By George Karamitis, EAA 144192
This piece originally ran in the May 2024 issue of EAA Sport Aviation magazine.
Every once in a while, someone will ask me, “George, when are you going to learn how to fly a real airplane?” I usually do not respond to that question.
First of all, I do not know if they are just being sarcastic. If it is a sarcastic question, no answer would satisfy the questioner. If it is a legitimate question, I do not wish to embarrass that individual with the actual experience I do have. I want to be a positive influence for ultralights and ultralight flight.
But it does beg the question: What is it about ultralight flight that I became so enamored with? And when I get in these thoughtful moments, I usually head to my hangar, seat my 82-year-old body in my 40-year-old Quicksilver, and think. Oh, I am not as stoic as Auguste Rodin’s sculpture where a muscular man is sitting with his chin resting on his hand and his right elbow is placed on his left thigh. Instead, I sit in an upright position with my feet on the pedals, my right hand on the stick, and my left hand on the throttle. I can choose to keep my eyes open or shut. The hangar doors can be open or shut. It all depends on how deeply I want to think. Sometimes one can see more with our eyes shut than open.
When in this position in life — being old and sitting in an aircraft that is old — one is not afraid to have an honest look back and examine the past. I think back to that little boy sitting by the Winnebago County Airport fence in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, some 77 years ago. Folks, 77 years offers a long look back. Many memories are reborn, not only of the sights and sounds of aviation but the emotions I experienced at that time. They are forever etched in my heart.
So, here it goes. I began to take an interest in ultralight aviation in the early 1980s. At this time, I had been employed with TWA for 15 years serving as a flight engineer and first officer on the Boeing 707, Boeing 727, and Convair 880. In addition, I was a CFI, single- and multiengine land, which was active until 2021, after which I did not renew.
Moreover, I was fortunate to have owned several general aviation aircraft, including several Piper J-3 Cubs, a Super Cub, a Cessna 170, a Cessna 180, and a restored Stearman. So, when someone asks me when I’m going to learn how to fly a real airplane, I just smile.
I was attracted to ultralight flight because it offered a simpler way to enjoy flight. I did not have to have the highly touted instrument panel with all those round dials of instrumentation, which has now evolved into computer displays. On the airline side, the artificial horizon combined with the Collins flight director with its yellow bird was considered high tech. We could make precision approaches to fairly low minimums. While at the same time, on the general aviation side, raw data approaches were considered high tech. That, in itself, was a long way from the Narco Superhomer with its whistle stop.
Add to this, if one had a full panel consisting of an artificial horizon, turn and bank, altimeter, rate of climb, plus all of the engine instrumentation including the various radio setups not to forget the transponder, you had a neat panel. Pilots like neat panels. And today the rave is ADS-B In and Out.
Maybe it was all the flying for an airline where all the flying is cross-country. When returning home from a trip I lost the desire to really go somewhere, but I still wanted to just go up. Hence, I would just fly in the local area of the airport where I based my airplane.
I began thinking that I did not need all that instrumentation along with the various flight rules that were required to enter the various airspace classes. Certainly, there must be a simpler way to fly. And it was about this time that two of my fellow TWA colleagues began marketing an ultralight called the Swallow. I purchased the kit and — with some help — had it ready to fly in several weeks.
Now that the aircraft was ready to go, I had to ask myself, “George, are you ready to go?” This would be a big transition from the disciplined instrument flying the airlines require. What would my scan pattern look like? Even in my GA airplane, I had a panel in front to look at. I didn’t want to wait too long because I might chicken out.
Waking up that eventful morning with beautiful skies and calm winds, I sat in the canvas-type seat, had someone pull-start the engine, and I taxied to the runway. After completing a minimum checklist, which I held on a 3-by-5-inch notecard, and placing it in my shirt pocket, I paused and out loud asked myself, “George, are you crazy?” And I remember answering out loud, “Maybe I am.”
Before I allowed myself to think another thought, my left hand found the throttle and pushed it forward, and I was off. Wow! I had to catch my breath. What a view! Everything seemed to be happening in slow motion. I felt like some birds could pass me up, and then I began to think that I was a bird with a long wingspan much like the large wingspan cranes in the area. Gradually, I started to breathe normally. As I realized I had control of my flight, my tight grip on the stick relaxed and I became relaxed. Then it struck me that there was nothing in front of me except my feet. I was flying without the need for an instrument panel. In fact, there was nothing in front of me except a Hall airspeed indicator off to the side.
I began to make some gentle turns that evolved into increasingly steeper turns. I began to play a bit with pitch and power. I could slow down until I began to feel the slight burble of an impending stall. After about 40 minutes of flight, I began to make my approach to land. I cautioned myself not to flare too high, and with such superb visibility in front of me, I greased it on.
Folks, this was the beginning of my 40-year love affair with ultralight flight, I felt like I had just soloed again. I was definitely a convert to this type of flight. Oh, I still liked my general aviation aircraft that I continued to fly, but with less frequency. I slowly began to part with my last general aviation airplane. Thanks to friendships with Dr. John Willet, an avid ultralight enthusiast, and Ken Snyder, I began to embrace the world of ultralight flight. I owe much to these two individuals as they opened up new horizons for me. They guided me into this simple way of flight. There are several good ultralight designs. However, I was guided to the Quicksilver line of aircraft simply because of the proximity of a Quicksilver dealer, who happened to be Ken Snyder.
My first true ultralight, which the FAA refers to as an “air vehicle,” was a Quicksilver Sport. Over the past 40 years, I have been fortunate to have had a variety of Quicks. I had a Sprint, GT 400, and a two-place Sprint II. But after flying these various Quicksilvers, I seemed to gravitate back to the simpler design, the Eipper Quicksilver MX, which I am still currently flying. This 1983 Quicksilver sat in boxes for 13 years until I freed it in 1995. I flew it for 40 hours and then took it apart to make room for the Quicksilver Sprint II mentioned above. However, I kept it because I knew that someday I would return to the simplicity of flight that it could deliver. And it didn’t take me long.
There were days when I was on an international flight as a TWA first officer returning from Paris, Rome, Athens, or any other location on a 747, and it was my leg to JFK. After landing this big Boeing on Runway 31 left, in less than 24 hours I would be up in my 254-pound 1983 Quicksilver MX ultralight. One might ask, how is it possible to go from big to small or small to big? The answer is simple: I am a pilot, and I love to fly.
During the last 23 years, this simple little “air vehicle” has completely satisfied my desire for flight. My wife often tells me, “George, slow down. You are always in a hurry.” And I respond, “Honey, I flew jets.” We go back and forth on this several times a day, but she is correct. The only time I really slow down is when this old age pilot is in my old age Quicksilver cruising at a comfortable airspeed of 33 mph. So, when someone asks when I’m going to learn how to fly a real airplane, I’ll just keep smiling.
George Karamitis, EAA 144192, is a retired TWA captain, holds an ATP with B-727 and B-747 type ratings, and was a CFI for more than 50 years. In 2013, George received the Wright Brothers Master Pilot Award for more than 50 years of accident-, incident-, and citation-free flight.