Originally posted by Charon
I've been interested in learning to fly most of my life. But, something has always come up. Now, it's grad school and starting a family (at 40 
), future kid's college and retirement hitting about the same time down the road. One thing with a PPL for me is the cost, another thing is flying enough to remain safe in congested areas like Chicago. There is also the weather/winters out here. An ultralight would seem to offer an affordable, fun way to do some low impact flying.
Charon
Charon, you can get an entry level Ultralight for around 3-5k. We are talking no cockpit, just basic aileron, rudder and elevators. Probably no instruments other than a compass, although I really recommend airspeed and altimeter. I said before they are very safe. And they are. But because of the lack of restrictions, people will do some very boneheaded things. You have to be careful, just like anything else in life. Study the weight restrictions of the model you like. Make sure its capable of hauling your butt into the sky without crashing. Since I've been old enough to drive, I've never been a "small" guy, and thats even more true now. At my current weight, I'd have to step up to a mid-range Sport plane to feel safe in the air. Ultralights are going to be out unless I lose some weight. Study your intended takeoff/landing area carefully. Most Ultralights need around 100ft. to takeoff, and 150ft. to land. Give yourself a MINIMUM of 225 feet clearance, I prefer 300 feet. I watched a friend die because he didnt pay enough attention to his landing approach, got caught in a downdraft and ran into high tension powerlines. Sheared half his tail off and it crumpled like a squashed soda can on impact. If he had just taken the time to go around to the other end of the field before starting his landing approach, he'd still be alive. There's no control tower to keep you out of trouble and make your decisions for you. It also doesnt hurt to learn some of what they teach Pilots going for their Private. Learn to know the weather when you plan on going up. Even though you have 5 gallons or less of fuel, learn to calculate fuel consumption and keep track in your head of your estimate of what you have left. You want a comfortable margin when you are ready to land, most Ultralights are designed to have a steep rate of descent and alot of drag to keep you from coming in too fast on a landing. In other words, they dont glide well. Or wont for a long distance anyway.
All that being said, if you are really interested in getting into it, shoot me an email. My old bird is hangared in a barn in S. Illinois and I cant afford to ship it here. Its just collecting rust and dust, and I'd be willing to let it go fairly cheap. You'd have to find a way to get it up north where you are though.
