Still experiencing significant pain when moving. There is severe pain when first moving up and away from chair after sitting. This seems related to post traumatic arthritis. It subsides a bit after walking a few steps.
Other pain is when weight bearing and using quadriceps. Stair climbing is quite painful. Removal of the screw on left leg (August 2025) has not reduced the pain on the outside of the knee as expected. Right leg quadriceps and quadriceps tendons are producing as much or more pain than ever.
I am now convinced that pain and inflammation are due to irregularities in bone around fracture and significant scar tissue. This particular serious related to the gnarly fracture sight on the right femur. I think the compression is complete with my right leg now a full 1 inch shorter than my right.
In addition to rough area of the fracture, o believe there are issues with the femoral nerve.
According to literature and physician discussion, it appears that this long term chronic pain is “normal” and expected considering the extreme damage. The recommended treatment is PT exercises, massage and pain medicine.
Here is a quote from a recent study regarding unexplained pain after a femur fracture:
“What are the causes of prolonged disability? The time course of recovery is poorly understood, and the sources of disability are similarly unclear. There is general agreement that knee pain is a substantial functional problem following fracture of the femoral shaft. Ricci and colleagues9 reported knee pain in up to 36% of patients with fractures of the femoral shaft, but the severity and clinical importance of this knee pain remains unknown. Causes of knee pain are generally poorly understood. Various theories propose that intra-articular pathology, intraosseous hypertension, prominent hardware and muscle deconditioning may be the primary sources of knee pain following fracture of the femoral shaft.10–16 Hip pain is also reported after intramedullary nailing. About 10% of patients report hip pain.9Sources of hip pain include damage to the abductor musculature related to nail insertion.17,18”
I have settled into a regimen of 325mg aspirin and 300mg Gabapentin twice daily-taken with food. Occasional substitution of Ibuprofen or Naproxen for the aspirin. I take 1.2 oz of alcohol in Bourbon whisky (3 oz of 40%) each night for sleep. No kidney or liver issues indicated in my recent blood work. Long term use of NSAID’s is risky but my dose is relatively low. I have been following this regimen now for 3 years.
Recently I have added topical application of Diclofinac (Voltaren) twice daily. Another NSAID but with less risk and possible positive interactions with aspirin in that it tends to reduce the risk of bleeding caused by the aspirin.
In addition I am getting Stem Wave treatments twice weekly for 6 weeks. Efficacy is yet unknown,
I selectively use a stabilizing knee brace about 30% of the time-when quadricep tendon seems to have a higher pain level. It helps sometimes-sometimes not.
My daily use of the racing simulator is a serious workout with continuous bending and force applied to the ankles, calves and quads. It does not seem to increase my pain. I do notice that the rapid application of throttle with my right leg does occasionally induce pain in the quadriceps.
I have recently purchased a sophisticated powered “lift” chair that has back massage and heat therapy. This, my exercise and occasional use of my Teeter inversion device seems to have solved my back pain.
My Primary Care Physician and my Orthopedic Surgeon have recently reviewed my condition. X-rays indicate bones have healed and are slowly remodeling. Both physicians more or less indicated there was nothing to do for me other than PT. Attempts to contact Neurosurgery PA and DPT have been frustrating and unsuccessful. I feel I am in a situation where nobody knows how to cure my pain-it appears to be accepted as “sometimes the outcome is less than ideal” after the trauma.
My main avenue now is to pursue aggressive self help using exercises and massage in the hope that breaking up scarcities and strengthening muscles may reduce pain.
I go in and out of severe depression. My relationship with Jesus and continued prayer is the only effective treatment. Chronic pain without the hope of recovery is a very tough scenario.
I have always been attracted to flying. My love of flying only equaled by a love of auto racing.
