Some pix from a trip to Chino a few years ago. Out front, Dennis Saunders and Dreadnaut, take off with a corasir, on final to Chino. Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
Wassup with yout attitude indicator Sparky? In the first pic, Your VSI shows a small climb, TBI, reads straight and level, and the horizon seems to agree.... But the attitude indicator, indicates you are in a diving left turn...... uh oh! Good thing it's VFR conditions! But hey ...........Nice photos tho!!! Skyraider
Thank You! Funny thing..... I'd rather look outside for my bearings, and have not yet used the A.I. in training. I want to "feel" as if I am a part of the airplane, rather than someone attached to it with a lap strap. I've almost got the transition from T/O to cruise RPM, down to within +- 100RPM, just by listening... and feel of the throttle position. I just check the tach, to reassure myself...rather than watching it go thru the numbers. I guess that's sort of what Wilbur, and Orville did... Charlie
A friend sent me this link, with the notation "awesome photos" http://edwards.airshowjournal.com/2005/ It's from Edwards, but at the top of the page thare's a link to Chino, and Vandenberg, and...... And they are awesome... pics...... When was the last time you saw a Raptor, or a B-2 flyby, with missle bay doors opened?? Skyraider
Yes! I loved that too.... Thought I'd leave that, as a suprise for those who took a look, to see. Charlie
OK! Here's more: http://www.airliners.net/search/photo.search?regsearch=N134JC&distinct_entry=true http://www.shomler.com/other/rar02/ Some neat videos from within cockpit during Julie's performances... http://www.americanaerobatics.com/v2/site.html Trivia... Julie, a now retired A320 captain, brings more than 27,000 hours of experience flying, to her shows Charlie
Looking at the yellow and red Piper Chief/ Pacer(?) with the missing aileron in this link, http://www.shomler.com/other/rar02/ reminds me of the act my dad and his buddy started at Abbotsford, British Columbia with an Aeronca 7AC champ in 1966. The plane was rolled out close to the crowd line early in the show with lopsided landing gear, loosely attached wooden propeller, pigeons and smoke bombs in the engine compartment, a clothesline of womans garments hung across the wing strut and the best part of it was an assemblage of loose empanage lying around painted all different colors by yours truly. These were real parts that belonged on the plane but supposedly "borrowed" from other planes. I also applied a nasty looking paint job to the plane with water colors to make it look like it was dredged out of the mud. One occasion while towing the plane out through the crowd with our Volkswagon bus a spectator asked if anyone had been killed in the crash. There was dirt and weeds hanging all over the thing. This "act" was meant as a diversion for the crowd in between the show performances. So as the show wore on the lopsided gear was replaced on one side, the "borrowed" multi-colored empanage was installed including the fake aileron that would fall off during takeoff. Attempts were made to hand prop the engine which would involve the wooden prop falling of, inspection of the engine compartment that would result in flying pigeons and smoke bombs. Eventually the real metal prop was installed and properly torqued, everything was pinnned and wired, the clothes line taken down and the toilet seat taken out of the cockpit. The engine was propped and fired off but was made to look and sound bad by killing one magneto and pumping oil into the fuel with the primer pump mounted on the instrument panel. The oil was contained in a one quart paint thinner can strapped to the R/H windshield brace above the panel. My dad's friend, Charlie would then taxi back and forth on the grass erratically, bouncing the plane on and off the ground until gaining enough speed to climb out. At approximately 30 or 40 feet altitude Charlie would slam the stick over to one side momentarily to release the fake aileron. It would flutter to the ground with the crowd making one HUGE gasp, expecting a crash shortly. Charlie would gain altitude and do a full aerobatic routine (as much as one can do in a 80 HP Champ) with one aileron. This included snaprolls, loops, eccentric diagonal slips and anything else he could do. There was a photograph of that plane in the next year's Abbotsford program doing a low level 90 degree banked turn with one wing tip hidden in the tall grass at show center. The final portion of the act would involve a gain of altitude to what I believe was close to 1500. Flying along the show line he shut the engine OFF directly at show center and pushed over straight down, again, another HUGE collective gasp from the crowd. He would pull up into a complete 360 degree dead stick loop and finish with a (hot) "wandering" approach to landing, touching first one wheel and pulling up then touching the other then landing on both all with a dead stick. This was my favorite recollection of being a 12 year old and as vivid and embelished as it sounds, it happened as I have related here. How could it get any better. I learned how to fly in that old hunk of junk even though I could hardly see out of it. I also flew a good portion home in our restored Aeronca L-3 Liason. It only had the 65 horse engine so it was VERY slow. "Super Slug" Getting back across the Canadian border in this multi-coloerd plane was a challenge. All of it was water base and was washed off a few days later, (except for the giant blue arms) I probably remember things about this show my dad doesn't just because he has a few years on me. But I do recall the underside of the wings painted with giant blue arms ending with large hands. Those were visible in the picture of the 90 degree low level banked turn. Yeah, Charlie took some chances and in later years it bit him in the ass at another persons expense. I don't believe he flies anymore. Wish I had that program now.
