Trees and runways are a bad combination, but officials in Duluth, Minn., are trying to find a way for the two to safely coexist in Park Point, an area adjacent to Duluth’s Sky Harbor Airport (DYT). The airport, located near the Wisconsin border between Superior Bay and Lake Superior, sits on 70 acres on a […]
Three years + 120 hours = a new pilot
Many teens heading into their senior year of high school consider themselves lucky if they have a driver’s license. Austin Rennard of Santa Rosa, California, heads back to class in possession of a private pilot’s license. In January 2009 we introduced you to 16-year-old Rennard who, at the time, was flying a Zodiac XL across […]
The Caudron Racer
“That can’t be a real airplane! It’s much too small!” That’s what one visitor said when he saw Tom Wathen’s full-scale replica Avions Caudron C.460 on display in front of Vintage Aircraft headquarters at this summer’s AirVenture. The airplane, which hails from the 1930s, the Golden Age of air racing, measures 23 feet from spinner […]
‘Thank you for flying Ancient Airlines’
There are some airplanes that you are just meant to own and to share with others. That’s how Ed Escallon from Elwood, Ind., feels about his 1940’s-era Fairchild PT-26. The airplane is painted classic primary trainer yellow and has a grinning shark mouth. “A shark mouth on a trainer?” I asked when I caught up […]
One-of-a-kind Bluebird
“What…is…that?” That’s the normal reaction people have when they see the Wickham Model A serial #1 owned by Tim and Kate Davis of Auburn, Wash. The high-wing taildragger resembles an early model Cessna 170 at first blush but, when you take a second look, you realize you are looking at an entirely different machine. “I […]
Flying low and slow
Comparing low and slow flight in an open cockpit airplane to one in an enclosed cockpit is like comparing an outdoor picnic to lunch in the cafeteria. Guess which one is more fun? Bob Juranich of Des Moines, Washington, has a picnic every chance he gets in his 1934 Waco YMF. Juranich especially enjoys taking […]
IndUS goes to China
Move over Cessna. Dallas-based IndUS Aviation is moving the production of its T-211 Thorpedo from the Lone Star State to China. Dr. Ram Pattisapu, IndUS CEO, revealed at AirVenture that the company had signed a deal with the Chinese government and private investors to build the two-place Thorpedo in Weinan Municipality, Shaanxi Provence, China. The […]
AirVenture honors DC-3, B-17
The Douglas DC-3 and the Boeing B-17 are two of the most iconic airplanes ever built. Both aircraft celebrated their 75th anniversary at AirVenture this year. The DC-3s and the military variant C-47s arrived en masse, under the guise of the “The Last Time,” a flight organized by Herpa DC-3 owner and pilot Dan Gryder. […]
New EAA president: Strength builds on strength
This year’s AirVenture may be the last time Rod Hightower is able to roam around Wittman Field to look at the show without constantly attending a media event or meeting. On July 26 EAA President and Chairman Tom Poberezny announced that Hightower had been tapped for the role as the new EAA president. Hightower, who […]