This is not only a story of a “old and rusty” pilot returning to competent flight but also the story of a terrible crash and subsequent recovery from two broken femurs and damage to vertebrae. It is a story that addresses severe human suffering and resulting depression and loss of hope. It is a story of becoming an invalid and being handicapped. It is a story of an old man dealing with the late stages of life from age 67 to 75 years old. It is a story of how such experiences are bearable only because of a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, God the Father and the Holy Spirit.
The story is arranged, starting with my decision to fly ultralight aircraft with a journal of my recovery from serious injury. It then returns to the beginning of my return to flight, earning a “taildragger” endorsement on Private Pilot license and my flying in my Cubcrafters Sport Cub.
My first flight in a general aviation plane was with a pilot in West Virginia, named Lee Massey. (WV01) Mr. Massey owned a truck stop on US Route 60 and took me and my father for a ride over Charleston. I was 11 years old. It must have made quite an impression, as I remember the flight now 57 years later! As a young man, I had ambitions to become a Naval Aviator. But, back in those days, pilots were required to have perfect eyesight and in my freshman year of college, I developed a degree of myopia and required glasses. So, my goal to be a fighter pilot was thwarted, but my interest in flying continued. As a business executive in Youngstown, Ohio, I chartered a plane with pilot to fly to a factory site in West Virginia. (Ravens Trailer in Parkersburg) My first flight and only general aviation flight under IFR conditions.
I flew in a glider near my parent's farm in Waynesville, OH. It was great. As soon as I had sufficient income, I started taking flying lessons. My first solo flight as a Student Pilot was at Camarillo Airport in Southern California. I flew a Cessna C152. I moved to Dallas, Texas and completed my training at Denton Airport, earning my Private Pilot license in 1980. I purchased (50% interest) a new Piper Turbo Arrow III (like the one in the left picture) and leased it to the flight school at Denton. I flew that plane and other Piper Cherokee types models all over North Texas, Oklahoma and Louisiana. My "flying world" was within a 800 x 300 mile rectangle.
Most of my flying was during a time when I was employed as a corporate executive. (VP Fleet Management for Trailways Inc.). I quit there and started my long entrepreneurial "career". Anyone that has been an entrepreneur knows that money is tight during the start-up phase--a private plane was just not in the cards. So we sold the plane and stopped flying in 1982. Happy to say the entrepreneurial activities (related to auto repair, auto parts and vehicle leasing) were quite successful. (I have been very blessed.) But, instead of going back to flying, I engaged in my other expensive motorsports passion--racing. Sports Cars, Formula Cars, and even NASCAR Winston Cup. Along the way, after several entrepreneurial ventures, and a very serious racing accident in 1988, I quit racing and went back to school to earn an MBA from the Wharton School. Then a career in Investment Management. And in 2011, a return to racing. When I no longer felt comfortable competing on the track as a "hobby" in "real" life (the young "turks" were just too aggressive) I continued racing in the "virtual" world of Sim Racing. I was good enough at it that I coached others--especially "over 60" drivers. (I also became a Christian Chaplain with Racers For Christ serving as the Regional Chaplain for the SCCA Mid-Atlantic Region for a season and IRacing. I served for a season with Road Racing Ministries as a Chaplain for SCCA Pro Trans Am Series.) Below is a video I made for training/coaching drivers for the famous Nurburgring Circuit driving a Ferrari.
Still, my thoughts were often on flying. (Simulation is fun, but not the same as real life--in race cars or planes.) I developed colon cancer in 2016 with a good recovery and prognosis after surgery (I have been very blessed.) but the experience (along with the passing of some of my friends and clients) reinforced the need to make decisions regarding my "late in life" activities. Approaching professional "retirement" I decided that I would get back into flying. Not in a high performance plane, but rather a "fly for fun" plane. And, to me, there is no better one for that than the Cubcrafters Sport Cub. A Light Sport (860 pound) plane, with a 110 HP engine that cruises at around 85-90 mph and lands at less than 50 mph in less than 800 feet. All about the Sport Cub Well, 34 years, to some is a long time. But, I still have many vivid memories of that flying in Texas and Louisiana. It really does not seem that long ago. Funny thing about becoming an old man---time seems to move faster as you get older. But, to most, I would be called a "Rusty Pilot" so getting "current" and "re-qualified" will be the first part of the adventure. Many will recall the great Hemingway story, "The Old Man and the Sea". Well, at age 67, I am the Old Man, and my story is the Old Man and His Plane. For awhile, my new "flying world" is the NE-MidAtlantic--avoiding the Class B airspace. About the same number of square miles (800 x 500 with irregular shape) as I flew in Texas and Louisiana.
