June 11, 2022 - Allen Airstrip Pancake Breakfast -
Massey Antique Fly-in
Today a bunch of us RV drivers headed east northeast to a pancake breakfast at Allen Airstrip.  The weather this morning was 2,500 scattered, 5,000 overcast with light rain in spots.  Not the best, but certainly flyable.  We had three RVs from Essex Skypark:  myself, Mark B. and Joe M. (RV-8), Brian C. (RV-8).  Mugsy joined us from Easton.
 
Here we are approaching the South Jersey Marsh.  The Cohansey River is clearly visible.   We did some formation flying practice while transiting:  shallow S-turns, crossovers, close trail.
   
Over the South Jersey Marsh, looking south.  I was down there low, yesterday.
   
Overhead Allen Airstrip, which is a 2,000 foot grass strip about 30 miles due east of Philadelpha and 2 miles east of Flying W airport.  This is my second time here.  There are four yellow cubs on the ramp down there.
   
Turning downwind for runway 31 at Allen Airstrip.
   
The breakfast was really good; a very good value.
   
The dining room is that building (within a building) on the left.  The rest of the building is basically a museum and a big dance floor.
   
I checked out the aviation library.  All sorts of good books.  On the right were binders filled with back issues of Flying, Private Pilot, Aviation & Space Technology and other aviation magazines.
   
Most of the transient planes were gone by the time we finished breakfast.
   
 
   
 
   
A nice, relaxing place.
   

The inside of the big hangar as basically a museum with all sorts of treasure.

This classic Fairchild 21 biplane, for instance.

The Kreider-Reisner KR-21-A was a 1928 American two-seat biplane. It was designed and built by the Kreider-Reisner Aircraft Company of Hagerstown, Maryland.  Fairchild Aircraft took over Kreider-Reisner in 1929 and continued to build them, as the Fairchild KR-21, later the Fairchild 21
   
This one was built in 1930.
   
I recognized this one right off:  it's a Corben Bay Ace fuselage.  The distinctive square rudder gives it away.  Bruce B. and I used to own one: N175CH.
   
A simple homebuilt.
   
An L-4 Grasshopper, which was mechanically identical to the J-3 civilian Cub, but was distinguishable by the use of a Plexiglas greenhouse skylight and rear windows for improved visibility.  They were used in World War II for reconnaissance, transporting supplies, artillery spotting duties and medical evacuation of wounded soldiers.
   
An old ambulance, firetruck and trolley car.
   
One of the early Mercedes.
   
"Jack Allen spent decades collecting thousands of artifacts from banks, barnyards, schoolhouses, and everwhere else, and seemingly anywhere and everwhere else."  Jack Allen died in 2002; the museum displays his collection.
   
A derelict Republic Seabee, a plane I've always liked.
   
This one just needs a little tender care and it can fly again!
   
Nice place, Allen Airstrip.
   
I'm guessing the Stearman lives in here.
   
Looking down at the Stearman and runway from a wood observation tower.
   
After takeoff, one last look at Allen Airstrip.
   
Our next stop was Massey Aerodrome on the Eastern Shore for an antique airplane fly-in.  On the way we did some more formation flying practice.
   
This time we had a four-ship.
   
Approaching the south Jersey Marsh and the Delaware River.  We got rained on a little.
   
 
   
Looking north; feet wet.
   
A ship heads down the Delaware River towards the Atlantic Ocean.  It's not the same ship I saw yesterday but it might be the same type: an LNG tanker.
   
Looking down at Massey Aerodrome.  On a good weather fly-in day, they'll get 100+ airplanes here and the unicom frequency will be clobbered.  But today the frequency was dead silent.  The weather scared most planes away.  But not us!
   
On the ground doing what pilots do at fly-ins:  talk to other pilots!
   
Richard S.'s RV-8 on the left and one of the earliest built RV-4's on the right.
   
Antique row plus Paul's C. stealth Supercub.  Paul is thinking about building an RV-8!
   
There is Paul asking Mugsy RV-8 questions.
   
 
   
Richard's RV-8 next to Hunter's beautiful silver and blue Stearman.
   
Beautifully restored 1936 Hammond 100 biplane.
   
My friend Karl owns this nice looking 1937 Taylorcraft A.
   
Loyal readers know the radial-powered Cessna 195 is one of my favorite planes.
   
The nerve of all these RV's showing up at an antique aircraft fly-in!
   
A closer look at this nice RV-4, which was one of the first ones built, entirely from plans.  No kits in the early days.
   
Classy 1947 Stinson 1-8-3.
   
Another Cessna 195.
   
JJ's Skybolt.  JJ also owns an RV-8.
   
Another classy Stinson 108-3.
   
Hunter and Jim M. taxi out in the Stearman.
   
Phil S. taxiis out in his RV-12.
   
When you depart a Massey fly-in, a low-pass is obligatory.  With smoke.  So that's what we did.
   
Massey always has an expert photographer on hand to capture the moment.
   
Since I made cleaning my smoke injectors part of my annual, my plane has been putting out some excellent smoke.
   
We left the field IMC.
   
JJ blowing some smoke in his Skybolt.
   
JJ descending in hot for a low pass.  Nice photo!
   
Paul C. makes a low pass in the stealth cub.
   
Paul likes to fly in full tactical gear.  He is ready for anything.
   
This is how it looked from Mark's RV-8 shortly after takeoff at Massey.  As you can see, the weather was fine at Massey.
   
But then.....   Now this was really unusual.  Usually the flight from Massey to Essex Skypark is a short nothingburger.  But today there was a rainstorm right in our path, over the Chester River.  I could see it on my Foreflight, so just headed south along its edge and then looped around it to the west.
   
Flying on the outskirts of the rainstorm.
   
About to go feet wet over Chesapeake Bay.
   
Here we go! Great aviation day.  We didn't let the iffy weather stop us from having fun.
   
 
   
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