Warbird Information Exchange

Yes, the photographer always has the best view.

Well, we are off to Geneseo.

Cheers,

Eric

_________________
The air resounds from the Rolls-Royce roar!
To an enemy the warning is dire: here only eagles soar,
and the last thing he'll see is a mirrored Spitfire!

Dave, CWH Canso is a nice boat. I know one of the volunteer crew, Bob Patullo through the PBY e-group.

_________________
"I love the smell of 100LL in the morning."

I was scraping, sanding and painting my boat yesterday when Robin called and said, "We're going to a fly-in tomorrow." And thus we did. Got up early and went to Stratford for some pancakes.

They put us in the show row, right near the John Deeres. (You know you've finally made it when....)





Then home as the cumulus began to pop, but the weather improved as we went east, so we diverted into Tottenham and watched the gliders.

Some of us are good at picking seats.





A good day, amongst good people....



Dave

No Fairchilding this weekend, but someone put a video onto youtube of CF-EKC taking off at Edenvale one day last fall. Most of the sound in the first part is from a Lake amphibian taxyiing nearby, but eventually you hear the Warner.

First time I've heard it from the outside!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W1OiHQS5kyc

Dave

Not too much Fairchilding. Busy, busy, busy, though.

Took up these 2 ladies, who won a flight in our airplane as a prize in a curling bonspiel. They had a blast.



Then went to Vintage Wings to check out 2 new pilots on their first airplanes there, a DH 82C Tiger Moth, and a Fleet 16R Finch. Good fun! (Although the Finch on pavement turns nasty, no other word.)

Pilot's-eye view of the Finch. Pretty good visibility really, especially for a radial. Just one cylinder sticking up to obstruct the view.



Pleasant airplane, the Finch. Slow, loggy ailerons, but otherwise very gentle, with superb tailwheel steering. If you stay on the grass, it's a sweetheart. And you solo it from the front, which is a luxury.

Then into 2 more Moths: the DH 83 Fox Moth, to ferry it from the Canada Aviation Museum at Rockcliffe.



Then a full day in the DH 82A at Edenvale taking up new members. (A stock, standard Tiger, still with tailskid and no brakes.) One of the flights was a funeral one, spreading ashes on a farm, and another was with a 90 year-old who had first trained in England on a Tiger. Then an MG group, who obviously only wish to ride in British machines!



Followed by a work cycle; into an A-330 and off to FRA for schweinhocks-mit-pilsner!

Dave

I've been watching this thread since day one and have appreciated the many photos.

I remember much love for the old 24W that I flew many years ago. Also your description of the Fleet Finch on hard surface was right on point. One memory of the B5 Kinner that was not mentioned is that occasional dollop of grease from the top cylinder rocker boxes that is normally planted in the middle of your forehead.

Great stuff!

Thanks, gents. Recording stuff on a thread like this is kind of fun, and keeps a bare minimum duplicated in case I ever lose my personal records. Plus maybe it's a tiny bit useful to the other similarly-obsessed. (And I am totally aware of my good fortune -- don't wake me up!)

Yes, about the Finch, I think the bad manners on pavement may be because the gear hang down so much in flight. When the wheels toe-in so much at the bottom, I believe whichever wheel touches first tends to want to tuck-under, giving you a quick hard yaw and roll. Perhaps also the fore-and-aft alignment changes a bit when the gear fully hangs. (Obviously a problem in crosswinds.)

On grass, with bald tires, as always, it simply isn't an issue -- the tires don't grab as much.

We're thinking of exploring the idea of a restraining cable, to limit the amount the gear can hang. It would have to be bomb-proof of course -- you wouldn't want one to be hanging (you'd have no idea if it was happening or not).

Dave

Nice looking Fox Moth there, Dave.

_________________
"I love the smell of 100LL in the morning."

Hey Dave,

Good to see the 82A going strong. Wish we could be at Edenvale this weekend but it looks like we will be at Thunder Over Michigan for the weekend. Lets hope the great weather continues.

Eric

_________________
The air resounds from the Rolls-Royce roar!
To an enemy the warning is dire: here only eagles soar,
and the last thing he'll see is a mirrored Spitfire!

Eric, if you're at TOM drop by LSFM's Thunderbird B-17. Steve S and I will be there.
Doug

_________________
"I love the smell of 100LL in the morning."

Tremendous showing at the Edenvale Gathering of the Classics yesterday! Over 250 airplanes attended. The entire infield was covered in airplanes, most of them lovely old taildragger classics.



The weather was superb, the wind was down the runway, the new arrival procedures worked well, and aircraft as diverse as a B-25 and Challenger-style Ultralights all shared the airspace. Interesting to note: that's an arrival every :30 seconds for 2 hours with no positive ATC control. Nothing but Unicom. Quite a testimonial to what private pilots can do when they get a fair chance.

I was so busy minding the airplanes I was responsible for, I didn't get a chance to walk the display lines and take pictures. I hope someone else does, somewhere on the forum. I was busy with these...



But it was great -- sunny, not too hot, lots of good friends showed up, and I had a great time.



Lots of classic and antique cars showed up as well. Anybody identify this one?



Dave