In 1930, the then-16 year old Louis "Andy" Anderson, a resident of Dow City, Iowa decided to build himself an aeroplane. Typical of many homebuilts of the period, this one is unusual in that it has not only survived, but remains in the care of the Anderson family almost 80 years later. Deciding on the configuration, he wanted to build a biplane, as "everybody knows that an airplane should have two wings."

Andy was a long time AAA member who passed away in 2008, but his son Don, grandson Mark & great-grandson Andy have restored the "Bi-Wing" and will have it on display at the AAA/APM Fly-in as part of Iowa's 100th Anniversary of Powered Flight.

Read the full article by Michael Shreeve on the history and construction of Andy Anderson's "Bi-Wing". Photos by Michael Shreeve and the Anderson Family.

Presley Melton sent us photos of his new Howard restoration. Photos by Chris Miller of the EAA:

I actually did attend last year's Corporate Wings AAA/APM fly-in - but I drove in. My Howard restoration was not complete. It was my first time and I had a great weekend.

I'm happy to report the airplane is flying now. It won Champion Custom Antique at Sun 'n Fun this spring. I plan to attend Blakesburg this year. I have made a hotel reservation but am seriously considering camping.

Presley Melton

In the 45 years the APM has been in existence, 39 which have been centered at Antique Airfield, the museum and its collections have endured many a Midwestern weather event. Everything from blizzards with snow loads that threatened to collapse our buildings, to severe thunderstorms and tornados which have tried to take the roofs off. While there has been damage to the buildings and grounds, and we have had our personal aircraft damaged in the past due to these events, none of those damages involved aircraft belonging to the APM.

That all changed early Sun. July 18th. At a little after 5am an apparent tornado touched down at Antique Airfield and the APM's Republic "SeaBee" was wrenched from it's tie downs, flipped over and destroyed.

To say we are heartbroken is an understatement. A dedicated team of volunteers had just spent two years traveling to, working on and funding an effort to return A. K.Young's generous donation to flying status. We had just flown the "Bee" into Antique Airfield on June 30th with an amassed flying time of three hours since it's return to flying status. The process of re-arranging the museum hangars, to be able to display the "Bee", was also underway.

If there is a silver lining to every cloud, in this case it would be that the "Bee" was properly insured.

So as we have always done when faced with challenges here at Antique Airfield, we will persevere and move ahead. After all the AAA/APM Fly-in will be here before we know it and we look forward to beginning construction on the APM Restoration Center (if the weather will ever cooperate).

See you all in September we hope.

Brent Taylor

While postwar Bellancas are pretty common here in the US, they're rare in the UK. Howard Cox flies what is likely the only flying Bellanca 14-19-2 in the UK and Europe. Based in Devon in southwestern England, Howard also built and flies a BD-5 based in Waterford, Ireland. Howard and his wife Liz are often seen at European airshows and events in the UK.

Photos Copyright Gabriel Desmond

Here's the Colorado Chapter Newsletter for August 2010: Reports on chapter fly-ins, another set of photos from Sentimental Journey.

Bellanca Skyrocket at Sentimental Journey, by Richard Hawley

See all of the chapter newsletters.

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."