32 Vol.4 No.1 / Januar y 2015
ULTRALIGHT WORLD
THE EAA SPORT AVIATION Hall of Fame recognizes individuals
who have made signifi cant contributions in the areas of home-
builts, vintage, aerobatics, warbirds, and ultralights. They are
selected through a process administered by the EAA councils
established to represent each group. All the councils meet
every year in November at EAA headquarters to provide advice
and analysis to EAA staf and the EAA Board of Directors
regarding the needs of our individual communities. I'm privi-
leged to serve a three-year term on the Ultralight &
Light-Sport Aircraft Council. Our annual meetings coincide
with the Hall of Fame Banquet and award ceremony.
For 2014, we welcomed Lowell Farrand of Ligonier, In-
diana, to the
EAA Ultralight Hall of Fame for his signifi cant
contributions to ultralight aviation. At the ceremony, Lowell
said EAA has been a large part of his life since the days when
EAA's of ces were in Hales Corners, Wisconsin. (He has a
fi ve-digit EAA number, with new EAA numbers now having
seven digits. Just an FYI, an EAA number is never used twice.)
Lowell said he enjoyed fl ying all kinds of airplanes at
Oshkosh from warbirds to homebuilts, but he always has had
a special attraction to small airplanes because of their lower
cost. He thanked the two EAA chapters, 138 and 932, that
were central to his life for so many years. His family and a
large contingent of chapter members attended the event.
Lowell began fl ying as a young ferry pilot for World War II
trainer aircraft, eventually fl ying everything up to the AT-6 Tex-
an. He fl ew a range of British aircraft from Tiger Moths to the
Jodel series and then moved on to Aeroncas, Pipers, Stinsons,
and Cessnas. He built or restored 25 aircraft and ultralights, and
he has accumulated more than 5,000 hours of fl ying time.
He built a Bensen gyrocopter from plans in the late 1950s
and collaborated with a Notre Dame University Air and Space
researcher on the design for a powered parachute. He became
the fi rst person to fl y a powered parachute on June 6, 1968.
Lowell worked with Wayne Ison on the fi rst PDQ-1 in the
late 1960s, long before ultralights existed. He said when he
fl ew the fi rst PDQ-1, he weighed more than the aircraft. Thou-
sands of kits were sold worldwide, but more importantly, the
PDQ was the precursor of the
Team Mini-Max line of ultra-
lights and amateur-built aircraft. Lowell continued working
with Wayne on powerplants and electrical systems. He was a
dealer, builder, and test pilot, and he continues to work with
the current company owners as a technical advisor. Lowell
probably has the most complete knowledge of anyone living
today on the Team Mini-Max aircraft.
Wayne Ison passed
away
in 2014 and had been inducted into the EAA Ultralight
Hall of Fame in the year 2000.
If building and fl ying pioneering ultralights wasn't enough,
Lowell also played a huge role in helping hundreds of others
achieve their dream of fl ight. He worked as a Young Eagles co-
ordinator, served as an EAA technical counselor and fl ight ad-
visor, and became a designated airworthiness representative.
He has test-fl own more than 400 homebuilts, has certifi cated
nearly 500 aircraft for fl ight, and is still active at age 82.
We want to recognize individuals like Lowell and we need
your help to identify prospective recipients. Please scan the
list of inductees currently in the EAA Ultralight Hall of Fame
and consider who in the ultralight community we should
recognize in 2015 and beyond. Download the
nomination form
and write a few paragraphs about your nominee's contribution
to ultralights. Let's recognize them when they are still around
to appreciate the honor.
ULTRALIGHT COUNCIL MEETINGS
During two full days of meetings, our council met with EAA
staf as we reviewed many issues of importance to ultralights.
We also looked into the current state of the sport pilot and
light-sport aircraft (LSA) industry. There is a persistent lack
Lowell Farrand
Joins Ultralight
Hall of Fame
And new from the Ultralight & Light-Sport Aircraft Council
BY DAN GRUNLOH
Photography by Dan Grunloh
Lowell Farrand accepts his Hall of Fame award.