ULTRALIGHT FLYING:A SPORT FOR THE BIRD

ULTRALIGHT FLYING: A SPORT FOR THE BIRD Story and photography by Eric Anderson Gold medallist Bruce Jenner had one and Mario Andretti, and the late Jim Irwin, a man who had walked on the moon. Theirs were ultralights made by Quicksilver, the world leader in the ultralight aircraft industry and the only company with its product certified by the FAA. Quicksilver is the Lexus of the ultralight brigade yet even its most expensive dual model costs less than $27,000. That may explain why more than 13,000 Quicksilvers have been sold. John L. Lasko, vice president of sales and marketing, is sitting in his office now at Quicksilver's headquarters in Temecula, California explaining why some pilots are so enthusiastic about this sport of ultralight flying. His fervor is understandable: he won numerous aviation awards in the early 1980s including the Phoenix air races, and was declared "Pilot of the Year" after the 1984 Great Western Ultralight Rallies. Lasko came to ultralight flying with a strong background in hang gliding. In fact, that's how the sport started and why Quicksilver is so prominent in the field. The original Quicksilver in 1971 was a hang glider. But with a tail it was so eminent]y suited to power conversion it has led the pack since 1975 when people began putting motors on backpacks to extend the glide in hang gliding, and since 1979 when the engine was finally attached to the aircraft itself.
	The sport has gone through tempestuous times with litigation in the last 15 or so years but it's become safer due to the manufacturers' encouraging owners to attach ballistic parachutes to their aircraft, pressurized devices that successfully deploy from as low as 100 to -200 feet above ground level.

The sport has gone through tempestuous times with litigation in the last 15 or so years but it's become safer due to the manufacturers' encouraging owners to attach ballistic parachutes to their aircraft, pressurized devices that successfully deploy from as low as 100 to -200 feet above ground level. Furthermore, training has improved significantly. A typical ground school course might cover government regulations, weather problems, aerodynamic considerations and the theory of flight, navigation concerns, maintenance needs, safety principles and even pilot physiology and psychology. The wild men have left the sport. Today's ultralight pilots know not to drink and fly. They've learned "if you hoot with owls at night, you can't fly with the eagles at dawn." WANNA TRY IT? Call Airtech at French Valley Airport 909-696-0160 in Temecula and ask for Brian Gallagher- or Call Perris Airport at 909-657-3937.