Serving Midwest Aviation Since 1960
Serving Midwest Aviation Since 1960
Sorted by date Results 26 - 50 of 123
The red-white-red tips began their slow meshing. Gradually, with the deep growl of the four 2450 hp Rolls Royce Griffon 57A's increasing, the contra-rotating blades became a mad blur. If you suffered from migraines, you wouldn't want to watch too closely or too long. The Holman Field ramp was jammed with spectators and cameras. The long checklist took a while to complete, and finally, the huge blue-gray monster began to taxi off the dried grass and swung ever so ponderously onto the asphalt...
Pfalz Flugzeug-Werke was established in October 1913 to license build Morane-Saulnier monoplanes. From these, it evolved its own series of Eindeckers fitted with synchronized machine guns. Further license work followed with L.F.G. Roland D. II biplane fighters. In May 1917, Pfalz produced its own fighter design, the 160 hp Mercedes powered D. III. In the spring of 1918, it built its best fighter, the D. XII, which competed with the Fokker D. VII in the June 1918 Aldershof fighter competition....
The Army Air Force needed dedicated transports, rather than adaptations of civilian airliners, to support airborne operations. These aircraft would have to carry large, sometimes bulky loads and be easy to load and unload. The wooden Curtiss C-76 Caravan and the stainless-steel Budd RB-1 Conestoga were designed with those needs in mind, but Fairchild got it right with its twin-boom C-82 Packet. Powered by a pair of 2100 hp Pratt & Whitney R-2800 radials, the Packet had a 2870 cubic foot cargo...
Military interest in the autogiro centered on their use for surveillance and liaison. Only the Japanese succeeded in putting autogiros into service, and these, the Kayaba Ka-1, were for anti-submarine work from the escort carrier Akitsu Maru over the Tsugara and Korean channels. The Kayaba carried a pair of 132 pound depth charges. The U.S. Army tested the Kellett YG-1B for artillery spotting in the mid-1930s, but found light planes would serve better. The British Avro Rota, a license Cierva...
With thousands of other EAA members and guests, I waited for the arrival. Minolta XG-7, 300 mm lens, skylight filter, Fuji color film all checked. Late afternoon. July 1985. It was unusually and somewhat ominously quiet for Wittman Field. Announcement followed announcement all day, reporting so many miles out, over such and such check point. The winds had died. There was a bit of late day haze. I was at the north end of Three-Six, about 500 feet from the runway. The line of cameras and...
In 1918, Kawasaki heavy industries established an aircraft and engine division. Between the wars, it produced license versions of the French Salmson 2A2 recon biplane and the Dornier Wal flying boat. Richard Vogt, later of Blohm und Voss, also designed aircraft for the Japanese Army. During WWII, Kawasaki was known for the Ki-61 fighter, the Ki-48 bomber, the Ki-56, a license-built version of the Lockheed 14 transport, and the Ki-45 Toryu twin engine fighter. Intrigued by the concept of a...
First flying on 26 August 1944 as the XBTM-1, the Mauler was one of four single-seat bomber/torpedo planes ordered for testing by the Navy in 1943. The Curtiss XBTC-2 and the Kaiser-Fleetwings XBTK-1 didn't make it beyond the prototype stage, but the Douglas XBT2D-1, as the AD and in 1962, the A-1, became the famous Skyraider. As for the Martin, it had to settle for second place. Designed around the huge 28 cylinder 3000 hp Pratt & Whitney R-4360 Wasp Major, the "Able Mable" was a load carrier...
An ongoing series by Tom Lymburn "Ladies and gentlemen, to your right, on final approach, the greatest transport plane in history. Cameras ready! Please welcome, the Douglas DC-3!" She came "over the fence" flaring for runway niner-right. Gear down, flaps down, the late morning sun sharp on her pseudo-Navy prewar two-tone blue paint scheme. Red and white tail stripes, star and meatball insignia, chrome plated prop blades flashing in the sun. Not exactly stock, she had oversized spinners,...
