Word: gliderfuls
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...only eight years ago that John Moody, lacking the money to buy a conventional light plane, put a go-cart engine on a hang glider and putt-putted 300 yds. through the air. Moody, now a Kansasville, Wis., ultralight-plane dealer, started a fad that last month took Joe Tong of Lecompton, Kans., through the amazed heavens from California to New York. Tong's 250-lb. ultralight plane made the trip in a record 18 days. But Tong was not fast enough to escape arrest for a bad check he had dropped in Grand Rapids, Minn., during the trip...
...same time, a ram-air turbine dropped into position beneath the aircraft's belly. The airstream passing through the turbine generated enough pressure to activate the part of the hydraulic system that controls the flight spoilers, rudder and ailerons. This allowed Pearson, who happened to be an experienced glider pilot, to control the craft. The turbine also provided sufficient power to allow the pilot to release the landing gear, which then fell into place automatically...
...Glider...
...cost of operation at $2 an hour, vs. $10 for a conventional private plane. Under normal conditions, it is easy to fly, no pilot's license is required, and the aircraft does not have to be certified or inspected. (The ultralight grew out of the hang glider and, so far, has been regarded benevolently by the Federal Aviation Administration as a motorized kite.) One of the most popular models, the Weedhopper, costs less than $5,000 in kit form and can be assembled like a Tinkertoy in eight to ten hours. It then can be partly disassembled...
Many hang-glider aficionados have graduated from that hazardous sport to ultralights. Says ex-Glider Daryl Kutzler, 30, of Billings, Mont.: "Hawks will come play with you. It's the closest thing to flying with a pair of wings on your back." That kind of euphoria, unfortunately, can be fatal. There were 24 deaths in ultralights last year. Some manufacturers and dealers suggest that buyers take pilot's training, including flying time in a conventional light aircraft. Many would welcome a modicum of regulation, if only to discourage the loony birds. Experienced ultra pilots, on the other hand...