Over 30 years ago, a rag tag group of Barnstorming Aviators founded Skyrider Ultralights. They were tired of flying in little claustrophobic cockpits, thousands of feet in the air, with little or no connection to the ground. This was the time of the rise in popularity of Ultralight Flying Machines. One day, in the mid '80's, a young man was sleeping in the back seat of his car as his friend drove. "Look, Look", his friend yelled. In the distance could be seen what appeared to be a strange looking model aircraft. Still half asleep, the young man said, "What? What? Follow that thing!" After a few minutes, what appeared to be a tiny model, revealed itself to be an Ultralight, coming in for a landing in an airstrip at the west end of the Camarillo Airport. The young man ran in and begged to be taken aloft. The kindly old-timers took him up for the ride of his life. He was so taken by the grace and excitement of these little flying machines, that he bought one! A week later, he bought another one. Learning how to fly everyday, within a month, he bought the whole company! Today, that young man has over 15,000 hrs flight time and, is an FAA Certified Flight Instructor in Ultralights and Light Sport Aircraft. He has introduced hundreds of people to the wonders of these little flying machines, and trained many more as pilots. The young man is Mike Chicco. President/CEO of Skyrider Ultralights. |