I don’t mean to mislead but I’m not talking about the annual get-together in Galesburg, IL or even the end of season gathering in Jennings or any dozens of other fly-ins where more than one Stearman would be in attendance.  No, I’m talking about the first time ever that a couple of us got together…

It took me longer to fly home than it did to drive up there. Pretty much every pilot has made this joke when battling a strong headwind, slowing your progress.  It would have been quicker to drive!  Cars are passing us on the highway!  Usually it’s not true, it just serves to illustrate how slow…

My favorite airplanes (non turbine) Lets do a little dreaming. Image you have a bottomless bank account. What would we find in your hangar? This would be a real challenge for me since I love all airplanes, but somehow I’d make due. He’s my choices as of today, ask me tomorrow and it’ll change. It…

This is my humble contribution to the blogging in formation series.  Inspired by the video that I will link to at the end of this post, I wanted to summarize this incredible story of aerial courage and daring. After the United States entered the European theatre, it would have been a strange sight indeed to see…

Everyone has their list of airplanes they “must fly” or dream of flying someday. Some of these are out of sight for most mere mortals. Airplanes on that list might include the ‘stang, the 787 Dreamliner, and pretty much anything in the previous or current US military inventory. But I’m a realist. I don’t envision…

How To Fly a Taildragger: 201  We pick up where we left off in 101 and venture into more of the nuances of conventional gear aircraft. If you haven’t read How To Fly a Taildragger: 101 go there first. One area not mentioned in 101 was how gyroscope precession, spiraling slipstream, p-factor and torque effect a…

Piper Cub By Stephen Pope / Published: Jul 25, 2012   (editor: Check out this video to get the essence of how pure flying can be in a Cub!)   Simplicity and durability are defining characteristics of so many of the classic American products we love best: The Harley-Davidson Flathead. A well-worn pair of Levi’s…

Antique and Classic Airplanes are GAs Best Kept Secret These are a class of airplanes that I believe are under recognized and certainly under utilized by the average GA flyer. If you are already an antique/classic enthusiast please hold the hate mail and bear with me.  This genre of airplane was primarily the product of…