Kentucky Bluegrass ultralight group.

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If you have ever passed through the town of Lexington Kentucky you will see a big silo shaped storage unit with the words "Horse Capital of the World" - in my opinion this should read "Hospitality Capital of the world!"

While on the road in late January I decided to drop in to the Blue Grass Ultralight Group's (BUGS for short) sixth annual - three day safety seminar held in Lexington Kentucky.

I made a call down to Dan Mullins a past president of the BUG's to see if he could put me up for a couple of days. Without any hesitation,  he told me to come on down. As things happened, I was down a day early and dropped into Danny's shop - Litespeed Aviation in Stanton Kentucky, and then over to the Kolb factory.
Click here for the Litespeed story.
Click here for the Kolb factory story.

At the end of the day Danny ran me back to his place, where he was kind enough to let me hook my computer up, to get my email, which usually runs between 60 and 100 a day. While browsing through the email I came upon one from Dave Hempy a member of the BUG's. Apparently someone (by the name of Danny Mullins)  had informed him I was coming down and he was wondering if I might like to "volunteer for a couple of hours" to help with the seminar.

Over the next three days I was to find out that the people in Kentucky have a different understanding of  "a couple of hours" than what a slightly slow and aging "Canadian" does.

Friday morning Dave and I met over at the facilities of KET - the Kentucky Educational Television network. Dave works there, and  arranged for the use of the facilities to host the Saturday portion of the seminar and to use the  broadcast facilities to put it  live over the internet.

Dave and I started organizing things and by noon we had a rough schedule of how things would go down Saturday. 

With this done I decide to slip over to Central Equipment where another BUG member Paul Huber had donated space,  for running the BFI refresher course. I have had the opportunity to drop into a couple of these BFI refresher courses over the years  and the turnout is usually 4 to 6 people. This room was PACKED nearly two dozen BFI's were on hand.

Jim Stevenson of Aero Sport Connection put on a very impressive course and finished it off with an update on the Sport Pilot proposal. Jim also did a segment on Sport Pilot for the group the next day which was broadcast live over the web.
Click here for Jim Stephenson and Sport Pilot.
If you are in the U.S. and flying this is something you should listen to and study VERY carefully! 

6 a.m. Saturday morning the call "20 minutes until flight briefing" is heard. By 7 we are over at the K.E.T. facilities. The front of the facilities look like a Powered Parachute convention with about a dozen craft set up outside on display.

Inside the foyer flashing strobes are going off, books, magazines  and all kinds of parts and accessories are on display. The night before we had set up chairs for about 100 people, by 8:30 we were scrambling to get another 50 chairs, in fact at one point people had to  watch on the televisions set up in the foyer!

President of the BUGS Carl Cummings  introduced Frank Beagle (the voice of "Ultralights Down on the Farm" at Oshkosh) as the "Master of Ceremonies"  - and what a master of this art form he is! Over the next 9 hours Frank was like a "commander in chief" - with the efficiency of a well oiled machine he moved the group onward and upward.

Frank has a group of  words that he uses at all the events he does. His underling theme is keep them alive, and he believes it is up to the "older and wiser" generation to pass on what we have learned to those who might not be as old and or - wise.

The  words Franks uses are:

SASI - Stay-Alive-Stay-Informed

AFTA - Always-Fly-The-Airplane

PETA - Preflight-Every-Thing-Aviator

To get the full benefit of these sayings drop in -  see and hear Frank, it will change the way you fly - guaranteed!
Click here for Carl and Franks intro!

After Frank's usual boisterous introduction - he introduced the first guest speaker Mark Smith. Mark is one of the "guru's" of our sport, in that he has been in it from the beginning and has become somewhat of a wizard with his Quicksilver modifications.

Mark discussed fuel burn, minimum drag speed, crosswind, wind gradient, and planning cross country flying. Mark then moved on to engines. Mark discussed a couple of small things that could make a big difference to the reliability of the engine. Two topics included the proper use and installation of AN washers and European style washers. The other was the proper installation of the studs in Rotax engines.

Mark also went into the tools Rotax owners should have. These include a Rotax fan tool to properly hold the fan when removing and reinstalling the fan, a magneto puller, crankshaft locking pin, wrist pin bearing installation tool, and wrist pin clip installation too. 

