Skiing Harvard Style

Photos of the water skiing Harvard team from South Africa have been all over the aviation forums. Now there is a video! Check it out here.

This day wouldn't be complete without...

... a ride in an RV8... or would it be getting my hands dirty working on the 170... or would it be enjoying time with fellow flying friends... or would it be wishing a good friend a HAPPY BIRTHDAY... or seeing a vintage fighter fly overhead? Well... all of the above! I was able to jump in the backseat of an RV8 with Randy to shoot pictures of Bill in another RV8. After the quick ride in the RV8 I had my dad help me take the flaps and ailerons off the 170 for some paint. It is annual time and I am going to do some detailing on the 170. For lunch is was back to Geezer H.Q. for a cookout and birthday party of Ed, our resident Ercoupe driver. To top off the birthday celebration we had a Hawker Fury flyby to wish Ed a HAPPY BIRTHDAY! It was another great day at the airport!

Airport Day

This Saturday was full of airport activity. Northwest Regional airport (52F) is one of the largest private airports in the country as far as based aircraft. This little airport is home to over 500 general aviation aircraft. Now all of those aircraft may not fly on a regular basis but the majority does. One of the highlights for me being based there is the quantity of vintage aircraft. Stearmans to Swifts. Champs to Cubs. A large variety of vintage Cessnas, and the list goes on. My group of friends that I spend time with on the weekends has been called by many names but the one that has stuck is The Muppets. Read more about the name here. The hangar in which we convene is called Geezer Headquarters. General, informal meetings are held at Geezer Hq. to discuss all matter of topics but most of the talk is aviation related. Several of the members are vintage car owners and enthusiasts so one project on Saturday was to help unload a model T Ford body. While the car parts were being unloaded I was at my hangar working on the 170. The ailerons and flaps are coming off to get painted and the annual will be done over the next couple weeks. I will post pictures of the 170 project later this week. So it was a good day with good times.

Vintage Visitor

As I was about to drive away from the airport last Sunday I noticed a gleaming Beech 18 taxi to the gas pumps. As the owner filled the tanks I learned that he had flown up from Georgetown (near Austin). Nice machine and it sounded great on takeoff!

Therapy

The Texas weather finally settled down last weekend to give a good day for flying. Sunday's light winds a sunny skies made for a great therapy flight. It had been several weeks since the 170 had been exercised and I was in need of some aerial therapy. The flight turns into therapy when the world drops away and the view from above distracts me from the busyness of life. A friend of mine went along on the flight so I gave a tour of some of the large homes that stand out from the landscape. One of the homes looks like it was transplanted right out of the Middle East! Also on the tour was a fly-by down the runway at historic Hartlee Field, North of Denton. (picture above of Hartlee - taken last summer) The vintage round topped hangars are still intact along with the main North/South grass runway. This field once trained pilots in basic aviation before they flew off to join squadrons to fight the fight in World War Two. The local flight became a trip back in time to the vintage airfield and the 170 was our time machine!