10th Annual Event Will Be Held Virtually on October 12-13

The 2024 World Ultralight Fly-In (WUFI) will be held on Saturday, October 12, and Sunday, October 13. This is the 10th consecutive year for the virtual event, allowing pilots to participate wherever and whenever they please.

WUFI is a virtual fly-in for ultralight and light-sport aircraft. Pilots can fly their personal aircraft at their home field within the event dates, snap a picture showing the time, and upload it to the WUFI Certificate group to be sent a printable participation award via Facebook Messenger. And, for non-UL or LSA owners: passengers are also eligible for a certificate.

The event was organized in 2014 by Koen Van de Kerchhove, Bill Esker, and Paul Lindamood.

“Van de Kerchhove initiated the discussion by saying it would be nice if ‘grassroots’ flyers could all convene and fly together at one venue, similar to an event like Oshkosh for general aviation flyers,” commented WUFI Admin Mike Peters. “Since it’s obvious that small, personal aircraft are limited in range, a different approach was needed. It was during that initial conversation that a creative new idea began to take shape.”

The trio eventually landed on the idea of a virtual fly-in, allowing worldwide UL pilots to share the skies at the same time. “So, in an abstract but very tangible way, a world fly-in was possible,” Peters continued. “Thus, the World Ultralight Fly-In was born. And the slogan, ‘One Day, One Sky’ was coined.”

Since then, thousands of pilots from upwards of 50 countries have participated in WUFI each year.

WUFI organizers also post an interactive map to keep the local spirit alive. Participants can place a digital pin on their home field, stating their name, aircraft, and email address. Then, pilots can reach out to organize a group and time to fly.

Although this isn’t a traditional meetup, WUFI fosters the same camaraderie and excitement needed to build a community of fun-loving aviators. More details and instructions can be found in the WUFI Facebook group.

FMI: www.facebook.com/groups/1663741873840700/