Gray Eagles Film

When you have 30 minutes to sit down at your computer take the time to watch Gray Eagles, a film by Chris Woods. Mr. Woods owns the Mustang "February" and the film tells the story of the original pilot Jim Brooks. The film has been posted on ASB.tv so follow the link below and run your mouse over the available films on the left side of the screen. As of this posting it is the third video down.

Gray Eagles

Hinton Wins Gold

Steven Hinton Jr. took Strega to the winners circle after winning the Gold race at 491MPH!

WWW.AIRRACE.ORG

Reno Qualifying Speeds Posted

Just found the listing showing the qualifying speeds for the Unlimited Class of air racers at Reno. Unlimited heat Races start Thursday. We will see who can keep the speeds up and keep their motors running.

Check out AAFO.com and AIRRACE.org

NASM Blog

In my preparing for a trip this month the the National Air and Space Museum I came upon the blog that the Smithsonian now publishes for the museum. Fun to read about the latest activities from this premier aviation museum. Check it out here. This will be my first time back to the museum since the Grand Opening of the UdvarHazy Museum out at Dulles back in 2004. From what I have read they added quite a few new aircraft to the museum from storage. Highlights I am looking forward to... the P-61 Black Widow and the Turner Meteor! Watch this space for pictures in a few weeks.

P-82 Progress Report

Thanks to Max Air 2 Air for posting a progress report on the P-82 rebuild by C&P Aviation. Exciting to see the little pieces being added to the big pieces! Click here for the photos. Nice shot of the Consolidated/Vultee L-13 they own as well.

National Waco Club Fly-In Pictures

The National Waco Club held their 50th Annual Fly-In back in June and these pictures were just sent to me. Over 100 quality pictures of some rare and beautiful Wacos.

Check them out here.

Two Spartans

Two Spartan Executives now call England home. This picture was taken recently after S/N 14, NC17615 made the flight across the Atlantic. Thanks to Nick Blacow for the image.

Northwest Antique Fly-In 2009

Here it is the year 2009 and I am loading up in a modern airliner to travel to Vancouver, WA to see a showing of aircraft from the 1930s. Would the people back in the 1930s laugh today if they knew we would go to such great lengths to restore, fly and display aircraft from that era? To them these aircraft were machines that transported them the next town or even across the country. Collectibles? Museum Pieces? Objects of men's desires to transport them back to another time? I don't know for sure but I think they WOULD be laughing at us! For me this was another opportunity to view these rare aircraft in an environment where they are truly appreciated.
I have written before about how when traveling across the country at 30,000 feet in an airliner bound for a vacation or aviation event that I wonder what it would have been like to travel back in the 1930s. Dressing up in a suit, hat and boarding a classy Ford Tri-motor with wicker seats, that had to be quite an exciting experience.
My excitement for this trip came from knowing I would see vintage aircraft I had not seen before. This would be my first fly-in to visit up in the Pacific Northwest. When my family and friends first walked into the front gate at the Northwest Antique Airplane Club 50th annual fly-in at historic Pearson Field our eyes were drawn to the first row of biplanes. Two Waco's caught my eye but at first glance I thought they were modern built versions. At closer inspection I was pleasantly surprised to see that they were both original Waco YMF's. One was a Grand Champion caliber restoration sporting an original black and white paint scheme. The other was a clean yellow and black ship. A rare treat.
Another type that captured my interest was the Fleet biplanes. Three of the type flew in for the event and all were nice examples. The Stinson 108 owners all parked their classic ships in a row. Most of the other types were scattered around the field. Other highlights in attendance were... a very clean Howard DGA, a rare Stinson Jr. S, two good looking Bucker biplanes, several detailed classic Pipers, and a good showing of classic Cessnas. I don't know official numbers but I would guess there were over 100 aircraft in attendance.
Overall the event was worth making the trip from Texas. The relaxed atmosphere of these antique fly-ins makes for an unhurried pace. The event volunteers were courteous to me when I crossed boundaries and directed me to a spot for better photographs. Even though it was overcast I was able to shoot some good pictures. To see pictures from the event visit here. Click here to see the list of award winners. A well attended event in a great setting. I will return again. Now it is time to pull the map out to search for another event in a new location.

Northwest Antique Fly In Friday

Traveled up to Portland, OR via the airlines yesterday with my wife and a good friend. My wife has family and friends we can visit in Vancouver, WA so I found that the 50th Northwest Antique Flyin would be this year at Pearson Field. Texas in August is usually warm so these 60-70 deg. temps make for pleasent walking around airplanes weather!
This afternoon we walked around the early arrivals at Pearson. So far a fairly good turn out... maybe 50 airplanes. Two very nice 1934 Waco YMFs and two nice Fleets. A good number of classic Pipers and Cessnas. Should be a good show! If time allows I will post the highlights from the show tomorrow night. Pictures to come when we are back in Texas.
Northwest Antique Fly In.

Oshkosh 2009 Award Winners

The 2009 Award winners are now posted on the AirVenture web site. Check them out here. Sounds like this was a good year for the P-40s. I read that 5 of the Curtiss fighters made the event. Al Sauer shot the beautiful nighttime shot of Ron Fagan's Grand Champion P-40E. Thanks to Al for letting me post the shot.

Matching Cadets

Oshkosh has really kicked into high gear and a lot of pictures are hitting the forums and news sites. One article off of EAAs web site was a fun read. The Morris family completed the restoration of two Culver Cadets and they are on display at Oshkosh this year. Read the article here. To read the detail story of the restoration of one of the Cadets and view the series of pictures go to Taildragger Aviation. A few months back I received a picture from the Morris' of one of the Cadets airborne. Outstanding restoration of one of the little known vintage cruisers!