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ISSUE 7 JUNE 2010
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Returning
to the Sky
By
Dan Grunloh, Editor, Light
Plane World |
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sure is great to be back flying
again after several months stuck
on the ground. I agree completely
with a quotation long attributed
to a 15th century artist and
inventor who predicted that once
we have experienced flight, we'll
always want to return to the sky.
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| Leonardo
da Vinci might be right about
everyone wanting to return there,
but unfortunately they don't all
follow through. The subject of
pilot retention is of interest
from jet fighter aircraft to hang
gliders and ultralights in
between. It takes money, effort,
and infrastructure to produce
pilots. Each one that doesn't keep
returning to the sky diminishes
the result. Unfortunately, some
newly minted FAA private pilots
won't be flying anymore after only
5 years. Read
more
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Flying
With Friends and How to Make New
Flying Friends
 It's
surprising how many people say,
"I always wanted to
fly," or "I always
dreamed of flying," but never
followed through and became a
pilot. The most important step for
our community is to get people up
into the air controlling the
aircraft while providing an
enjoyable experience. Here are
some tips for dreamers, wannabes,
pilots, and instructors. Read
more
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Tales
From the Wild Blue Yonder Trilogy
Available as e-Books
After nearly 30 years of flight,
veteran hang glider and trike
pilot John "Ole" Olson
has published a "thrillogy"
of flying adventure books, Tales
From the Wild Blue Yonder, which
are also now available as
downloadable e-books. The first
book in the series, Recipes for
Disaster, features amazing flying
stories with titles such as
"Jake the Human
Cannonball," "Prop
Stopped Over Four Corners,"
and "Hammer Bound for
Hell." For the price of a
little more than one gallon of
fuel, you get 30 easy-to-read
short stories. Read
more |
New
Microlight World Records
 Two new microlight world
records have been announced by the
Fédération
Aéronautique Internationale,
the organization that regulates
world record attempts and
championship competitions in
aviation. One record for distance
was set in a powered paraglider.
The other was for speed in a
trike. Read
more
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Mistral
Pilot to Fly Length of Britain in
a Day
 In
another example of the growing
interest in cross-country and
long-distance flying, U.K. pilot
Julian Midder has announced he
will fly his Aviasud Mistral the
length of Britain in one day,
starting in Wiltshire and ending
in Scotland. To maximize the
available daylight, the trip will
take place in late June. The
one-day marathon solo Dawn
to Dusk Patrol is intended to
raise awareness for the Sky Watch
Civil Air Patrol and the wounded
veterans’ charity Help for
Heroes. Read
more |
Immersion
Training for Powered Parachute
Sport Pilots
 Easy
Flight of Greenville, Illinois,
has announced June, August, and
October sessions of its
concentrated 12-Day Sport Pilot
training camp. Total immersion
training is widely used in many
areas of aviation training. There
are currently only about 40 FAA
certificated flight instructors
qualified to instruct in powered
parachutes, so the chances of
finding a local instructor are
slim. Read
more |
F-16s
Intercept Ultralight - Predator
Coming to Texas
 On
early Sunday morning, May 16, the
North American Aerospace Defense
Command (NORAD) dispatched two
F-16 fighter planes from Davis-Monthan
Air Force Base to intercept an
ultralight that entered Arizona
from Mexico. Although ultralights
are sometimes used to smuggle
drugs, a military spokesman
declined to say why they used a
pair of $15-million jets costing
$17,000 per flying hour to
intercept an ultralight. Read
more |
Pilot
Apologizes After Landing on Public
Beach
 Proving
that public beaches aren't a
suitable place for aircraft
operations, a Kitfox pilot found
himself arrested May 23 for
reckless conduct after landing on
a beach at Tybee Island, Georgia.
