What a beautiful plane! I've got mine hibernating til March. I wish I could find a hangar near Calistoga. I'd move it out there so I could fly it year round. You're lucky!

I'll be sure to fly up in the spring to OKC once you take it out of hibernation.

I'll be sure to fly up in the spring to OKC once you take it out of hibernation.

I am very tempted to order a Great Lakes from Waco. Someone explain to me why I shouldn't do this ?

I'll just tell my kids that college degrees are over-rated and that hard work has never killed anyone or something like that.....

How tall are you? They have a pretty snug cockpit even compared to a Waco. Tiny by Stearman standards. But, aside from that my careful observation is that Waco builds really nice, well constructed airplanes. The company has been through a number of owners but it seems like the guys that do the work stick around.

The other thing to think about is what you want to use the plane for. It was built with gentleman's aerobatics in mind as I recall. If you want that you can certainly find it for less elsewhere. If you want to cruise the Waco Classic, antique Waco or Stearman might be more comfortable choices. For the money you'll spend on a new, or newish (they've only been building them for 4-5 years) Waco Great Lakes you could have a Rare Aircraft UPF 7. I know which I'd pick.

As to your kids, I think you're on to something...

Florian I peeked into the Great Lakes and asked to take a ride, but in the end, the time and the weather did not work in our favor. The quality, attention to detail and craftsmanship on the Waco built Great Lakes is superb. If anything I recommend you visit the factory and the Waco Restaurant - it is well worth the trip. The owners are German (Dieter Morszeck - former owner of the Rimowa luggage company - and partners), and they run the company like a well oiled Swiss clock - everything is very organized, clean and well thought out.

The best way to know if you will like the GL is to go for a ride. There were some GL owners who I met while at the factory and one was 6'-2".

As far as college for the kids.... just tell them it's over-rated. The difficult conversation is with the Mrs.

I have grown unexpectedly fond of my Great Lakes. It is capable of pretty decent acro, and I have witnessed a gentleman from AZ dominate the IAC Intermediate sequence in his. As beautiful (and coveted) as the UPF-7 is, it cannot perform like the GL.
Iconic, legendary, adventuresome, and very likely to get you "lucky" after flying...

Tom,

Is your GL built by Waco or one of the earlier factory or experimental built planes? I'm curious what the differences are if you know them?

You may be on the right track with the kids but college is an important choice for them and you want to be sure they are part of the decision process.
I sat down with my son not too long after he started first grade; I explained had he had about 12 more years of having to go to school almost every day. Then after that, he could go to school for another 4 years or we could go for airplane rides now. After considering it carefully he chose the airplane rides!

Florian I peaked into the Great Lakes and asked to take a ride, but in the end, the time and the weather did not work in our favor. The quality, attention to detail and craftsmanship on the Waco built Great Lakes is superb. If anything I recommend you visit the factory and the Waco Restaurant - it is well worth the trip. The owners are German (Dieter Morszeck - former owner of the Rimowa luggage company - and partners), and they run the company like a well oiled Swiss clock - everything is very organized, clean and well thought out.

The best way to know if you will like the GL is to go for a ride. There were some GL owners who I met while at the factory and one was 6'-2".

As far as college for the kids.... just tell them it's over-rated. The difficult conversation is with the Mrs.

Tony: My GL was made in 1981; one of the last factory-built. The ones made by WACO these days have some differences: MT propellers, (Two or three-blade), improved cockpit heating with ducting that leads to the rear office, metal siding on the fuselage that extends to the rear cockpit, revised cowling and engine oil cooling, and some improvements in the landing and navigation lights. There may also be a lighter-weight battery. I don't know if there is any change in the wing construction, which has aluminum ribs. There is improvement in the top center section panel, which was subject to a revision, due to a propensity for cracks and leaks from the fuel tank; especially when subjected to snap rolls.
All in all, it is pretty much the same as when they started in the '20's and '30's, except, of course for the engines: the AEIO360 is a wonderful fit for the airplane, in balance and horsepower.
As much as I agonized between a Stearman and the GL, I am happy with my choice. The GL is capable of great acro, and even tough some call it "old man's" acro, it can make the majority of uninitiated pilots' eyeballs swim. Where the GL lacks in horsepower, it compensates by demanding finesse in the box, trading energy management for clean figures and high scores: writing (in the sky) maketh an EXACT man (Thomas Bacon). With a Stearman, or UPF, all I could envision was to cruise around, do a loop or roll at the most, to the predictable point of boredom.
When you land and taxi to the flight line, be prepared to answer many questions, and make new friends.

I think one additional modification they did was making the cockpit "holes" a bit larger - I may be wrong but could ask the guys at the factory who I keep in contact to verify this.

I really like the GL - but money, and my wife's patience also has a limit....

Beautiful Great Lakes Capitan Tom.

Thank, you, Cap. P.A. Alex. They grow on us, like good pups.
I still have the much-storied and widely traveled 180 that belonged to your dad's good friend, and won the infamous Mexico City to Acapulco race so many years ago. (Formerly known as XB-ZAB).
When we start reaching the full circle, these are the keepers.

Nice pics, Alex. Nothing like being “on top” on a biplane, which I did for the first time the other day.

I love the starburst design on the top of your wings Tom. I had a similar design on my 8CAB.

A bigger hole is a good thing for us 21st century people! A few years ago when a friend was having me fly all over the country to look at Waco's I stopped to see one of the very first Waco Classics in Agua Dulce, California (it had the same paint colors and scheme as yours Alex - just beautiful). They hadn't yet increased the rear hole diameter and it was - snug! What a great airport by the way. They were building a western movie set there when I was there.

As Waco Classic continued to modify the YMF 5 design they made a variety of tweaks to the rear cockpit to allow for bigger, heavier pilots. I had an '89 which had a bigger diameter hole and "heel cups" in the cockpit floor to help with today's big feet. When I sat in a 94 or 95 model where they'd moved the whole cockpit back 5 inches it felt wonderful. But then you get in a Stearman and think you've climbed into a King Air!

My 1934 airplane has a pretty snug cockpit. And it feels like your legs are at right angles to the rudders which feels weird at first. Eventually, you get used to it and it seems normal. Florian, you'll be fine in anything, maybe even wonder why pilots would ever want air conditioning in their planes.