Step-by-step plan:

• Find a suitable ULM club
• Arrange a medical examination
• Follow the theoretical and practical training
• Take your theory exam at the FPS Mobility and Transport
• Take your practical exam with an examiner
• Apply for your licence

You follow theoretical and practical training at a ULM club with approved instructors. Visit several flying clubs and find out which one suits you best in terms of distance, training hours, type of aircraft, etc. Ask other pilots for advice.

You follow theoretical and practical training at a ULM club with approved instructors. Visit several flying clubs and find out which one suits you best in terms of distance, training hours, type of aircraft, etc. Ask other pilots for advice.

Medical examination

Although a medical certificate is only required by the time of your first solo flight, we recommend obtaining it first so that you are not faced with surprises later on.

For ULM flying, an LAPL medical certificate is sufficient. If you hold a Class 1 or Class 2 medical certificate, you can also use it for ULM.

The LAPL medical certificate is valid for 5 years up to the age of 40. From the age of 40, it remains valid for 2 years. A list of approved doctors specialised in aviation medicine can be found on the website of the FPS Mobility and Transport.

After following theoretical training, the candidate must take an exam, organised by the FPS Mobility and Transport, in the following general subjects:

• Air law
• Human performance
• Meteorology
• Communications

Theoretical knowledge of the other subjects is assessed together with practical knowledge during the practical exam. These subjects are:

• Principles of flight
• Operational procedures
• Flight performance and planning
• Aircraft general knowledge
• Navigation

You follow practical training under the supervision of a ULM instructor, who records your progress in a training file. Practical training is possible from the age of 14.

All flights are also recorded in a personal logbook.

The training aircraft are fitted with dual controls, which allows the instructor to intervene and guarantees safety. After learning the basic skills, you start practising touch-and-goes, in which you train intensively on take-off, approach and landing. Once you have mastered this, the first solo flight follows, a huge milestone in pilot training. After that, specific skills are trained further, both in dual-control and in solo flights, and the student will also carry out navigation flights, learning to fly to other destinations using navigation aids. A lot of time is spent learning all kinds of emergency procedures.

The ULM Royal Decree provides, for the different types of ULM, for a minimum of 25 hours of flight instruction (40 hours for the ULH), of which at least 15 hours on the type that will be used for the exam (35 hours for the ULH), including 5 hours of supervised cross-country flight, 10 hours of supervised solo flight time, 3 hours of solo cross-country flight and at least 30 take-offs, approaches and landings (15 for DPM and autogyro).

In practice, the number of training hours may be higher. This depends on aptitude, how often you take lessons, etc.

Flight training is therefore tailor-made. Many candidates complete their training in one to two years.

Are you already a private or professional pilot?

If you hold a valid private pilot or professional pilot licence, you do not have to take the theory exams on the general subjects. After following training with at least 5 hours of dual-control flight, you take the practical exam with a ULM examiner.

If your instructor considers you ready, and after passing the theory exam and completing the practical training, you take a practical exam with a ULM examiner. The minimum age for taking a ULM practical exam is 16.

Before the practical test, specific theoretical knowledge is also assessed in relation to:

• Principles of flight
• Operational procedures
• Flight performance and planning
• Aircraft general knowledge
• Navigation

After passing, you apply for a ULM licence from the FPS Mobility and Transport. With this ULM licence and the corresponding class rating, you may fly a ULM registered in Belgium.

For more detailed information, please refer to the website of the FPS Mobility and Transport. https://mobilit.belgium.be/nl/aviation/voler-en/ulm

The flying clubs will also be happy to help you.