Fantasy of flight- part 8
Posted: Tue Mar 06, 2007 7:57 amWell, I decided to not spring for a lesson in the Stearman, but since there are only a few flying New Standard D25s left in the world, I couldn't resist the chance to get acquainted with NC9125.
She's a lot fresher than ORA's D25, and has a 240-hp Wright J-6 instead of the more commonly-used 220-hp Wright J-5. She was actually confiscated by the Feds during Prohibition... the operators have a copy of the arrest report... she was hauling something like 20 cases of booze into the States from Canada!
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Got my ticket; now I just have to wait for this flight to return. Kinda busy on the ramp...
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Back-taxiing for takeoff on the big grass strip...
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I spend some time perusing the excellent scrapbook on hand...I don't think this particular plane flew with the Gates organization, but it did do some barnstorming under the ownership of a man named Nichols.
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[url=http://www.simviation.com/yabbuploads/rotfof0805.JPG]
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Okay... here she comes...
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A very fine restoration... I love the rugged simplicity of this plane, there's something very elegant about it.
[url=http://www.simviation.com/yabbuploads/rotfof0807.JPG]
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The "office": actually more in here than I would have expected.
[url=http://www.simviation.com/yabbuploads/rotfof0808.JPG]
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We're off... with only 20 more horses, she definitely climbs better than the J5-poweredORA D25, which seems pretty tired and ratty by comparison.
[url=http://www.simviation.com/yabbuploads/rotfof0809.JPG]
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These gentlemen were visiting from Brazil... the guy on the right told me about how he washed out of the Air force down there because he couldn't take the centrifuge. One of the best things about riding in this big cockpit is that you meet interesting people who love old airplanes.
[url=http://www.simviation.com/yabbuploads/rotfof0810.JPG]
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Had to get an "over the side" shot...
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Steep turns over a lake...
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It was the last flight of the day, and I got the whole back seat to myself... nice! thinking of all of you, as I do at times like this...
[url=http://www.simviation.com/yabbuploads/rotfof0813.JPG]
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We did a few turns over the field... excellent weather.
[url=http://www.simviation.com/yabbuploads/rotfof0814.JPG]
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Suddenly it's over... i hate that part. :'(
[url=http://www.simviation.com/yabbuploads/rotfof0815.JPG]
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Learn more here:
http://www.waldowrights.com/history.asp
Next: L-4 Flight demo!
She's a lot fresher than ORA's D25, and has a 240-hp Wright J-6 instead of the more commonly-used 220-hp Wright J-5. She was actually confiscated by the Feds during Prohibition... the operators have a copy of the arrest report... she was hauling something like 20 cases of booze into the States from Canada!
[url=http://www.simviation.com/yabbuploads/rotfof0801.JPG]
[/url]Got my ticket; now I just have to wait for this flight to return. Kinda busy on the ramp...
[url=http://www.simviation.com/yabbuploads/rotfof0802.JPG]
[/url]Back-taxiing for takeoff on the big grass strip...
[url=http://www.simviation.com/yabbuploads/rotfof0803.JPG]
[/url]I spend some time perusing the excellent scrapbook on hand...I don't think this particular plane flew with the Gates organization, but it did do some barnstorming under the ownership of a man named Nichols.
[url=http://www.simviation.com/yabbuploads/rotfof0804.JPG]
[/url][url=http://www.simviation.com/yabbuploads/rotfof0805.JPG]
[/url]Okay... here she comes...
[url=http://www.simviation.com/yabbuploads/rotfof0806.JPG]
[/url]A very fine restoration... I love the rugged simplicity of this plane, there's something very elegant about it.
[url=http://www.simviation.com/yabbuploads/rotfof0807.JPG]
[/url]The "office": actually more in here than I would have expected.
[url=http://www.simviation.com/yabbuploads/rotfof0808.JPG]
[/url]We're off... with only 20 more horses, she definitely climbs better than the J5-poweredORA D25, which seems pretty tired and ratty by comparison.
[url=http://www.simviation.com/yabbuploads/rotfof0809.JPG]
[/url]These gentlemen were visiting from Brazil... the guy on the right told me about how he washed out of the Air force down there because he couldn't take the centrifuge. One of the best things about riding in this big cockpit is that you meet interesting people who love old airplanes.
[url=http://www.simviation.com/yabbuploads/rotfof0810.JPG]
[/url]Had to get an "over the side" shot...
[url=http://www.simviation.com/yabbuploads/rotfof0811.JPG]
[/url]Steep turns over a lake...
[url=http://www.simviation.com/yabbuploads/rotfof0812.JPG]
[/url]It was the last flight of the day, and I got the whole back seat to myself... nice! thinking of all of you, as I do at times like this...
[url=http://www.simviation.com/yabbuploads/rotfof0813.JPG]
[/url]We did a few turns over the field... excellent weather.
[url=http://www.simviation.com/yabbuploads/rotfof0814.JPG]
[/url]Suddenly it's over... i hate that part. :'(
[url=http://www.simviation.com/yabbuploads/rotfof0815.JPG]
[/url]Learn more here:
http://www.waldowrights.com/history.asp
Next: L-4 Flight demo!