L i g h t P l a n e Wor l d
Dennis Carley fying the Aerolite 103.
More Light Plane Fun
at AirVenture 2013
Continuing our review of vendors
By Dan Grunloh
I have a pilot friend who sometimes calls me on the
radio when we're flying side-by-side on a cross-country
flight. He remarks that we are lucky to be living in a time
when flight is possible, and we have the freedom to do
it. The same can be said about flying from the Ultralight/
Light Plane runway at EAA AirVenture Oshkosh.
The air strip and pattern is intimidating to pilots flying
into Oshkosh for the first time who are accustomed to
2,000-foot-long runways with no obstacles. From either
direction there is a 45-degree turn at low altitude just
before landing, with trees close to your wingtips. After
a few landings, everybody catches on and finds out
what they can really do. It is one of the most fun, chal-
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Vol.2 N o.10 / October 2013
lenging, and addicting forms of light plane flying. One
week of flying down here in the Fun Zone, mixing it up
with aircraft flying anywhere from 38 to 80 mph, is like
a college education in speed management and judgment of distance and spacing with other airplanes.
It takes only five minutes to fly around the circuit, and
most pilots want to land and take off as often as possible. When the traffic is light, you can shoot up to 10
landings in an hour. In that time, you will take off and
land in front of and behind almost everyone else in
the pattern and view the other landings and takeoffs
from a unique vantage point. From the 300-foot pattern
altitude, the other side of Lake Winnebago is visible to