The plane touched down on the
remote north end of the beach
without incident, but people were
present. It was no emergency; the
pilot and passenger got out and
went for a sightseeing stroll. Read
more |
EAA
Member Leads Grassroots Effort to
Protect Tennessee Small Airfield
Owners
Thanks to the persistence and
organizational efforts of a
Tennessee EAAer, owners of private
air strips in that state now enjoy
the same limits on liability of
other recreational activities on
private land, like whitewater
rafting, horseback riding,
camping, and off-road vehicle
riding. Ken Franks, EAA 159894, of
Eagleville, Tennessee, owns a
3,600 ft. x 85 ft. grass strip,
T-Top Airfield (TN14), and has for
several years tried to get
lawmakers to include private air
strips in an existing law that
limits liability to owners when
they allow access to their
property for various recreational
activities. Read
more |
Ultralights
Latest Smuggling Method Employed
on US Southern Border
Mexican drug smugglers have a
new tool in their arsenal of
smuggling methods: the ultralight.
Mexican drug gangs have modified
their aircrafts to carry up to 250
pounds of marijuana which pilots
drop in the middle of the
Arizonian desert. In addition to
potential jail sentences of up to
20 years and fines of $250,000,
smugglers are willing to fly along
highways and through the desert at
night to avoid detection by border
officials, risking any number of
hazards including power lines and
other aircraft according to AZcentral.com.
Law enforcement has been met with
several challenges in combating
these groups and border incursions
via ultralight appear to be on the
rise. |
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I
Enjoy the Quiet - It's Just That
the Engine Isn't Running
 It
was spring 2009. The sun was out,
the snow was gone, and I was
looking forward to the summer
flying season that was ahead. I
was in my car driving to the
hangar in Osceola, Wisconsin, to
go for an evening flight in my
XT-582 AirBorne trike. The weather
on May 8 was very nice for flying,
blue sky and a west wind at 5 mph
and dropping. It looked like a
great evening to fly until dark,
or until the end of evening civil
twilight, as the FAA calls it. Read
more
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The
Ultralight Place
 The
Ultralight Place, located at the
Greater Kankakee Airport in
Kankakee, Illinois, is one of my
favorite places to visit. The owner
is Jim Leon, who has many titles for
himself and his business including
the first ever FAA light-sport
repair station, authorized Rotax
repair center, FAA Designated
Airworthiness Representative for
ASEL, WSC, and PPCL, designated
pilot…Phew!…The list goes on, so
we encourage you to: Read
more
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A Day
in the Life of an Airplane Designer
 Editor’s
note: We should pray that we’ll
all be as active and productive as
Leonard Milholland, the designer of
the Legal Eagle ultralight and Better
Half VW engine conversion, when
we are 85 years young. Leonard sent Light
Plane World this diary of a
typical day. Read
more
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Top
20 Ultralight/Light Plane Pilot
Mistakes
Airplane pilots, more than
anyone else, must be able to quickly
recognize and learn from their
mistakes. It may help if you can
laugh at your errors and share them
with others. This list of common and
uncommon mistakes was compiled with
help from Steve Bensinger and Denny
Demeter. We hope it will help others
to avoid these problems. Every one
is a true story. Read
more
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From
the EAA Light Plane Community and
Facebook
The message forums at
Oshkosh365 are alive with
activity. Here are the latest
discussions!
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Engines
Q. Why do some engines have a
reduction drive gearbox? Answer
Powered
Parachute
Q. I’m having troubles
with initial takeoff canopy cell
inflation. What can I
do? Answer
Weight
Shift Trikes
Q. What material is the
wing fabric made from? Answer
Fixed-Wing
Airplane
Q. What’s the purpose
of steep turns? Answer
Powered
Paraglider
Q. Which is better, high
or low hang points?
Answer |
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 A
Delightful Flyer
November 1985
Experimenter
In
1984 Jack Halbeisen flew his
FAR103 ultralight coast-to-coast
from Ellington, Connecticut to San
Diego, California and back again
for a total of 7,800 miles all
without any ground support. He
celebrated his 70th birthday
during the trip that included 190
stops. The trip was actually flown
three times as he had scouted the
entire route in his Citabria
before setting out in the
ultralight. Read
his amazing story
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| Q.
What is your fly-in or air show
experience?
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