Dispatch from M02, Dickson Municipal Airport, Dickson Tennessee: What has 26 propellers and 52 tails? A fleet of Ercoupes! This summer marked the 41st annual gathering of the twin-tailed birds of the Ercoupe Owners Club (EOC). Its fly-in convention, which is hosted in a different location each year, touched down this year in central Tennessee west […]
Search Results for: air racing from the cockpit
Jenny a century later
The World War I Curtiss Jenny trainer evolved from less-than-optimal JN-1 and JN-2 models of 1915 to the definitive JN-4D that found its stride 100 years ago. In the spirit of centennial commemorations, a look back at the Jenny is in order. The earliest Jennies employed control wheels. By the advent of the JN-4D, a more traditional […]
Top of the Leader Board
Dispatch from KTRL, Terrell, Texas: I want to win. There. I said it. Yes, I know we’re here for charity. And, yes, I know this is supposed to be just for fun. But, damn it, I really, really want to win. I know that sounds shallow and selfish, but in my defense, I spent the entire […]
Wings Over Solano returns
Travis Air Force Base in Northern California last hosted an air show in 2014. The show came to an abrupt halt after a fatal plane crash claimed a favorite local performer. Edward “Eddie” Andreini survived the impact, but perished in the post-crash fire that engulfed his Super Stearman biplane. Fast forward three years and, with improved […]
Nat Browne’s attempted Tokyo flight
Aviator Nat Browne had a plan he figured would enable his single-engine Fokker Universal to fly from Seattle to Tokyo before anyone else could do it. Browne’s Universal was modified to remove steel tube wing struts and part of the landing gear, using flying wires and simplified gear struts instead. It was the end of […]
A new nemesis
Dispatch from 2,500 feet above Georgia: I’m so bored I could puke. This is an air race, but watching paint dry would be more exciting. I’m about 150 miles into the Sunshine Express 400, a cross country “race” across South Carolina, Georgia, and down the Florida peninsula. I hate cross country races. It’s all about precision […]
Triathlon
Dispatch from KSPA, Spartanburg, South Carolina: I pull the wicked-looking black helmet over my head and cinch the chinstrap down tight. Next comes the neck guard, a thick foam collar that encircles my neck below the helmet. I step down into the cockpit and settle in, pulling the dual shoulder straps across my chest and snapping […]
Lots of sun, lots more fun
We’re lined up two abreast on Lakeland-Linder Regional Airport’s big Runway 27, slightly staggered like fighters on an aircraft carrier’s deck. Ahead of us a flight of two massive T-28 Trojans in Navy colors thunder down the runway. The T-28s lift into pale morning sky and the tower radios that it’s our turn to takeoff. […]
13 lucky number for Sebring Expo
Organizers, attendees and exhibitors are proclaiming the 13th annual U.S. Sport Aviation Expo in Sebring, Florida, a success. For the first time in many years, the weather cooperated, with “glorious” weather all four days of the expo, Wednesday, Jan. 25, through Saturday, Jan. 28, according to organizers. Visitors and exhibitors liked the new layout and entrance […]