Note: I adjust dates so blog can be read in "book" format in normal chronological order, rather than "blog" format. So to continue reading--Click the "Older Posts” I have interrupted this order and started the “story” after the sale of my Sport Cub and purchase of my Aerolite leading to my crash and ongoing recovery. The earlier beginning of my story as a “rusty” pilot seeking a “taildragger” endorsement starts after my posts regarding my recovery.
These articles are intended to inform and entertain. My goal is to share my experience and hopefully help, encourage and maybe warn other older "rusty" pilots. It is always a bit useful to know a little about the author's background. To know "where he is coming from" so to speak. First, I am a Mechanical Engineer who loves machines and is fascinated by the study and mastery of them. I am a "tinkerer" by nature and "dive deep" to figure out how and why things work. This led to me creating a few inventions that were awarded US Patents. My Father was a gifted mechanic (airplane- Navy Chief Mechanic on B24, auto, bus and truck) and he taught me what he knew. I became a Certified Master Auto Technician. My long career included being responsible for large fleets of thousands of buses and supervising hundreds of mechanics. Later in life, I studied economics and finance, making a living managing investments--"diving deep" to figure out the intrinsic value of investments and the best way to build investment portfolios. I am an accomplished race car driver and a Private (Single Engine Land) Pilot. Much of my career involved dealing with compliance to Federal and State Regulations. In transportation (especially school buses) that involved safety regulations for operation and maintenance. In my manufacturing management career, that involved regulations regarding the recovery and recycling of ozone layer depleting refrigerants for auto and HVAC service industries. And, finally in the investment management business, as my firm's Chief Compliance Officer, a deep understanding of regulations regarding financial services. All of this prepared me to be comfortable with the study and compliance with regulations regarding flight and aircraft.
Most importantly, I am a Christian--a Believer and Follower of Jesus Christ. There is a broad continuum of beliefs in the world---for the sake of discussion, let me oversimplify and define six different groups: Unbelievers; Skeptics; Religious Non-Christians; Casual Christians; Self Righteous Christians; and Born Again Evangelicals. These articles are meant to be valuable to all of these groups, however, since am clearly in the Born Again Evangelical group, the reader will sense that I have a personal relationship with a Triune God (Father, Son and Holy Spirit) and that I communicate with all three "persons" of this being. To the Unbeliever, this may seem to be some odd relationship with "an imaginary friend". To me, it is a perfectly natural relationship with a real supernatural being with whom I communicate with thru prayer, reading and study of the Holy Bible, and thru diligent and hypersensitivity to circumstances. And, I am sure that God is active in my life, helping and protecting me. (Even with God's help and protection---in this life, bad things can happen to good people---it is important that we always keep in mind that our abilities come from God and we are expected to use them. Life on earth is not the reward--life in Heaven is.) As a scientist-engineer, I believe that God is the creator of all things, and our study and understanding of science is a form of God revealing his extraordinary handiwork to us. So I am OK with the science "discovering" that the earth is millions of years old, and OK with modern evolution being declared a quite foolish theory--at least the idea than mankind evolved from apes. I believe the Bible is a true revelation from God--only man's interpretation of it can be in error. I believe that God delights in our application of this scientific knowledge and in the mastery of our creations--such creations often being machines. So, the motivation for my "learning" and acquiring of skills is very much part of my Christian life. It is also important to know that I do not think this belief makes me "better" than anyone else. I am not "self-righteous" and my "preaching of the Gospel" is most often simply by the example of how I live my life. And "preaching the Gospel" is simply the declaration that God loves ALL men/women and in the person of Jesus Christ, died to pay the price for mankind's rebellion, and he rose from the dead to make a place for his Believers/Followers to dwell forever with Him in a perfect place called Heaven. The Good News is that nothing else is required, other than Belief, Trust, Love and a good faith attempt to be like Him (Jesus) while here on Earth. And, mankind was created to exist only with a relationship with God, and a love of God---without that relationship, mankind is incomplete, unhappy and lost. As a Christian Chaplain I attempt to share this message whenever and wherever appropriate. People often tell me that they are "not very religious" but admire many "Christian Morals". They are often surprised to learn that I too am not a big fan of "organized religion" that seems to dwell more on man made rules, secular business-money oriented activities and prideful self-righteousness than on the simple Gospel and a loving relationship with God who exists in the three persons of the Father, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit.
