We are excited to announce that during the AAA/APM Invitational Fly-in, on Sat Sep 4th the Runway Cinema will present the movie "Pearl". This family friendly historical drama is the story of Pearl Carter. Befriended by Wiley Post, 12 year old Pearl catches the bug for flying and takes off on an adventure that leads her to becoming the youngest pilot in American aviation history.

Final arrangements are being made but at present Angela Gair, who plays Pearls mother in the film, is planning on joining us for this screening and we are hopeful that some of the rest of the cast will be in attendance as well.

We do have confirmed that three of the antique aircraft featured in the film will be on hand. They include Dave Mars's Curtiss Robin, Ted Davis's New Standard D-25 and Clay Adams's Travel Air.

Weather permitting we plan to hold this very special screening on the flight line using the movie's featured aircraft as a backdrop.

We hope you will join with us for what will be a memorable event. We'll post more updates as they come in for the screening of the movie "Pearl" at the AAA/APM Fly-in.

Todd Trainor in Brighton, MI sent us these pictures of the favorite restorer pastime, only this time with a twist: "To the best of my research it appears that only 13 Aeronca K seaplanes (KS) were built in 1937 and 1938. And I believe I own the last remaining KS airplanes in the world.

The 1937 Aeronca K was the last of the Aeronca airplanes to use the 40 HP Aeronca E-113 two-cylinder engine. Compared to the increasing standard of the times, the little 40 HP Aeronca K was under powered. Although not very popular as a seaplane, the Aeronca KS was immortalized by two events. In 1938 the Lincoln Ellsworth expedition to the South Pole on the ship named the Wyatt Erp took KS-12 along with them. When the crew encountered an ice flow, they'd drop the little K into the water, take off, look for passages in the ice, and return to inform the captain. The other event was the release of the Comet Aeronca K balsawood model kit, which featured the K on floats. I was 10 years old when I built my Comet model K. To this day, people still build the Aeronca K on floats.

I am very interested in the Aeronca K because that is what I grew up with. In the spring of 2010, while talking to the owner of KS-318, he admitted he'd never finish the project and would probably sell it. I've always wanted an Aeronca K seaplane. Despite the fact they may not be a useful seaplane, they are handsome in the eyes of this beholder. After speaking to my wife and breaking open the piggy bank, I bought KS-318. I drove from Michigan to New Hampshire to retrieve it in early June.

For fun, I assembled most of the airplane and pushed it out onto the water. Why? To see if it would float, of course. Nevermind the fact that I could have stayed on land and filled the pontoons with water to see if they leak. It was much more fun to float out in the lake with a seaplane with no fabric covering, a non-running engine, making airplane noises. Besides, it made for some fun photos.

I plan to start restoring KS-318 this fall. I expect it will take me at least 4 years to complete this project. During my downtime, I am collecting historical information, photos, and stories about the Aeronca K sealplane. I am completely fascinated by this airplane. If anybody has any information, please contact me. Otherwise, if you are in the Brighton, MI area, please stop by. I live on 45G.

Tim Talen of Jasper, OR has posted a video of the first flight of a newly restored Taylor J-2 Cub.

Photos by Gilles Auliard from this year's Sentimental Journey in Lock Haven, PA, with flyout to Hammondsport, NY. Gilles said "with the help of the weather, this was the best, by far, edition I have attended."

The latest issue of the Antique Airfield Runway has been delivered to the printers. We should begin mailing them out to all our members on Mon. July 19th. This issue contains all the Fly-in information for the upcoming AAA/APM Fly-in (Sep 1-6, 2010) as well as reports on the AZ, GA & Potomac Chapter Fly-ins. Also included news on no less than nine current members projects that have either been completed or are in the works. Look for this issue in your mailbox soon.

All of the Fly-In information is also available here online.

Eric Rearwin sent us a report on his Rearwin Speedster project, which is under restoration at Tim Talen's shop in Jasper, OR. This is a factory prototype Speedster and it is powered by a very rare Cirrus engine:

Monday July 5 was "birthing day" when we rolled the Speedster out of the shop and into the hangar for assembly! The tail feathers are on and the wings go on tomorrow, if we can line up the crew!

Also more news: the Hamilton-Standard Propeller is at the prop shop, Western Aircraft Propellor in Troutdale, OR, and will be completely reconditioned with plated hub and polished blades. They will do the complete tuneup and have it ready in about 30 days.

We were able to find the correct tubes for these unusual 7.00 x 5 Autofan wheels (circa 1933) and as I had the correct tires on hand we were able to get the wheels and tires all mounted up. They look great: Goodrich Silvertown aircraft tires. Unfortunately they get covered up by the wheel pants! It looks like we should be getting ready for a test run of the engine by late August and first flight soon thereafter.