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Paraglide Pig Hunting..

I remember an article about a guy who hunted coyotes from an ultralight with a benelli shotgun.
 
My buddy had one of those things that he that he was gonna use to scout elk with. Took it out on a day with zero percent chance of precipitation...and got caught in a popup thunderstorm. Apparently that near death experience was enough for him to sell that thing and never look back. Can't imagine how dangerous it would be at night. Visions of high voltage lines and crispy pilots are running through my mind right now.
 
Let us know where and when you are going to give it a go. I bet we can sell tickets....LOL
 
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A two place Quicksilver MX2 ultralight aircraft (see Barnstormers for ultralight acft sales ads) would be appropriate, in my opinion. Right seat flies, left seat shoots. Or vice-versa for lefties. Slow cruise speed, slow stall speed, good fuel economy, great power-to-weight ratio. Take off from just about any flat, clear field. Very low operating cost, very low maintenance cost.

Two seater UL require a sport pilot license: 15 hrs training. Not allowed to operate at night, but dusk/dawn are often low/no wind/good flight conditions.

Getting insurance/medical/liability I think would be difficult, but

Man, think of the fun shooting pigs from an aircraft!

Did I mention that 2 seat ultralights can be bought fairly cheap, (Barnstormers, etc) and operating/maintenance costs are EXTREMELY low? If I had large agri property with a pig problem, this is how I would do it.

Yeah, yeah, go tell your crash stories to somebody else. I ride motorcycles and driving my airplane is safer, because I'm the only asshole I have to worry about at 1000 feet. YMMV
 
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Just received a T-shirt from my wife, it says,
“We are all going to die, might as well die doing something fun”
 
Hi,

Let me know your weight limit as I have a remote controlled gyro gimbal that we can mount the rifles into, lol.

Sincerely,
Theis

Nah. I like doing it the ole fashion way.

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I like your thought process, but I fear that you’d be too dependent on the prevailing winds.

If one was serious, a personal dirigible would be a good option. Controllable, slow moving, and silent on an unpowered gliding strafe.

Cheers
 
FAA has several aviation classifications. Part 103, Light Sport, and (? Regular airplanes) general aviation.

Part 103 of FAA regs details ultralight aircraft.

Simply, part 103 means aircraft under 254 pounds weight, 62 mph top speed, 5 gallon fuel capacity, single place, etc. No pilot license required. No physical required. No "N number" (registration). These have other limits, such as can't fly at night, etc. As well, they have regular limits that larger airplanes/pilots must follow, like airspace, traffic, etc.

A true part 103 aircraft will be advertised as part 103, and will be within the limitations. Many, many, many of these have been sold since the 80's and lots of them are still manufactured. Materials and designs have modernized, but some look like they're as simple as the Wright brothers' Flyer. For example, Quicksilver ultralights once outsold Pipers, Cessnas, Beech, etc. all TOGETHER, and many are still in service. Mine is a 1983 vintage MXL with a 35hp Rotax 377 engine. It is an extremely stable and very mild mannered basic airplane. I'm 5'8" 185 and my aircraft will JUMP into the air in less than 50 yards and has WAY more power than I ever imagined and will climb at 800 ft/min, has 14,000' service ceiling, with about 55mph top speed, 100 mile range.

There are now quite a few manufacturers with LOTS of different models & features. Again, please see "Barnstormers" and other sites for sales ads. "SearchTempest" will also give you EVERY Craigslist ad for any item you specify in every state you specify. There are other airplane sales sites.

A single seat part 103 ultralight will be very basic flying, but they can be amazingly expensive, if newer. Older, used aircraft are perhaps a more economical way to go. A friend of mine (almost 80 yrs old, used to fly) is currently looking for a used acft. He remodeled a trailer to haul one, and has $5,000+ ($7,000 with Trump bucks, if it comes) in hand and will buy something pretty soon. He also will need cataract surgery in Jan/Feb and STILL wants to fly. So it is easily possible to get a decent used UL for about the same price as a motorcycle. He says, "If it don't fly... don't buy!" (in other words, DON'T BUY some project plane. There are a bunch out there, that some guy bought a kit and thought he could put together in his garage... and never finished.)

There are quite a few companies who support (with parts & maintenance) the Rotax engine, which is no longer manufactured.

Quicksilver acft Co (California) went out of business a few years ago, but a guy in Lousiana (Air-Tech, Inc.) bought the entire inventory of parts, hardware, etc. I mean EVERYTHING and has all the parts for every Quicksilver model ever made.

This is just an example. There are LOTS of other manufacturers and models of true part 103 UL acft. Some of them are designed to fold up/unfold quickly to be transported on/in a trailer.

My acft lives in a 20' box trailer, and takes about 2 hours to set up from trailer-fly. Other makes/models are WAY easier/faster.

Its a PITA to set it up, but I don't pay anything for hangar space (up to $225/month around here.) Ideally, I would have a small airstrip with a shed/pole barn and store the airplane set up and ready to fly at all times. UV light degrades dacron sails (wing covers).

Light Sport class is the next higher/heavier class. Two-seat ultralights fall into this category. A 2-seater is bigger, heavier, more powerful than a true part 103, and has different rules.

Light Sport doesn't mean small, or cheap, however. You can EASILY spend $100,000 here.

General aviation (Cessnas, other light aircraft, etc) is a whole nuther class with its own rules.
 
A few more thoughts.

My acft is a huge kite, so I fly it when its calm, 7mph wind, or less. If you want to operate in an area with chronic high winds, an ultralight airplane may not be a good idea. Other aircraft types may handle higher wind conditions better.
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A few more thoughts.

My acft is a huge kite, so I fly it when its calm, 7mph wind, or less. If you want to operate in an area with chronic high winds, an ultralight airplane may not be a good idea. Other aircraft types may handle higher wind conditions better.View attachment 7515512

I live and hunt in Tornado Alley. Best be needing something that can buck the wind but still be agile. Even better if it’s simple enough for my wife to fly.

Looks like we’re back to a two seater ultra light.
 
Yeah its gotta be actual fixed wing for me, you can get a super cub slowed down enough on a windy day!
 
Never been in a paraglider but we’ve shot a coyote in the daytime out of a power parachute. Definitely one of the dumbest things I’ve ever done. We went up with a 870 ,pockets full of buckshot and a hot case of Budweiser. We almost died 10 times just on that flight. No pigs at that time in Lake Charles but we did manage 1 coyote and memories we will never forget. We learned our lesson we never brought a gun ever again.