ellen@reed.UUCP (Ellen Eades) (02/20/86)
> >He crashed in an ultralight, basically a motorized hang glider. It > >was at least three weeks ago, because that is when I read the bit in > >the local paper about the Albequerque hospital that is treating him > >requesting that people stop sending flowers as they had no more room > >to handle them. > >He's lucky to be alive, we are lucky he is alive. Hopefully he will > >find some less dangerous toys for the future. > > You aren't kidding about him being lucky to be alive. > [...] one of his favorite activities was to take his > Ultralight out over the city, late at night, and shut > night, and shut off the engine. > Can you say "death wish", boys and girls? Actually, ultralight planes are capable of gliding, and shutting off the engine is not, in and of itself, a suicidal maneuver, because you can use updrafts to keep yourself aloft for a long time. The problem lies in the fact that it is difficult to restart the engine in a matter of seconds, which may be all you have if you run into crosscurrents. I just wanted to emphasize that ultralights do not equal "death wish." They're actually wonderful things that let you stay aloft for hours, soaring, and I don't wonder at all that Breathed plays with them; if you can afford it, it's the next best thing to wings. Ellen -- - - - - - - - - - - - - - "Who's been repeating all that hard stuff to you?" "I read it in a book," said Alice. - - - - - - - - - - - - -