In conclusion Mark suggested three manuals each pilot should have, a Rotax engine manual, a Rotax parts manual, and an airframe manual for the plane. (Of course the manuals would be different if your plane was equipped with something other than a Rotax engine.)
Click here for the Mark Smith BUG presentation! 

Frank then introduced "Rockin John Carr" - John is one of the original powered parachute flyers, and still owns and flies one of the first powered parachutes, the ParaPlane designed by Steve Snyder.

Like most of us that get up to speak in front of crowds for the first time, John was a little nervous - but once the old jitters got out of his bones he really started to "Rock." John gave  the group a brief history of the sport, some of the benefits and pitfalls, then moved on to safety tips. 

These included the use of safety wire, fuel management, pre-flight, tire pressure, listening to the engine for problems, the use of clear fuel line to see air in the line etc.

John then discussed proper PPC landing techniques, including power on landings and proper flairing techniques.  Trailering powered parachutes and proper covering of the engine carbs and exhaust to prevent dirt, moisture etc from entering the engine during transport.

A tip John mentioned was the use of a "torque seal lacquer." You use this to paint the nuts on your unit. You cover the head of the nut and threads on the bolt. If the nut has backed off you can see it by looking at the lacquer.

Another tip was to drain your fuel tank and carbs if your unit has been left in storage for long periods of time. John also suggested checking nuts and bolts once or twice a year with a torque wrench just to verify they are still properly torqued. John's finished with "preflighting" the pilot.  
Click here for Rockin Johns Presentation.

After this the group took a break. During the break I was "volunteered" to go live doing interviews over the net. Carl Cummings was my first guest. Carl is the President of the Blue Grass ultralight group - a position he was "volunteered" into. Carl and I chatted about the history of the bugs and the seminar. 

During this Danny Mullins past president happened by we put Danny in the hot seat for some history of the BUGS,  and then got into Carl's current interest building a Rag Wing Fiesler Storch. The Rag Wing Storch is an all wood replica of the WW 11 German design that was used to rescue Musilini from his mountain hideaway. Carl is just in the covering process and hopes to have the plane up and flying some time later this year.
Click here for BUGS live presentations.

Kevin Rutland was the next guest speaker. Kevin from England is a trike pilot who has written a book about his "trike experiences."  With the wizardry of computers Jeanne ------ another "volunteer" was able to bring to life Kevin's life of "mistakes."

From his first introductory flight, which ended BEFORE it started when the trike upsets when the wing tips  hit the ground while taxiing. In England you require a PPLD - private pilot license for microlights which requires a minimum 25 hours of flight time. 

His next adventure was an engine out during his first solo flight.  Unable to find the problem he developed a unique flight training program. He was able to time the time between starting the engine and engine failure - 7 minutes. Thus he would power up fly to altitude, the engine would quit and he would glide down and land. Kevin continued on for over a hour with his "misadventures," and had the group rolling on the floor with laughter most of time.
Click here for Kevin Rutland on trikes.

Jim Stephenson of Aero Sport Connection was the next to take the podium. Jim took some time to carefully describe the Sport Pilot Proposal, as he understands it from his perspective as a pilot association representative dealing with the FAA.

Jim began by stating that Part 103 needs to exist as a safety net, and that to try to adjust it would open up the possibility of loosing it. He also noted that to fly with someone in the second seat, that pilot should have "reasonable and required training." 

Safe aircraft was the next point, Jim indicated that the "N" numbering system does work.

Instruction was the next thing Jim covered. Noting instructors should be able to offer train in the type of aircraft their students would be soloing in. That students of an N numbered  powered parachute should nut have to go to a Cessna 150 school to get a license to fly a powered parachute. 

Medical requirements was the last topic. With the feeling being that a person who is able to drive a car should be able to fly an ultralight.
Click here for Jim Stevenson and Sport Pilot.

At this point the group broke for lunch and we continued on with live interviews for another hour. After lunch Dan Johnson of BRS gave a presentation on BRS, covering the history of BRS, installations, maintenance etc. A bug member ________ was on hand that could verify the advantages of having a BRS on board. He had a structural failure of his Monofly - which was caught on tape, and his part of the BRS promotional video.

After Dan Johnson, Dan Leslie owner of Videogram Productions gave a short presentation dealing with gyrocraft, then finished with a video presentation, with clips on the history of gyros, safety preflight etc.

