Click any of the thumbnail photos below to view a larger version of Clayton Fisher's Chinook Plus 2.  Read his story below:

Clayton Fisher's Greatest Adventures - Part One

Did you ever do one of those crazy things that defy logic?  That you hope you never do again, but deep down know you probably will? Lordy, I done one the other day! 

It was a nice spring evening here in Oklahoma. I was flying my Chinook Plus 2 around with the doors off, looking for some colors and patterns in the farmland around my home that might make nice photographs.  I saw a friend out by his barn and decided to pay him a visit.  I picked out a nice green strip of wheat close to him, made an easy left turn, put a little flap in her, and set up to land as I had done many times over the years.  Just as I pulled the stick back to settle in I saw them brown things sticking up through the green.  I got the “oh!” out, but the next expletive was lost in the gosh-awfullest racket and bouncing around you ever heard or felt. 

The field had only been disked after harvest and left to volunteer for pasture.  That would have been bad enough, but the cows had been turned in and it had rained, and the bovines had tromped holes and pulled up more clods. The clods had dried rock hard and were just waiting in all that green for somebody stupid to land a cock-eyed airplane. 

My friend of course, was laughing his butt off at my predicament.  He said he had tried to ride his four-wheeler over the place, but had given up because all the speed he could manage was a creepy crawl.  But I was down, so now what! 

No gates to get out to the road that I could get through. He offered to let the fence down, but since so far, there was no damage, I decided to try and take off. With his help we turned little Kodachrome around and faced her down the patch. There was not much wind, but what there was, was going my way too.  I knew though, that if I could make it 100 feet she’d be getting lighter by the second and in another 100 feet or so she’d be just kissing the tops of the clods and be off into the wild blue yonder-assuming I hadn’t tore something up real bad.   

Bluffing all the confidence I could muster, I put my shoulder harnesses on (I usually fly with only a lap belt).  I gave her a notch of flaperon, waved at my friend who was crying tears out of his eyes from laughing and was backing out of the way.  I told him that if I didn’t make it, for Pete sake not to call 911 or the FAA-to just come and get my broken body in his front end loader bucket and call the old lady. Then, with nothing holding me back but terror, I built a huge fire in my 582 Rotax and went for it, rattledy bang, bang banging down the patch.    

Well, you know I made it, don’t you?!  Came up out of there like a big green shiny eagle (with orange tail feathers and stripes on the wings, and a few red polka dots).  At 100 feet above ground level I throttled back and made a pass over my friend.  He had quit laughing and was now just standing there with his hands on his hips, shaking his head. 

I could see the mains and tubes out the side of the plane and they looked okay.  Since the tail wheel is hooked to the rudder control cables, I figured the tail wheel was still attached, since I was co-ordinating turns okay. I could hear engine noise in the back and was still maintaining altitude so I figured the engine was still attached.  Even all the gauges were still in their holes and working. And the best part…I was alive!!! (maniacal laugh) 

I flew home, made a great landing in my patch (strip) and put her in the shed (hangar).  The next morning I checked everything for everything and found only a broken exhaust spring and noticed the bungee suspension needed a little tightening up. Thanks all folks! 

I have flown several types of fat ultralights and have bent a tube or two in my close to 800 hours of flying time, but it is my personal opinion that nothing I have ever flown or looked at would have stayed off it’s belly (or back) that afternoon. I am sure am glad I’m flying a Chinook.  I appreciate its tough but easy flying characteristics more each time I fly. You could say I sing her praises.

Clayton Fisher's Greatest Adventures - Part Two...click here.