I saw a lot of smiles at 
Longtime journalist Tim Kern — of 
At Midwest 2020, I interviewed Joseph Shirley, boss of 
Joseph reported that his team has transferred all drawings, including some engineering drawings and other simple hand drawings from the old days, turning them into SolidWorks CAD drawings. This will help assure a higher state of quality to all parts and components but it also helps kit builders by providing major improvements to the build manual, a task most talented designers find to be one of the hardest parts of creating a kit aircraft.
Chuck Slusarczyk and I share a history in hang gliding days, back when we were both young and handsome. Regretfully, Chuck is in failing health these days but I believe he would be proud how well his design continues to do and he'd be impressed with how far people like Terry and Joseph have taken his once-modest but always-beloved Hawk.
Watch for more on Joseph Shirley's operation in an upcoming video.
I never thought of Hawk as a bush aircraft. It's history as a simple ultralight from the early 1980s suggested it was a more fair weather flyer …not that there's anything wrong with that, of course.
The Hawk being created why Joseph and his troops gave a completely different vibe. If it was flying, I would have been sorely tempted to take this beefy-looking aircraft out to a creek bed to see how it handles an unimproved surface. Given its modest flight handling qualities, sturdy and proven construction, and its slow speed capabilities, I'm guessing Hawk Tundra would do especially well.
I saw a lot of smiles at Midwest LSA Expo 2020. A common phrase was, “This is the biggest” — by which they meant only* — “airshow of the year. It’s even bigger than Oshkosh 2020.” 😂 As I’ve often repeated, Midwest has been social distancing since long before you heard of that phrase. I believe it to be a reasonably safe environment. However, a warning for those concerned about exposure: some hand shaking occurred (between consenting parties) and not everyone wore masks outside as they viewed the aircraft on display. I heard of two companies and one group specifically prevented from attending due to government mandates and other concerns at home. Similarly, my video-creating colleague, Videoman Dave, a Canadian national, was forbidden by U.S. border authorities from attending. His aviation business, which feeds his family, was judged non-essential. Longtime journalist Tim Kern — of 121five.com, an aviation news outlet — dug into why Rans Aircraft was unable to attend.
Before 1982 these lightest-of-all aircraft were required to be foot-launchable. It's true. I once staggered into the air partly carrying, partly dragging a Quicksilver. I got airborne thanks to a generous 15 mph headwind that provided about three quarters of the speed I needed for… um, you can't call it "rotation," but to get enough lift that I could sit down.
Yes, "sit down." You didn't think I ran for take off while sitting comfortably belted into a secure seat did you? Nope, that Quicksilver had a literal swing seat and a special rear axle that allowed a full stride of your legs.
OK, that requirement proved futile and FAA later dropped it, but one guy in particular drove that older requirement into the annals of history. His name: Chuck Slusarczyk ("slew-ZAR-chick"…most folks just called him Chuck). Chuck's aircraft: Hawk.
Hawk was the first ultralight to be fully enclosed, meaning it had a floor, meaning you could not foot-launch it. The rule was still in place when Chuck first debuted Hawk but that one aircraft lead us into the brave new world of wheel-launching.
That "CGS" abbreviation usually put before Hawk was from Chuck's even-earlier business: Chuck's Glider Supplies. He once made hang gliders, lots of them, and that's where Chuck and I first met. Gosh, we were young and handsome in those days. We were also stronger. I would actually attempt athletic feats like running a hang glider off a mountain cliff or stumbling my way into the air grasping my Quicksilver (which, for the record, also started off as an unpowered glider).
The point of this series of short (5-minute) videos is to identify aircraft almost anyone can afford. I should not have to say it, but please don't assume a $5,000, decades-old ultralight will compare well to a modern LSA. The good news is that, in some ways, such a low-cost aircraft might even be more fun assuming you use good judgement about when and where to fly.
Over 40 years have passed with many Hawk aircraft still safely flying today. Some are offered for sale on various outlets. Both Dave and I have flown CGS Hawks — 
My words and Dave's videos give recommendations for aircraft that we have flown, owned, and/or built. As Dave notes, 
The Santoms will take over production and sales of the single place Hawk models including the Part 103 model and the Ultra, a somewhat beefier model that is built as an Experimental Amateur Built (EAB). My discussion with Bob and LB was encouraging. I was impressed to hear the enthusiasm from father and son for keeping this series of Hawks available.
This is great news for Hawk fans. The two place models Terry Short and son have been assembling look great and will continue. This includes the FAA-accepted LSA model powered by the Rotax 912. Terry is busy enough that the single place models were lower on his to-do list so in stepped the Santoms who will assure the single place models get extra attention.
"We're located on an airport community about 60 miles from Terry's Lake Wales Airport location," said Bob.
This will make it easy on both enterprises as the Santoms will lean on Terry's fabrication abilities as they use many parts that are interchangeable between the single and two-seat models of Hawk.
"We talked to many Hawk enthusiasts at recent shows and we were pleased to hear of genuine interest in the single place models," Bob added.
As you can see by the bare bones Hawk they exhibited, the new operation is just getting underway so a new website is not yet available but you can can 
At Sebring 2017, another long-awaited aircraft emerged... or re-emerged. After wandering for a few years since original Hawk developer Chuck Slusarczyk retired and sold his company, the once-popular design has a new home in central Florida.
