Flying de Havilland Mosquito - KA114

September 27th of this year a de Havilland Mosquito took to the skies again.  Owner Jerry Yegan and the restoration team at AvSpecs (based in New Zealand) poured their money and efforts into an amazing and what some said to be impossible restoration.  The mostly wooden construction was designed and built to fight a war and not last much past its wartime service. This team made Mosquito KA114 new... to fly again.

In my opinion this is THE restoration of 2012 and to see it flying this year is a major highlight.  Watch the newstand at your local book store as most major aviation magazines will feature this awesome restoration.  Be sure to check out Classic Wings magazine Issue 87 and Warbird Digest Issue 46.

To fly IN the Mosquito watch this outstanding video by Scott Slocum.  The video will surely bring a smile to your face as the sound of two Merlins ring out!




To see some additional heart stopping air to air photos click on this link...
http://forum.planetalk.net/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=11019

Now I just hope I can see it fly in person sometime next year when it makes it to the United States!

Links - Military Aviation Museum - AvSpecs - Classic Wings - Warbird Digest - Aero Media Group - Vintage Aero Writer

Kermit Weeks Grumman Duck

It was cold and even snowy here in Texas over the Christmas holiday but I found a video to fly me to a warmer climate.

Kermit Weeks has been posting a series of videos on YouTube called the "Kermie Cam."  Watch the series to fly along with Kermit in some of the rarest aircraft in his collection.  One of my recent favorites was the Grumman Duck. Biplane plus seaplane plus Grumman equals very cool!


http://youtu.be/fCFhxiUcsTw

Links - Fantasy of Flight

Carvair N89FA

A couple months back I was itching to find a unique subject to shoot with my new camera, a Canon 60D.  With any new camera there is a learning curve so I have been shooting airplanes, cars, scenery and my niece and nephews soccer games!  So one Saturday morning I flew the 170 up to KGLE, Gainesville, Texas airport to photograph the Carvair, N89FA.  This modified DC-4/C-54 has seen the world from the air but now lives on the quiet ramp in Gainesville.  The dry grass and blue skies made for a worn and tired setting for this vintage ship.

Stearman Model 4 N667K

Sarah Wilson flew her newly restored Stearman Model 4E "Junior Speedmail" N667K through Dallas a few weeks ago.  The Stearman was on display at the Cavanugh Flight Museum so I took the time to visit the museum and snap a few photographs.  This rare Stearman was operated by Richfield Oil Company from 1929 to 1937 and wears the unique markings featuring the Richfield Eagle.  Jim Kimball Enterprises completed another amazing restoration with this Stearman.  See the photos below for the level of detail that went into this rare beauty.  Thank you to Sarah for saving and restoring this aviation treasure.

For more on surviving early Stearmans see our Civilian Stearman web page at - www.flytoanothertime.com

Links - Stearman Flights - Jim Kimball Enterprises - Cavanaugh Flight Museum

Texas Antique Fly-In 2012

It was a windy Saturday in October for the 50th anniversary Texas Antique Fly-In.  My wife, Mom and I drove in and spent a couple hours catching up with friends and watching some airplanes come and go.  Because of the weather the aircraft attendance was down but still a few nice ships flew in.  A few photos below show the types that captured my attention.  Hope we see better weather next year!

Reb Stimson's T-34

Bill Signs Grand Champion Beech E18S

Tom Richard's Monocoupe

Scott Glover's TravelAir 6000

Aviation's Enduring Classics - book sale

Back in July I released my first aviation photography book, Aviation's Enduring Classics.  From now until October 23, 2012 it is on sale!  Follow the link below to my book store.  Select the print version you prefer and at check out enter the code FANS to receive a 20% discount!

The book features aircraft from the 1940s and 1950s.  The following aircraft types are featured...

Piper Cub, Aeronca Champ, Luscombe Silvaire, Taylorcraft, Stinson Voyager, Stearman, Beech Staggerwing, Fairchild 24, Cessna 120, 140, 170, 180, 195, Beech Bonanza, Globe Swift, DC-3, Piper Apache, Cessna 310, Beech 18.

Order yours on sale TODAY!

Click on the book cover below to see the book in the Blurb book store.

Aviation's End...

Avation's most mem...

By Dan Linn

Book Preview

Grumman F3F Flies in Sonoma, California

A Grumman F3F is now flying in Sonoma, California.  One of several F3F's that were recovered from Hawaii and rebuild in Texas this F3F was operated for many years by the Lone Star Flight Museum.  After a hurricane flooded the museum the aircraft was sold.  Watch the video below for its first flight in recent years!

