F2G Corsair Formation Flight

From Scott Germain comes an outstanding photo of two rare F2G Corsairs in formation over Arizona just a few days ago.  These two rare Super Corsairs were highly sought after racing mounts in the post war racing era.  Today, thanks to dedicated owners and restorers, we see them flying together again!  They wear paint schemes and markings just as they raced in the late 1940s.

Thanks to Scott Germain of Images of Light and Lift for allowing us to post the photo.

Links - Images of Light and Lift, Warbird Aeropress, Odegaard Aviation

Cessna 170 Rides and 108th Anniversary of Flight

The 170 sits under the unique clouds on Dec 18, 2011

Yesterday marked the passage of 108 years of flight.  Hard to believe that manned flight has been possible for over 100 years.  When you stop and think about it from the first flight by the Wright brothers to walking on the moon... that was 66 years.  That is quite a leap in just 66 years!  In 2011 my interest still takes me back to the 1930s thru the 1950s.  Our Cessna 170 has been flying since October of 1955 and is still going strong.

Ginger, Tyler and Eric after a ride in the 170

Last weekend I gave a ride to some friends from church and explained to them that flying in a 1956 Cessna is like going back in time.  We cruised around the sky in a time machine that took us back to another time.  Tyler sat in the front with me and did a fine job of flying on his first flight in a small airplane.  Sharing our time machine is always fun!

This afternoon I made a quick flight over to Cowtown Aerocrafters to visit their T-6 project.  It is coming along nicely and the polished aluminum is really starting to shine.

T6s at Cowtown Aerocrafters

Tom polishing on the wing of the T6

Lanny starts the polishing on the other wing

So two good weekends of flying here in Texas.  Best wishes to all you vintage airplane enthusiasts, Happy Holidays and Merry Christmas to all!

Vintage Flyers III - An Interview with Eric Presten

Dan and Eric Presten after making a flight in his Piper Clipper

When I am researching vintage aircraft out of personal interest, an article for this blog or to answer a friends question about a rare type I grab one of the books off my shelf published by Eric Presten.  Eric has traveled the globe to fill his self published books with quality photos of rare aircraft types.  His newest release, VINTAGE FLYERS III is a must have for the vintage aircraft enthusiast.

This past summer my wife and I traveled to Sonoma, California on vacation.  We made a point to spend some time with the Presten's and Eric was kind enough to give us a preview of his new book.  VINTAGE FLYERS III is now available for purchase.  For the readers of this blog I interviewed Eric so that you could get a glimpse behind the scenes of his newest release.

Dan: Vintage Flyers III is your newest release, What sets this book apart from your previous projects?

Eric: We have covered 144 new types that have not been covered in previous volumes in the series.  There are over 660 pictures that I have never published before, and I have changed the layout a bit so that I can include more vertical type pictures that are usually shot for magazine and book covers only.  It is also much larger.  It has more pictures at 1015 color images (the last book only had 795) and is 48 pages longer.  We also used a much higher quality gloss paper stock for this book, as the paper industry has improved in the last six years. 

Dan: What was the most unique photo shoot location featured in this book?

Eric: We have done many sessions in the UK since the last book was released.  It is much harder to do air-to-airs over there as photo planes are much harder to come by, the weather is very unpredictable and the costs are much higher in every category.  On the plus side the citizens of the UK are much more aware of the pictorial beauty of their country, and strive to control the building of ugly, cluttering buildings like we build over here.  It's therefore much easier to get a nice background "over there" then it is in the US.

Dan: Many of your photos are air to air, what is one of your most memorable shots in this book?

Eric: Well, even just centralizing on some of the air-to-airs that are new to this volume, there are still many to think about.  Seeing one of the last two flyable Douglas DC-2s form up alongside the photo ship was a big thrill as was flying with the last flying Boeing 40.  These are icon airplanes no matter how you look at them.  On the other hand, we try to cover the airplanes that are mostly forgotten as unimportant types by other publications.  Some of the airplanes that might fit into this category that we were able to get next to in the air are a Heath Parasol on a set of wooden floats (shot from the Curtiss JN-4H Jenny that I was flying into Oshkosh), the original one-off Kadiak Speedster racer and the Bucker Bestmann monoplane.  Replicas are also a great source of air-to-airs such as the Caudron C.460 Thompson Trophy winner, and the Stinson Model O open-cockpit parasol.  Some of my own favorites involve the nice places where they were photographed.  The Alexander Eaglerock over the very flat plains of Great Bend, Kansas (shot from a Travel Air 6000 cabin monoplane with a passenger window rolled down), the last two flying Pobjoy-powered B.A. Swallows in formation over the very picturesque English countryside of Compton Abbas, and the all-wood Miles Gemini twin over the hallowed ground of Old Warden Aerodrome where the Shuttleworth Collection is housed.  Many great memories saved for all through the medium of air-to-air photography.

