Saturday, August 31, 2013

Cool shot #816

Highlights of Blakesburg 2013-Day 2

 
Loads of Luscombe's!

 
TJ Stegman cleans off his prop.

 
Who says the younger people aren't interested in aviation?

 
Glenn puts in 60 wt oil to help the engine fight the heat.

 
Sky holds the funnel for Glenn.

 
Great, wonderful, marvelous ribeye steak dinner!

 
Airborne!

 
Sky gets a ride from Russell Williams in his Ryan SCW.

 
Rob Stegman gets in a quick flight before sunset.

 
Three generations-Duncan, Ron and Chris Price go for a ride in the Fleet.
 
 
Jim Savage's Spartan 7W Executive.

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John Swander taxies out in his Waco

Friday, August 30, 2013

Highlights of Blakesburg-Day 1.

 
Fuel stop in Monroe City.

 
Sky gets a Cub ride from Ed Lachendro.


Finaly cooled off as night fell.

Blakesburg 2013---boy, it's a hot one!

 
O-dark-thirty show and we're up and off on another trip to Blakesburg.
I really enjoy Blakesburg, it's so much lower key than Oshkosh.
Definitely has a different vibe.

 
The Monosport over Mark Twain Lake.

 
Ken Thomas pulls up alongside in his Brunner-Winkle Bird.


1920's technology at its finest!
 
It's 101 degrees here right now. Sky and I are in the hotel avoiding heat stroke. Lots of airplanes here, bunch of cabin Waco's, four Fairchild 24's, loads of Luscombe's and plenty of good friends.

Sunday, August 25, 2013

Travel Air 4000

 (Click on each picture to view full-size.)
 
Andrew King stopped by Creve Coeur for lunch Sunday in this 1927 Travel Air 4000 he was delivering from New York to Texas. After lunch, he asked me if I'd like to fly along as he left and shoot some photo's. Since the plane was ready and able, I quickly grabbed buddy Ken Thomas to fly for me.

 
Andrew pulls up alongside showing off the classic Travel Air lines.

 
It's going to make a nice ride-hopping airplane.

 
So long and safe journeys!

Drying off the Monosport

 
Washed the Wisconsin dirt off of the Monosport this morning.
Here Sky and I apply the dry cycle to the wing.

Saturday, August 24, 2013

Prepping for Blakesburg....washing the airplane.

 
Washing the Oshkosh dirt off to make Fiona (Fairchild) pretty for Blakesburg.

 
Sky lathers up the top of the left wing.

 
Rinsing off.

 
Little Boo helps out by getting the hard-to-reach area under the tail.
 
 
A quick break.

Boo poses on the ladder-they grow up so fast!
 
Tomorrow....the Monosport gets a bath!

Sunday, August 18, 2013

Shuffling the hangar.

 
Helping John Cournoyer shuffle Museum Hangar 1 Sunday afternoon.

Saturday, August 17, 2013

Doug Watanabe's Stearman.

I helped do the annual inspection on Doug Watanabe's Stearman this week. I just did the easy stuff, clean spark plugs, removing rocker covers and inspection panels, etc.
 
Doug, Glenn Peck and I finished it up last night and Doug took it up this morning on a formation flight.
 
 
 
Glenn Peck adjust the prop pitch on a new propeller for Doug's N2s-4 Stearman.
 

 
Doug lifts off in the Stearman.

John Cournoyer's Waco


Beautifully-restored Waco QCF-2 at Creve Coeur owned by John Cournoyer.

Thursday, August 15, 2013

Luscombe 8a Cockpit


The cockpit of Rob Stegman's Luscombe 8a.

Monday, August 5, 2013

Sunday-We head home.

 
Sky and I by our Fairchild 24 taken by a viewer from Australia!

 
Coming up on Beaver Dam on the way home.


Saturday-Glenn wins an award.

I spent most of the day sitting under the Monosport wing talking to people about the airplane. We found out the night before that it had won an award, we just didn't know which one.
 
Sky was pulled into service by Lorraine Morris at her and husband Ken's hand-propping forum. That was great! He seemed genuinely interested and really paid attention to Lorraine's instruction and critiques.
 
Sky takes a hand-propping lesson.
 
One of the highlights of the show for me was seeing Tora! Tora! Tora! for the first time. These guys did a good job of showing you what it was like to be there on that morning.
 
 
"This is no drill"


 
A P-40 scrambles to meet the attack.

 
Twelve B-17's were inbound from the States
 that morning and found themselves in the middle of the attack.

 
The outmoded and outnumbered P-40 flames a Zero.
 
Glenn won Outstanding Closed Cockpit in Vintage that evening.
 
 
Matt Younkin performs in his Twin Beech during the night airshow.
The other lights are from the Ornithopter and a bus going by the crowd.


 
 
Fireworks over the Monosport.
 


Friday-Good Day at Oshkosh.

 
Sky and I woke up early and went on a walkabout to see the Antiques.
 
 
The cool temps were perfect for walking around and we went through the meadow looking at all the Vintage Planes.  The little Cafe was opening up so we stopped to have breakfast. Zaug's was replaced as the food vendor, this one was run by The Machine Shed. And it was terrible....
 
We later found out there was a Subway up by the Red Barn and they had breakfast sandwiches so we ate those for the rest of the week. Subway as a welcome change and they did an excellent job. I hope they're back next year.
 
 
Sky and I walked down thru Aeroshell Square to the Warbirds.
 
The Warbirds seemed light to me this year except for P-40's which seemed to be in abundant supply with seven of them making the show. The usual number of Mustangs were there, a couple Wildcats, Avengers and Corsairs and not much else for fighters. Three B-25's, a B-17 belonging to the Yankee Air Museum and the Confederate Air Forces B-24 and B-29 were also there.
 
 
The usual performers flew at the airshow. I find this part of the show boring because I've seen it all before and all of them do the same thing.
 

 
Great workmanship in the P-40's! They were all beautiful.
 
 
A Japanese Zero.
 

 
Mustang
 
Later on in the morning, Glenn was to be featured at Vintage in Review held right in front of the Red Barn. Ray Johnson had come by the night before and briefed us on how it would work and asked Glenn a few questions to become more knowledgeable about the airplane.
 
 
Glenn sits under the wing of the Monosport awaiting his turn to speak.

 
Glenn and Ray Johnson talk about the Monosport.
 
 
A few of the Warbirds during the show.......
 





 
That night had a gorgeous sunset and I went off to see if I could silhouette any airplanes against it. I couldn't find any good shots but they had a ballon glow beginning so I stuck around to watch.