July 16, 2017 - Golden Age Air Museum Fly-In

The Essex Skyparkians were looking for someplace to go this Sunday morning for breakfast, so I suggested the Golden Age Air Museum's fly-in.  They have a food cart that serves breakfast sandwiches.  Plus the weather was great so the turn-out promised to be good.  Maybe we would get to see the Triplane fly!

I had a passenger, Leo, who lives near me and believe it or not is also building a Triplane from Ron Sands plans.  I invited him along to go see the GAAM Triplane.

Leo and I flew on Tom K's wing in the Maule so he could do the radio work transitioning through Martin State and Lancaster Class D airspaces.
   
Safe on deck at Grimes Airfield.
   
Perfect day for a fly-in!
   
Tom made it OK as well.
   
Lots of planes on this great flying day.  The ramp would be filled.
   
Of course, I had to check out the Triplane first!
   
A little bit about the GAAM Triplane.
   
 
   
The GAAM's latest project is a replica of the French 1918 Spad XIII.    In their own words "The project underway in the workshop will offer a true and correct outward appearance as the original, but it will differ significantly internally.  The wood and wire braced fuselage is being replaced with a lighter and stronger welded steel type.  An original Hispano-Suiza engine is very difficult and expensive to obtain so a more modern Continental O-470 six cylinder 230 horsepower engine was acquired.  The aircraft will be much more reliable than the original and will be very capable of flying to away locations very safely. "
   
Beautiful workmanship, as you might expect from the GAAM.  The Spad is going to be a neat plane.
   
230 horsepower.  The Triplane with its rotary engine only has 80 horsepower!
   
Another jewel in the GAAM Collection is their Curtiss JN4D Jenny.
   
Believe it or not, this Aeronca Champ is a warbird.  The U.S. Army had 509 of them built in 1947 -- it was designated a L-16A -- and this particular plane flew in the Korean War.  I doubt if it was painted pink though.  Although who knows, maybe it was?
   
Another look at the Triplane with the reanactors in the background.
   
The GAAM has a new hangar!  This new hangar was not here the last time I was.
   
Citabria row.
   
More Citabrias!
   
The Essex Skypark crew enjoying lunch.
   
Paul Dougherty, the head of the GAAM, flies airshows in this Christian Eagle.
   
Paul Dougherty's daughter Caroline soloed in this Jenny the day she turned 16.  Pretty cool.  That's her, standing next to the plane.
   
The Jenny taxiis out with Caroline as pilot in command in the back seat with her Dad up front.
   
The Jenny takes off!
   
Flying around.  The Jenny is such a big plane and has so little power, that from the ground it seems on the verge of a perpetual stall.   Hard to believe the barnstomers did acrobatics in these planes.
   
 Having fun!
   
Safe on deck.
   
Tom K. and his pax bug out after the Jenny flight.  At that time we did not know if the Triplane would fly or not.
   
Tom K. won the award for steepest climb after takeoff!
   
But as soon as Tom left, they suddenly pulled the Triplane and Sopwith Pup out and fired them up.  It's so cool to see the Triplane's big cylinders spinning around.
   
There they go.
   
The Triplane went up high, did a loop (or maybe it was a roll, I can't remember) then the Triplane and Pup mixed it up over the runway.  Seeing the two planes in a slow turning fight overhead gave me a glimpse of what it probably looked like back in 1917.
   
TTT  Good shot of the Triplane diving in for the kill.
   
Good aerial shot of the Pup trying to get on the Triplane's tail.
   
Whoops, looks like Lothar Richofen in the Triplane is going to get another victory.
   
Miraculously the Pup escaped and made a safe landing!
   
Essex Skyparkian Steve in his new Maule taxiis for takeoff.
   
The Triplane taxiis back.
   
My old Trunk Monkey friend Tom B. was so busy giving rides in the Waco that I never got a chance to talk with him.
   
My brother-in-law Bruce has a VW Bus that he restored.  He doesn't really use it for caming like this!
   
There were a number of really nice old cars at the GAAM today.
   
This Oldmobile Delta 88 brought back some memories.  It was our family car in the 70s and was the first car I ever drew.  It was even the same color as this, I believe.  But ours wasn't a convertable.
   
The infamous Edsel.
   
Magnificent early Rolls Royce.
   
Thsi car is deserving of another shot.  From another angle.
   
There were even some reenactors.  This young man reenacted a Germany Army infantryman in WWII.
   
US Army mortar gear.
   
Leo and I flew back to Essex Skypark via the Chesapeake Bay/Eastern Shore route.  I showed him some of the fun that can be had in an RV-7.  I think he liked it.
   
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