Dan: Tell us about a few of the new aircraft types that are featured in this book.

Eric: Some of the great ones, like the Art Chester "Jeep" racer, the Boeing P-26 Peashooter, and the Curtiss P-36 Hawk.  Some of the really rare types, like the Anderson Bi-Wing, the Bristol Boxkite, and the Corben Cabin Ace, and some of the just plain interesting ones, like the Annec II, the B.A.C. Drone (that is not really a pilotless airplane), and the Curtiss Pusher on floats step taxing in the San Diego Harbor.  All of these are found just in the A, B, and C sections of the books index. 

Dan: How do you choose from your expansive photo collection what aircraft types make the cut?

Eric: We tend to concentrate these days on chasing down and photographing (all over the world) types that qualify for the Vintage Flyers Series in the first place, so the photo collection is now becoming tailored to these types. These books are intended for vintage airplane people so the types included are limited to piston-powered airplanes that were first flown in prototype form before the last day of 1955.

Dan: Give us a full description of the book and tell us how we can place an order.

Eric: Vintage Flyers III features 1015 color pictures of 1047 pre-1956 restored vintage airplanes. 528 pages hardbound all done on a new very high gloss paper stock. There are 695 different piston-powered types covered (144 new types since our last book) from all over the world (20% of these pictures were taken at events and private collections that are in foreign countries). There are 430 air-to-air pictures covering over 300 different types. Over half of the pictures are in flight shots, and 219 of them are large format pictures that measure at least 10 inches in frame size.

Over 60% of the pictures included have never been published before, and they are accompanied by 136.000 words of text. There are photos from thirty US states, six countries, and three continents! There are 87 seaplanes, 156 multi-engine airplanes, 270 biplanes, 331 military marked examples, 363 open cockpit airplanes, and 507 radial powered machines. There are even eight types of tri-motor airplanes. A dozen types are shown on wheels, floats and skis. Airplanes covered span the pioneer, the WWI, the golden age, the WWII, and the classic eras.

The book is an 8.5 x 11 horizontal format and each copy is $89.95 plus $5.00 postage and handling (to U.S. customers). California residents will need to include 8% sales tax as well. To get more information or get a copy, you can see my listing on E-bay (Click here to see "Vintage Flyers III" on Ebay), send a check (or V/MC/Dis number and expiration date) and mailing address to Prewar Publications P.O. Box 660 Vineburg, California 95487 or just call me at (707) 939-8913 and I will process a credit card order for you and send it out immediately.  Web site - http://prewarpublications.com/Home.html

Thanks for the interview, Eric!

Dan

Veterans Day 11-11-11

Thank you to all the Veterans for your service to your country!

Todd giving his Veterans Day Fly-by

Last Friday was Veteran's Day and I took the day off to spend the day with friends and family.  The first activity for the day was breakfast out at my buddy Stan's hangar.  Stan and friends were flying a formation flight and then cooking up a pancake breakfast.  I played photographer and enjoyed the action from the ground.

Stan's Swift

The formation flight was Stan in his Swift and Ross, Danny, Randy and Bob in their RVs.

Formation

As the gaggle taxied back in Lynn got the pancakes cooking.  Good times, good food, good friends!

Lynn focusing on cooking

The photo gallery page from the airport is here - https://picasaweb.google.com/dtlinn/VeteransDay111111

I spent the rest of the day with the family around the barn.  A great way to make 11-11-11 a memorable day!

Beaver flying at Kenmore Air

Float flying is some of the most fun I have had while flying.  Low, slow and behind a radial engine.  That is some really cool flying!  Ride along with AOPA in this video on Kenmore's Beavers that they fly in and around Seattle.

Custom Stearman at Rare Air

Check out the custom 450 Stearman that is coming together at Rare Air!  Bright colors, custom paint scheme and a growling 450.  Should be a show stopper!

Updates on their blog here - http://primoresto.blogspot.com/ (post from November 2, 2011)

Flying Heritage Collection Adds a Shturmovik

The internet forums were all a buzz a couple weeks ago when the pictures and videos hit the world wide web.  An Ilyushin Il-2 "Shturmovik" was seen in the videos to be flying over Russia!  Where did it come from and who's was it!  The Flying Heritage Collection posted a news release that answered those questions.  The Il-2 is on a ship and headed for Everett, Washington to join Paul Allen's growing collection of historic aircraft.  Hats off to Mr. Allen for restoring such a rare ship.

