Ultralite flight at Ridgely Monday

[mcelrah]

Tried to go fly an airplane from Leesburg down toward Richmond with a buddy Sunday but the overcast didn't clear as forecast - woulda been legal, but not as much fun as in the predicted clear, sunny conditions. Then got a call from Paul Gerhardt, my partner in the Phantom ultralite (Paul Tjaden bequeathed it to us for the winter at least), bragging about all the airtime he's ben getting in it. So I made up some lame excuse and bagged work early today. Got airborne just after 4 PM and set out to the NE, but decided it was too late to go anywhere, so just did some steep turns (fun! I hear you can do some aerobatic maneuvers in this thing - but I've never had the training...) and power-off landings. I've joined EAA and got my first copy of their Sport Pilot magazine. One article emphasized that with 2-stroke engines, you need to be solid with dead-stick landings. Of course, for HG pilots this is normal - main difference is that the ultralite is so draggy it's glide is maybe 2 to 1 at safe (fast) airspeeds. This was kinda like getting back on the horse that threw ya - after my HG launch scare Saturday. - Hugh