Ultralight aircraft (United States)

Instead, they are treated as powersport items and have to follow their own ruleset, FAR-103, which is the most compact aviation regulation in existence.

[1][2] Regulation of ultralight aircraft in the United States is covered by the Code of Federal Regulations, Title 14 (Federal Aviation Regulations), Part 103, or 14 CFR Part 103, which defines an "ultralight" as a vehicle that: In daytime, flights may not take place in Class A, B, C, D airspace, plus a special type of E airspace directly surrounding an airport, unless the pilot has prior authorization from the ATC facility with jurisdiction over that airspace.

[3] Ultralight vehicles cannot be flown over any congested area of a city, town, or settlement, or over any open air assembly of persons.

[1] Weight allowances can be made for amphibious landing gear, and devices deployed in an emergency, which includes ballistic parachute systems.

A lawnchair like that of the Lawnchair Larry flight is lighter than 155 pounds and thus qualifies as an unpowered FAR-103 Ultralight, if the user finds reliable means to stay away from the path of aircraft, outside airport airspace, and abides by the rules for cloud clearance.