It’s a long-standing summertime adventure by members of the Puget Sound Antique Airplane Club (PSAAC) of Washington: Between 30 and 40 airplanes, ranging from Stearman and N3N biplanes to classic Cessnas of the 1960s, carry their pilots and friends on a leisurely tour of airports, some off the beaten path.
It’s more than just a fun cross-country flight for club members, explains pilot Keith Littlefield. The PSAAC Air Tour is a useful homage to such trips organized in the 1920s by barnstormer and instructor Tex Rankin, who flew to towns in Oregon that lacked proper airports, extolling the virtues of aviation to promote the growth of airfields.
The PSAAC version of the Air Tour endeavors to help airport community relations by bringing a fleet of varied and vintage aircraft, and inviting the public to inspect them. Sometimes it’s the first time residents have visited their airport.
Keith is a natural when it comes to showing his restored Piper Super Cub — the fourth one built — to curious visitors. He’s like the perennial big brother who enjoys letting the younger kids in on something neat.
While parents watch with interest, Keith invites their children to sit in the Cub, and if they can reach the stick, he shows what happens when they move it. The sense of discovery is palpable.
Meanwhile, Keith’s wife Molly, a retired United Airlines pilot, took turns with two young women seated alternately in her polished Cessna 140 on different legs of the tour, as the women received instruction from the pro.
The fliers also have given rides to local officials, and stand up for general aviation wherever they travel.
“Our purpose is to save airports,” Keith says.
Their goodwill this year was felt in La Grande, Oregon; and the Idaho communities of Nampa, Emmett, Buhl, Blackfoot, and Jerome. The final stop was Ontario, Oregon, before the club members made their way home to various airfields in western Washington.
Local television stations and other media came out to see the airplanes and talk with the crews and visitors during the Air Tour.
After almost a year and a half of unsettling pandemic and political pronouncements, the putter of piston engines and the excitement of visiting kids and families were reminders of the resilience of the human spirit.
thanks GFred! Great photos and article! It was a joy to fly for you! Molly
Molly’s so called ‘watchful eye’ in the photo was simply how one flies the wing, look only at your leader.