There has been something like your dads act at Reno on and off through the years. Always a crowd pleaser. Have to be a pretty good stick to do that low and slow stuff and not get bent in the process.
Geeze, DJ, you woke me up with all that description stuff about the Clown Act. I just realized that that all happened almost 40 years ago. We had a blast doing that act at all the shows we were invited to. Art Scholl told we were nuts, Canadian premier, Pierre Trudeau, sent us a personal note to say how much he laffed at us. and the FAA still didn't believe that you can safely fly an airplane with one aileron. I'll dig up the pictures that I have of it with the blue arms and smiley face. I sent one to Sparky a while back. The clown plane was a stock 65hp Champ and the red and yellow one in the Reno show is an Interstate Cadet that obviously has the same closed loop aileron control system that the Champ has. Flew okay with one aileron but when we took off one elevator it got a little sticky and sluggish in pitch control. The airplane flew really bad when we left the clothes line on too. I flew it a few times but wouldn't get a waiver to do airshows since I was the only parent you four boys had at the time and I wasn't as crazy as Charlie. It would be fun to post some of my old pictures when I learn how to do it.Lots of fun memories.
When we had to get the waiver from the FAA before we went to do airshows they claimed that you couldn't fly with only one aileron much less do aerobatics with one missing. All they wanted was to see the pilot demonstrate controlled flight through one circuit of the field and make a safe landing which we demonstrated. When they were asked if they wanted to see the airshow maneuvers they said , " Nope ! If you want to kill yourself we don't want to be here." I guess they never saw the B-17's that came back minus ailerons and rudders and elevators during the war. Charley had been flying the airplane aerobatically for two weeks before the FAA was asked to approve it.It was fait accomplie. The only change was the rate of roll....slightly. Without the rudder you can turn a Champ by putting your hand out the window.
Yeah...DARK AGES! Wasn't that when the FAA made us wear chainmail, and carry a sword, as a precaution against skyjackers?? ?? ?? Ha!.
I found pictures of the '66 and '67 show on the web but none included the act. I remember the Avro B2 Vulcan bomber that was there. Very cool! Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
I seem to recall a different angle and taller grass in my recollection of the picture in the yearly program, maybe from the year before? Anyway, here is the only shot in existence that my dad could find, (so far). Note up elevator and right rudder. He could really wring every little bit out of that plane. Switches said he could see dust swirls from the ground as the turn progressed. More shots to follow. Image Unavailable, Please Login
Clown with Clown Champ. Checking oil (or something). Note custom paint job on engine cowl. A similar effect was done all over the plane. It looked like hell. Image Unavailable, Please Login
Abbotsford Airshow, August 8th, 1967. Our restored L-3 on it's maiden flight, only two hours old and still smelling of dope. Flown directly to the show from the US immediately after sign off by the local FAA rep. It was SLOW. The Champ could cruise at 80 knots, this would only do 65 or so. I remember feeling the Champ shudder during snap rolls sometimes. Well later on I found out what the shuddering was. The L-3 had a convertible rear seat. You could pull the stick out of it's socket and place the seat facing aft while resting against the forward seat, after all, this was a spotter plane. I was in the aft facing position during a snap roll in the L-3 and actually saw the aft fuselage/empanage assy quickly flutter in a rotational manner. Being all of 12 I took note of that without thinking once of the implications. Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmm. Did I mention riding backwards in an an old airplane through aerobatic manuevers can be "challenging" to a person's equilibrium and stomach? No, I didn't loose it but I never rode backwards in that plane again. Image Unavailable, Please Login
Spasso, you forgot to mention that you did that paint job for us. When that picture was taken I was Chief of Flight TASTE for Untied Airlines.