Ryan STA - New Kid on the Block

In mid-August part of the crew from Cowtown Aerocrafters made the trip from Texas to California to retrieve the newest addition to the hangar.  Lanny Parcell and Mark Todd airlined to California, rented a truck and picked up Ryan STA, serial number 162, NC17357 to bring to Texas.  NC17357 had been owned for many years by the late Don Carter and he based the Ryan in Sonoma.  A Texas based partnership will now return the Ryan to flight and base it at the Cowtown hangar in Justin, Texas.  Below are a few photos of the Ryan STA.

Lanny with the Ryan in Sonoma

The Ryan at its new Texas base

A brand new engine log book sits atop the spare Menasco

The Ryan STA cowling... just read the name aloud!

Mark trying out the snug cockpit

The data plate on the spare Menasco

The neat and tidy cockpit

I just had to try the Ryan on for size!

The partnership has hopes to return the Ryan to flight status next year.  Hats off to the new owners and their efforts to dust off and polish up another vintage airplane to return to the skies!

Links - Ryan ST Survivors Page

Davis D-1 Restoration

After making a morning flight in the 170 and polishing a little for an upcoming fly-in I made a quick swing through a friends hangar last Saturday.  Terry Wallace keeps his Davis D-1, NC12476 at my home airport and just rolled out the completed restoration of another Davis D-1, NC15785.  This bright orange beauty sure shines!

IL-2 Shturmovik First Flight in the US

The Flying Heritage Collection has made the first flight of their IL-2 Shturmovik at its home in Everett, Washington.  The IL-2 was first flown after its restoration in Russia and the flight made last week was its first U.S. based flight.  Steve Hinton piloted the IL-2.

Thanks to Al Sauer for the photo and congratulations to FHC for another rare type restored to flying for all to see!

Links - Flying Heritage Collection

Out in the Heat - Local Projects, Cessna 170 and T-6

This past weekend was a typical summer weekend in Texas.  Triple digit heat and a south breeze that felt like a hot hair dryer blowing all the time!

My schedule was wide open for the day on Saturday so I planned to visit a couple of different airports to see some friends.  First stop was my home airport, Northwest Regional.  I did some planning ahead for my annual next month and did a little cleaning on my 170. The 170 would stay parked in the hangar and I resorted to air condition transportation for the day!

170 Project

Next stop was Hicks Airfield on the other side of Alliance Airport, North of Ft. Worth.  My buddy Keith gave me the overview of his newly acquired 170 project.  A B model 170 that will need some extensive sheet metal replacement but with some hard work and a couple years of labor will fly again.  We took a few minutes to drive down to the other end of the airport to check out a really nice 170.  We walked in the hangar to see a 1955 Cessna 170B that is polished with teal trim.  A real time capsule airplane.  It had sat for many years and just recently was made flyable again.  The new owner polished it up, repainted some of the trim and then overhauled the engine.  It still has the original interior!  The photos only give a glimpse of just how nice it is.

Original panel

Original lettering

Perfect polished metal

Engine compartment

Third stop for the day was Propwash Airport near Justin, Texas.  My friends at Cowtown Aerocrafters are making great progress on their T-6 project.  The engine has been run, major components are on and the final list of details are being addressed.  As is said at this stage of most any project... it won't be long now!

On almost every visit to Cowtown we review the latest happenings in the world of Warbirds and it wasn't any different this time.  We review the Oshkosh award winners, the up and coming restorations and on this visit I learned of a new aircraft type in bound to the hangar.  Stay tuned here to see pictures of the incoming arrival!

Oshkosh 2012 Award Winners

This past week was the big show in Oshkosh and I have been on the internet every couple hours looking for pictures highlighting the event.  Sure looks like it was a good turn out.  This morning I pulled up the list of award winners and was not surprised at some of the winners.  Follow the link below to the 2012 Oshkosh award winners...

http://www.airventure.org/news/2012/120729_2012-aircraft-award-winners.html

Peter Ramm was awarded Antique Grand Champion for the restoration of his beautiful 1937 Lockheed 12, serial number 1222, registered as CF-LKD. (Photo provided by Mr. Ramm.)  Congrats to Mr. Ramm!  All the hard work paid off!  (For more on surviving Lockheed 12s see our survivors web page.  Follow the link at the bottom of this post.)

Walter Bowe collected the Antique Reserve Grand Champion award for his extremely rare 1929 Laird LC-RW300, NC4442. (Photo by Mark Todd.)  This is one racy looking biplane!  Congrats, Walt!

In the classic listing I spotted a 1954 Cessna 170B, N1899C that took the Classic Reserve Grand Champion.  Just a few weeks ago I found the blog where young Mr. Barron was posting the progress on the restoration of this 170B.  Go see the photos of this detailed restoration!

http://cessna170restoration.blogspot.com

On the Warbird listing two amazing restorations that I have been watching topped the charts.  Warbird Reserve Grand Champion - World War II went to Rod Lewis and his Curtiss P-40C, N295RL.  We featured a blog post about this airplane last year.  I can't hardly wait to see this early model Curtiss in person!

http://flytoanothertime.blogspot.com/2011/04/p-40c-takes-to-air.html

The award for Warbird Grand Champion went to The Collings Foundation for their North American A-36 Apache, N4607V.  (Photo by Jim Buxton.)  An off shoot of the Mustang design this rare fighter-bomber attracted a lot of attention and appears to be a restoration of the highest caliber!  Another one I can't wait to see in person.

