A BUCKET - LIST FLIGHT IN A TIMELESS CLASSIC
My infatuation with Stearmans began at 7 years old, when, while piled into the back of our Oldsmobile Cutlass station wagon on a family road trip to Florida, I spied a barnstormer in a brilliant blue-and-yellow airplane plying his trade from a nearby airstrip. I pleaded for my parents to let me take a ride, and they actually discussed it, but decided the cost was well outside our tight vacation budget.
Soon tin models of all four Red Baron Pizza team Stearmans adorned my bedroom, and a poster as well. There’s just something about that airplane that looks exactly like a classic biplane should, in ways that other iconic examples, such as the Camel, Jenny and Tiger Moth, do not. You start with the tall stance, nose pointing expectantly to the sky; add the beefy, muscular airframe straining against the taut fabric that envelops it; mix in a big old uncowled radial engine swinging a giant polished prop; and tie it all together with a symmetric web of struts, braces and drag wires. It looks like an airplane built to take you to hell and back, just in case you ever get tired of lolling over golden cornfields in the sunset hour. It happens to be my wife’s very favorite airplane, so Dawn and I inevitably end up seeking out Stearmans at airshows and fly-ins.
Denne historien er fra January 2018-utgaven av Flying.
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Denne historien er fra January 2018-utgaven av Flying.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
The Temple of Speed
Reno entices even this altitude-oriented pilot.
Flat Sixes
Fanatical artisans
Blue over Green, Tent in Between
I’m old , I’m cranky. Why do I keep air-camping?
Gulfstream Reveals G400, G800
The product lineup gains large-cabin and ultralong-range mounts.
Every Airplane Requires a Checkout
Embrace the challenge of mastering a new machine.
Fuhggedaboutit
Fifty-plus years of f lying forgetfulness
THE MAULE FAMILY APPROACHABLE AIRCRAFT
Choose your mount —the Maules do it all.
Sisters
“ Women certainly have the courage and tenacity required for long flights.” —Mildred Doran
INSIDE OUT OR OUTSIDE IN?
What kind of pilot should you be?
WE FLY: CESSNA CITATION CJ4 GEN2
THE FLAGSHIP CJ JUST GOT A WHOLE LOT BETTER.