The Panavia consortium, formed in March 1969, was charged with the development of the Multi-Role Combat Aircraft (MRCA) for Britain, Germany, and Italy. From this program came the variable geometry strike and recon aircraft known as the IDS. Britain also required a long-range all-weather interceptor. This version is known as the Air Defense Variant or ADV. The prototype ADV first flew on 27 October 1979 and 18 pre-production F. Mk. 2 Tornados followed. The definitive F. Mk. 3 flew in November...
The Thomas-Morse Aircraft Corporation of Ithaca, NY, built a series of single-seat advanced fighter trainers for the Signal Corps/Air Service beginning in 1917. The S-4B, with the unreliable 100 hp Gnome rotary, appeared in October 1917. Other than being a bit tail heavy, the Tommy had good flying characteristics. With production of the S-4C, power changed to the 80 hp Le Rhone. The Le Rhone was built under license by Union Switch and Signal Company of Swissvale, Pennsylvania. Capable of being...
In three decades of air display announcing, I've been privileged to interview many members of what journalist Tom Brokaw called "The Greatest Generation." This has included members of the Flying Tigers (American Volunteer Group), Doolittle Raiders, Tuskegee Airmen, WASPs, aces, Medal of Honor winners, and veterans of the Berlin Airlift. Added to that, I've called over 200 types of aircraft in shows, from the Pietenpol Air Camper to the Lockheed F-117 Stealth Fighter. Antiques, classics, modern...
The C-27J is based on the Fiat G. 222 that first flew on 18 July 1970, and was delivered to Argentina, Italy, Libya, Nigeria, and Thailand. This Lockheed Martin/Alenia development with uprated engines, avionics, and other systems from the C-130J, took to the air on 25 September 1999. Technically called the Lockheed Martin Alenia Tactical Transport Systems, or LMATTS, initial orders were for Italy and Greece. Further aircraft were delivered to Australia, Bulgaria, Mexico, Romania, and the United...
I like to walk the field ahead of time. Early morning is best – time to drink in the atmosphere and savor, however briefly, the newly mown grass, listen to the birds that swoop low over the runway and get my old Rockports damp with dew. Snuggled next to Battle Lake, just outside the town of 875 or so, about 20 miles east of Fergus Falls, is the only grass field I've called airshows at in three decades of announcing. A bit under 2800 feet by 200 feet with hangars and a corn field on one side a... Full story
The Douglas Dolphin evolved from the Sinbad flying boat of July 1930. Looking like the 1929 Saunders-Roe Cutty Sark, the Sinbad was powered by a pair of 300 hp Wright J-5 Whirlwind radials. It carried two pilots and up to eight passengers. First flown in July 1930 from Santa Monica Bay, the Sinbad was sold to the Coast Guard and served until November 1939. The amphibious Dolphin, designed for military and civilian use, was based on the Sinbad. Between 1931 and 1934, 58 Dolphins were constructed... Full story
The Aero Shell Team snarled its way into the air. As usual, their formation was superb. Once the four Texans turned northeast, away from Runway 36, we resumed our conversation. "You've announced for years. What was your favorite formation?" I thought for a moment. Eight or nine people were gathered by the high wing Stinson trimotor's starboard Lycoming, some in the shade, others content to absorb the noon time sun. "Well," I thought out loud. "I did announce the Trimotor Gathering here in 2005.... Full story
Fokker Fodder. Manfred von Richthofen shot down 19 B.E. 2 biplanes and his brother Lothar six. Werner Voss claimed 11. Too slow, poorly armed, and too stable for aerobatics, the Royal Aircraft Factory B.E. 2 appeared in 1912 and served until the Armistice on 11 November 1918. Over 3500 were built, serving on the Western Front, in the Aegean, Africa, Australia, India, Palestine, and Macedonia. On 13 August 1914, it became the first RFC aircraft to land in France. Designed with inherent stability... Full story
"Hey, aren't you the dude who announces up at Anoka?" He wore three Canon cameras, all with long expensive telephoto lenses, a sleeveless T-shirt, baggy cargo shorts, and sandals. His nose and forehead were seriously sunburned, as were the backs of his calves. "I have, yes," I replied and tried not to let the chocolate covered Dove ice cream bar drip on my shoes. "I thought I recognized the beard," he nodded. "You announcing here?" "Oh, no. Not here." "Have you ever announced here?" "Well,... Full story
