The Reunion.... again!

Approaching Newfound Lake with NH's White Mountains in the distance and fat on gas! You can't quite see it here, but 6,288 foot Mt Washington is snow covered.

Well it's that time of year again, the first Tuesday in October, so I cleaned up the Cub and headed north to Plymouth, NH to Bill Grady's Northeast Airlines Reunion. I love this event, held twice a year on the first Tuesday in May and October. What started out as a Northeast Airlines reunion, has grown into an "any" airline cook-out during our peak foliage season. Here we are starting our descent over Newfound Lake, only minutes away from Plymouth's beautifully manicured grass field. It was a quintessential New England Fall day... wind and all! Today's sumptuous menu included hamburgers, hot dogs, grilled chicken with a honey glaze, baked beans, (beans, beans, they're good for your heart...) a green salad, potato salad, chips, chocolate cake, brownies, coffee and soft drinks.  

Here's one of my Air New England pals, John Brier, who arrived in his newly refurbished Cessna Cardinal from Waterville, Maine. Pristine in appearance with new paint, a new leather interior and vortex generators that John swears makes it a vastly improved airplane. Considering the wind today, more than 35 airplanes filled the flightline; I'll show you a few of them. There were also the usual assortment of BMW's, Porche's, Vet's and motorcycles. For those who appreciate transport machinery, this is a feast.

Nice Cub huh? Take a closer look, it's a new Legend Cub, built by American Legend Aircraft Company in Sulpher Springs, Texas. They've done such a nice job designing this airplane, that from this angle you wouldn't know that it's brand new. To learn more about these Cub's, click here and contact Mike Hart, owner of the Hampton Airfield in Hampton, NH. I know Mike well and they couldn't have found a better guy as their New England distributor. If you follow my blog, than you know of my penchant for old airplanes, particularly Cubs. But after talking with Mike, this nearly exact look alike with 100 HP, an electrical system, starter and radios is tempting. It has two clam-shell doors to open in flight, a little wider cabin and solo's from the front seat. I need to look into this. 
Here's a little closer look at Mike and his new Legend Cub. I approve of the registration number; 757LC. My interior/cockpit shots didn't turn out well, but it's roomy and well laid out with egress from "either" side. Mike's invited me to Hampton to enjoy a test flight. I'll report back as soon as I do this. Stand by!

Hard to discern from the Legend above, here's an original J-3 flying overhead. A little cross-controlling for the camera... thanks.

How's this for a beautiful RV. With its three bladed prop and retro American Airlines paint scheme, this is a spectacular airplane. The story that I heard, is that it's owned by a husband and wife who fly for Continental and American respectively. 

A low pass over this exquisite little airfield to thrill the crowd

Now you may be wondering if this sight would thrill a bunch of "heavy metal" drivers. Every head was turned! What I didn't get because my camera couldn't keep up, was his near vertical pull up and slow roll. Perfectly executed.

Retired NEA/DAL captain Jim Bakers AT-6 and PAA captain Dino Vlahakis's 300 HP Stearman, rest on Plymouth, NH's perfect grass ramp. A beautiful airfield, spectacular autumn scenery, vintage airplanes and a cookout with good friends. And people wonder why I love what I do!  

Low & slow, the Cubs always attract attention as they "putt-putt" by.

A little yellow Cub on a grass field. Flying just doesn't get any better.

A Citabria departing into a strong gusty wind.

Now this is how you land and roll out in a tailwheel airplane. The wind was gusting as high as 30 knots from the west. You can't see it in this shot, but his ailerons were set for a left crosswind, his rudder is working to maintain a straight track and he'll hold forward pressure and fly his tail to the ground as airspeed decays. Once his tail is on the ground, he'll hold full back stick and left aileron to maintain control in these precarious conditions. You don't stop flying your little taildragger until clear of the runway, with the engine shutdown, chocked and tied down. Then you can start hangar flying with your pals!

Tailwheel aircraft just look more natural on grass, as this Stinson pilot makes a perfect wheel landing. Brakes aren't a factor here. As his wheels settle into the grass, drag increases rapidly and deceleration is more rapid than when on pavement. Ground-loops are "less" likely to occur on grass too, because your tires can slide on the grass creating less side-load. Don't forget... in a taildragger your center of gravity is "behind" you.  

John departs for WVL as he heard the weather there was now down to 7/8's of a mile! Note the previously mentioned vortex generators on top of his wing. He also owns a '46 Ercoupe that he hangars in Florida.

As usual, thanks for joining us in Plymouth, NH hosted by retired NEA/DAL captain Bill Grady; we'll see you here on the first Tuesday of May 2009. That is, if we have an economy left!

Rand

Would you like to learn a little more about Mt Washington, home to the highest recorded wind on earth and Cub flying? Then go to my new site, FLYINGWITHRAND.COM, drop down to my sample stories and click on Bush Flying in Northern New Hampshire.