The Great Pumpkin Drop is this Saturday November 3 at Antique Airfield. Five pickup loads of ammo has been delivered!

Here's a video from Pumpkin Drop 2008:

Russell Williams of Bellevue, WA is in the middle of an overhaul of his Warner 165 radial and shared some photos:

Upon returning from Blakesburg back home to Seattle I got an unexpected surprise in my Ryan's Warner 165 engine - the engine was making metal and the generator drive gear was chewed up. No failure yet, but it was on its way. So this winter I'm doing a full overhaul, since the engine is a very old calendar time engine. It makes me feel better to think I'd be doing it anyway! The first step is disassembly and cleanup, lots of cleanup, followed by inspections and the start of reworking. Many thanks to Fly-Mart Chairman and The Source for Warner parts, Harman Dickerson, for the assistance and advice, and Tom Downey for loan of some Special Tools.

I pulled the cylinders on the airplane as I don't have a good radial engine stand (yet). A rotating stand is something I plan to look at before reassembly.

Another unpleasant surprise - several jugs had broken top piston rings with significant wear in the top ring groove. The engine showed good compressions but these rings have obviously been broken for some time. No damage observed to the cylinder barrels beyond normal wear.

Thrust nut wrench.

Where does all this oil keep coming from? Helpers got blessed with some oil drips even after 2 residual quarts had previously dumped into the pan.

Induction housing cover removed showing the magneto, cam, generator and accessory drive bushings.

Paint stripping cases. The only brand of paint stripper that touches this baked-on 40 year old engine enamel is "Aircraft Remover". Very appropriate.

Dimensional checks prior to magnetic particle inspection of the rod assembly. The steel is now clean enough to eat off of, and my wife Tam is being a very good sport about the dining room table.

Gilles Auliard, longtime photographer at Blakesburg, also penned an article on the Blakesburg fly-in in the latest issue of Pacific Flyer. Click for the article.

Here are chapter newsletters:

• Florida Antique Biplane Association October 2012
• Nebraska Chapter October 2012
• Colorado Chapter November 2012
• Texas Chapter November 2012

There's lots of interesting content here, here are a few teasers (you'll need to figure out which newsletter they're in):

From Pat Schmitz's first trip to Blakesburg report: "The atmosphere, and people of this fly in, was fantastic and we enjoyed every part of it. Just to spend the night, and wake up to the “Field of Dreams” with all the marvelous old (and some newer) airplanes was like fantasy. Everyone was just glad that we were there, and that we flew in with a non antique, was not an issue. Antique airfield was everything it’s name implies, and the country side coupled with the camping was really great to experience. The “Pilot’s Pub” was a real surprise, now that is a perfect man’s cave for me! We are glad that we made it, and plan to return in the future years."

Why wheel landings are Good For You (tm)

Larry Skinner's Curtiss Wright 14D

The Mystery Airplane

Here are the award winners from the 2012 Texas Chapter Fly-In that occurred last weekend in Gainesville, TX.

Winner Photographs courtesy of G.D.R. Price

Grand Champion: N7BS; Beech Model E18S (1954) owner: William E. (Bill) Signs, Dallas, TX.

Best Antiques Before 1942:

Open Cockpit: NC15785; Davis D1-W (1935) owner: Wild Blue Yonder LLC, Gainesville, TX. Presented by restorer: Terry Wallace, Bedford, TX.

 

Closed Cockpit: NC8112; Travelair 6000 (1929) owner: Scott Glover, Mount Pleasant, TX.

 

Best Classic, 1942 through 1955: N2538D; Cessna 170B (1952) owner: Len Shorethose, McKinney, TX.

 

 

Best Neo-Classic, 1956 through 1970: N299Z; Beech Model E18S (1956) owner: Ray Johnson, Aledo, TX.

Best War-Bird: N45RD; Beech Model A45 (T-34) (1953) owner: Reb Stimson, Ft Worth, TX.

Best Homebuilt Experimentals:

Legacy (oldest): N8279, Hatz Model CB-1 (1975) owner: Bobby Jones, Valley View, TX.

From Kit : N123SC, Van’s model RV-4 (2009) owner: Shawn Scott, Ft Worth, TX.

From Plans : N919JM, Steen Skybolt-180 (1991) owner: Rex Heminger, Colleyville, TX.

ADDITIONAL AWARDS:

Antique Airplane Association:

Headquarters Award: NC8112, Travelair 6000 (1929) owner: Scot Glover, Mount Pleasant, TX.

“Climate is what we expect, weather is what we get.” -Mark Twain.

Weather is certainly what happened in regards to this year’s 50th Annual Texas AAA Chapter Fly-in. North of the Red River an area of low ceilings and heavy rains extended across Kansas & Oklahoma keeping all those planning to fly on the ground. In Gainesville, the site for the fly-in, high winds and a forecast of severe weather late in the day Saturday kept most from bringing their airplanes out.

Still by the end of the day Sat. forty three aircraft were registered with perhaps another half dozen or so non-registered attendees.

Considering the conditions it was a pretty good showing, especially when you consider the variety of aircraft in attendance. From antiques like a Velie powered Monocoupe, Travel Air 6000 & a Davis D-1-W to a handful of Stearmans, L- birds and a T34 to neo-classics like Stinsons, Bellancas, Ercoupes, two Beech 18’s & a Hiller Helicopter onto the homebuilts that included a Hatz, a couple of beautiful Skybolts, some RV’s and Ben Morphew’s awesome “McCullocoupe”.

But in spite of the weather the volunteers from the TX AAA did an outstanding job once again and I appreciate all their hard work and hospitality.

Brent Taylor

A very authentic Piper L-4

1935 Davis D-1-W recently restored by Terry Wallace

One of a handful of Stearmans on hand. This one Lycoming powered.

Bobby Jones’s Hatz CB-1. Originally built by Dudley Kelly this is the plans built prototype Hatz

The Neo-Classic line: Cessna 170, Stinson 108 & Bellanca 14-13 (L to R)

One of two very nice Steen Skybolts in attendance

Grand Champion, Beech G18S, N7BS

AAA Headquarters Choice; Scott Glover’s 1928 Travel Air 6000 from Mt. Pleasant, TX

The McCullocoupe, a Monocoupe inspired, one of a kind homebuilt powered by a Russian M-14P radial of 400hp.

For those folks near east Texas, the Flying M Ranch Reklaw Fly-In is this coming weekend, Oct 26-28. 4000' of grass and hospitality, at the Flying M Ranch, 7TA7. Consult the website for more information.

Travis Gregory sent us this story:

Today I took my grandson, Cooper Van Cleave for his first airplane ride. I’ve taken scores, perhaps hundreds for their first ride but this was much more fun. For many years I worked for an F.B.O. that regularly held public days and open houses and boy did we take rides. We would do farm field days, literally using pastures and bean fields to introduce newcomers to flight from morning until dark. But, this was better. As a charter pilot I had uncountable newbies bound for places from Chicago O’Hare to Buffalo Jump. This was different. More than two decades as a flight instructor saw lots of first flights but again, none was quite like this.

As a grandparent, isn’t it my duty to see to it that the boy will be the next Lindberg or Yeager or Armstrong? Darn right it is and as long as the boy likes it I’ll keep him flying!

Today was a most gratifying day for me, most gratifying indeed. It was different this time.