Ultralight aircraft:

Ultralight aircraft was discovered during the late 1970s and early 1980s, when several people wanted to be able to fly affordably. As a result, many aviation authorities set up definitions of lightweight, slow flying aeroplanes that could be theme to minimum regulation. The consequential aeroplanes are commonly called ultralight aircraft or microlight. The weight and speed restrictions of these ultralight aircraft differ from country to country. The protection policy used to approve ultralight aircraft differ between countries, the strictest being the United Kingdom, Italy, Sweden and Germany, while they are almost non existent in France and the United States.

The difference between regulations is a major barrier to international trade and over flight in ultralight aircraft. In fact these rules are always sub ICAO, which means that these ultralight aircraft are not internationally recognised. In most wealthy countries ultralight aircraft now account for a significant portion of the civil aircraft fleet. For instance in Canada the ultralight aircraft makes up 18% of the total civil aircraft registered. In other countries that do not register ultralight aircraft, like the United States, it is unknown what part of the total fleet they make up.

In countries where there is no specific regulation, ultralight aircraft are considered regular aircraft and subject to certification necessities for both aircraft and pilot. Ultralight aircraft are usually called microlight aircraft in the UK and New Zealand, and ULMs in France and Italy. Some countries distinguish between weight shift and 3 axis aircraft, calling the former microlight and the latter ultralight. The U.S. light sport aircraft is similar to the UK and NZ Microlight in definition and licensing condition. The U.S. Ultralight aircraft is in a class of its own.

However, ultralight aircraft are quickly transforming into high performance aircraft, skilled of very respectable speed and range.