The ultralight community of Southern Illinois gathered for a meeting at the Benton, Illinois Bonanza, and it was a time to share stories and plan for the upcoming year.

The schedule for this year will include:

April 15^th at Harrisburg Airport

May 20^th at Benton Airport

June 17^th at Duncan's Field (618) 242-7731

July 15^th at Harrisburg Airport

August 19^th at Jim Doyle's Field (618) 962-3414

September 16^th at Duncan's Field (618) 242-7731

There will be additional items added; however we wanted to set some dates for our gatherings. All dates are on Sunday. Arlanna Buchmeier will be taking care of setting up the refreshments and we need more volunteers for any of the events. Contact Ron McDonald at (618) 993-3764 for information or to help.

Meeting notes:

Those who would like to attend the Illinois Safety Seminar are encouraged to contact Ron McDonald to see if we can all go together. The event is February 24^th at the State Fairgrounds in Springfield.

Mark Smith was at the meeting and everyone had a chance to ask him about his latest projects including a GT-400 with TWIN 447 motors.

Mark, Bob Gulledge, and Ken Wallace were the only fliers at the meeting that braved the sub-freezing temps and flew on New Years day. Although they did not log a large amount of time, they did carry on the tradition of flying the first day of the year.

Our next meeting will be March 15^th, back at Bonanza, 6p for food and 7p for the meeting.

We had a great special program with Jerry Burgess talking about his early flying years. Here are some notes from his presentation.

Jerry had bought a lot of things that never did live up to what they were advertised to do. That's why when he read about the Easy Riser, he wanted to see it for himself. He called Moody at his home in Indiana and said, "if this thing really flies, I will buy one!" Moody invited him on a cold winter day to see this latest invention.

When Jerry arrived, he said, "it was something to see" as the Easy was rolled out. Moody had made a carrier that was on a couple of bicycle wheels. The Easy was strapped down to the frame. After unloading the craft, several pulls on the Mac 101 engine brought it to life and Moody demonstrated it by flying around the "patch".

It was 1977 and Jerry was anxious to get his own Easy. After turning over a check for $750, he got a package of tubes, fabric, some blue foam, plywood and spruce. It was simply a selection of raw materials. The tubes needed to be cut, bent, and drilled.

Building the wing was a major job. Even after making a special jig, it took 100 hours to make the wings. His background in hang gliding helped, but it was still a major project.

Once the craft was together, he ordered the power pack, a Mac 101 that developed, according to the paperwork, 12 1/2 hp. Jerry said he thought they were optimistic about the horsepower.

"They sent along two sets of ear plugs, and if I could have figured out how, I would have used both sets", said Jerry. When the little Mac spun the 28-inch prop at 7,600 rpm, it was deafening. "It hurt your ears", he said. Mark Smith, who was also at the meeting, said the second pair was for the "poor sucker that you got to help you launch it". Mark had also flown the Easy during those early years.

Jerry spent some time flying the Easy as an un-powered glider to get used to the controls. When he felt comfortable enough, he flew for the first time under power. The one-gallon tank didn't last long, but if you were lucky you could get enough altitude then the best flying started. "After that darn motor quit is was great". Every landing was "dead-stick".

Getting the Easy in the air was difficult. You had to back into the harness, hookup, and then lift the 80-plus pound craft. "You couldn't run fast enough to get it flying", said Jerry. With today's ultralights you fly in calm winds. With the Easy you needed a 10-12 mph wind to help you get enough airspeed. The climb rate was somewhere around 125 to 150 feet-per-minute. "You were lucky to get in the air", laughed Jerry. You pulled the throttle wide open and left it there.

The ignition switch had three-positions - off, run, and safety. The safety switch is nothing more than a micro-switch mounted between two pieces of metal. You put the switch in you mouth and bit down to keep the switch closed. If you happened to trip or stumble while trying to foot-launch, you wanted the engine to quit. What Jerry didn't know was that he should have insulated the wires. Nobody said anything about it until he learned of some pilots who accidentally touched the wires with their tongue. With the high voltage coming from the mag, it was "quite a shock to say the least".

There were problems with the early Easy. Several pilots died due to a major design flaw. The company in California didn't do much to correct the problem until one of their major dealers died as his wife watched. Larry Morrow flew in and found the problem after inspecting the wreckage. The design called for the fabric to be glued onto the ribs. After several flying hours and a rough landing or two, the glue would work loose from the ribs. The problem could not be detected on the ground, but once in the air the airfoil would change due to the loose material and the pilot would loose control. The factory notified all owners that they needed to sew the fabric instead of using glue. For $15-20 you could buy a retro kit that consisted of a needle and thread with instructions on how to sew.

The Hall's airspeed indicator that most of us use today was a little different then too. Inside the tube, instead of the "poker chip', was a foam ball. In the winter you wanted to avoid cleaning the moisture from the tube because the static electricity would cause the ball to stick to the tube and make it unworkable.

Jerry also brought his copy of the very first EAA Ultralight magazine, his Easy instruction book, and even the receipt from that 1977 purchase (now there is a real packrat).

Thanks Jerry for a wonderful evening and a history lesson that everyone enjoyed!