own regulations for ultralights and the Ultralight Pilots Association of Canada (UPAC) is a self-governing body that works closely with government to form policies regarding the aircraft.

Besides landing on the ground, some models allow landing on snow or water.

Despite the plane’s slowness while in flight, Stein conceded that the thrill of fling is very much evident.