I've written about this before (
Indeed, Terry beamed when he told me that he'd already sold six aircraft (recently; not all at the show), most of them the two-seat variety as shown in the nearby photos plus one Part 103 ultralight.
Because original designer Chuck Slusarczyk won FAA acceptance for an ASTM-compliant model, Terry can supply a fully built Special Light-Sport Aircraft version and at Sebring 2017 he told me that he fully intends to do so. Because any new manufacturer, even of an existing brand, can be required to go through an FAA audit, a SLSA Hawk may not be an immediate development. (The agency can also elect to review documents and not do an on-site inspection, at their discretion. For a slower speed, lighter weight aircraft with many hundreds flying, FAA may choose not to make a manufacturing site visit.)
Amid the displays at Sebring's 13th annual Expo, many attendees took a look at this new model and came away with a smile. Several times as I passed Terry's display at Sebring, people seemed to be examining his handsome entry with interest.
New Hawk proprietor Terry acquired the venerable Hawk line from previous owner Danny Dezauche who bought the company from Chuck. Danny kept the brand alive but did not progress too far with it.
All told, CGS Hawks number close to 2,000 units flying. Many owners to whom I've spoke truly love this simple but well-flying aircraft.
CGS originally stood for Chuck's Glider Supplies. Chuck was an early leader in hang gliding and made thousands of them. As "motorized" hang gliders arrived on the scene back in the late '70s and early '80s, Chuck made the jump. In fact, he formerly sold "power packs" to others who wanted to power their hang gliders.
One thing lead to another and Chuck developed his company into a airplane manufacturer, leaving behind his youthful days as a hang glider pilot and entrepreneur.
After decades of operation, Chuck sold his company to enjoy a well-deserved retirement and Alabama businessman Danny Dezauche kept it going for a few years.
A year ago, in January 2016, Dezauche sold CGS Hawk to Terry Short based in Lake Wales, Florida. After retiring from the Polk County School Board, Terry and his son Chris will operate the enterprise in central Florida. They will support the many hundreds of Hawks still flying with parts and services in addition to build several of the models including the Special LSA Model called Hawk II, a tandem two seater.
Catch Terry and the Hawk at 
In the beginning ... the light aviation world was void and without form. Those were the earliest days of light powered aircraft that people could truly afford. I refer way back to the late 1970s following a period when hang gliders were the darlings of the affordable aviation world. Hang gliders evolved in various dimensions, among which was the addition of an engine to a previously unpowered type of flying machine.
In those formative years one man stood large. Not only a big man in physical form, he was big in stature and bold in his goals. Some readers already know to whom I refer — the always impressive and irrepressible Chuck Slusarczyk. History about him goes back far enough that much of it precedes the World Wide Web. The earliest articles about Chuck and his enterprise never made it into the digital universe but see 
Chuck is now enjoying his retirement, having sold off his company after producing around 2,000 Hawks in various forms: Part 103 ultralights, experimental single seaters, two seater tandems, Hawks on floats, and a Light-Sport version. The history of the Hawk is so rich and varied that it would take a full article to describe it all. Fortunately, website members can read much of the history 
Terry got his start in aviation like many youngsters, building radio-controlled airplanes back in the 1970s. After spending eight years in the U.S. Navy, Terry obtained his Private Pilot certificate in 1994. However, he said, "I preferred to fly ultralights and Light-Sport Aircraft."
"I started building scale model aircraft and competing in realistic flight and realistic scale competition in 1980s," Terry explained. His RC building efforts including a half-scale J3 Piper Cub and he reported that he won first place awards "due to detail and quality of realism" in his assemblies.
"I purchased my first full-scale ultralight in 1995 at Sun 'n Fun, an Airbike from Team Aircraft," Terry recalled. "This was the start of building a variety of light planes: an Aerosport II, a Capella, a Rans, and a Kolb." He said he enjoys restoration projects, a favorite of which "has always been Piper J3 Cub." Terry reports restoring six Cubs in the past 15 years. "I like to fly them, but I really enjoy the project part of it the most."
"My love for the projects led me to establish my own restoration and services business this year," Terry said, "and I will be retiring from Polk County School Board soon to focus on new business with my son, Chris."
"We will be offering support on all Hawk aircraft and will build and sell Hawk Ultra and two-place Hawk Arrow kits, as well as the two-seat Special LSA Hawk II." Given the population of hundreds of Hawks in the light aircraft fleet this is bound to be welcome news to those needing parts and service.
Over the years Chuck Slusarczyk operated the business, I believe I flew every model the pioneer created. Chuck and I were contemporaries in the early days of hang gliding and I came to know the man very well. Along with many other light aviation enthusiasts, I always looked forward to more of Chuck's highly entertaining sense of humor.
I cannot imagine Terry Short or son Chris can continue that particular part of the Hawk tradition but in a period when plenty of pilots lament the high cost of very sophisticated Light-Sport Aircraft, the CGS Hawks offer a more modest expense. These are simple airplanes but they've proven themselves over many years.
I also know several builders of kit Hawks and the project demands a lower number of hours. Flying any of the Hawk models is quite straightforward. The handling is docile and flight characteristics are predictable.
If you are headed to Sun 'n Fun in a couple weeks, you can find out more about CGS Hawk aircraft at the booth of Terry Short Aviation Services, space LP-007A in Paradise City. He reported he will not have an aircraft — "We've just received all the components and tooling and didn't want to just throw something together to show" — but he will be available to answer questions.