Click here for the FHC press release - http://www.flyingheritage.com/TemplateMain.aspx?contentId=93

Links - Flying Heritage Collection - Ilyushin Il-2 History

Stinson Reflection

Here is another shot from the Texas Antique Fly-In.  I did a little editing and effects in iPhoto to create a small piece of art.  The vintage car hub cap gave off a cool reflection of the Stinson SR-10.  The shot below that is the vintage setting that set up the inspiration. Fun car and a GORGEOUS Stinson!

Rearwin Cloudster

This weekend I can hear the jets powering through the skies over Alliance Airport for the Fort Worth Airshow but my mind is back in time at last weekends antique fly-in.  Radial engines, biplanes and fabric are more to my liking!  One of the highlights from last weekend was Don Pellegreno's Rearwin Cloudster.  Don did a very nice job restoring this red beauty.  A few photos featured below.

Flying Over Fall Colors - Max Haynes

Fly along on a ride over the fall colors with ace air-to-air photographer Max Haynes.  This years fall color flight photo essay features a good looking group of T6/SNJs cruising over the Minnesota countryside.

Click here to join the flight... http://maxair2air.com/11AIR/2011FallColorFlight/01.html

Links - http://maxair2air.com

Texas Antique Fly-In 2011

The forecast was clear skies and light winds for this weekends Texas Antique Fly-In.  So I gassed up and flew the 170 the short flight north to Gainesville, Texas. This year my buddy Keith Moody rode along for the early morning flight up.  We arrived to 10 to 15 airplanes on the field and joined some friends enjoying the pancake breakfast.  As the morning passed the airplanes kept arriving.  We stopped to inspect airplanes around the field with the occasional stop to say hello to friends.  A few of this years highlights include a Rearwin Cloudster, Stinson SR-10, Howard DGA, DC-3, Call-air, N3N and Temco Pinto... and that is just a few.  I was going to call it good mid-morning and head back to my home airport when more airplanes kept arriving.  We made our visit last as long as possible then left just after lunch.  Another great event and great showing of rare aircraft types.  At the time of our departure there were well over 50 aircraft.  Pictures below showing a few highlights.  More pictures over at this gallery...
https://picasaweb.google.com/dtlinn/TexasAntiqueFlyIn2011

Rearwin Cloudster

L-4

Cessna 120

Corben Baby Ace

Vagabond

Lycoming Cub

Call-Air

Howard DGA

Stinson SR-10

Temco Pinto

T-28

N3N

DC-3/C-47

The line up with a Stearman overhead

Fleet

Link - http://texasantiqueairplane.org/ - http://antiqueairfield.com/

Spartan Executive - The story of N20200

Take a look over at Photorecon at the videos of Steve Marini telling stories about his Spartan Executive.

http://photorecon.net/1937-spartan-executive

Want to know how many Spartan Executives survive today?  Take a look at our listing on our web site.  Click on "Spartan Executive" under the Featured Pages.

http://www.flytoanothertime.com

Stinson SR-8 at Rare Aircraft

While reading up on the blogs I follow I saw a post at Rare Aircraft's blog about their latest project.  Check out the blog posting about the Stinson SR-8B they are restoring!  Rare Aircraft turns out some finely detailed restorations.  So I am looking forward to keeping up with the progress on this rare beauty.  Follow the links below...

Rare Aircraft Blog - Stinson SR-8B

If you have not heard of Rare Aircraft take a few minutes to read up on them and click around on their photo filled web site!

Rare Aircraft - the web site

Blakesburg Antique Fly-In 2011

It appears that 2011 was another great year at the Antique Airplane Associations annual fly-in held in Blakesburg, Iowa.  Some great pictures have come thru in the form of two videos from my aviation acquaintance, Jim Savage.  This years event featured the Monocoupe aircraft and it looks like one of the largest gatherings in recent years turned out!  Here are a few examples of the Monocoupe's in attendance.  Be sure to check out the links to the two YouTube videos that Jim produced with his pictures from this years event.  Thanks, Jim, for sharing the pictures!

British Airways Ad Features Vintage Aircraft

Well done British Airways!  Take a look at the vintage aircraft they used in this promotional ad for the airline.  It takes you back to Another Time!



And... the making of the ad. Very cool.

