VDS – recreational or sport flight

As we have already mentioned in previous tutorials, there are different types of aircraft in the world of civil aviation.

With this tutorial we want to explain specifically how to obtain the privilege of flying an ultralight aircraft, or an aircraft with a maximum take-off weight of less than 600kg.

For these vehicles, you do not need to go to a flight Academy with European certification, but you can simply go to a school recognized by the Aero Club Italia, to which ENAC (the National Civil Aviation Authority) has delegated all the certification and surveillance services of the schools for ultralight vehicles.

In this tutorial, we therefore talk about the VDS pilot certificate (recreational or sporting flight) for ULM aircraft (motorized ultralights), to complete the series of tutorials dedicated to flight licenses as a passion.

The categories of non-motorized recreational flight (paragliders, hang gliders and parachutes) are not that they are less important, indeed, they are the basis that pushed man to dive into the world of flight, they will be explained with dedicated tutorials because they are very different from the categories covered up to now and require some explanations, even technical ones, that we want to first delve into.

Course and qualification

Before starting the course, you need to have a medical examination with a certified doctor, who is not a doctor who issues 1st or 2nd class examinations like for other licenses, but a doctor who specifically issues certificates for sports flight (the school will certainly direct you to the doctor closest to your residence).

In addition to this, there is a peculiarity for the VDS world: it is necessary to request a clearance from the police station of the municipality to begin flying. This unfortunately derives from the period after September 11 and has been removed for some years in the world of aeronautical licenses but still persists in the world of VDS certificates.

THEORETICAL COURSE

Now you can start: the course normally consists of at least 33 hours of theory in the classroom with theoretical instructors qualified to teach technical subjects such as … Aerodynamics, Meteorology, Technology and performance of VDS devices, Piloting technique, Emergency operations.

PRACTICAL COURSE

For the practical part, however, it is necessary to complete between 16 and 30 hours of flight with an instructor depending on the category you want to fly.

At the end of the course, a certified examiner will go to the school and will subject you to both exams (both theoretical and practical) and then the Aeroclub Italia will issue your pilot certificate.

TRANSPORTING PASSENGERS

After receiving the certificate, to take on passengers (even if obviously non-paying) it is necessary to have reached a certain number of flight hours as pilot in command (therefore the hours flown with the instructor are not counted but only those flown alone) and with an additional course of 3 hours of flight + exam this qualification is issued.

WHERE CAN YOU FLY?

With these vehicles it is permitted to fly only outside of controlled airspace, departing from and returning to airfields or tourist airports outside of these airspaces.

Therefore, to land in controlled or commercial airports (however, not all of them allow operations with ultralights, you must always ask for authorization first) you must first of all have an “advanced” vehicle, that is, one equipped with an aeronautical radio and transponder and therefore have the relative “advanced pilot” qualification in addition to having taken the “radiotelephony” exam to be able to use the radio.

To obtain this additional qualification, you must have already obtained the passenger transport qualification for at least 1 year, the one we mentioned before, and then take a course with 8 hours of theory and 5 hours of flight. Obviously there will then be an exam with an examiner from the Aeroclub Italia to conclude the course.

This is all you can do in the world of recreational sports flying with an ultralight motorized aircraft.

PRICES

The prices of these certificates vary depending on the aircraft used. Nowadays there are no longer the old “tubes & canvas” that existed in the 80s, but carbon vehicles with airliner avionics and maximum speeds higher than those of certified vehicles.

The basic course can therefore cost from a few thousand euros to something more, also because… more advanced vehicles, in addition to costing more, require more training. Remember that the school does not sell flight hours, but prepares you to reach a safety standard.

FURTHER CERTIFICATIONS AND FLIGHT MAINTENANCE

Once the course is finished you can choose whether to continue with the other certifications or keep only the basic certificate. If you want to carry passengers and fly advanced ultralight aircraft, the course will take you about a couple of years and the costs, compared to a basic one, are more or less double.

To keep your certificate valid, if you have only obtained the basic certificate, it will be sufficient to renew the medical examination every two years, while for the advanced certificate you will also have to take a flight with an instructor.

Now, this is the “formal” minimum to keep your certificate “alive”, but remember that those who do not fly regularly (and sometimes even with an instructor to refresh the emergency procedures and remove some rust) cannot fly how and when they want in safety!!

VDS vs PPL comparison

To complete the comparison with the other courses that we have proposed in this series of tutorials on “flying for passion” let’s make a comparison with the PPL.

If you have obtained the PPL license, you can convert it into a VDS certificate by default, but if you have the VDS certificate, being a qualification recognized only at a national level, you will not have any credits to then obtain the PPL which is instead a European license. The legislation is moving towards the recognition, at least partial, of some credits, for now in the maintenance of licenses, but we are still far from a real bridge instruction which is instead allowed between aeronautical licenses of various categories.

Continuing to watch the tutorials, you will find indications on this.

So the choice between PPL and VDS derives from the choices about your future, for example if you want to continue with a professional career or if you want to fly for fun with more sustainable costs.

If you want to fly larger vehicles or if instead you want to enjoy flying with greater freedom and less bureaucracy.

CONCLUSIONS

In any case, with the VDS pilot certificate you will be able to fly through the skies with aircraft that will give you great satisfaction and will make you daydream! You can buy your own ultralight aircraft or become a member of the Aeroclub where you learned to fly and have fun in safety.

If you have any questions or curiosities, fill out the info request form.