AirVenture 2007

Flying with the colorful Citabrias over the beautiful Pennsylvania countryside. This is what it was like all day. Tom who is a flying encylopedia gave us the tour and history behind such things as a Revolutionary War era charcoal iron furnace, the first
tunnel in America, the longest stone arch railroad bridge in the world and still in use after 117 years, and Pennsylvania Railroad's famous Enola Yard.

It may not look like much but the Carsonville Hotel serves great food. It's a favorite Biker stop. Hat tip to Joe Villa for the pics.

An order of fries will serve 2-3 people.

We crossed the Susquehanna River -- which is the longest river on the East Coast -- a number of times.

Tom pointed out the Rockville Bridge, longest stone masonary arch railroad bridge in the world. I didn't get a picture of it though. The bridge below is the Clarks Ferry Bridge at Duncannon.

Mark refueling his Citabria.

We talked with the builder of this Sonerai which is almost ready for its first flight.

Tom pointed out this rare 1963 Champion 402 Lancer with twin O-200 engines. The fuselage and especially the door look very similar to the Citabria's.

"The Champion 402 Lancer was an attempt to produce an inexpensive twin engine trainer by using two Continental O-200 engines on the wings of a tricycle gear Champion 7FC. The aircraft has fixed landing gear, and fixed pitched propellers."

Our last stop was at Grimes. You can see Grimes up ahead as we approach the break.

I looked inside and saw these box spars. Could it be?

Looking back to the tail.

October 4, 2009 - All Grass All Day in PA The Trunk Monkeys Are Back
The Trunk Monkeys were having an All Grass All Day in Pennsylvania so I flew up to Morgantown (O03) -- which is a nice grass strip -- to join them. There wasn't a cloud in the sky above Essex Skypark and the air was very smooth. There was a little bit of ground fog in PA.

Two of the Citabrias were from South Jersey airport which was socked in until 10AM! While waiting, I talked to the nice people who run the Black Diamond Soaring school. They tow with a recently restored 1957 Cessna 182 which looked like a million bucks. We had four planes today: Tom and Mark in Citabrias and Dick in his Super Decathelon. Plus me in the 7.

Flying with the colorful Citabrias over the beautiful Pennsylvania countryside. This is what it was like all day. Tom who is a flying encylopedia gave us the tour and history behind such things as a Revolutionary War era charcoal iron furnace, the first tunnel in America, the longest stone arch railroad bridge in the world and still in use after 117 years, and Pennsylvania Railroad's famous Enola Yard.

We stopped at Carsonville (0PS3) to get lunch at the Carsonville Hotel bar-restaurant just down the street. The Carsonville runway is less than 2000 feet and sloped. We had to land downhill due to the winds. We had no choice but to get down because we were all hungry! How long is the runway? In Tom's words: "The owner of Carsonville claims the runway length is 1800', official documentation currently lists it as 1272' but I've found it listed as 1488' in the past. Using Goggle Earth it measures 1745' which indicates the owners numbers are close to actual length. The west end is 741' and the east 782', which is about the sink rate of a Citabria in the flare, so uphill is preferred with calm or near calm winds."

It may not look like much but the Carsonville Hotel serves great food. It's a favorite Biker stop. Hat tip to Joe Villa for the pics.

An order of fries will serve 2-3 people.

We crossed the Susquehanna River -- which is the longest river on the East Coast -- a number of times. Tom pointed out the Rockville Bridge, longest stone masonary arch railroad bridge in the world. I didn't get a picture of it though. The bridge below is the Clarks Ferry Bridge at Duncannon.

The Trunk Monkeys making a low pass at Chestnut Hill Airport/5PS5 , a private strip.

We stopped at Farmer's Pride to get gas.

They had an unusually high amount of rain this summer, and the grass at this airport was like a luxurious thick carpet.

Mark refueling his Citabria.

We talked with the builder of this Sonerai which is almost ready for its first flight.

Tom pointed out this rare 1963 Champion 402 Lancer with twin O-200 engines. The fuselage and especially the door look very similar to the Citabria's. "The Champion 402 Lancer was an attempt to produce an inexpensive twin engine trainer by using two Continental O-200 engines on the wings of a tricycle gear Champion 7FC. The aircraft has fixed landing gear, and fixed pitched propellers."

Our last stop was at Grimes. You can see Grimes up ahead as we approach the break.

Parked at Grimes.

I havn't been here in a couple of years. Grimes is the home of the Golden Age Air Museum and they've been busy. Here Mark and Dick are standing in front of their freshly restored and 100% original Curtiss Jenny (JN-4D).

They do their restoration work in this big hangar.

I looked inside and saw these box spars. Could it be?

Yes! They are building a Fokker DR-1 Triplane, the plane I've been dreaming of building. You saw the wing box spars. They've also nearly completed the fuselage.

Looking back to the tail.

The cockpit area with control stick.

The Ron Sands plans used to build the plane.

I asked a guy who was building the ribs and he said "You're looking at him" and pointed to the wall. Looks like he's got about 1/4 of them done.

I took off from Grimes, climbed to 4500 feet, and zoomed back to Essex at 190 mph in 30 minutes. Chalk up another great aviation day.
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October 4, 2009 - All Grass All Day in PA

The Trunk Monkeys Are Back