![Fleet Finch](https://magarticles.magzter.com/articles/3316/720806/611e174033a9d/Fleet-Finch.jpg)
In 2019, I went to the EAA's AirVenture fly-in in Wisconsin for just the second time. The first was back in the ’80s when I flew there in a friend’s Piper Arrow. This year I took my Stinson instead. But this is not about the trip but about one of the planes that really caught my eye.
I clearly have a thing about old airplanes; after all, like me, mine is over 70. But what caught my eye was a beautifully restored Fleet Finch 16B powered by a 5-cylinder 160 hp Kinner engine. And I love the sound of that fine old engine.
The first time that I sat behind a Kinner engine was in a Ryan PT22. It was one of those great summer days when everything goes just right. There I was in the front seat of an open cockpit airplane while the pilot in the back seat looped and rolled all over the sky. The five cylinders of the Kinner just sort of popped away and blew smoke and bits of oil in my face, but who cared?
Years later in the summer of 2000, it was a different Kinner, but the sound was the same, the air smelled great, the view was different this time through the wings of a biplane and once again I’m having a ball. I’m the pilot this time in the front seat of a 1941 Fleet Finch II/16B biplane. Yes, the front seat; the Finch is flown from the front seat, unlike the Tiger Moth or Stearman that are flown from the rear. This gives a much better view of the ground in the immediate area around the nose than some others.
Aerobatic trainer
هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة September - October 2021 من Flight Journal.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.
بالفعل مشترك ? تسجيل الدخول
هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة September - October 2021 من Flight Journal.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.
بالفعل مشترك? تسجيل الدخول
![STARFIRES Over Korea](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/3316/1736048/UopcreZr61719497143073/STARFIRES-OVER-KOREA.jpg)
STARFIRES Over Korea
F-94 pilots tangle with MiGs
![Training Mission](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/3316/1736048/K_ifr5nmz1719497032337/TRAINING-MISSION.jpg)
Training Mission
BY THE TIME THIS TRAINING SCENE WAS RECORDED in Canne, Italy, in July 1944, Allied Yugoslavian airmen had several years of experience working side by side with the RAF.
![KC-46A PEGASUS](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/3316/1736048/nH-BmKool1719496592542/KC46A-PEGASUS.jpg)
KC-46A PEGASUS
Next generation aerial refueler
![The Corsair Maker](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/3316/1736048/lzgox8pxF1719496475329/THE-CORSAIR-MAKER.jpg)
The Corsair Maker
BRINGING THE VOUGHT CORSAIR to the fleet was a daunting challenge that spanned nearly three years.
!["SATAN'S ANGELS" ACE - Tales from a P-38 pilot in the South Pacific](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/3316/1736048/H7T5AeZLb1719495685561/SATANS-ANGELS-ACE-TALES-FROM-A-P38-PILOT-IN-THE-SOUTH-PACIFIC.jpg)
"SATAN'S ANGELS" ACE - Tales from a P-38 pilot in the South Pacific
\"AS A KID GROWING UP on the bow of my father's tugboat, hauling oil from Seattle to Alaska, I had a lot of time on my hands.
![WACO YKC - Stunning and Ultra Rare Golden Age Cabin Flier](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/3316/1736048/eaJkFwyou1719495112664/WACO-YKC-STUNNING-AND-ULTRA-RARE-GOLDEN-AGE-CABIN-FLIER.jpg)
WACO YKC - Stunning and Ultra Rare Golden Age Cabin Flier
BETWEEN THE IMPLEMENTATION of the Air Commerce Act of 1926 and December 31, 1948, all U.S. registered flying machines sported an N-number, much as they do today, the \"N\" being an internationally recognized identifier for the United States. During that period, however, an additional letter-identifier followed the \"N.\" Depending on their category, they were registered in the NC (Commercial), NG (Glider), NL (Limited), NR (Restricted, usually meaning race airplanes), NS (State government), and, finally, NX (experimental).
![BADER'S HURRICANES](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/3316/1736048/ue0EJ92lP1719494054803/BADERS-HURRICANES.jpg)
BADER'S HURRICANES
Double amputee fighter ace Douglas Bader and his Battle of Britain Hurricanes
![KEEPING 'EM FLYING!](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/3316/1736048/w6tZ-_h3n1719493453426/KEEPING-EM-FLYING.jpg)
KEEPING 'EM FLYING!
The new generation of warbird pilots, restorers and mechanics
![Scourge of the Allied Fighters](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/3316/1475372/UEQpfsR001697541156372/SCOURGE-OF-THE-ALLIED-FIGHTERS.jpg)
Scourge of the Allied Fighters
IT HAD TO BE THE MOST HELPLESS FEELING in the world: you're at 25,000 feet over Europe knowing that your primary function is to drop bombs-or flying escort for the bombers while being a slow-moving target for some of the world's finest shooters. However, you have John Browning's marvelous .50 caliber invention to give some degree of protection. Unfortunately, you're absolutely helpless against flak. Piloting and gunnery skills play no role in a game where sheer chance makes life and death decisions. For that reason, the Krupp 88 mm Flak 18/36/37 AA cannon could be considered WW II's ultimate stealth fighter. You never saw it coming.
![ZERO MYTH, MYSTERY, AND FACT](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/3316/1475372/lZpmaiEzo1697540697014/ZERO-MYTH-MYSTERY-AND-FACT.jpg)
ZERO MYTH, MYSTERY, AND FACT
A test pilot compares the A6M5 Zero to U.S. fighters