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At exactly 08:00 hours on Saturday, twelve LAFA ultralights lined up for take-off from runway 18U at X51. Five minutes later all were airborne in perfect formation en-route to the Big Cypress Airport. Thanks to the generous 25MPH tailwind, even the shadows of the Powered Parachutes in our group could be seen overtaking cars on Route 27 as the group made its way north. In fact, they were so far ahead of the ground crew that they decided to skip the refueling stops and still managed to arrive with fuel to spare.

The strong wind from the south made landing on the east-west runway a bit tricky, but after a couple of passes the skilled pilots simply landed into the wind - perpendicular to the runway. With maximum ground rolls of 30 feet there were yards of runway to spare (although the powered parachutes actually landed in reverse).

O.K., O.K. - that isn't what reeeally happened. It could have happened like that... but... it didn't.

Here's the true version...

When the final weather forecast check was made on Friday evening, the four remaining fly-out candidates agreed that 20MPH crosswinds gusting to 25 weren't going to be safe - or much fun, so we cancelled the fly-out plans and opted for a "drive-out" instead.

There were 14 of us all together: Donny Amador and his family (4); Rich Bragassa and his son Ricky (2); Ron, Claire and Ida Andersen (3); and Peter, Madelaine, Ryan & Patrick Volum plus friend Jacob (5).

While saddened that we were unable to fly to our destination, the week-end was a success nonetheless.

The Billie Swamp Safari offers a unique glimpse of the Florida Everglades and wildlife that even most native Floridians will find enlightening. Until one has slept in a swamp - literally a few feet from alligators, wild boars, deer, panthers, buffalos and a vast assortment of other swamp creatures, one has missed out on a truly memorable experience. The cacophony of noises that these animals make at night is impossible to explain with mere words. There were grunts, howls, screeches, snorts, squeals, squawks and growls. There were snapping sounds, the sound of something getting eaten (that was a loud one!), and there were plodding and scuttling noises of small "somethings" being chased by larger "somethings" right under our floorboards!

Yes... we were at one with nature - and No... it was NOT the Ritz Carlton, but it was comfortable and oddly peaceful despite (or perhaps because of) the loud sounds of nature. And at only $35.00 per night per cabin for 2, quite a bargain for such a unique experience.

During the day there were walking trails to explore, petting zoos, and assorted animals in cages. Those who wanted to, took swamp buggy and airboat rides while others relaxed in the shade of Chickees along the waterway and watched as the kids tried NOT to catch a gator while fishing from the dock.

Thanks to the wind, this was an UN-fly out, but all who went agreed that it should be a future LAFA fly-out destination. If a group of 30 or 40 LAFA members and their families were to arrive by air and land, they would be assured an enjoyable and memorable week-end.