Archive: Around Town

Pancake breakfasts are always tasty and fun, but they are even more fun at the East Hill Flying Club (EHFC).  The club invited the public for breakfast last Sunday (6/18) to raise money for their own activities as well as for Ithaca's Loaves and Fishes program.  Hoards of people came to the airport for the event, and some actually flew in.

Fly-in breakfasts are a tradition for pilots, and hardly a weekend goes by in the warm weather season when there isn't a breakfast to fly to somewhere.  EHFC offered pancakes, eggs and sausage with NY State maple syrup, hot chocolate, coffee, tea and orange juice -- all you could eat for $6.  That was a deal nobody could resist, and the hangar was packed with people.  They also had displays to interest people in joining the club, as well as a Civil Air Patrol display, airplanes including Cessnas, and an Aeronica Champ.  The airport fire department had equipment on display, and the club offered scenic plane rides for $25 per person all morning.


Lee Ramsdell flew an Allegro 2000 to the breakfast from his business, L & L Light Sport Aviation of Freehold, NY.  Ramsdell and his wife Linda DeMarco sell the two-seater at aviation events.  "We go to air shows, we go to any aviation events," Ramsdell  says.  The manufacturer, Fantasy Air, has been making the planes in Europe for 12 years, with US distribution in North Carolina.  Over 650 are flying now with 55 in the US.  "Their workmanship is unbelievable," he says.


The Allegro is categorized in the relatively new light sport class.  The FAA created this class to allow pilots to fly with less training and other requirements than a conventional pilot's license, but with more restrictions.  For example light sport pilots must fly below 10,000 and only during the daytime under Visual Flight Rules (VFR), which define weather conditions that allow pilots to see where they are going.  It involves more training than ultralight flying, and is considered a good entry-level certification for people interested in flying.

Ramsdell says the cockpit has more room than a Cessna 152, the classic two-seater training plane.  It looks sleeker than a 152 with a more sculpted fuselage and larger windows.  "It totally outperforms a 152," Ramsdell says.  "The climb performance is better because it's light weight.  It only burns 3.2 gallons an hour."  The two seater can hold up to 500 pounds of people, full fuel is 14 gallons, and it can take 22 pounds of baggage.  He sells the plane for $60,000, or you can get it in kit form for $22,500.


Bob Kosztyo flew his NAvion from Tri Cities.  "They had 250 of them in the Korean war," he says.  "The most famous one was McArthur's staff airplane.  NAvions were designated L-17 by the USAF and Army Air Forces.  They were built for liaison, reconnaissance, personnel, and light cargo duties and given the designation L-17.

Owning a historic plane means a lot of work and loving care.  "It's been a constant state of restoration ever since I got it," Kosztyo laughs.  "In fact I just finished painting it within the past few months."

Kosztyo likes to fly to breakfasts for the food and comradery as well as to display his piece of history.  "I enjoy going to different breakfasts throughout New york and Pennsylvania and New Jersey, and I also enjoy showing my plane off," he says, adding, "The breakfast is always good here."


Pete DePew flew an Antonov AN-2 "Colt" from Ovid, NY.  Long-time East Hill Flying Club member Art Muka says, "The Antonov is a Russian design.  They built thousands of them for the Eastern Block countries and they were used as ambulance planes, to carry dead animals, they were used to spray crops and fertilize the land.  It is huge, but it takes off from unprepared grass fields."


By mid-morning the line for breakfast was still long.  Civil Air Patrol cadets were directing traffic, scenic flights were coming and going, and a good time was had by all.  

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