Warbird Information Exchange

I just had to get out of town for a few days, so jumped in my 1939 Taylorcraft and headed west. I'm avoiding crowds, but had some friends in Ohio and Wisconsin to visit, and hangars to sleep in, minimal exposure to others, and them to me...

First day to Ohio, and a couple of days there. I test flew a 1929 Fleet that had recently returned to airworthiness seven years after going on its back.


Then to a friend's farm in Indiana, we had to go on top for a little bit (plenty of holes around to go back down)


Finally to Brodhead, Wisconsin, vintage aviation hotbed. This would've been the weekend of their big antique airplane fly-in, which was cancelled, but we had a good time anyway. My friend Chris was putting together the one and only 1935 Speedbird, only one ever built, so I helped with that, and then got to fly it some. And got to drive the 58 Chevy...


Brodhead Airport under the nose




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http://www.biplanerides1.com/

Another highlight of Brodhead was the extremely rare privilege of flying the only surviving Waco CRG. Only two were built for the 1930 Ford Air Tour, and only this one survives. You really have a tiger by the tail when you open the throttle on this one. Thanks Walt for the opportunity.





Well known aviation photographer Jim Koepnick came down and did an air-to-air session with us, me in the CRG, along with Chris's Travel Air 4000 and Josh's Waco Taperwing


Here is the CRG in its early years, new in 1930, flown in the Ford Air Tour by the famous Johnny Livingston


And in the late 1930s as a Skywriter owned by Andy Stinis




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http://www.biplanerides1.com/

Then it was time to head back east. I went back via NE Ohio to stop and see another vintage type that I'm supposed to test fly later this year, stay tuned.
I flew over Wingfoot Lake just east of Akron and saw one of the Goodyear blimps at home



Stopped in Alliance, Ohio, at Barber Field, and just south of there is the factory where my Taylorcraft was built in 1939. If you look closely you can still see where the old runways were behind the factory building, a big X going into the trees. Not sure what its current use is.


Then back to Virginia. It was a good trip.




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http://www.biplanerides1.com/

Your T-cart is gorgeous, BE. My dad was working on a 41 deluxe many years ago that he never finished, though someone else did. We went to the T-cart fly-ins at Barber in the 80s when he was gathering parts and knowledge. I did not know that 2D1 is now closed? It can't have been for many years. I'm seeing records on the internet of Forrest still holding fly-ins there as late as 2013.

Thanks for the great photos!

August

Thanks for sharing your amazing trip with us.
I was lucky enough to spend a couple of days at Brodhead last year.
Flew in in our Chipmunk, on the way to Oshkosh.
I can totally see why many people prefer the intimacy and informality of Brodhead.
I envy you getting the opportunity to fly these old classics. Good on you sir!

Andy

Beautiful photos! Thanks for sharing. Nice Taylorcraft.

I love the Waco CRG too. I was lucky enough to see it at a grass strip fly-in a few years ago.

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Matt