In Flight USA Article Categories
In Flight USA Articles
We Fly with the Geico Skytypers: A Truly Unique Act
By Larry E. Nazimek
Full team formation. (Geico Skytypers)The GEICO Skytypers are a precision formation flying team, but they are also an aerial advertising team that gets the messages out in a most unique way: “skytyping.”
“Skywriting,” with a single aircraft flying in patterns and releasing smoke to form large letters, was far more popular 50 years ago than it is today. What had been common then is not common now.
“Skytyping” is a type of dot matrix printing made by puffs of smoke released by a five aircraft flying line – flying abreast.
Warbird Adventures, Inc. Exciting from the Ground Up!
(Cover Photo by Michael Jorgensen. Provided by Warbird Adventures, Inc)The idea behind Warbird Adventures, Inc. came to shape on a cocktail napkin back in 1997. Founders Graham Meise and Thom Richard decided to max out all their credit cards and buy a T-6.
By Jan. 7, 1998 the company had been formed and the first aircraft purchased in California. It took six days to bring it home to Zephyrhills, Florida after which extensive modification had to be done. Four months later, the proud owners sat on the ramp with a shiny T-6 waiting for people to come by.
The original plan was to barnstorm around the country, but they ended up in Kissimmee by accident and set up shop out of the Flying Tigers Warbird Restoration Museum instead. The rest is history.
The Pylon Place - September 2011
Reno Racing Prep
By Marilyn Dash
Formula crews getting ready on a cold morning. (Tim AdamFor several months before the Reno Air Races, Race Teams are working diligently to get ready. There are hundreds of things to manage and prepare. I wanted to share some of the things we need to think about and my picks for this year’s races.
Registration
For each racing class, the deadline to have an entry in is the end of June. That’s just the “Here’s my intent to race, and my check.” We get another month to complete all of the paperwork, and there are volumes of it. Items on the list include the request to sell merchandise in your pit, the safety systems on your racer for Crash and Rescue and mountains of other official documentation.
The Pylon Place - November 2010
Part 2
Reno Air Races : The Lesser Known Stories
By Marilyn Dash
Last month we looked at some of the highlights and lowlights of the 2010 National Championship Air Races in Reno, Nev. This month, I wanted to look at some of the lesser known stories and answer some of the questions being asked by the fans.
There is some amazing racing going on, but not always for the Gold. How many of you were able to catch some of these epic races hidden away in the background.
Dennis Buehn Dominates the T-6 Class in 2010 and Gets the Gold
By Alan Smith
(Jerry Maxwell)Dennis Buehn of Carson City, flying his #43 Midnight Miss III practically owned the T-6 class in 2010. He won both Gold heat races the days before windy Sunday at speeds of 237.904 and 241.247 mph and was followed by John Zayak in his #37 McDonald Racer at 231.128 on Thursday and 234.927 on Saturday. Surprisingly, expected strong contender Nick Macy in his #6 Six Cat was disqualified on Saturday for a deadline cut at the start of Saturday’s heat race. And on Thursday he dropped out after one lap. I certainly was not the six time Gold winner’s year.
Thunder Over Michigan 2010: A Fast Flight Back In Time
By Mike Heilman
Texas Raider was one of the eight B-17Gs to fly at the Thunder Over Michigan air show. (Mike Heilman)The ramp is full of B-17s waiting to launch for their next mission. It sounds like August 1944, but it is August 2010. There were eight B-17G Flying Fortresses that took part in the Yankee Air Museum’s 12th annual air show, “Thunder over Michigan.” The two-day event was held Aug. 7-8 at the Willow Run Airport, Ypsilanti, Michigan.
The theme for this year’s show was “Gathering of Fortress & Legends.” Show organizers billed the event as the world’s largest gathering of World War II heavy bombers and veteran aircrew and maintainers since the end of the war. The B-17, B-24 and B-25 heavy bombers all were a part of the show. Also, the show hosted several former World War II crewmembers. The veterans were available for air show spectators to meet and thank for their service.
The Pylon Place - April 2010
A Loving Tribute to a Dear Friend…
By Marilyn Dash
Ruby Red Racing
Where he belonged, flying low, fast and turning left. (Victor Archer)The Warbird and Air Racing Communities lost a great friend last month. Al Goss was flying his beloved T-6, Warlock, with his crew chief, Steve Ballard, when tragedy struck.
Alfred Fredrick Goss Jr., or “Papa Goss” or “Al” to all that knew him, was born Dec.16, 1941 in Shenandoah, Idaho, to Alfred and Lucille Goss.
At 18, Al started flying and soon found employment as a crop duster flying for Pat Tomlinson of M & W Flying in Porterville, Calif. After several years, he migrated to Northern California and flew for several different organizations. Twenty-two years ago, he took a job in the Bakersfield, Calif., area with Old River Crop Dusting, owned by dear friend and fellow air racer, Eddie Van Fossen.
A crop duster by day, his real passion was Warlock and the people who surrounded him and supported him while he raced the pylons at Reno. Two sons, Randy and David, and a daughter, Sandra, survive him but he adopted the rest of us and made everyone feel like family.