Cessna AW - The Oldest Cessna

Andrew King, antique airplane restorer and pilot, recently flew the rare 1928 Cessna AW to its new home at the Eagles Mere Air Museum in Pennsylvania.  This extremely rare airplane is the oldest flying Cessna and was restored by Gar Williams back in the late 1970s, early 1980s.  Andrew posted pictures of the the Cessna on a few internet forums so I thought it was worth a re-post here on the blog.  Below are a few notes from Andrew about the trip from Illinois to Pennsylvania.  Thanks to Andrew for allowing me to re-post.  An amazing airplane at the age of 83!  I bet Cessna never imagined an AW flying the skies 80 years after it was built!

The AW flies quite well for a 1928 aircraft. It has frise type ailerons which are quite effective and not as heavy as the ailerons on a lot of the aircraft of that era. The rudder is too small but the 'plane is reasonably stable directionally, and you get used to it. Elevator is pretty normal, not too heavy, and effective. I ran the 110 Warner at 1675 rpm, which produced a cruise of about 90 mph-- when they raced them back in 1928 they got 125 mph out of them, probably at full power. It would out-climb the 2000 C-172 with 160 hp fuel injected Lycoming and two people on board. Stall was about 45 mph, and one of the surprises was the sharp break and wing drop. A base-to-final stall would be a bad event. It was about 9 flying hours over two days from Poplar Grove to Eagles Mere, the longest leg was from Mt. Vernon, OH to Somerset, PA, 2:25, and after being jammed into that small cockpit for that long I had to walk around the ramp for a while to straighten out my legs. There are two 22 gallon wing tanks, and fuel burn was about 7 gph.

It was quite an amazing experience, and thanks to Gar Williams and George Jenkins for making it possible.

Take a few minutes and watch the video here.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J2j4qsCV_24

Links - Eagles Mere Air Museum - Poplar Grove

Oshkosh 2011 Pictures

Well, another year gone by and another Oshkosh AirVenture passed.  We did not attend this year but I wanted to post a link to the outstanding pictures that were posted on the WIX forum.  One great shot is the one above of Ed Vesely flying lead in the CAF Helldiver with an F-18 Hornet on his wing.  The F-18 is wearing a historic Navy paint scheme in honor of the Navy's 100th Anniversary.  Thanks to Chris Garber for allowing me to post his photo.

Oshkosh is THE aviation event to make so if you haven't been you need to plan to make the event at any cost.  It is worth it.  It is like an aviation family reunion!  So many airplanes and so many friends all in one place.

Take a few minutes to look thru all the pictures by following this link to the 2011 Oshkosh Photo Thread.

Links - CAF Helldiver - AirVenture Oshkosh - Warbird Information Exchange

Oklahoma Weekend Trip

Oklahoma Sunrise

My wife and I took our 170 up to Oklahoma last weekend for a family reunion and to try to avoid the Texas heat we flew up on Saturday morning.  It was an easy flight up with a flying time of only 1.7 hours. The town closest to the reunion with an airport was Sallisaw.  Nice little airport with a courtesy car.  The car was a retired police cruiser but much to our disappointment it had the police gear removed.  We could have made quite the entrance at the family reunion with lights flashing!
The reunion was my wife's side of the family and we enjoyed the whole day visiting with all of them.  I met some family members that were pilots so we swapped flying stories for a few hours.
Sunday morning we made the return flight with a flying time right at 2 hours.  We found 75 degree temperatures at 4500 feet.  Nice way to beat the heat!  It felt good to land back at our home airport by 9am.  By 10am we were home and enjoyed a brunch with Mom Linn.  Full family weekend with transportation provided by Cessna and a sunrise provided by God.

California Vacation 2011 - Part Five

Day six of the trip began with breakfast in our room.  Yes, blue skies again greeted us for our morning departure.  We ran by Starbucks to snag some drinks and then hit the road.  The leisurely drive lead us back to Napa Valley, as it offered many more enticing destinations yet to behold.  This would be our last full day so we planned to drive to the furthest winery away first thing in the morning and then spend the day working our way back toward Sonoma.

On the highway between Sonoma and Napa you can't help but see Domaine Carneros dominating the hillside.  It was early in the morning so they were not open yet but the French style architecture begged to be photographed.

Domaine Carneros

After a quick stop at Domaine Carneros, our next destination for the day would be Mumm Napa.  They are a sparkling wine producer and offer tastings out on a picturesque veranda.  The Ansel Adams photo gallery was another highlight to this unique place.

Mumm Napa

The town of Yountville looked to be a fun stop for lunch and more sightseeing.  There is free public parking right in the heart of town and there are shops and restaurants within a short walking distance.  The well known restaurant The French Laundry (owned by Thomas Keller) is located in Yountville.  Just a few doors down we found lunch at his Bouchon Bakery.  We sat on a shaded bench outside the bakery and enjoyed our sandwiches while shooing off the hungry birds.  A large marketplace offered fun shopping from local artists and featured the signature store of Napa Style.

