Air Fair Weekend at 0A7 (Hendersonville NC)

What Fun! The Air Fair was a great time for everybody. The project is a fund raiser for the Western North Carolina Air Museum - tours of the museum, airplane and helicopter rides, hot dogs and burgers and belly washers of several descriptions ... it's a weekend blast.

The lemonade and ice cream stands are up early - on a warm day those rake in good money for the cause. On Saturday we had 18-20 airplanes fly in before noon ...  

It wasn't possible to catch a picture of the airplanes that were flying rides because they weren't on the ground together ... there was a 182, a 172, a Tiger and (of course) Champ ... all together I suspect a couple of hundred rides may have been given to paying passengers at $25 each. The helicopter was busy constantly -  a Robinson R44 - no way to know how many he flew because I was busy with Champ ...

The local newspaper photographer snapped this one of Bill and me getting ready for our "Dawn Patrol" flight (OK, it was a little after dawn - we called it an "advertising" flight)

This was my view of the Air Fair most of the weekend. Different hairdos, of course, but you get the idea.

The trees at the south end of the field make for interesting departures when flying rides, so we generally takeoff to the north and make our approach over those trees. With 3000 feet of runway (half paved, half grass) we have plenty of room as long as the pilot minds his airspeed. I like using the grass for landing with Champ, of course.

Sunday was a little quieter but was still a terrific day ... a Bell JetRanger from one of the local racing celebrities dropped by for awhile ...

The kids love riding the museum's ornithopter ... powered by an old farm engine that pops and clatters its way along a taxiway behind the hangars ...

The Air Fair for 2009 is history ... Champ flew 23 paying passengers and gave gratis rides to some of the volunteers ... we won a lot of friends for a friendly little airplane. Talk was heard from some people about learning to fly and from others who were finding possible ways to put together partnerships for some affordable flying fun ... that's what it's all about ...

Fly safe, Y'all.

Springtime is for flying (or ditching made easy)!

I don't know what's better - flying in springtime or just hanging around the airport watching other people fly ...

Son John (on the left) spends a fair amount of his spring getting ready for the Joe Nall giant scale RC meet at Pat Hartness' place near Woodruff SC ... it's the Oshkosh of giant scale flying. The meet started on a Wednesday this year and the field began filling up on the Sunday before. By Tuesday afternoon, there were over 600 RC pilots registered and a LOT of airplanes.

The rare air John breathes when he's flying a Citation X corporate jet must get to his imagination ... he has an airbrush artist friend who creates some far-out cowling cartoons:

As for dear old Dad, I finally dragged Champ out of the Hendersonville hangar and flew a few takeoffs and landings to get back into the swing of things. There were appreciative scores from the hangar rats as landings equalled takeoffs in reasonably short order. Back in Florida the Bonanza had some work done on it so I gave it a good wash and dried it off in the accepted fashion .....

After so many years flying corporate jets and going to regular recurrent training, I realized with a start that I would be due for a Biennial Flight Review this summer! The recurrent training sessions and new type ratings took care of the requirement for many years and I also realized that I had never taken a stand-alone BFR since the rule was created! I've conducted reviews many times but never took one of my own! Being of healthy attitude and all that, I decided that a good review would be a good thing and also decided it might help if I added a seaplane rating to my ticket ... so it was off to Jack Brown's Seaplane Base at Winter Haven FL for some training, some learning and a dash of positive reinforcement from the great people there.....

Note the birds perched on the wings and tail of my assigned J3C-65S (the 'S' is for Seaplane). I think they took a look at me and decided to add some supplemental lift.



A flip of the prop (performed gracefully from the deck of the float) and we're off and floating.

The course is given at Winter Haven FL year-round. Jon Brown carries on his father's work with well-maintained Cubs - every few years they are hauled out and completely refurbished.


The old guy got some great instruction from Lauren. I haven't had that many takeoffs and landings in a short period of time in many years! The Seaplane Rating is mine at last!

Fly safe, Y'all!

Forward ...... MARCH!

Well, if it's March 09, it must be 6 months after hanging up the jet keys and letting the kids have all the fun.

 

Here I am, recruiting a new pilot to the fold. Note the technique of enticement, a small bit of cheese-stuffed hotdog in hand. Typical recruit ... the bugger gave my fingers a nasty rasp with his beak which quickly got ugly but finally healed.

Since March comes only one month before April (I counted), I have to practice for my checkride in the Wright Flyer if the simulator comes to Sun-n-Fun again ...

Even after applying all the skills of a theatre major (apologies to Dave Barry) the results of my last checkride were humbling ....

Son John, Citation X Captain and hot stick, did better ....

No dings at all ... the old man must have done something right ... (when your student turns out OK the instructor always takes the credit) ...

Last January was pretty cool ... the Light Sport Expo was held at Sebring FL and was a huge success. My favorite was this nifty Sport Cruiser from the Czech Aircraft Works. It has all the goodies in the panel and room for the puppy in the back. Maybe I'll get a stimulus check so I can run out and buy one or two (or three).

