Just two old guys flying a Stearman in the hills

[Colonel Sanders]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=knN-uK_BS0Q


... landing alongside the runway in the grass,
as God intended.

EDIT -- either this old stuff spins your crank,
or it doesn't. An old, original biplane with
tube and fabric and a tailwheel and an honest
to goodness radial engine makes me weak in
the knees - a character flaw.

Many young people "don't get it" and I apologize
for my nonsense. Enjoy the right seat of your
Airbus.

[seasonaldriver]

I went for a ride in an old Waco UPF-7 down in Florida. That was Fun even if the pilot wasn't nice enough to have a control stick where I was sitting.
There really is something about an open cockpit on a nice day.
Airliners? Good pay, but zero fun.

[Colonel Sanders]

Key West?

[beech 18]

May 25, 2014

Very nice Colonel.

[Colonel Sanders]

Here's some for you, taken at my tiny airport:













I realize that kids these days don't have much
interest in the old stuff, but I love them. The
sound of them flying overhead happens less
and less often, which saddens me.

I don't really have much interest in plastic
airplanes that fly themselves, I'm afraid.

[PositiveRate27]

Without question, the most amazing experience of my life was a flight I took in a 1940 Stearman over Pearl Harbor. 30 degrees Celsius, open cockpit, with the stick in my right hand and a radial in the other.

I love working in the airlines and I love airliners, but vintage airplanes tug straight on my heart strings.

If anyone wants a link to the video just PM me

PR

[cgzro]

i took a few kids up for rides in our 1943 Fleet Finch biplane (open cockpit radial yesterday), one of the kids had his hands up like on a roller coster and was yelling "coooool" the whole time, and another 9 year old girl asked me when we taxiid off why they did not make airplanes like this anymore "cause they are way more fun".

[Colonel Sanders]

There once was a guy called Cole Palen,
who died about 20 years ago.

He didn't have much money, but he loved
WWI (one) stuff, when everyone else had
declared it useless, old obsolete junk. Cole
tried to stop it from all being destroyed, and
saved what he could.

He created this marvellous place called Old
Rhinebeck, NY where WWI airplanes fly an
airshow every weekend.

My point is that stuff goes through a phase,
where it is declared "junk" because it is no
longer efficient or otherwise useful from a
utilitarian standpoint. It is no longer fashionable
because is no longer the Next Shiny Thing.

This is a very vulnerable time for the old
"junk", and when it needs to be protected.
Because in a few short decades, it will become
precious and fashionable and cool again,
and obscenely valuable and rare.

I have a tough time keeping up with this
fashion and kardashian stuff. Things of
quality have no fear of time.

A while back (ok, a few decades) I remember
my father going for a test drive in a Dino
Ferrari. Was used, he was thinking of buying
it. I thought it was a piece of shit, but Dad
could pick it up pretty cheap. He didn't, which
was probably for the best. I think Ferraris are
junk.

A few days ago, I almost fell off my chair when
I saw what people are paying today, for an old
Dino Ferrari.

[Nark]

I'm not that young anymore, but went to a flying this weekend.
Had a good time reminiscing with the oltimers.