Local makes

A FAILING
HEART DIDN'T
STOP NV MAN
FROM FLYING
ULTRA-LIGHT

EIGHTY-YEAR-old Otto
Schneider’s life was extend-
ed in 1984 when surgeons
repaired his failing heart by
installing an artificial valve.
But the operation also ended
the high-flying life Schneider
had pursued with a passion
for over 50 years.

The surgery meant Swiss-ex-
patriate Schneider could no longer
qualify for a pilot’s licence. So
with wings clipped, Schneider
dismantled his U.S.-designed
Birdman T.L. 1A 500 airplane and
stored it in a trailer.

Schneider quietly made B.C.
aviation history in 1978 when he
built and flew the first ultra-light
plane in the province. He used to
display the Birdman at the Ab-

33 - Sunday, July 31, 1988 ~ North Shore News

aviation history

botsford Airshow cach year. Tc- OTTO SCHNEIDER poses before the Birdman ultra-light airplane he
day countless, new-breed, ultra- built from a kit in 1978. Schneider’s plane was the first of its kind to fly
light planes may be found dotting in B.C. He recently reassembled the plane because he wants to sell it or

the skies, like so many brightly- donate it to a museum,

colored, gossamer-winged flights
of fancy, above smali airstrips
throughout North America.

But said Schneider, ‘‘This plane
is still the best ultra-light today.
it’s a real plane — it’s solid.’’

The North Vancouver man
bought the Birdman kit for $2,000
US and assembled it over a one-
year period. The all-wood plane is
fitted with a 20-horsepower engine
that drives a small wooden pro-
peller. It has a 34-foot wing span,
a wing area of 144 square feet, is
19 feet long, 7.2 feet high and has
a gross weight of 350 pounds.

The plane’s gas tank holds 1.1
gallons of fuel for a maximum
flight range of 68.4 miles. Max-
imum speed clocks in at 50 miles
per hour and the plane cruises at
40 miles per hour. The Birdman
takes off in 85 feet and touches
down with a landing roll of 45
feet.

Ahead of the pilot's seat in the
nose of the plane sits a cluster of
instrumentation that includes an
altimeter, climb and synch in-
dicator, speedometer,
r.p.m.indicator and a thermome-
ter.

At the pilot’s left side sits a lever
to control the throttle. On the
right, a single lever manipulates
ailerons on top of the wings and
controls the elevator at the tail.

Schneider used to fly the tiny
aircraft in Pemberton and around
Hope. He flew his first plane, a
Cessna, in the old country in 1930,
and at one time few for the famed
Rothschild family.

Said Schneider, “It’s hard. I
would like to fly still, but now it’s
not possible.”

He would like to donate the
plane to a museum or sell it. His
wife will rest easier: he will no
longer be tempted to fly.

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