February was also a neat month ... Old schoolmate Ed flew over for lunch in his Glasair TD. Ed raced at Reno and Lakeland and was recently seen in a Yak-52 ... the Glasair is a tweaking project - a little glass here, a little more horsepower there ... Ed is an inveterate tweaker and will eventually get it Right (and faster) ... 

Stu and Bill C. came all the way from Bayport NY to Florida for a little R&R this weekend ... spent Saturday and Sunday glider flying at Zephyrhills with Gino. It was great to see these guys again and we spent some time looking over some beautifully restored antique and classic cars.

Champ is biding its time in the Hendersonville hangar while the Bonanza gets a workout with John (and, occasionally, me) ... I did manage to get a color match for a small paint repair job for Champ so dabbed a little color on before rotating back to Florida for awhile. Next trip to NC, Champ will launch its summer flying season.

Fly safely! Fly often! Spring has sprung!

January 2009 - Time do fly!

It doesn't seem like a year since I found the Bonanza out in Arizona, but that's exactly how long it's been ... Since, we've flown to New Mexico, Texas, Louisiana, Florida, New York, Virginia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Kentucky and fuel stops in between. What a great bird! I've added a few goodies to the panel (Garmin 430 WAAS, a new PS Engineering audio panel and intercom) and there may be a new interior on the horizon. The main reason I bought her was to run back and forth between Florida and North Carolina after I retired ....

Which happened on September 1, 2008. After 28 years of flying on someone else's schedule, I'm on my own time. Maybe it sounds funny but I'm turning out to be a day/VFR pilot at heart. I sure did love the jets (Cessna CitationJet, Falcons 20 and 50, Gulfstreams 2-3-4 and 5), but the Bonanza and the Champ are just what I wanted at this stage of life.

Above are the flags of the countries I visited over my career. 

When I was a kid growing up on the family farm, I listened to short wave radio quite a bit, heard a lot of foreign languages and music, and pored over my books to find where these faraway places were. I got to see more than I ever dreamed I'd see. Nowadays, whether it's low and slow in the Champ or a little higher and faster in the Bonanza, the landscape of the United States has all the magic I thought I'd have to travel the world to see.

I hope we cross paths one of these days.

Fly safely

Alex

November 10 - Marine Corps Birthday
November 11 - Veterans' Day / Armistice Day

This year, on November 11, I remember James Lundin, who we lost in Iraq, and ask you to pause and give thanks for the men and women who serve our Country at home and abroad on this day. Another James, our son-in-law, James Coughlin, is set to return to the Middle East next month. Last time it was Iraq, this time it is Afghanistan. Save a place for him in your prayers, too.

Thanks.

Alex.

October in the Mountains

I missed the mountains more than I knew

This is a view of my home field, looking down runways 15 (there are three!).

The paved runway on the left is, in reality, the left side of the airport runway. Half is paved, half is nice, smooth sod. Further to the right is Johnson field, privately owned, and used by the members of the Western North Carolina Air Museum. It's an interesting arrangement. I've been in the pattern with skydivers (not many of those around here anymore), ultralights, business twins and antiques, all using the runways more or less simultaneously.

Flying around the mountains reveal lots of beautiful scenery, especially this time of year ... and a few sights that are decidedly seasonal. This is a hillbilly corn maze next to a pumpkin patch and petting zoo ... the lot looks pretty full - I guess they're doing OK.

This is my corner of the museum's long hangar at Hendersonville ... I like it here.

The company is pretty good ... all ragwings and all but one a taildragger - the Ercoupe down the way is the only exception. All the guys are great and we take turns closing up at the end of a day of flying ...

More pictures to come ...

A September to Remember

It was the best of times ...

The guys at work arranged for my last trip in the Global Express to be a special one and the fellows at Farmingdale Airport operations went along with it ... the crash trucks positioned themselves on either side of the taxiway and hosed us down as we left the ramp for the last time ...

So off we went to Sint Maarten

There again the guys at Arrindell Aviation were just terrific ... they set us up with some really nice hotel rooms right on the Caribbean ... Frank Arrindell flew in especially for the occasion and they gave me a nice plaque to hang on the wall (and a nice bottle of brandy, too)! I'm going to miss Frank and Henke and Roy and all the great guys at Arrindell.

And just like that, my jet career was history. My only regret: I couldn't buy a decent landing.

So I packed up my kit bag and said goodbye to the gang at Bayport Aerodrome ... that's a picture of my old Cub that belongs now to 7 of the guys and Bob's Stearman ... Bayport will always be a fondly held memory.

The Big Day came and Champ was ready to go ... Stu took me to the airport and we hung around together while a sea fog dissipated along the south shore of Long Island ... when it cleared enough to take a look, Stu and the Cub flew with me as far as the Captree Lighthouse and left Champ and me to go the rest of the way on our own.

This is the route that I chose using AOPA/Jeppesen. I decided to use 1.5 hours as my leg lengths for my own comfort and to get to know the airplane on a long trip. 

We just missed being able to do the whole trip in one day. The sea fog delay made us run out of daylight 30 miles from the new home base.

