August 11, 2012 - Smoketown Airport Fly-In |
| I finally made it to the annual
Smoketown Airport fly-in which is one of the best in the Mid-Atlantic
area. They always have good turn-out, weather permitting, of
course. The weather wasn't the best early
-- Bruce got rained on a little flying up in the Cub -- but
by the time I came through around 9:30 it
was fine. The sky got bluer and clear as the day
progressed. Here I am turning final. |
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| Picture by Jason
Harry. A good look at the main hangar where the pancake breakfast
and later, lunch, was served. The white tent to the right was where
we registered. Pilot's flying in received a very nice Smoketown
Airport 2012 Fly-in T-shirt. |
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| Another nice
picture by Jason, taken after a few planes had bugged out. You can
see my plane in the upper left-hand corner. |
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Looking towards the main
area. |
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| Looking inside the
hangar where they served food. I'd
give the food high marks. |
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They had seminars in another
hangar. I didn't sit in on any but I should have, especially the one
on the Fairchild 71 restoration. |
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| The vintage
showplanes were all grouped together. |
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| Later on they did a
nice formation fly-by. Photo by Jason Harry. |
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| The star of the
fly-in was this magnificent Fairchild 71. |
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| Pratt & Whitney
Wasp 410 HP Radial engine. Cruise speed 106 mph.
Carries eight people. This one was built in 1929. |
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Bruce standing in front o fthe
Fairchild. |
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| That's the most
stylish panel I've ever seen! |
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Bruce checked out the two Sonexes and
Waiex. |
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| Bruce talking with
a Sonex owner. |
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| The Waiex is easily
identified by the V-tail. |
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| A nice looking Waco
was also on hand. |
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A couple of Cub afficianados checking
out Bruce's Cub. |
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Hat tip to Jason Harry for this
great picture of my plane. |
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| A Long-EZ flew
in. |
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A PT-19 trainer and WWII re-enactment
camp. |
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| Nice looking
Tri-Pacer. |
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| A Stampe and Tiger
Moth. |
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| My plane was on the
left towards the end. |
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Bruce's Cub sparkled in the
sunlight. |
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Classy paint job on this RV. |
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| Adventura. |
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| The ground crew was
large and well organized. |
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| Planes started
bugging out in the afternoon. |
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Claudius making his signiture U-2
climbout in the AirCam. Essex Skypark had a good
representation: myself, Bruce, Cladius, Rob, Rich, Max, Eric and
probably a few I missed. |
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| Another Essex
Skypark pilot, Rob R., built and flys this colorful Searey painted in the
colors of the Maryland state flag. |
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Lee flies his white Kitfox all over
the place. Lee's a fellow EAA Chapter 571 member.
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| Bruce gets his Cub
started by the veteran world-master of hand-propping airplanes, Max L. of
Essex Skypark. |
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| Bruce taxiis out in
the Cub. Mugsy's RV-8 can be seen must to the right of mine.
Jolly's RV is just above my vertical stab. Mugsy, Jolly and myself
did a little three-ship flyover before heading for home. All
in all, it was one of the better fly-ins I've attended, and I've been to a
few. Just a nice way to spend an aviation day. |
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| Lee taxiing out in
the Fox. |
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Good shot of my plane taken by
someone. |
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Another
Essex Skypark pilot -- Rich --
takes off in his Super Decathelon. |
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As you might expect from this
exceedingly well-organized fly-in, an expert photographer took a picture
of every plane that flew in. My RV about to touch
down. |
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Bruce about to roll
it on in the
Cub. |
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Mugsy coming
in.
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Max arrives in the
Champ he has owned a long time. As I have mentioned numerous times,
Max taught me how to fly tailwheel in this plane.
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Jolly arrives in
his
RV-7. |
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Essex Skypark pilot -- Claudius --
about to touch down in the
AirCam.
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Fellow EAA Chapter
571 member Lee arrives in his
Kitfox. |
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Even some big iron
came to the
fly-in. |
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