Earlier in the day Frank Beagle had asked the participants to fill out a survey form dealing with risk management. The purpose of this survey was to aid Marie Helweg-Larsen Ph.D. in her study of risk management.

It was very interesting to hear her as she seemed to compare the risk of flying ultralights to that of smoking, and having unprotected sex. It was even more interesting to see, hear and feel the crowd reaction, from a studio some 50 feet away. Unfortunately she had to leave earlier than expected and was not around to answer questions after the seminar. 

This wrapped up the Saturday events, expect for the raffles and door prizes, and a guest appearance from CGS Hawk owner Chuck Slu------. Chuck is quite a speaker, it would have been well worth the cost of the trip to the seminar just to here his story on "gluing nylon attachments to the exterior sections of flies and going to war"  or the adventures of the "horse fly and Sister Mary Holy Smoke!"
Click here for Sister Mary Holy Smoke!

But for those lucky enough to have purchased a ticket to the evening supper, where he was guest speaker, they again would be rolling on the floor with laughter as he describe the origination of his now famous "musell loader" and his "flight across Lake Erie" in an Easy Riser with limited bathroom facilities.

By the time I got back from the dinner, it was nearly 11 p.m. - when the alarm went off at 7 a.m. it felt like I had just gotten to bed. Sunday the BUGS were running an engine seminar. Mark Smith and I were on hand as the local Rotax Service Center,  Solo Aviation owned by Alan Laymon, set up to tear down a couple of Rotax engines. 

As Alan was busy at work Mark or I would chip in with a little additional advise, tips, short cuts etc. Which made for a very busy and fast paced seminar. So fast that 2 o'clock,  my departure time came before I knew it.  

In closing I would once again like to thank Danny Mullins and the rest of the bugs for their hospitality. But next year I will know what "volunteer for a couple of hours" means!!!! 

P.S. I still have another weeks worth of video work that I apparently "volunteered for!"

USUA Annual Convention

February 7-10: USUA Annual Convention and Air Sports Expo, Indianapolis, Indiana. Information: USUA, (301) 695-9100.

USUA Signature Events

May 26-27: World's Smallest Airshow, Brian Ranch Airport, Llano, California. Information: Felice Apodaca, (661) 261-3216. e-mail: brianranch@qnet.com .

June 14-17: Footlight Ranch Spring Breakout and Father's Day Fly-In, Footlight Ranch, Wellsville, Pennsylvania. Information: John Shreve, (717) 432-4441.

June 22-24: Lake Texoma Ultralight Gathering and Fly-In, Gordonville, Texas. Information: Sam Cox, (817) 232-3379. e-mail: lightflyer@msn.com .

July 14-21: Yankee Ultralight Flyers Fly-In, Greenland, New Hampshire. Information: Walt Colby, (603) 742-1659.

August 23-26: Mohawk Valley Ultralight Fly-In, Johnstown, New York. Information: Francis Alexander, (518) 792-4226.

Seminars

February 24: 21st Annual Illinois Ultralight and Lightplane Seminar, Illinois State Fairgrounds, Springfield, Illinois. Information: Roy Beisswenger, (618) 664-9706. e-mail: roy@easyflight.com .

March 3: Wisconsin Ultralight and Light Aviation Seminar, Wausau, Wisconsin. Information: Bart Gaffney, (262) 567-4486. e-mail: bagaffney@videoimages.com .

March 10: New England Ultralight and Lightplane Safety Seminar, Daniel Webster College, Collins Auditorium, Nashua, New Hampshire. Hosted by SkySail. Information: (207) 639-2222. e-mail: info@skysailme.com .

March 10: Indiana Ultralight Safety Seminar, Hamilton County 4-H Grounds, Annex Building, Noblesville, Indiana. Information: Jerry Hodson, (765) 457-4610. e-mail: jjhodson@netusa1.net .

March 17: Virginia Ultralight Safety Seminar, Richmond, Virginia. Information: Carolyn Toth, (804) 236-3637.

Events

June 15-17: Summer Solstice 2001, Birchwood Airport, Chugiak, Alaska. Information: Lanse Welsh, (907) 344-6055.

July 21-29: Texas Cross-Country 1000. Information: Robin Friedrich, (281) 486-2409. e-mail: robin.friedrich@pdq.net .

