Last summer, while on a flying trip to Alaska, I visited two popular tourist destinations in the backcountry. One of them, Chena Hot Springs, was half an hour by air from our home base at Chena Marina Airport (AK28) in Fairbanks. The other, 184 air miles south, was the historic town of Talkeetna, aerial gateway […]
Warbirds dazzle at the Carolinas Aviation Museum
I went to the Carolinas Aviation Museum in Charlotte earlier this month to see the Miracle on the Hudson airliner. And the big jet was certainly impressive. But my lasting memories from the trip are about the warbirds on display. The museum centerpiece is the A320-214 Airbus that Capt. Chesley Sullenberger and First Officer Jeff […]
Tracking a classic Cessna 180
“I’m going to keep it as original as possible,” she said. “Again, keeping it as lightweight as possible. And then the next big program will be next year to polish it and repaint it in the original scheme.”
Pristine Waco 10 stuns SUN ‘n FUN crowds
In the beginning, Waco 10 owners Dave and Jeanne Allen had a 1930 Waco 10 data plate, some paperwork and a mountain of dreams. Now, 28 years later, they fly NC662Y, a pristine, vintage flyer that draws a crowd at nearly every airport they land. Dave, a retired U.S. Air Force pilot who later flew […]
Flying a Fairchild
Fun and history wrapped in a classic design Florida architect Ed Hoffman acquired his love of aviation quite traditionally: He grew up around aircraft, many of them designed by his father. Today he flies a Fairchild 24W, a classic that endures from the time of the Great Depression. “My dad, Edward Hoffman the second, designed and […]
A 1949 Piper Clipper in the spotlight
There are a couple of good reasons Gilbert and Barbara Pierce’s bright red 1949 Piper PA-16 Clipper occupied Space 1 on Row 1 of the vintage aircraft parking at this year’s SUN ’n FUN. First, they were early arrivals and, more importantly, their aircraft is a past champion and always receives a prime display spot. […]
Going fast on less gas
Would anyone be interested in a 250-horsepower aircraft capable of crossing the continent in just over eight hours at an average speed of 252 miles per hour while using only 61 gallons of aviation fuel, about 40 miles per gallon in cruise? That’s what California aviator Klaus Savier did the day before SUN ‘n FUN […]
AOPA Fly-In succeeds despite the rain
The Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association leadership and membership both turned out in impressive numbers despite rainy weather for the year’s first regional fly-in at Michael J. Smith Field in Beaufort, N.C., May 20-21. AOPA President Mark Baker brought the top members of the management team from the association’s headquarters at Frederick, Md., for the fly-in and […]
Flying a Helio Courier
Four years ago John and Jan Sessions were looking for a plane with short field capability. John was in the process of bulldozing a flat 700-foot-long spot on top of a hill in the Texas backcountry and needed a plane that could take off and land in that space. He chose a Helio Courier, one […]