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Remembering Orion
By Steve Weaver
Steve and the flying school Citabria in 1969. (Courtesy of Steve Weaver)He walked through the office door at the airport on a hot July afternoon in 1969, looking like a farmer in his late fifties that had climbed down off his tractor and come directly to the airport. All of this turned out to be good detecting on my part, because that was exactly what he was and what he had been doing before he took a ride to see us.
Orion as it turned out had something bothering him, and it had been eating at him for almost twenty five years. He had returned from the big war, gotten married, raised a family and become a successful farmer and business man, but this little piece of his past was always there and it still nibbled away at the little secret spot where a person lives, even after all those years. He confessed to me that afternoon, sitting in the big armchair in my office, that he had washed out of the Army Air Corps flight training. Even after a generation, I could still see the regret and the shame in the faded brown eyes.
Falling in love with a Cassutt
Steve Weaver in the early 70s with his speedy Cassutt. (Courtesy of Steve Weaver)By Steve Weaver
In the summer of 1974 I was operating a Flying Service in the northern part of West Virginia. My days were full to overflowing as I jumped between management duties and flying, managing the bustling FBO when I could and flying when I was needed to fill-in for the other pilots.
The charter business was booming at that time and many of my days (and nights) were spent flying businessmen and freight all over the Eastern part of the US in the Navajo, the Seneca and the Aztecs that we operated for hire. During one such trip to a small airport in the Eastern section of Pennsylvania, an ad on the office bulletin board caught my eye.
“For Sale, 1937 J-2 Cub”, the sign said. I owned a 1939 J-3 at the time, but I’d always been curious about the earlier Cubs that used the 40 horse power Continental engines. I inquired about it from the lady running the little airport, and she stated that it had been her deceased husband’s airplane and she wanted to sell it to make room in the hangar.
Bird Dog
By Russ Albertson
During WWI, with the introduction of the airplane in combat, aerial reconnaissance was now free ranging and commanders could get a far better idea of enemy troops facing them. The Piper L-4 Grasshopper served as the U.S. Army spotter plane in WWII and remained in service until 1949 when the Army put out a contract for an all-metal plane to replace the Piper.
Sport Flying With In Flight USA - May 2010
PiperSport – In For the Long Haul?
In Flight USA Exclusive Interview
By Edward S Downs
Piper’s new Light Sport Aircraft, the PiperSport. (Courtesy of Carl Miller)The recently completed Sun ‘n Fun Fly-In and Airshow certainly underscored the ever-growing popularity of Light Sport Aircraft. High on the list of exciting announcements made this year was introduction of the new PiperSport. Piper Aircraft’s entry into the S-LSA market re-kindled this writers desire to learn more about how the “big guys” are dealing with ASTM type certification challenges. Typically, my columns are written in the third person, keeping personal views and comments out of the story. This time is different. My quest to interview Cessna, and now Piper, about their decision and commitment to enter the S-LSA market has a personal side that I need to share.