GoldPilots.com

Sunday - May 20, 2012

Flying in a Stearman

The Cavanaugh Flight Museum in Addison, Texas, is one of my favorite places. Nearly all of the aircraft on display there are maintained in flight readiness, and the ones that are flyable get an opportunity to spread their wings at air shows and other events. Two of the two-place aircraft at the museum - an AT-6 and a Stearman - can even be scheduled for passenger flights and fly nearly every week. These aircraft prove popular, providing fun for the passengers and income for the museum.

Last summer, as an anniversary gift, my daughter arranged a ride for her husband in the AT-6. I tagged along, more excited than Ol' Shep on a rabbit hunt. I raved about all the aircraft at the museum, gushed over the AT-6 in particular, recounted my one-time flight in one, and drooled at the thought that my son-in-law was getting to fly in such a historic plane. I made such a spectacle of myself that my kids knew right away what to get Dad for Christmas: my very own ride in one of the museum's vintage planes.

I had to make a choice of which aircraft to fly in. I pondered this important decision for more than a week. It was a tough one. I'd flown before in both an AT-6 and Stearman and I would have been happy riding in either one of them again but, since I could only choose one, the Stearman had the edge for several reasons.

First, I couldn't resist the lure of flying in the Stearman's open cockpit, especially when I'd be flying in the summer. It's the same "Look, Ma. No roof!" coolness that makes convertibles such a hot attraction in the summer time.

Second, there was the nostalgia factor. A Stearman is reminiscent of the barnstorming days when a two-winged flying machine would suddenly appear over a small town, circle the burg a few times to attract attention, and then swoop down to a bumpy landing in a pasture near the outskirts of the town and sit ready to take up folks who had the money and the nerve. Those kinds of planes hold a particular charm for me because, when I was a boy, it was an encounter with a bi-plane that helped flame my desire to fly.

Third, there is the whole daring-aviator aura attached to the legendary Stearman, the image of the gallant aviator. I could image myself in the Stearman, a jaunty scarf around my head and a leather helmet flapping in the wind. (Or is it the other way around?)

page 1 of 12 pages

Go to page 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12