North American AT-6 (SNJ, "Texan" / "Harvard") in a low level pass at a airshow.
Page SectionsAviation LinksOther On-site links:News 2006News 2005 News 2004 News 2003 News 2002 News 2001 Aviation Rules of Thumb Aviation Humor Aviation Weather |
WarBird Brewing Company, out of Fort Wayne Indiana, has started brewing beer named after aircraft. Dave Holmes is the owner and currently has beer named: P-51 Pale Ale, the B-25 Brown Ale, P-47 Warbird Wheat, as well as T-6 Red Ale.
Warbird Brewing Co. has the capacity to brew about 3,000 barrels of beer or about 6,000 kegs, annually.
It can only be purchased via distributors.
If you want to go on a nice vacation and see what you can sell to Chinese firms at the same time, there is a China General Avaition Show set for March 16-18 in Xi'an.
You can alway build R/C planes, plastic model planes or purchase completed models for your aviation viewing pleasure.
Locally, in Portland, you can go to Perry Aircraft at 17475 Pilkington Road,; Lake Oswego 503-636-6931; to get your dream aircraft.
They have die-cast models from many firms. Lake Oswego also has many locally owned coffee shops around so you can hanger fly in a unique shop while explaining the finer points of your new ride.
The quarterly meeting of the 8th Air Force Historical Society (8th AFHS)will be meeting on Saturuday November 13th at the Elks Lodge in Beaverton.
The guest speaker will be T/Sgt Don Malarkey of "Easy Compnay" 506th PIR, 101st Airborne Division, of WW II game. Yes, the original from which the "Band Of Brothers" book by Stephen Ambrose, and HBO series was based on.
Pilot Journey is a new site (to me anyway) that partners with flight training schools to provide supplies to all levels of pilots undergoing training.
They have online forum, online shop and other features geared toward flight training.
They operate out of San Diego. Pilot Journey • 8690 Aero Dr, Suite 115-70 • San Diego, CA 92123 Toll Free US: (888) 696-2390 • Fax: (858) 777-5780
A North American B-25 "Mitchell" is now on loan to the museum.
This occurs on September 11th (Wednesday) this year.
The FAA has put up a web site at http://adds.aviationweather.gov/data/icing/09_cip_top.gif
that lets you see icing levels over the USA. Good for 3,000 to 18,000 MSL.
On June 21st the first PRIVATE launch of a space ship occured in Mojav by Scaled Composits. Paul G. Allen and Burt Rutan have teamed up to send people into space in a sub-orbital aircraft.
Go to http://www.scaled.com/ to find out more and reserve your seat.
This was the $10 million X-Prize contest. They completed the prize quest on 4 October 2004.
Here
is the Google Search Logo on the day that they won the X-Prize.
Three new aircraft, including an F6F, will be heading toward McMinnville this summer. The C-130 that is there is being readied for a buyer.
Every Wednesday there will be a "Cruz-In" at Pearson Airfield and Musuem. You can volunteer (pdf) to help out and you can find out more information by reading the press release (pdf). Pearson Air Museum
Their meeting locations keep changing so you need to always check to see where they are meeting for both their luncheon and their dinner meeting. Elmer Giles at 541-957-9260. See their web site at http://www.southernoregonwarbirds.org for more information. Their dues are $10 a year.
The three big Air shows in England this year are the D-Day May 30 - June 7 2004, Flying Legends July 2 - July 11 2004, and Sept 3 - Sept 10 2004.
On those
days when you cannot be out flying, or if you fly online with your PC any day
that you fire up the PC and shoot approaches under the Golden Gate Bridge,
you need to have a good mug handy to hanger fly and drink that cup of liquid
that keeps you going. A neat place, here local in Oregon at Tillamook, where
you can get you that special one of a kind mug for your desk duties is at Mug
Mugs. Here is a sample that my online flying buddy from Aces High received
from his wife.
Reno National Air Races will run from Sept 16-19 in 2004. Some of the air show performers confirmed are Sean Tucker, Greg Poe, Kent Pietch and Julie Clark.
There will be six classes of racing this year: Formula 1, Bi-Plane, AT-6,
Sport, Jet (L-39), and Unlimited.