And here it is: The Western North Carolina Air Museum at Hendersonville NC (0A7)

More to come.

August with Gusto!

Pictures by our talented member, Fred Miller, from the great Bayport Aerodrome neighborhood picnic held on August 10th. What a terrific month! First, the picnic, then the Antique Airplane Club of Greater New York fly-in, from the 22nd to the 24th! The weather even cooperated! If you missed these, you missed some serious aviation fun.

Here with his permission is a link to Fred's picnic pictures:

http://www.longislandwallpapers.com/gallery/5671845_uj7T5#349259149_iLLpR

The report from the AACGNY fly-in is in and it was a rousing success! A highlight for everyone is this incomparable OX powered Pheasant:

...And this pink L-type Aeronca, owned by a visiting lady pilot, as viewed by Fred through the flying and landing wires of Bill's 1930 Bird Model A:

The incomparable view of Bayport Aerodrome while on final approach ... Bill did a nice, slight forward slip to the left to give Fred this next great shot:

And, finally, a wonderful air-to-air picture of Stuart and Tim in Tim's Tiger Moth ... Stu and friends are in the process of restoring and assembling Tiger Moth parts and will hopefully have Bayport's third Tiger Moth in the air one of these days:

For more of Fred's pictures, including his terrific work with the American Airpower Museum and the Cradle of Aviation Museum, select his albums from his web site:

http://www.longislandwallpapers.com/Aviation

Fred's photographs are available for purchase and we encourage you to buy from him to support his work as he continues to record Long Island's exceptional aviation history.

Happy Landings!

www.bayportaerodrome.org

www.aacgny.org

July's When We Flies!

July at Bayport!

The first look our visitors (by car) get is the flag. We're a proud bunch and our flag tells everybody just where we stand.

Every now and then we have visitors who love to just walk around and touch the airplanes ... there's always somebody who says "I helped build those during the war" or "I worked on or flew those during the war". It's great to have these men and women stop by for their visits ...
...and there's a car buff or two who'd like to have pictures of themselves or their cars with the classic biplanes ...
Pretty soon the wind died down enough to go flying and Bob and I cruised the Great South Bay in the Champ looking for aggressor forces ....
...and there they were! Lurking above the boaters and ferries ... a couple of Cubs!
We decided to take them from the sun, but they turned tail and made for the safety of Bayport Aerodrome where they were met by ...

The Green Baron von Clifford and his 1930 Bird Model A!

Vladimir and Andre even got into the act, firing up the mighty Ranger and killing the mosquitos in a cloud of blue smoke ...

I wish I had pictures of the feast Bill and Bill brought to us....the Striped Bass and crabs were tasty and appreciated by all ... culinary arts honed by years of practice over a roaring barbecue grill ...

In the end it's about friends and airplanes and good fun on a weekend afternoon .... and there's nothing that can compare.

www.bayportaerodrome.org

June and I like to go fly

.... And so we did ... the Bonanza hauled me from New York to Kentucky to North Carolina to Florida and did it in very good time - better than driving and just about the same cost when you consider stopping for meals and a couple of nights in a hotel. I can prove it with the fuel slips and with the help of AAA and their driving maps. Even with avgas costs just absurd, the numbers compare very favorably (seeing as how the price of car gas is absurd too, these days).

More about June as soon as I figure out how to load a video on the blog ... this antique pilot still has a few tricks to learn. In the meantime, try clicking on the link below or cut and paste into your browser to see the ornithopter ride at the Western North Carolina Air Museum ... it's a big hit with the kids, especially during the Air Fair, held the first weekend in June each year.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X6wT3qf0eas

May, Dismay and Maybe

Well, my friends, May has been blustery, gustery and when it's not blustering and gustering it's been wet. But there have been days like the day below, even when we had to go out of town to find them!

This is Horn Point and this is the annual fly-in of the PAAS (Potomac Antique Airplane Society) near Cambridge MD ... We happened to catch them on a dry day between wet days but the main thing is it was a grand day ... Stu took a bunch of pictures and sent me a few so here is an actual airplane that was actually there ....

A gen-u-wine Mooney M-10 basking in the sunshine ...

May was also the month when the Cub changed hands ... A gallant group of 7 intrepid aviators, members of the Bayport Aerodrome Society and/or the Antique Airplane Club of Greater New York, banded together to buy the Cub and leave me semi-Cubless (semi because they give me rides every now and then and because some of the guys need their tailwheel endorsements.


So the little yellow airplane flew away without having to fly away and will ply the skies over Bayport and Fire Island for years to come ... meanwhile ...

I still have my "other" Cub ... at Area 52 north of Tampa FL ... and will be flying it as soon as my son teaches me how not to create a kit out of all it's parts.

Then to round out the month, Stu and Bob and I launched the Banana and flew up to New Hampshire where we met a wonderful family and took a look at a possible Cub replacement for me ... more on that to come as soon as we can work out details ...

But it might look like ....

A Champ!

Come visit us at www.bayportaerodrome.org or www.aacgny.org .... bring a picnic and enjoy the airplanes at the last publicly owned, grass runway on Long Island!