Almost exactly two years after I sold my Cubcrafters Sport Cub, began to seriously consider flying again--but this time in an Ultralight under Part 103 Regulations.
I tried operating a 38 ft Trawler Yacht. Then driving around with a Travel Trailer. And then, operating a 310cc motorbike. Did not care much for the boating--too slow. Really did not enjoy the Travel Trailer experience. I love the BMW G-310R and ride it regularly.
But, I really missed the flying. We live right under the intersection of Victor Route V408 and T-Route T291. Lots of low flying planes on V408 and I am constantly hearing them. Almost always, I found myself looking up to see the plane.
I did not miss the the complications of flying through controlled airspace and keeping "current" with pilot licensing and plane inspection regulations. I missed the simple act of piloting a plane.
I looked seriously at ultralight trikes, but was not comfortable with the lack of cross wind landing controls. I completed a diligent review of the Part 103 rules, and studied various planes in current production. In essence, a Part 103 ultralight must: Weigh less than 254 lbs (278 lbs equipped with parachute); Carry maximum of 5 gallons fuel; Fly slow--63 mph maximum with a stall speed less than 28 mph; and Fly only in Class E and G uncontrolled airspace. No pilot license required.
I liked the Kolb Firefly with it's folding wings, but the factory did not return phone calls-appeared to be a casualty to COVID. I really did not want a "kit" that I had to build. I wanted an "almost ready to fly" plane-NEW. (One disadvantage of Part 103 "vehicles"--the FAA does not consider them to be "aircraft"-- is maintenance and condition is often "fuzzy" without logbooks, maintenance regulations, and annual condition inspections.)
One important note: An ultralight pilot documented his long development with a Kolb. The information is voluminous---VERY valuable and useful. I found the website while researching information regarding Tillotson carburetors.
My final candidates were the Quicksilver Sprint and the Aerolite 103. Both were available with Hirth F23 engines. The Quicksilver has external cable supports--a very simple but also very high drag design. If a Cessna 172 has a glide ratio of 9:1; the Quicksilver is probably in the 4:1 range. Power out in a Quicksilver and pretty much it is "Full stick forward" a steep decent angle. The Aerolite 103 is a bit more aerodynamically "clean" with an estimated glide ratio of 7:1. (Despite a claimed 450fpm sink rate which would be 7.8:1 glide ratio.) The Aerolite 103 is available with the MZ201 engine with gear reduction and a centrifugal clutch, slightly lighter than the Hirth F23 and a belt drive. The Aerolite 103 has a flex "suspension".
While it could be argued that the Aerolite 103 is more "plane like", both ultralights are high drag, designs with dacron sail covered wings and a high mounted pusher engine.
Both planes are supported by a good "factory" operation with good parts support. While Air-Tech is technically not the manufacturer of the plane--they bought all the parts and tooling from Quicksilver some time ago.