Carl Bucker, a World War I German naval aviator, founded Svenska Aero in 1921. He returned to Germany along with Swedish designer Anders Andersson in 1932. Established at Berlin-Johannisthal, Bucker produced a series of fine aerobatic and training aircraft, including the Jungmann, Jungmeister, and Bestmann, many of which served with the Luftwaffe and were manufactured under license in other countries. The prototype Bu-131 was first flown on 27 April 1934 by Joachim von Koppen. Early models were... Full story
Donald Luscombe (1895-1965) served in France in WWI as an ambulance driver. It was in France that he took his first flight, in a Voisin pusher. After the Great War, he bought a Curtiss Jenny. His interest in developing enclosed cabin aircraft evolved from flying in the Jenny's exposed cockpit. The Monocoupe of 1927 came from his experiences. This was followed by the 145 hp Luscombe Phantom in 1933, the first all-metal light plane. Many readers will know or have flown the Luscombe 8 Silvaire and... Full story
Formed in October 1936, with a new factory at Fishermen's Bend, in Melbourne, Australia, Commonwealth Aircraft Corporation (CAC) gave Australia a much needed national facility for aircraft manufacture. With Wing Commander Lawrence Wackett as chief designer, CAC began manufacture of trainers for the RAAF. Its first major product was a modified version of the North American NA-16, called the Wirraway, of which 755 were built. With access to modern fighter aircraft from Britain or the United States... Full story
Continuing an ongoing series by Tom Lymburn. Some aircraft look right in the air. Nothing compares to the graceful elliptical wing of R.J. Mitchell's classic Merlin engine Spitfire, Kelly Johnson's elegant Lockheed P-38 Lightning, or North American's purposeful and efficient P-51 Mustang. When it comes to airliners, the Lockheed Constellation and later Super Constellation are in a category all their own. I announced the CAF Ghost Squadron shows at historic Hollman Field and Fleming Field from... Full story
The original Mong Sport flew on May 1, 1953, the creation of Ralph Mong, Jr. Designed around a 65 hp Continental A65, it soon became a popular plans-built airplane, with a maximum speed of 115 mph and a stall of 50 mph. Light weight, at 970 pounds gross, including a 16-gallon fuel tank, its clean airframe appealed to the pilots when the biplane class was added at Reno in the mid-1960's, as the airframe proved adaptable to more powerful engines. In 1965 Bill Boland won the biplane class at 148 mp... Full story
Actor Reginald Denny (1891-1967) flew with the Royal Flying Corps during World War I, first as a gunner on Bristol Fighters, later as a pilot. After the Great War he came to Hollywood to further his acting career appearing in over 200 silent films and "talkies." He also continued flying, becoming a member of the "13 Black Cats" stunt pilots which included Art Goebel. Denny's interest in radio-controlled model planes led to the founding of a hobby shop and the Radioplane Company that produced... Full story
It was a very wet Saturday morning and more heavy rain was forecast. It had been a year for it. Discover Aviation Days had been rained out and Red Wing's weather was less than polite. The motel window needed cleaning, the shower curtain had mold around its hem and the air conditioner rattled faintly. The restaurant across the half-filled motel parking lot was dark. Only some lightning and the melancholy rotating RST beacon visible in the east lit up the early morning. I've been rained on as a... Full story
Sawbones has had a very successful Reno run without any major mechanical problems. Not this year. On a routine flight to burn off the 100LL so the tanks could be filled with racing fuel, the canopy departed the airframe. Commander Curt Brown, drawing on his 20 plus years of air racing experience and training as an Air Force test pilot, navigated the wounded Sea Fury back to the runway. Since Sawbones was forced to stand down for the week, the focus for the crew and my annual Flyer article had... Full story