Bouchon

The French Laundry restaurant

Yountville Marketplace

The next two wineries we visited were just walk through and photographic visits.  Clos Du Val and Andretti have really unique buildings as seen in the pictures below.  Walking out of Andretti I heard the distinctive sound of radial engines and caught a glimpse of two Stearman's flying over head.  A few moments later a Howard DGA roared by.  I bet they all had the best view of the valley that day!

Courtyard at Andretti

Candice and I both agreed that our favorite winery was Coppola's near Geyserville.  My second favorite was Jacuzzi in Sonoma.  We stopped in at Jacuzzi on our way back into Sonoma towards the end of the day.  Being that I am such an aviation enthusiast you think I would have spotted the propeller art work on the Jacuzzi sign out in front of the winery.  No, it was my wife.  She pointed it out and said we HAD to stop in.  Well, of course we did!

The Jacuzzi family is best known for their whirlpools and spas, but they have also built a magnificent winery.  The stone building has a two room tasting area, one for wine tasting and the other for olive oil tasting.  We spent equal time in both.  The propeller on the sign?  In reading a history of the Jacuzzi family I learned a piece of history I had never heard.  Before whirlpools the family made irrigation water pumps and before that they made propellers.  Cool.  An aviation link to a common name!  Check out their web site - Jacuzzi


The Jacuzzi winery is right next to the Sonoma Valley airport so I drove us by to see if there was any airplanes we hadn't seen before on the ramp.  A T-6 and Stearman were taxing out for rides as we pulled up.  I was taking pictures when Walt, the owner of the Ryan ST we saw earlier in the week stopped to visit with me.  We talked vintage airplanes for a few minutes before he went on his way.  It is always good to meet the owners of the airplanes featured on my web site face to face.

Walt Bowe's Ryan ST

With some daylight and energy left we made another swing through the Sonoma square.  A little shopping to find something to take home to remind us of the Sonoma area.  Is this weather for sale in one of these shops?  We want to by some of that!  Oh look, ice cream!  Just the treat to finish off the day!

Once back at the Fairmont we saw that the pool side seating was quiet and fairly empty so we snagged our books and a notepad to go sit by the pool.  There was a light breeze and the temperatures were coming down.  We found some seats in the shade to enjoy being outside knowing that the Texas summer heat wouldn't allow much of this when we get home!  Candice did some reading while I jotted down my notes to write up this trip blog.  The sun light faded after about an hour so we turned in for the night.  Our last night before returning home.

Fairmont

On the last morning we took things slow and made a gradual departure from the Fairmont to enjoy our final few hours in Sonoma.  There is so much to see and do in the area that we knew we would have to plan another trip!  Our conversations for the day were full of what to see NEXT time.  The last lunch stop for the trip was at Sunflower Cafe, a place we had read about before we arrived.  It was worth the stop.  The servings were large enough to pack up a snack for later.  Those would come in handy later in the day as we hurried towards the San Francisco airport.

Our final stop on this California trip was the Livermore airport to see a gorgeous Spartan Executive.  The connections I have made through my web page featuring Spartan Executives lead to a meeting being set to see Spartan Executive serial number 11.  Steve Marini was gracious enough to take time out of his day to open the hangar for us to see his beautiful ship.  He shared his story of seeing a Spartan at a young age and how he came to own a Spartan of his own.  To say he is enthusiastic about owning a Spartan is an understatement!  He gave us the full walk around tour and let me sit in the cockpit.  Our visit was too short as I could have listened to Steve's stories all day!  Take a look at the pictures below of his magnificent ship.  Thank you, Steve, for your time.  You have an amazing piece of aerial art!  (Look for Steve and his Spartan on display at the Reno Air Races this September.)

Steve and Dan

The clock was ticking and now we needed to race towards SFO.  It took awhile but our Prius finally got up to highway speed.  We made it across the San Mateo bridge and slid right into the rental car return at SFO.  Candice and I both let out a big sigh and breethed in our last deep breath of cool California air.  Time to go home.

It has been about two weeks since we returned from our vacation.  Texas has been on a hot streak with over 20 straight days with temperatures over 100 degrees.  You can imagine that my wife and I have mentioned almost every day that we wished we were back in northern California where it is about 20 degrees cooler!  Maybe next summer we can stay longer.

Links - see our Ryan and Spartan web pages at Another Time