Friends Enjoy a Different Kind of ‘Bar Hopping’ in Their Zenith LSAs

Zenith STOL flyers introduce a friend to landing on gravel bars.

Dan Pimentel

Friday, September 02, 2022 at 06:10 AM ET

Verified

Curt Thompson chose a unique paint scheme for his plans-built Zenith CH701 Clownfish Plane. [Courtesy: Terry Green]

Key Takeaways:

A group of Washington LSA pilots, "The Great Gravel Gaggle," introduced a new pilot to the excitement of landing STOL aircraft on river gravel bars, highlighting the camaraderie and shared joy of adventurous sport flying.
The outing underscored the critical importance of safety in off-airport landings, emphasizing diligent surface checks for obstructions and careful approach techniques.
Curt Thompson shared insights from his eight-year journey of plans-building his Zenith CH701 "Clownfish Plane," offering valuable advice for homebuilt aircraft enthusiasts, such as the efficiency of kits over plans-building.

See a mistake? Contact us.

One of the main draws to what we know as “sport flying” is just going out and having fun with your airplane. And when that fun involves more friends who also share your love of flying light sport airplanes, the “fun” aspect is multiplied several times.

So when three LSA pilots from Washington state decided to introduce a fourth sport pilot to the exhilaration that comes from landing on gravel bars in a STOL machine, they named the one-day outing “The Great Gravel Gaggle.”