By George Karamitis, EAA 144192
This piece originally ran in the July 2024 issue of EAA Sport Aviation magazine.
The song “Don’t Let the Old Man In” by Toby Keith is a big inspiration for me. As I slide into my 83rd year of life, daily tasks become a little more difficult to accomplish. This is true even flying my little ultralight, which I deeply cherish. Every flight takes just a little longer to accomplish starting with the various hangar duties and through the preflight check. But folks, I don’t want to stop. Flying is my whole life. Upon the completion of a day’s flight, I become a rejuvenated person.
I still prefer to fly in the mornings and the calm air. My aircraft is so equipped that I am legal 30 minutes before sunrise and 30 minutes after sunset. However, I feel that everything is just waiting for me and my little 1983 Quicksilver MX in the morning.
Arriving at the airport and parking my Jeep, I must unlock the hangar. The unlocking door is a small door near the bottom of one of the larger doors. I have to reach in and pull the pin that enables me to slide one of the big hangar doors open and, if still dark, turn on the hangar lights. Opening the hangar doors and the noise they make seem to pierce the quiet morning air. There is no other noise pollution. I am all alone. Just the sights and sounds of my surroundings. It is a noticeable crispness. Now, I sit and rest a bit. After a heart operation for a new valve in August 2022, a back operation in July 2023, and my almost 83 years of age, a short rest is needed. Even so, folks, I don’t want to quit.
I actually begin preparing for this flight several days in advance. I check the weather, paying particular attention to the winds, both surface and winds aloft. I have found that a balloonist’s forecast is the most accurate. It presents the wind direction and velocity in hundreds of feet, and for a little ultralight this can be most helpful.
I don’t mind taking it slow. I always arrive ahead of my schedule because it takes just a bit longer to preflight. I take my time. A good preflight yields a calming regular flight. No matter how anxious I am to fly, I have a set pattern and certain checks. I begin with fuel quantity and fuel to approximately 4 gallons and make sure the fuel cap is back on securely. I once heard of an aircraft that had its fuel siphon out during flight. Not a good thing. Make sure the cap is secure.
I move down to my seat belt and shoulder harness, adjusting them for my entrance. Moving on, I check the spoiler pedals for proper deflection and freedom of movement. The throttle for free movement. The control stick for freedom of movement. On my MX, the stick movement fore and aft is for elevator, and side-to-side movement is for rudder.
Reaching down, I check the ballistic parachute mounted on the right rear axle for security. Usually at this point, I just sit down and from a short distance give my little chariot a general look over. After a short rest, I resume the preflight and check for wing structural integrity with the wires and spar connection points. Same attention to the rear spar and particular attention to the wing ribs.
Then, I check the belt tension, the drive, and propeller condition. Folks, I have had a wood propeller for almost 400 hours, and it has served me well.
Moving to the horizontal stabilizer and elevator, I check for proper movement and connectivity. I also check the vertical stabilizer for connectivity and freedom of movement. Moving up the left side of the aircraft, I repeat in reverse order what I accomplished on the right side.
After completing the preflight, I usually sit a short while and just look at the aircraft. It is such a simple air vehicle. I am truly blessed that I am still able to enjoy flight in its most raw form.
Preparing to start my Quicksilver, I set both of my parking brakes. I give my craft three shots of prime and place the ignition switch to on. Crack the throttle. Pull the recoil starter. Usually it will start on the first pull. After the engine starts, I place myself in the seat.
As a point of interest, Ken from Air-Tech Inc. just installed an electric starter system. At my age, I feel much better sitting in the Quicksilver while it is being started, rather than standing and trying to sit after it is already running. Now I just sit in my airplane, fasten my seat and shoulder harness, set the dual parking brakes, give it two shots of prime, place the ignition switch to on, and press the starter. I am grateful.
After starting and initially sitting in the seat, I give a quick glance to my small four-in-one instrument, rpm, dual cylinder head, and exhaust gas temperature. All four readings normal, I recheck the automatic terminal information service and then release the brakes and taxi to the active runway.
I do not have a steerable nose wheel, but I do have independent left and right main gear brakes. The rest of ground maneuvering is accomplished by air loads on the rudder. It has been like this for years. I manage okay. I can’t make a full 180-degree turn, but I can accomplish a 120-degree turn within the confines of the airport runways.
Anxious to get airborne, I announce my intentions and take the active runway. Lining up, I smoothly advance the throttle, and rapidly I am airborne. I will never lose that initial feeling of flight. As the ground falls away, I am where I have liked to be my whole life, climbing for altitude in this simplest of fixed-wing aircraft. The openness of the Quicksilver adds so much more to flight as more of the senses are stimulated. Our home is 3.3 nm from Avon Park airport. So, in most cases, I head for our condo on the 15th fairway of Pinecrest Golf Course. Twenty years ago, I would make a nice approach and land on the fairway, and some of the ladies would bring out coffee and doughnuts.
I don’t do that anymore, but I do make several passes, enjoying the view of the fairways from above. I tell people that flying over the manicured fairways is very stimulating. I do not engage in this type of activity if there are golfers or maintenance personnel in the area. I might add that I have permission from the golf course ownership. I am grateful for the trust and respect, and I ensure that I remain a positive influence.
After several minutes of flying, I set a course back to the airport. Entering the airport traffic pattern, I announce my position downwind, base, and final. After flying a perfect pattern, I touch down on the runway and decelerate to an exiting taxiway.
Folks, as I enter a taxiway and head for my hangar, I feel a deep sense of accomplishment. Oh, I know this is just a simple ultralight, but I still fly with the same discipline that I flew the big jets.
Arriving at the hangar, I shut down the Rotax 377 and accomplish a minimum secure cockpit checklist. Releasing my seat belt shoulder harness, I just sit and think. This little Quicksilver has granted me a complete satisfaction for flight.
Ladies and gentlemen, I may be an 83-year-old man, but I just don’t want to quit my simple flying.
No matter how hard we try, the old man is eventually going to get his foot in the door. I have to find a way to slow the advance of time. And my little ultralight with a cruise speed of 35 mph does just that. It’s my control over the speed of time. Flying the Quick puts everything in slow motion. Folks, as long as I can hum the song “Don’t Let The Old Man In,” I’ll keep flying.
George Karamitis, EAA 144192, is a retired TWA captain, holds an ATP with B-727 and B-747 type ratings, and has been 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.