Watch the news stands for the award winners to be featured in the aviation magazines over the next few months.

Links - Lockheed 12, EAA Airventure - Oshkosh, Collings Foundation, Lewis Air Legends, Barron Aviation

Lockheed Vega to be restored to flight

Good news for Lockheed Vega fans!  Kermit Weeks has sent his Vega to Jim Kimball Enterprises to be restored to flight.  Thanks to Jeff Eicher for the photo above of the Vega on arrival at the Kimball's shop.  This Vega spent many years on display at the EAA Museum in Oshkosh, Wisconsin until it was purchased by Kermit a few years ago.  It has been on static display at Kermit's Fantasy of Flight until recently.  We look forward to seeing this Florida based beauty return to the skies!  It wears the color scheme of the famous Vega the "Winnie Mae" but is not the real Wiley Post Vega.  The Smithsonian National Air and Space museum in Washington D.C. is home to the real "Winnie Mae."  (My photo below of the Winnie Mae on display in D.C.)

Also coming to light is the restoration of another Lockheed Vega that will return to flight.  Differing from Kermit's all wood example is the metal fuselage model being restored in Arizona.  Click over to the Antique Airfield web site for photos of this restoration in progress.  Follow this link - http://antiqueairfield.com/articles/show/1268-vega-restoration-tail-installed-and-connected

If I were restoring a Vega.... this photo below would be my inspirational photo on the wall of the hangar!

Few Vegas survive today.  So to see one is a rare sight.  The possibility of two returning to flight is exceptionally rare and delightfully exciting!

Links - Fantasy of Flight, Jim Kimball Enterprises, Smithsonian, Antique Airfield

Aviation's Enduring Classics - New Book

I have been taking photographs of airplanes as long as I can remember.  Now I am excited to share my photographs through books that people can enjoy with friends and family.  My first work features vintage aircraft from the 1940s and 1950s.

These photographs were taken at various events on my travels to Florida, Iowa, Wisconsin and Texas, producing shining examples of the memorable airplanes that aviation enthusiasts love. My hope is that enthusiasts, pilots and their families will have stories to tell of one or more of the airplanes in this book.

I invite you to purchase a copy, sit down with family and friends and tell your own personal stories about Aviation's Enduring Classics.

Click on the book cover below to see the book in the Blurb book store.

Aviation's End...

Avation's most mem...

By Dan Linn

Book Preview

Flying Legends 2012 - Pictures from Duxford

It is that time of year again.  Texas is a long way from Duxford so I turn to the PlaneTalk forum to see pictures from this weekends Fighter Collection/Flying Legends Warbird show.  Take a look at a few pictures below from Brian Marshall of the pre-show activities.  Wow... the P-47 flying a few laps to prepare for the action, a hangar full of Warbirds and the Red Bull P-38 arriving for a weekend of flying!  I can hardly wait to see all the pictures that hit the forums from the show!

Thanks to Brian for allowing us to post the pictures.  To see more of the pictures from this weekends Flying Legends show visit... http://forum.planetalk.net/viewforum.php?f=16

On a similar note we just finished watching the DVD from last years event.  If you love Warbirds this is a must have video for your collection!  Purchase it here... http://www.planestv.com/

Enjoy the pictures and videos!

Links - PlaneTalk Forum - Red Bull/The Flying Bulls - The Fighter Collection - PlanesTV - Brian's Warbird Photography

The Great Wall - Keeping the mice out of the Cessna

Over the last couple weeks I have been working on a way to keep the mice from making my Cessna their new condo.  It seems that every couple years I was disposing of another nest built by the pesky rodents.  Enough is enough!  Time to build some protection for my ship!

Having seen other sheet metal covers for airplane gear legs I thought I would try a similar covering.  The main wheels and gear legs don't offer a way into the Cessna 170 so the tail is where the protection was needed.  A trip to the local hardware store produced the sheet metal from a type of metal ducting.  Each edge has a groove bent into it for attaching back to itself.  I purchased six pieces and set about making The Great Wall.  Using tin snips I cut off the ends of the ducting that were crimped and flattened out all the pieces.  Once clipped together I added some duct tape to keep the top edge from scratching the underside of the airplane.  The unit now slides easily under the horizontal and is held closed with some vice grips and a bungee cord.  Easy on, easy off.  Will it work to keep the mice at bay?  Time will tell.