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And after 41+ years flying the Aeronca/Champion 7 series aircraft, and a few hours instructing in the Aeronca 65TAC/L-3 series, I finally had an opportunity to fly the mothership of the entire Aeronca/Champion series.............http://www.goldenageair.org/collection/1936aeroncac3.htm, the FIRST successful lightplane in America, the beginning of General Aviation as we know it. Until the Aeronca C-2/C-3 the fleet was mostly big biplanes powered by OX-5's or similarly sized radials. Because the C-3 was derived from an Army Air Service training glider design it had only three longerons, instead of the far more normal four. Every Aeronca, except the military spec L-3 and license built Fairchild PT-23, retains that design feature so there is a direct link from the C-3 to the current Citabria/Decathlon/Scout.

I was advised that the C-3 flew "funny" that the ailerons weren't effective and advised to just use the rudders, in fact the ailerons are quite effective, it's just that they are so heavy it feels like the stick is sitting in a 50 gallon drum of concrete. A little aileron deflection gets a nice roll rate, nice being a relative term, but it takes considerable pressure to deflect the ailerons a half inch.

Forward visibility is a bit better than a Stearman, however unlike a Stearman it never improves when you raise the tail, you spend the entire flight trying to peer around the engine that sits about two feet in front of you.

A very interest anomaly is that the C-3 is the ONLY aircraft I've ever flown that does not have a published "Red Line", never exceed speed............................the reason is that the C-3 is one of a very few aircraft that was certified without an airspeed, no airspeed, no red line.

May 28, 2006 - Grimes Fly-In & PA Grass Tour
The forecast for this Saturday hadn't looked very promising, but Saturday morning things didn't look too bad, so I headed north to Grimes airfield in Pennsylvania. It wasn't the best flight I've ever had: I was flying right in the face of a headwind and got bumped around pretty good. It was kind of hazy and low overcast in spots. I didn't have the GPS with me, so I actually had to navigate. Here I am overhead Grimes field. Most of the planes were antiques based at Grimes. The only other planes that flew in were the Citabria/Super D Trunk Monkeys.

The weather suddenly turned nice.

The mothership of the entire Aeronca/Champion series which includes the Citabria. In Tom's own words: And after 41+ years flying the Aeronca/Champion 7 series aircraft, and a few hours instructing in the Aeronca 65TAC/L-3 series, I finally had an opportunity to fly the mothership of the entire Aeronca/Champion series.............http://www.goldenageair.org/collection/1936aeroncac3.htm, the FIRST successful lightplane in America, the beginning of General Aviation as we know it. Until the Aeronca C-2/C-3 the fleet was mostly big biplanes powered by OX-5's or similarly sized radials. Because the C-3 was derived from an Army Air Service training glider design it had only three longerons, instead of the far more normal four. Every Aeronca, except the military spec L-3 and license built Fairchild PT-23, retains that design feature so there is a direct link from the C-3 to the current Citabria/Decathlon/Scout. I was advised that the C-3 flew "funny" that the ailerons weren't effective and advised to just use the rudders, in fact the ailerons are quite effective, it's just that they are so heavy it feels like the stick is sitting in a 50 gallon drum of concrete. A little aileron deflection gets a nice roll rate, nice being a relative term, but it takes considerable pressure to deflect the ailerons a half inch. Forward visibility is a bit better than a Stearman, however unlike a Stearman it never improves when you raise the tail, you spend the entire flight trying to peer around the engine that sits about two feet in front of you. A very interest anomaly is that the C-3 is the ONLY aircraft I've ever flown that does not have a published "Red Line", never exceed speed............................the reason is that the C-3 is one of a very few aircraft that was certified without an airspeed, no airspeed, no red line.

Quite a few people drove to the fly-in to look at the beautiful planes they have at Grimes.



I was a little low on gas so I flew over to Deck airport and fueled up.

Shortly after I got back to Grimes, Tom offered to lead us on a little All Grass tour of Pennsylvania. We're about ready to take off. Tom is lead and I'm the #2 ship.

Dick was #3, Mark #4 and Tim #5.

Our first stop was Numidia. That speck at the end of the runway is Mark is on short final.

Tim in his long-legged Citabria. Actually, he's flying a Cessna 195. But his third wheel is in the right spot.

I leaped out of the Citabria and ran across the runway to take this shot. Actually Tim shot the next four photos.

Look closely in the center of the photo and you'll see four Citabrias strung out in a line.

Booming over the PA countryside.

Looking good.

It's not often you see a grass runway on an island in the middle of a river. The river is the Susquehanna and the airport is Sunbury (71N).

Another look at Sunbury.

Ready for takeoff at Sunbury.

We stopped at Penn Valley (KSEG) where everyone except for me got gas. The FBO manager was pretty happy to have a line of planes at his fuel pump!


Headed south down the Susquehanna, north of Harrisburg.

This photo didn't come out very well; too bad, it was an awesome scene flying next to that big, tree-covered ridge jutting out into the river.

We finished up by landing at Bermudian Valley (07N), after making the obligatory low pass.

A better shot of our rides.

The fabulous Trunk Monkeys after their great flight. Any type of flying is good, but getting together with a bunch of other pilots & planes just takes the fun to another level. What an outstanding day!

On my way back to Essex Skypark, I climbed up to 6,500 feet and enjoyed the clouds. Although I love to fly low, sometimes it's nice just to go high and just enjoy a relaxing transit after a good day's flying.


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May 28, 2006 - Grimes Fly-In & PA Grass Tour