Fly-Ins

February 10-11: Dunnellon Sport Flyers Fly-In, Dunnellon, Florida. Information: Greg McNamee, (352) 489-9969. e-mail: fly@graybirdairsports.com .

February 17: Hot Tamale Fly-In, Justin, Texas. Information: Sam Cox, (817) 232-3379. e-mail: lightflyer@msn.com .

February 17: Houston Area Light Flyers Campout, Alvin, Texas. Information: Robin Friedrich, (281) 486-2409. e-mail: robin.friedrich@pdq.net .

March 17: Saint Patrick's Day Fly-In, Albuquerque, New Mexico. Information: Bill Stephenson, (505) 299-3914. e-mail: was17@juno.com .

April 8-14: Sun 'n Fun Fly-In, Lakeland, Florida. Information: (863) 644-2431.

May 5-6: Central Coast Ultralight Fly-In, Paso Robles Airport, Paso Robles, California. Information: Paul Cummings, (805) 438-3655.

May 19: Midnight Sun Microlights Fly-In, Fairbanks, Alaska. Information: Dale Dosser, (907) 457-1999. e-mail: flyingman@gci.net .

May 20: Robert H. Garrett Memorial Fly-In, Cobbs Creek, Virginia. Information: Richard Moore, (804) 693-5284. e-mail: rmoore@crosslink.net .

June 9-10: 4th Annual Father's Day Fly-In and Competition, Perris Valley Airpark, Perris, California. Information: Les Seymour, (760) 731-9629. e-mail: lhseymour@worldnet.att.net .

June 9-10: Virginia State Fly-In, Dinwiddie County Airport, Petersburg, Kentucky. Full time ultralight runway and powered parachute circle. Information: DeWitt Whittington, (804) 358-4333.

June 15-17: Sierra Ultralight Regional Fly-In, Madera, California. Information: Jerry Jones, (559) 433-1143. e-mail: geraldj@csufresno.edu .

June 16-17: GAUA Father's Day Fly-In, Pierron, Illinois. Information: Keith Smith, (314) 776-4790.

July 7-8: Annual Nebraska Ultralight Gathering and Fly-In, David City, Nebraska. Information: Larry Wenzl, (402) 644-0367. e-mail: lwenzl@kdsi.net .

July 11-15: Northwest Arlington Fly-In, Arlington, Washington. Information: (360) 435-5857.

July 14: MULA Fly-In, Duffield, Michigan. Information: Rob Edmunds, (248) 627-6980. e-mail: skyrob@provide.net .

July 24-30: AirVenture '01, Oshkosh, Wisconsin. Information: (920) 426-4800.

August 11: Indy-Flyers Annual Autumn Fly-in, Wheeler's Westfield Airport, Westfield, Indiana. Information: Mike Ward, (317) 594-8854.

August 24-26: Midwest Ultralight Crop Hoppers Regional Fly-In, Edinburg, Illinois. Information: Tommy Georges, (217) 623-5772. e-mail: americanaero@chipsnet.com .

September 1-3: 12th Annual Last Chance Labor Day Fly-In, Footlight Ranch, Wellsville, Pennsylvania. Information: John Shreve, (717) 432-4441.

September 15-16: Oklahoma Invasion Fly-In. Information: Sam Cox, (817) 232-3379. e-mail: lightflyer@msn.com .

October 11-14: Copperstate Regional Fly-In, Phoenix, Arizona. Information: Jif Tougas, (520) 398-9148. e-mail: ultra@copperstate.org .

October 19-21: Shane Smith Memorial Ultralight Fly-In, Lucedale, Mississippi. Information: Ronnie Smith, (601) 947-4953. e-mail: flysmla@datasync.com .

Contests

April 21: D/FW Lite Flyers Club Competition, Valley View, Texas. Information: Sam Cox, (817) 232-3379. e-mail: lightflyer@msn.com .

May 19: Valley Ultralights Competition, Dinuba, California. Information: Jerry Jones, (559) 433-1143. e-mail: geraldj@csufresno.edu .

June 24: Southeastern Virginia Ultralight Flyers Competition, Gloucester, Virginia. Information: Richard Moore, (804) 693-5284. e-mail: rmoore@crosslink.net . 

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