{"id":8678,"date":"2023-09-21T09:19:37","date_gmt":"2023-09-21T09:19:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/aviation-news.info\/?p=8678"},"modified":"2023-09-21T09:19:37","modified_gmt":"2023-09-21T09:19:37","slug":"keep-the-antiques-flying","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/aviation-news.info\/?p=8678","title":{"rendered":"Keep the antiques flying!"},"content":{"rendered":"

Aviation news international – After a long flight from Tennessee, the green flag signaling \u201ccleared to land\u201d is a refreshing sight.<\/p>\n

The upsloping approach end of Runway 18 rises to meet the wheels and, after an unceremonious bounce or two, the Swift settles onto the grass. Soon a helpful volunteer on a four-wheeler leads the way to parking in a row bordering a vast field of corn.<\/p>\n

Welcome to\u00a0Antique Airfield<\/a>\u00a0in Blakesburg, Iowa, home of the Antique Aircraft Association (AAA). The organization, whose motto is \u201cKeep the Antiques Flying,\u201d hosted its 70th national fly-in Aug. 29-Sept. 4, 2023, and I was here to take it all in.<\/p>\n

After parking, the first person I meet is my neighbor off the left wing, Syd Cohen, who\u2019s flown from Wausau, Wisconsin, in his sparkling silver Ercoupe. A prop card proclaims \u201cThis aircraft has flown 1,287 Young Eagles.\u201d Now that\u2019s a conversation starter.<\/p>\n

A high school teacher for 29 years, Syd recalls, \u201cI\u2019d say to my students, \u2018Hey, it\u2019s a beautiful day. Who wants to go flying?\u2019 I had around 70 kids I\u2019d given rides to before Young Eagles came along.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Syd Cohen with his faithful Ercoupe, \u201cScampy.\u201d<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Syd took his first plane ride in a friend\u2019s Ercoupe, fell in love with the type, and promptly purchased one. He learned to fly in the little bird, and after 41 years, 3,650 flying hours, and an award-winning restoration, he shows no signs of slowing down. He\u2019s flown as far west as Arizona and as far south as Key West, and is taking off for Hood River, Oregon, after Labor Day.<\/p>\n

I ask Syd about a favorite Ercoupe experience, and without hesitation he describes flying through the Hudson River VFR corridor around the Statue of Liberty.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re going past all these skyscrapers,\u201d he recalls. \u201cWe\u2019re at 800 feet and these skyscrapers are above us. It\u2019s amazing.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Classic era aircraft bask in the noonday sun.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Syd and I are parked in a field designated for classic and modern aircraft. Our planes, both built in 1946, are \u201cclassics,\u201d and we\u2019re surrounded by a sea of Luscombes, Stinsons, Taylorcrafts, Cessna 120s, 140s, and 170s, and every branch of the Piper Cub family tree. It\u2019s a veritable post-war general aviation family reunion.<\/p>\n

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<\/svg>” alt=”” width=”1200″ height=”475″ data-lazy-src=”https:\/\/generalaviationnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/Blakesburg23-4_Stearmans__JRoberts.jpg” \/>
An impressive Stearman lineup.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Walking toward the heart of Antique Airfield, I stop to admire a row of brawny Stearman biplanes, then head toward a field of aviation history: Row upon row of open-cockpit biplanes, ranging from a deHavilland Tiger Moth trainer to a workhorse New Standard D-25.<\/p>\n

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A 1940 deHavilland Tiger Moth takes flight.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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This 1929 New Standard D25, \u201cProspector,\u201d seats four in the front cockpit, making it a barnstormer\u2019s delight.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

And for the business traveler, there\u2019s a complement of Beechcraft Staggerwings, cabin Wacos, and a pristine 1946 Fairchild model 24W-46.<\/p>\n

The Fairchild is the pride and joy of Cameron Grossl, a mechanical engineer and A&P mechanic from Georgetown, Kentucky.<\/p>\n

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Cameron Grossl\u2019s 1946 Fairchild 24 on takeoff roll.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Cameron, who learned to fly in a Cessna 150, says, \u201cI\u2019ve always liked older airplanes. I bought a Luscombe, and the day I took my private pilot check ride, the guy I bought the Luscombe from delivered it. And so I got my private license and then got to learn to fly all over again.\u201d<\/p>\n

Following the Luscombe, Cameron owned an Acro Sport II and built a Christen Eagle, both which he flew in aerobatic competitions.<\/p>\n

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Cameron Grossl refuels after a round of ride hopping.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Cameron came across the Fairchild while on a trip to Colorado. He\u2019d been looking for one for a while, and stopped by Kelly Airpark to visit Aircraft Restoration and Repair, owned by noted Fairchild restorer Jamie Treat. That\u2019s when he first laid eyes on NC77605.<\/p>\n

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<\/center>It was a work in progress, and Cameron remembers thinking, \u201cOh man, somebody\u2019s going to have a really nice airplane when this gets done.\u201d<\/p>\n

Turns out that lucky \u201csomeone\u201d was Cameron, who ended up purchasing the plane even before the restoration was complete.<\/p>\n

With its 200-hp Ranger engine, the Fairchild cruises at 110 mph.<\/p>\n

\u201cUsually about 2.5 or 3 hours is as far as I\u2019ll go without having to put oil in it,\u201d he reports. \u201cIt uses about 2 quarts an hour, which is very common for a Ranger.\u201d<\/p>\n

When asked what he likes most about the plane, Cameron smiles and replies, \u201cI just think it\u2019s a really cool-looking airplane. Kind of a very stately way of traveling around.\u201d<\/p>\n

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A beautiful Spartan 7W Executive makes a photo pass.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

And speaking of traveling around, a highlight of this year\u2019s fly-in was the \u201cBlakesburg Bendix and Air King Charity Challenge.\u201d<\/p>\n

Inspired by the Bendix cross-country races, which ran from 1931 through 1962, this event challenged pilots to estimate their time and speed over a course from Hastings, Nebraska, to Antique Airfield, with an overnight stop at Red Oak, Iowa. Contestants were constrained to using 1930s technology: An E-6B computer and plotter, sectional charts, and pencil.<\/p>\n

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<\/center>Before departure, pilots submitted their estimated time and speed calculations for each leg, then flew over designated checkpoints while ground observers noted their times. Trailing the contestants was a \u201clight plane cavalcade\u201d of nine aircraft, whose pilots were tagging along just for the fun of it.<\/p>\n

One of these pilots was Tom Regier from Reedley Municipal Airport (O32<\/a>), in the central valley of California.<\/p>\n

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Tom Regier taxis out in his pristine 1941 Ryan PT-22.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Tom, who flew his Kinner-powered 1941 Ryan PT-22, relates, \u201cThere were nine of us in the cavalcade, and we followed the three competitors: Two Wacos and a homebuilt by Danny Sorenson with a Russian motor turning backwards. We started in Hastings, Nebraska, then flew over Crete and landed in Red Oak, Iowa, and had a barbecue banquet there. The next morning we took off and flew on to Greenfield, Iowa, and then on to here.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tom\u2019s beautiful PT-22 is two years out of restoration, which he completed in just under a year, doing all the metal and fabric work himself. That\u2019s not too surprising, considering that Tom ran the A&P school at Reedley College for 31 years, and now has a full-time business doing structural rebuilds on insurance-totaled aircraft. This man can rivet in his sleep.<\/p>\n

For the record, the order of finish in the \u201cAir King Charity Challenge\u201d was:<\/p>\n