EAA AVIATION CENTER, OSHKOSH, Wis. — The 75th anniversary of the Ercoupe will be celebrated at EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2015 with a gathering of these unique airplanes and their owners. The 63rd annual Experimental Aircraft Association fly-in convention is July 20-26 at Wittman Regional Airport in Oshkosh.
One of the best parts about interviewing someone about their airplane is that after the story is published, someone who has additional information about the airframe will often send a note.
After his Ercoupe “White Lightning” was featured in General Aviation News, Kevin Gassert from Cincinnati, Ohio, was lucky enough to hear from Mark Hardin, an Ercoupe aficionado out of Texas who could shed some light on the name of Gassert’s black airplane.
Polished metal, blue, green, yellow, red — these are the colors I’m used to seeing on Ercoupes. So it was downright exciting to find a solid black Ercoupe parked in the vintage display area of this year’s AirVenture, with the name “White Lightning” emblazoned on the side of the cowling.
“The first time I saw it, I thought, ‘my God, that is green!’” says Tim Fox, of Fort Wayne, Ind., describing the first time he laid eyes on his Ercoupe. “Green” does not even come close to describing Fox’s 1946-C model. At last year’s AirVenture, the bright color drew people to the aircraft in the Vintage parking area and Fox stood by, proudly basking in the appreciation for his airplane.