TomFreeman's photos:
When you were a kid did you ever lay in the cool grass on a warm summer day and watch an airplane fly over head? If so, you probably already have a pilot certificate or buried the desire to get airborne on your own behind all of those family obligations, the daily bills, the job, and the "you'll kill yourself in one of those things" comments if you dared bring it up around loved ones. Family comments and your desire to fly may even remind you of the kid and the Red Rider BB Gun in
A Christmas Story when he was told "you'll shoot your eye out kid" and he darn near did!! I can relate to those stories but thanks to my wife (and a couple of years of research, whinning, more research, more whinning and so on) she agreed to allow me to follow my dream. Now it was time for
me to worry. Heck I am scared of heights!! What was I thinking? Now I have the green light maybe I didn't want the green light!! I certinally never expected the green light. Just prentending I wanted to fly was a fun game. Now I really had to do something!! Part of the deal with my wife was I would not borrow any money. The only thing I could do now was walk in my garage and look at that Z 28 sitting there. My toy. It was time to consider the unthinkable.....parting with my buddy, my 6 speed link to my youth and desire to spin tires at 40 plus years old!! After much thought, I knew the old Z would only generate enough funds for an ultralight aircraft. I could never afford a "real plane." But before the old for sale sign got dropped in the window of the Z, I needed to put my fear of heights to rest. I found a guy with a two seat powered parachute trainer and went for an introductory flight
and survived. I went home all smiles, in the Z-28 that was about to become history, and reserved a seat at a ground school at the Blue Heron PPC factory in upstate NY.
www.blueheronppc.com I had figured out in my first powered parachute flight that I was not afraid of heights at all, I was only afraid of falling????!!!! The Z-28 went up for sale!! A few months later it sold and the proceeds went toward the purchase of a new Blue Heron powered parachute. I assembled it in my garage, and trailered it to see Mark Bayer, a Blue Heron Factory Rep., and learned how to fly it. Mark was a great help and still is to this day. He can be located at
www.skychutes.com I have since become a ultralight flight instructor and since a sport pilot. There are few things that can compare to waking up at 5:00am on a beautiful summer morning, meeting a friend or neighbor that has never experienced an ultralight flight, and watching the sunrise with them at 500 feet above the earths surface. The light fog casting a haze through the early morning sun is a beautiful sight. If you want to remember that feeling of wonder as you did as a kid laying in the grass watching that plane fly overhead, an ultralight aircraft is a safe and affordable way to realize that dream. You owe it to yourself to give it a try. There are very few ways to enjoy the view of Gods creation like the view from an ultralight aircraft at the crack of dawn. Thanks Brenda, TJ and Nicole for allowing a dreamer to dream!! Without your support and that old Z-28, I would still be laying in the grass on warm summer days looking toward the sky and watching someone else enjoy their dream.
For more photos, see ClubPhotos
