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    Meet our newest member, Gonzo ... last name unknown. We understand that he originally hails from somewhere southeast of Pelion (and South Carolina) and came to the city because he heard about our club via "the grapevine". (Note: We hope that none of you will object to his paying his dues in bananas. We therefore do not have to worry about what will be on the menu at our next few monthly club meetings.)

    Gonzo aspires to become an ultralight pilot and felt it might be prudent to get an hour or two of in-depth flight training prior to his competition in the "race for space" and the $10 million X-prize. (Editor's Note: Unfortunately, Burt Rutan and Mike Neville recently beat him to the prize.) 

    He has just purchased a slightly used QuickDMiz MX103 "ultralight vehicle", a less expensive derivative of the popular Quicksilver series utilizing electrical conduit metal frame technology and smaller cables for weight and cost savings. Gonzo has recently updated it with a Chevy "small block" V-8 engine ... which offers the ultimate in redundancy due to the fact that if one cylinder goes out, he still has 7 more ... and so on. Plus, any qualified shade tree mechanic worth his salt knows that engine and can perform "an annual inspection" on it. That upgrade also necessitated that he supplement the original 5-gallon gas tank with two 25-gallon boat tanks (one in each wing) and a smaller 10-gallon tank located on the tail boom (due to lack of space in the cockpit). It also gives him the longer range he needs for his planned trips to New York City, Washington, and Atlanta. He is also considering the addition of realistic looking 50-caliber machine gun and bomb replicas on each wing ... for that authentic WWII look (what F-16's?!!)

    The tail dragger design sports a tractor tire and power-assisted brake combination from John Deere for those very short field and steep terrain landings. It also came equipped with the original 254-pound capacity "Slim Chance" parachute. The original owner was practicing his aerobatics a bit too low and never got a chance to try it out before the crash, so it is practically brand new. Unfortunately, the owner's demise voided the "limited lifetime warranty to the original owner", but the ultralight vehicle was only 75% damaged and that's how Gonzo got the great deal (from bereaved family members). Fortunately, replacement parts and bolts were readily available at Lowe's, Home Depot, Ace and the local junkyard.

    Gonzo chose a 72"x2"x4" single laminated "Lowes" brand prop which he personally hand crafted to his own meticulous specifications. That also provided him the opportunity to try out different prop pitch combinations and eliminate those that tended to disintegrate near max RPM (and also prompted curious bystanders to move out of the way after one was injured a little bit by the shrapnel). He personally flight tested the prop on the back of a homemade go-cart at the local dragstrip. While the selected rendition will not exceed the 55 knot (ie. 63 mph) maximum ultralight airspeed, Gonzo claims it will get to that speed from a standing start at the christmas tree in 3.1 seconds due to the Harley transmission and belt drive addition to the main landing gear wheels.  He says that the little bit of severe vibration he experiences from the slightly out-of-balance prop doesn't really affect performance much and only gives him minor nosebleed. 

    It does burn him a bit though that the Swahili engine remanufacturer placed a disclaimer in the 1-page V8 installation instruction manual (written in broken English) against rapidly firewalling the throttle due to "the distinct possibility of torque roll on takeoff". However, the advertised 2,500 foot per minute (and 45 degree) climb rate of this engine/prop combination partially allays that disappointment ... and the power-off descent rate is rumored to be even better.

    Gonzo's career goal is to eventually become a BFI some day due to the lucrative earnings potential. However, initial efforts to teach him terms like "preflight" and "stall" and "weight and balance" and "VFR" and "VNE" have thus far met with limited success. Therefore, using our best BFI instructor confusion avoidance skillset, we've decided to postpone introducing him to more recent terms like "sport pilot" and "sport aircraft" and "driver's license medical" until a later date. 

    We'll post more on Gonzo as he progresses.  Please take the time to assist him whenever possible because we are concerned that he may experience difficulties reaching his stated goals. Also, our BFI privileges may not last that long ... or HE may not last that long.

    Have you met Gonzo yet?