I'm a little behind on getting this posted (imagine that!), but that's about the normal schedule for me!

Each year EAA hosts several "fantasy camps" at Pioneer Airport and EAA HQ.  There are camps for the B-17, the Ford Tri-Motor, the Bell 47 helicopter, and the focus of this post - Biplanes!  The Biplane Fantasy Camp was a little different this year for a couple of reasons.  First, the camp was expanded to be a "Vintage Airplane Fantasy Camp".  Rather than focus only on the biplanes, the camp this year included the Spirit of St. Louis.  Camp participants got rides in two different biplanes (more on that in a minute) and also EAA's replica of the Spirit.

Which brings me to the second thing different about this year's camp - it included my Waco!  In the past the folks running the camp have sometimes run into problems with getting everyone up in the biplanes.  Either weather or mechanical issues often threw the schedule into disarray, making it difficult to get all the rides taken care of.  So this year they asked me to provide the Waco as a "backup" in case they had problems.

So the first "first" was bringing the Waco into Pioneer airport.  I've landed at Pioneer a few times during the ski plane fly-ins in my Cubs, and I fly there as a helicopter pilot in the Bell 47.  But the Waco had never been on the ground at Pioneer until this year's fantasy camp.  Here's a picture taken shortly after I arrived with the airplane.

Landing at Pioneer is really enjoyable, and a bit challenging at times due to the proximity to Wittman Field.  But it's a neat airport and a great benefit to EAA members and museum visitors.

Here's a view across the runway toward the EAA museum.

The other biplanes being used for the camp were the EAA's Travel Air and Swallow.  Here they are, ready for action.

As it turned out, the Waco was pressed into service to haul a few rides when the landing gear shock cords on the Swallow started to show signs of problems.  I was happy to fill the gap and give some rides in the Waco, and the campers who rode in the airplane really enjoyed it.

After the camp activities concluded I finished out the weekend by hauling some rides in the Bell 47.  A couple of the biplane campers took rides in the helicopter with me as well.  All in all, a great weekend for all involved.

There won't be much more flying for the biplane this winter, so my next post may very well be retirement of the Waco for the winter.

Cheers!

OK, so once again I've fallen behind on getting stuff posted to my blog. I'm working on the “better late than never” theory. At least that's my excuse (and I'm sticking to it!)

Anyway, the weekend after Labor Day means it's time for the Midwest Antique Airplane Club's (MAAC) Grassroots Fly-in at Brodhead airport in southern Wisconsin. This year the weekend brought beautiful weather, and Jeri and I had a great flight down to Brodhead in the Waco.

When we arrived we were treated to a field pretty much full of a wide variety of really nice airplanes (and really nice people too!). Topping the list of planes in attendance was Addison Pemberton's newly restored Boeing Model 40. Addison and his whole family worked on the restoration, and it's magnificent!!

Here's another plane in attendance at Grassroots that has history as a mail plane – a Stearman 4E.

This Stearman and the Boeing Model 40 went from Brodhead to the east coast to begin an historic flight across the country on an air mail reenactment. They were joined on the mail flight by a Stearman C3B. The whole story of the mail flight can be found on http://www.antiqueairfield.com/.

Of course, this entry wouldn't be complete without a picture of the Waco standing proud on the line at Brodhead!

Another interesting vehicle seen during Grassroots was this antique Ford racing car.

Ted Davis recently finished the restoration of a New Standard D25. He did his best to start wearing it out by hauling rides each day during Grassroots.

There's always a wide variety of airplanes at Grassroots, like these two Cessna amphibs.

So Grassroots 2008 was a great event. I highly recommend membership in MAAC and attendance at Grassroots. This is the place to be if you're a vintage airplane fan!