The ORA onslaught continues: Flying Farmer!
Posted: Thu Aug 04, 2005 3:14 pmWhile the ORA crew prepared everything for the show, and the D25 was off on a sightseeing hop over the river, a Piper Cub in classic yellow came slipping in over the trees, engine barely ticking over.
It was none other than Stan "The Man" Segalla, known for about 30 years here at ORA as "The Flying Farmer", because of his entertaining airshow act. Stan is 80 years young; I only hope I get to have so much fun at that age!! This pic clearly shows the only mod. to this old Cub: a set of vortice-generating tabs near the leading edge of the wing. I think this is a new addition for him...
For those not familiar with the "Flying Farmer" routine: some hayseed hired to mow the grass begs for a ride in the Cub, and when the instructor gets out to check a problem with the tailwheel, the farmer accidentally hits the throttle, and off he goes. It's all an excuse for a demonstration of masterful cub flying.
This climbout is about as close to the trees as it looks...yikes!
He disappears over the treeline for a minute, then comes roaring back the other way, trailing "Mrs. O'Leary's clothesline"... by this time, the farmer is feeling his oats; note the leg hanging out.
This year Stan added another innovation: smoke. The premise is that the oil filler cap has come off, causing oil to splash on the hot exhaust. this allows one to better see the serious Cub-batics that Stan performs. Wish I had better images of this, but here is part of a loop. Yes, Cubs don't loop. Everybody knows that...
Aside from the loops, he does some hardcore minimum-airspeed maneuvering that is as impressive in its own way as any jet fighter display...
Here's a typical showoffy landing: he stays up on one wheel for most of the roll-out.
I was hoping to meet and talk to Mr. Segalla this time, but he high-tailed it out of there right after the show, as storms were approaching from the west and the rain was starting. Maybe next time...
It was none other than Stan "The Man" Segalla, known for about 30 years here at ORA as "The Flying Farmer", because of his entertaining airshow act. Stan is 80 years young; I only hope I get to have so much fun at that age!! This pic clearly shows the only mod. to this old Cub: a set of vortice-generating tabs near the leading edge of the wing. I think this is a new addition for him...
For those not familiar with the "Flying Farmer" routine: some hayseed hired to mow the grass begs for a ride in the Cub, and when the instructor gets out to check a problem with the tailwheel, the farmer accidentally hits the throttle, and off he goes. It's all an excuse for a demonstration of masterful cub flying.
This climbout is about as close to the trees as it looks...yikes!
He disappears over the treeline for a minute, then comes roaring back the other way, trailing "Mrs. O'Leary's clothesline"... by this time, the farmer is feeling his oats; note the leg hanging out.
This year Stan added another innovation: smoke. The premise is that the oil filler cap has come off, causing oil to splash on the hot exhaust. this allows one to better see the serious Cub-batics that Stan performs. Wish I had better images of this, but here is part of a loop. Yes, Cubs don't loop. Everybody knows that...
Aside from the loops, he does some hardcore minimum-airspeed maneuvering that is as impressive in its own way as any jet fighter display...
Here's a typical showoffy landing: he stays up on one wheel for most of the roll-out.
I was hoping to meet and talk to Mr. Segalla this time, but he high-tailed it out of there right after the show, as storms were approaching from the west and the rain was starting. Maybe next time...
And ORA's strip is a leeetle bit too short for that particular trick (no, I don't know how long offhand, but it's shorter than FWN).