I woke up about 4:30am this morning eager for another trip to Blakesburg, Iowa the home of the Antique Airplane Association. I have been up here a couple of other times in order to interview the triumvirate that runs this magical place and who also represent the management of the AAA: Robert Taylor, his son Brent and his son Ben. Yes! Three generations all working together in harmony. I secretly suspect their long-suffering and hard working secretary is the glue that holds this arrangement together but suffice to say they are the First Family of Antique Airplanes. I will have some features involving them in the movie I am currently working on.
After about 6.5 hours of quality time on the highway I arrived at the AAA field to see a significant number of aircraft already lining the fairway-like taxiways. It was partly cloudy but there was a front coming through and I could tell it would be only a matter of time before the downpour (which happened in spades about 30 minutes after I took the last photo of this post). Since I will be here Friday and Saturday, I used this afternoon to wander around to decide if I wanted to rent a golf cart or not for the video shooting I will be doing over the next two days. I decided not.
Following are just a few of the many notable airplanes gathered here from all over the country. More will arrive tomorrow and Saturday. I shot these pix with my trusty pocket cam but over the next two days I will be shooting movies. One thing you won’t see is the flight of 7 J-3’s and that arrived together in trail. That is because the pocket cam is good for a few things but taking pictures of planes spread across the pattern at 1100 feet it ain’t. Suffice to say it was a great scene you will have to consult your imagination to take in.
A Bleriot re-construction
A Cessna T-50 Bobcat
A Fairchild 22 C7DM
A 1932 Waco UEC
These off-duty male runway models graciously agreed to pose in front of the Waco for me
A 1937 Ryan SCW 145 1947 Fairchild 24W-46 with a Warner SS165 - Rare Indeed!
A 1966 Hiller UH-12E4 with a LYCOMING VO-540 SER
These guys had just flown in from Texas. Note that there are no doors on the cabin.
The Christmas Tree
Note the pilot sits by himself up front. Behind him is a bench seat for 3.
A "Showroom Clean", immaculate Rearwin Sportster
The Rearwin's business end
John & Julie Frisbie camping out under the wing of their 1940 Taylorcraft BC-65
As the clouds were now appearing certain to release their burden at any moment, I headed back toward my car having made a cursory tour of the area. As I was passing this attractive Taylorcraft I happened to recognize a guy I had met about a week ago when dropping into Cherokee Strip with my Quicksilver MXL during a fun flight around my area. It was John and his wife Julie who had flown up from Udall, Kansas. We talked for a little bit but as the sprinkles were starting to fall we had to break it off. John offered me a ride in the Taylorcraft tomorrow so I can get some aerials of the Aerodrome. EXCELLENT!
Blue Skies & Tailwinds,
Brian FitzGerald