I did lots of research by reviewing reports regarding accidents and flight characteristics of both planes. As with most non-commercially operated aircraft accidents---loss of an engine or loss of control (mostly a stall) or both are the biggest factors in fatalities. Two stroke engines are generally more subject to lack of lubrication and failure. High drag, low speed ultralights will go from cruise to stall is a very short period of time--in the 2-4 second range. (Become distracted while flying low to the ground and an unrecoverable stall can happen very quickly.) Hence, attention to air speed is critical. And, a higher glide ratio is advantageous as it gives more time to emergency landing.
I became convinced that the Aerolite 103 came out ahead because: 1) The gear box and clutch, in my humble opinion provides for better engine life; and 2) It has a much better glide ratio.
This conclusion may be challenged by some as the safety record of the Aerolite 103 does not appear to be significantly better. An analysis of John Walton's crash in his CGS Hawk (similar to the Aerolite in design) and a recent Aerolite crash in Jacksonville, FL on its maiden flight makes me suspicious that one factor is the Aerolite with less drag may actually pick up nose down speed in a stall and impact at a higher speed than the high drag Quicksilver. Neither plane appears to have bad manners in a power off stall, but constant and diligent attention to airspeed is very important to avoid stalls. And, diligence regarding rudder position is also critical while approaching stall condition.
The final decision factor for me was the Aerolite 103 wing has actually been load tested to exceed 6/2G by the factory in order to meet European standards.
I concluded that while all flight is arguably not without risk, ultralight flight by a proficient and careful pilot in a well maintained Aerolite 103, with diligent attention to air speed and the avoidance of stalls was not much, if any, higher risk than riding a motorcycle. (Actual stats are 0.14% fatality risk per year--about the same risk as a 70+ year old man dying from cancer. And the actual stats for ultralight flying include fatalities due to poor ability and poor judgment--very few are due to equipment failure. In the early days, many ultralight pilots were not trained or maintained properly--today most ultralight pilots are licensed pilots and relatively well qualified to perform maintenance. They simply want to fly ultralights with the freedom they provide and lack of bureaucratic hassle present with general aviation--the accident rate for ultralights in now the same or lower than for general aviation--mostly because they are only flown in good weather and without the pressure of having to arrive at a destination on a schedule.)
Another factor was that the Xplane 11 Sim has a very good Aerolite 103. I spend considerable time using Xplane and Prepar3D in my home simulator rig (300+ hours) with Oculus Rift Virtual Reality and Redbird rudders. This does not perfectly simulate real flight, but does assist greatly in building proficiency and familiarity. I found it very useful at building proficiency for my flying of the Cub. It has also been useful in becoming familiar with the Aerolite 103's characteristics.
I conducted a rigorous review of substantial written material on the internet and other sources (covering 20+ years) and determined that the current Aerolite 103 with the MZ201 was "legal" and would weight less than 254 pounds. (Another post on weight and weight and balance.)
So, I ordered a new Aerolite 103 with an MZ201 engine from Aerolite 103 LLC in Deland, FL. It is scheduled for delivery (partially disassembled for truck transport) in August 2022 to my rented hangar space at Shoestring Aviation Airfield (0P2) in Stewartstown, PA--six miles (10-12 minutes) from my residence. Her name will be BlueandGreenUniformLima=Blue and Green Ultra Light.
Actual plane at Sun/Fun and Oshkosh 2022
Shoestring is home to about 20 ultralight aircraft. It has two perpendicular 1000 foot, well maintained turf runways, mostly surrounded by agricultural fields or low density rural residential land. Lots of Class E and G Airspace flight area.
Note that an ultralight can become a certificated aircraft. If is was a kit where the builder provided 51% of the effort for his/her education and recreation, the craft can be certified as an Experimental Amateur Built and flown with a Sport Pilot license. If the plane was certified as S-LSA, it could be certified as an E-LSA. If it is sold as a almost ready to fly 103 kit, most likely the only certification allowed would be a seriously restricted (Depending on FSDO Limitations on the Certificate when/if issued) Experimental for Exhibition certificate.
