On the ground, a bystander turned to his two friends and said, “Man, I hope those guys see each other!” as all three were looking up at a Lazair that was on short final from the south and another plane apparently flying a straight-in approach from the north. “Uncontrolled airport, low light just around dusk, this could get ugly” they were each thinking to themselves.

Our pilot was flying the Lazair. When he first saw the other airplane, he thought, “This guy is flying an awfully close downwind leg.” Our pilot tried to raise the other aircraft on the radio, but he was NORDO (no radio). Soon enough, our pilot was approximately 50 feet above the ground when he recognized the ultralight coming straight at him. He knew the plane. He’d flown it.

“What to do?” our pilot contemplated. “How ‘bout think fast? He’s closing in on me at around 60 mph; I’m doing around 30 mph.” He knew he had mere seconds and decided to open both throttles and head straight at him!

“Suicidal? I don’t think so,” explains our pilot. “From my perspective, this guy is either a complete moron or he is in big trouble and has to get down now. Either way, I will not assume he will know enough or be able to adjust his course to the right (as per regulations) if and when he does see me, unless he’s having a heart attack and in that case it’s totally up to me to avoid him, now isn’t it?”

Our pilot continues, “If I continue my approach and land, as is my right, I may end up with a heavier, faster ship literally right in my face. To paraphrase Dr. Phil, ‘Do ya wanna be RIGHT, or do ya wanna be ALIVE?’”

“The way I see it, my only friend here is AIRSPEED, which brings MANOUVERABILITY! If I’m lollygagging in at a typical Lazair approach speed, it’s unlikely I’ll be able to avoid this guy if we both continue our approaches, or if he makes a sudden turn towards me as I veer off to the right.”

Our pilot believed that by flying straight at the other aircraft and turning at the last possible moment, he would hopefully assure that the conflict aircraft could not turn and fly into him. In no way was this a certainty – the other pilot was, after all, flying a straight-in downwind approach at an uncontrolled airport at dusk. Betting on his next move was risky at best.

But like flashes of lightning, the whole plan was being formulated in the mind of our pilot and he felt he’d be out of the way and gone before a collision with the other aircraft was imminent. As if in a deadly game of chicken, our pilot waits until he feels the other pilot can’t turn into him and then executes a climbing turn to the right. It worked!

By the time our pilot completed his missed approach and landed, the other pilot was already on the ground long enough to have had a few strips torn off of him by all of the other pilots present.

“What was that? Downwind? Here? Are you nuts???” the bystanders exclaimed.

“It wasn’t that windy,” responded the other pilot.

“What direction did you take off?” they drilled. “To the north” the other pilot replied. “Then why on earth would you land to the south when your field is only 15 minutes away?” they threw back. “Did you even SEE the other plane?”

“What other plane?”

With the danger now in the past our pilot tried to calm himself. “Cool. Must remain cool. No point in not being cool” he counsels himself.

“I didn’t have to say anything; it had all been said before I landed. Eventually, the other pilot and I walked past each other on the field. I said simply ‘nice collision avoidance maneuver!’”

The other pilot replied, “Yeah, uh, sorry.”

Our pilot learned a few months later that after fleeing a ramp check at a fly-in elsewhere, the other pilot was issued a $2,000 fine for having an unregistered aircraft and no insurance.

Our pilot concludes, “You may think those guys that enforce the rules are just a pain, and you may not like some of the rules, but sometimes those enforcer guys ground “pilots” who fly downwind straight-in approaches at uncontrolled airports without even bothering to look for other aircraft. Coincidence? I don’t think so.”