(I'm sorry this has taken so long to post.  Please understand that I'm an
engineer, not a writer, and hunting and pecking with two fingers is
time-consuming.)

                                          Zoomed... Part I

       Zoom v. (1930s-1940s) to obtain something without paying for it;
       to sneak (without paying) into a public place (like a theater)
       where admission is charged

             "From Juba to Jive: the dictionary of African-American slang"

              by Clarence Major, 1994, by permission of the author, page
521

In the Jan. ‘95 issue of U.S. Aviator our company, CGS Aviation, was
listed in a negative light for the 3rd year in a row.  It's time to tell
our side of the story, unfiltered by US Aviator’s slanted editorial
policies.  Since I don't own a magazine in which to defend myself, I am
using the Internet as a vehicle to exercise my First Amendment right to
"free speech".  As to the question of whether this posting belongs in this
folder; I believe it does, since I design and manufacture recreational and
homebuilt aircraft.  To those of you who are not interested in this
subject matter, please use your kill file or leave now.  Those of you who
are interested in my side of the story, I welcome your participation.

I have documentation for anything I state here as fact, (ie: dates,
newspaper articles, magazine articles, police reports, canceled checks,
NTSB transcripts, etc.).  The rest will be to the best of my recollection.

First a brief history is in order.                                        

My name is Chuck Slusarczyk and I started Chuck's Glider Supplies (later
known as CGS Aviation) in 1971. I designed and built hang gliders from
1971 until 1981 when I sold the hang glider portion of the company.
During 1973 I started experimenting with the idea of motorizing my hang
gliders.  As a result of this work, I received a utility patent from the
U.S. Patent Office entitled "Powered Hang Glider with Reduction Drive"
(Reg. U.S. Pat. Off. #4,262,263). I designed and built reduction drive
units and engine conversion packages for various hang gliders and early
ultralights like the Easy Riser, Fledgling, Mitchell Wing, Quicksilver,
Viper, F.L.A.C., and others.  In 1974 I piloted a towed hang glider 52
miles across Lake Erie from Cleveland, Ohio to Rondeu Bay, Canada which
was the first international flight in a tow kite.  In 1979, as part of a
promotion for the Cleveland National Air Show, I piloted my Easy Riser
ultralight 62 miles across Lake Erie.  This was the longest over water
flight in an ultralight at the time.  I also carried 100 first day covers
stamped by the Post Office to be the first ultralight to carry the mail.
My Easy Riser now hangs in the EAA Museum at Oshkosh.  

I started designing the CGS Hawk in 1981.  The prototype was flown in
February of 1982 and has been in continual production ever since.  The EAA
museum in Lakeland has accepted the prototype CGS Hawk for their permanant
display.  Prior to all of this, I worked at NASA Lewis as a research
technician and for Scheutzow Helicopter Corp. as part of their type
certification team.

I say all of this not to blow my own horn, but to establish the fact that
I am not a newcomer to this sport, nor am I unqualified for what I do.

My first contact with Mr. Jim (Zoom) Campbell was, to the best of my
recollection, at Oshkosh 1981.  He and Pat Trusty claimed to be in the
process of flying around the world in ultralights.  I autographed the
canard on his Pterodactyl at his request.  At that time there were rumors
floating around the U/L area about Mr. Campbell’s alleged impersonations
of a Medical Doctor, and that he was something of a "unique, colorful
character".                  

A year or so later I encountered Mr. Campbell while he was working as a
writer for an aviation publication.  He flew the CGS Hawk and wrote a
pilot report for the magazine.  However the flight we observed bore no
resemblance to the way he described it in his article.   The actual flight
was in no way as "dramatic" as he described it.  

In 1985 Mr. Campbell wrote a book entitled "Flyers Guide to Ultralights"
published by Tab Books Inc. In it Mr. Campbell says of me "There are few
people in the ultralight community who can claim to have done as much for
ultralight aviation as Chuck Slusarczyk....his sense of humor, fairness,
and propriety have made him one of the sport's more endearing
participants" (page 41).  

After Mr. Campbell left Hot Kits and Homebuilts Magazine, I neither saw
nor heard any more of him until Sun-n-Fun 1990.  Up to this point I had no
problems with Mr. Campbell.  Little did I know what I was in for.

End part 1. (To be continued).