A friend of mine is restoring the Parks P2 that Rob chronicled in that book.

A friend of mine is restoring the Parks P2 that Rob chronicled in that book.

Flight Training is Tough on Airplanes - But Back in the Day it Was Really Tough!

As I'm putting the finishing touches on the first draft of my website before release we're working on getting some historical information documented along with restoration descriptions and photos. Today I was going through the FAA records for my UMF 3. It was put in the Civilian Pilot Training Program with Hullendorf Flying Service in Helena, Mountana in 1940 and made it to 1943.

During the period of May 1940 to June 1943 it was involved in 20 separate accidents! It was completely rebuilt twice, had numerous ailerons, wing ribs and wing bows replaced as well as entire wings (top and bottom). It went through props, wheel pants and cowls like nobody's business.

It had take off accidents, landing accidents, structural failures due to fatigue, taxied into other aircraft twice and a hangar once. No one seems to have been killed or even hurt. Often the times of the pilots were reported as 30-40 hours. I wonder how many of them went on to fly in Europe or the Pacific?

Cessna 172's have taken their toll over decades but nothing like this! It goes to show how difficult it is to see and taxi a big biplane on the ground, how non intuitive adverse yaw is and how it can bite you even taxiing or taking off not just turning. It shows that you can never relax your guard or be careless (as was cited on at least two occasions).

Poor thing didn't make it through the war. Sometime prior to the spring of 1945 it was deemed hopeless and the engine, prop and useful avionics removed and it was towed next to the ramp to lie derelict. It was sold out of the training program first for $30 and resold shortly after for $15. Then in April 1945, the airport manager was burning grass and it caught fire and burned up. Removed from the registry April 3, 1945 it ceased to exist as an airplane until restored sixty six years and three weeks later on April 23, 2011.

It was bought as a project in need of some love, but complete. New upper wings and center section have been built, starting on the lowers. I think the engine was sent out recently. He loves projects with history.

Glad to hear that it’s being worked on. I considered reaching out to the Fort Worth attorney that owned it about fifteen years ago, but life got in the way.

It will be nice to see a Vermillion red and canary yellow NC499H flying again.

Tony, that’s incredible. Was anything left besides the data plate?

Tony, that’s incredible. Was anything left besides the data plate?

Steve Krog writes a really good column in RAA SPORT AVIATION magazine every month. Last month’s article is about the need to teach and learn how to fly the airplane by feel, attitude and customary power settings. He discusses that many instructors don’t teach these skills today, and many may not have them themselves. He talks about thr necessary ability to fly small planes looking outside and without constant reference to instruments.

He poses the hypothetical- what would you do, how would you get on the ground safely, if something, like your ASI, stopped working?

Read that last week and thought “I’m good. I can do that. But I should cover up the gauges and go practice as it’s been awhile.”.

Went joy riding at lunch today in the F24 and climbed up
to 4,500 to cool off. As I began making my descent to the airport I glanced at my ASI and noticed it was pegged in the yellow at 160 mph. I’m not sure it will go 160 in a dive! i mentioned in a recent post that the ASI is venturi driven and not especially accurate (Steve makes the point in his article that MOST small planes’s ASI’s are significantly inaccurate).

My reaction? In my best Alfred E. Neumann impersonation I said “What, me worry?” and continued my approach. I pulled the stick back and forth a couple of times to see if increasing/decreasing rate of descent would “fix it”. No
joy. As I got lower it moved off the peg and fluttered around 120 so I quit looking and just focused on pitch attitude, RPM and control feel. Made a nice landing and as I was rolling out I noticed I was still going 80mph. Not!

Steve’s article is worth reading. And his suggestions worth practicing too.

The Champ I used to borrow had something funky going on in the pitot tube and would get a couple of drops of water in it. The mast was connected to the port in the wing by some aquarium tubing, so I could disconnect and blow it out easily. Seemed like every time I forgot the would be enough moisture to throw off the ASI. Had to remember to ignore it, but I never found it too much trouble to fly by sound and feel.

Tony, nice story in May/June Vintage Airplane.

What is this “airspeed indicator” sorcery you speak of, Tony?

[quote="Daniel A. Johnson"]Great post, Tony.

I remember reading Richard Bach's Nothing By Chance where his riders say something like:

"This barnstorming is great, I wish I could do this!"
[\quote]

Sometimes it’s fun to let someone else
fly you. We’ve been on Orcas Island a few days and Indecided
to take a biplane tour of the islands. Little did I know that I’d be meeting new friends Stu and Roni MacPherson, who it turns out, I have lots of friends in common with. We talked for a lot longer than we flew but the flying was terrific fun with Stu doing wingovers above anchored sailboats and flying 20 feet above the water. The scenery is amazing.

Stu was a parachute jumper
for a few years with Bach in his show and flew in the movie. A semi retired dentist he and Roni split time between San Juan Island and San Diego. Roni is an accomplished pilot herself and it was funny to listen to her critique Stu’s landing.

If you’re ever there it’s 45 minutes of pure fun!

The minute you wrote Stu McPherson, I knew exactly who you were taking about. Thats a great looking Travel Air. I need to fly the Stearman up there this summer and take a ride and have him sign his picture in my copy of Nothing By Chance.

Nine crosswind TOL’s and one go-around yesterday in my blue & yellow Sensei. Also, a 2.5G bounce with a nice three point recovery on my first attempt. Less energy than I thought I had and a little bit of sink. Forty one years this summer and I’m still eagerly learning and trying to perfect my flying.

How lucky am I?

Anyone flying biplanes this summer? I am. Just back from Brodhead flying the F3 and enjoyed the windy weather in the F7 yesterday.

I recorded my experiences flying in the front seat in more detail here recently:

https://dreamwacos.com/2024/06/17/front-seat-flying/

And a brief paen to simpler times here:

https://dreamwacos.com/2024/06/28/findi ... lar-grove/

And the YKS 6 gets closer to taking flight again. Sometime in the next couple of weeks I hope!