"this is kind of like that time ya’ll told me not to tell you before I...."

Hey Dad, this week let’s just tell Mom I went, uh, hiking or something.
But really, this is kind of like that time ya’ll told me not to tell you before I went skydiving, but this time instead of jumping out of a perfectly good airplane, I flew around in a really tiny one!
An ultralight!
In the world of airplanes, 180 degrees from the massive Boeing 747 are these small flying machines resembling the unholy union of a couple hundred pounds of hang glider, tricycle and lawn mower engine. I’d always wanted to try flying in one – a way into the air that’s easier, less expensive and more fun than many aircraft types.
I drove up to instructor James Peeler’s Northbrook International Ultraport east of Fallston on Tuesday morning, my radio blaring “Free Fallin’” by Tom Petty.
That’s kinda like the time I picked up “The Right Stuff” by Tom Wolfe right before a flight to Germany – the first twenty pages or so are about horrific, fiery airplane crashes.
Or when I was flying over the icy Bering Sea and our in-flight movie was “Titanic” – speaking of man-made disasters….
Anyway, Mom, the ultralight I flew in had an emergency parachute and Peeler’s been doing this for decades, and he’s still alive. You start off in two-person trainers. There are dual controls, so you and the instructor can tag team who’s flying the plane. You get to train and the instructor gets to survive – I can do some basic stuff, he can take off and land and if anything gets too crazy he can take over (he’s bigger than me).
Along with Peeler’s landing strip there are several others within a mile or so. We did some take offs and landings at them and spent some time cruising around 50 mph at about 1,000 feet.
I worked on going straight and level, turning, maneuvering to check for other aircraft…. The basics aren’t too complicated. You have a throttle to control the engine, pedals to work the rudder and a stick to handle the ailerons and elevator.
It’s a little like driving a car you’re not used to – it takes time to develop a feel for how hard you need to turn this… how gingerly to press that…. The doors were off on the $35 introductory lesson, making for an hour of breezy fun.
Peeler said I took to it like a duck to water, getting a handle on controlling the plane and scanning around the sky – not getting buried in the instruments. Not bad for someone afraid of heights.
We’ve got a video clip up at www.shelbystar.com/ultralight.wmv and you can see some of the photos on my blog: jderrickstar.blogspot.com. If you’re interested in giving it a try, Mom, go to www.nbiultraport.com or reach Peeler by phone at (704) 718-1752.
Now remember Dad, this isn’t as crazy as that time with you and Mom and the Italian train….