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

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

Key Takeaways:

Four Light Sport Aircraft (LSA) pilots from Washington state, involved in the Zenith builder community, organized "The Great Gravel Gaggle" to introduce one pilot to the unique thrill of landing on river gravel bars.
The outing highlighted the importance of safety in off-airport STOL operations, emphasizing careful surface checks and practical landing techniques, while building confidence through shared experience.
Pilot Curt Thompson's custom-built Zenith CH701, central to the adventure, was an eight-year "plans-built" project, providing insights into the challenges and rewards of home aircraft construction.
The experience ultimately underscored the social, adventurous, and fun aspects of sport flying, particularly shared STOL activities like gravel bar hopping, reinforcing camaraderie among pilots.

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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.”