Carol Plotnick

"Where are the women?" USUA asked in the May, 2006 issue of UltraFlight magazine. Here's one that is present and accounted for! I'm Carol Plotnick. I've been a USUA member since September, 2000. I'm an ultralight pilot and freelance writer. I was also USUA's financial administrator and web site editor from September, 2001 until August, 2005. I have had articles published on the USUA web site and in the two flying magazines, Ultralight Flying! and UltraFlight.

I discovered ultralights when my husband, Mike, and I went to Oshkosh in July, 2000. One day while he was at a welding workshop, I walked up to the ultralight area and took pictures. That afternoon, he went to the ultralight area with me to see what got me so excited earlier that day! After we toured the area, Mike went into the USUA tent, signed up for membership, and asked about local USUA Clubs. That's how we learned about USUA Club #4, the Capitol Area Light Flyers (C.A.L.F). We were in luck! The club met only a few miles from our home. Through the club we learned about an ultralight flight school at Shoestring Airport in Stewartstown, PA. I became a USUA member when Mike and I began our flight training. How could I have known that a year later I'd be working for USUA!

What I enjoyed most while working at USUA were all the people I met. Whether in the office or at a conference, a fly-in or a club meeting, I met and talked to some of the most interesting people in aviation, ultralight pilots. In sharing our love of flying, we learned from each other. After I soloed in June, 2002 – leaving my shirt tail behind at Shoestring Airport! – I often used my experience as a pilot when I talked with people about flying. USUA received calls from all sorts of folks, beginning with those who had never been off the ground and were interested in experiencing a flight, right up to folks who had flown general aviation aircraft and were now looking for something FUN to fly. The years I worked at USUA were some of the most rewarding I've ever had.

In addition to launching my career at USUA, 2001 was also the year that I published my first aviation article, based on my ultralight flight training. Ultralight Flying! ran the two-part series "Learning to Fly." In the years that followed, my articles appeared in both Ultralight Flying! and UltraFlight magazine. The articles ranged from personal accounts to safety issues. My most recent article "Traffic," appears in the July 2006 issue of Ultralight Flying! magazine. It's about the various air and ground traffic problems pilots might encounter. 2006 was also the year I completed my novel, Flying Wires.

Currently, I am pursuing a publishing contract and I hope that one day my tale about ultralight pilots will appear in print. In the meantime, I continue to write articles. I am also researching a work of nonfiction about the 396th Bombardment Squadron and their exploits in the south Pacific during World War II. It will be told through both historical accounts and my uncle's correspondence to the folks back home.

Carol Plotnick (USUA Member #80700) lives in Laurel, Maryland. She is an author and a pilot. You may contact her via E-mail: cplot49@gmail.com