You can get tickets via multiple methods: direct from www.airrace.org (NARA) ; National Air Race Group via their group discount, (if you are a member of NAG) or when you show up at the gate. A seating map is on the NARA web site.
I have many pictures of planes from the Reno Air Races in the air and on the ground dating back to 1988. Contact me if you would like to purchase any image that you see on here.
In Seattle they built planes at the Boeing plant to help win World War II for the Allies, and just up the road they are now building Me-262s that used to shoot down those Boeing B-17 "Flying Fortresses". This is where they are building the Stormbird, the nickname given to Willy Messerschmitt's ME-262 jet fighter. Two are still left for purchase right off the assembly. A very rare a/c.
An old float plane site is the Boeing 314 Clipper.
The World War Two B-17 "Aluminum Overcast" has its own web site at http://www.b17.org/ where you can find out the latest tour schedule. I went flying in "909" in 2000 when it was in Oregon. 909 is a Collins Foundation owned B-17.
Keith Heitmann maintains a LONG, LONG, LONG list of aviation links. His Stalag 13 Aviation Links Page is the best place to go to find hundreds (yes hundreds) of aviation related links. Keith is also an avid computer gamer whom I met online back in 1989 on Prodigy before being online was popular and part of the mainstream. We were ahead of everyone else.
If you go visit the "Spruce Goose" you will be across from an airport. On this one they have glider operations. Cascade Soaring is the name of the firm. 503-472-8805. I flew with them long long ago. They have Schweizer 1-26, 2-33 Blanik L-13 and they give instructions and have tow rates if you own your own glider.
If you want to purchase a full scale plane here is a short list of online sites.
And you need maps to fly so you can go and get them locally from your local FAA or Government Printing Office (most GPO are closed now due to the Internet) or use the Jeppensen http://www.jeppesen.com/ maps. Now owned by Boeing.
The best place to start is your local airport and FBO. If you get an airplane and there is no local mechanic that maintain it . . . well, you can't fly it then! See what is popular (and appropriate) for your area of the county or world. Different areas require different types of planes and options.
There are now thousands of aviation sites on the web to compliment the paper magazines like Plane and Pilot, AOPA. Sites to visit such as EAA (Experimental Aircraft Association, Patty Wagstaff Air shows are very rewarding like so many others.
A site that explains how lift works is a NASA site. Though designed for K-12 ages it gives the basics of what you need to know; explains the theories and debunks some of the common misconceptions held about lift.
Aerial photography is a specialized field whereas people use an aircraft to take pictures that normally cannot be obtained in any other method. World War I photo recon aircraft started the trend and since then light aircraft have filled the role for commercial use.
Satelites are nice, but aircraft provide a custom way to get that specific view at a certain time of day that is desired. Since I do not own an aircraft (but have a pilot's license) I do not do any aerial photography. It requires aircraft with removeable windows, two people (one to fly and one to take pictures) and other requirements and a sustained quantity of work in order to do it right I do not have the time to obtain.
Don Best, Best Impressions drbest @ pacifier.com; PO Box 48, Rockaway Beach Oregon, 97136; 503-355-2335
The most recent aerial photography that I have done is from the window of a Dash-80 flying back from Dallas, Texas. On final into PDS I got this image of Troutdale Airport. I took some also as we flew over the desert and came across one of the many western reservoirs. Not sure which one it is but I think it is one of the upper Snake River ones.
Now if you want to purchase aviation related items you can attend an air show or jump to Eagle Editions out of Arizona. Another firm I have purchased from over the years is The Stokes Collection out of Carmel California. Douglas Bader Fine Arts is another good place to shop for aviation prints if you are in Alexandria, Virginia. My first aviation print I ever purchased was from them.
There are a few local galleries around Portland.
In Oregon City shopping center is Aero Frame. Address is 1900 McLoughlin Blvd #72, Oregon City, OR 97045 503-557-1333 (at Highway 99E and I-205).
Another gallery is in Cornelius Oregon (between Forest Grove and Hillsboro) is Air Art NW http://www.airartnw.com.
If you go to Aero.Com Aviation Artists on their site. Not all of the above three galleries are listed there though.
