Well it's new years and time to try something new again. My last year's resolution was to smile more and curse less, I've accomplished at least one of those. Yea, I know I set my goals sort of low. But I do have goals. Met another goal at the Mint Julep and the Nationals in 2009! I flew in Fun Scale and didn't finish last. Wow! Finally. Dale Arvin still swears he's never seen me fly and God knows I don't fly as well as he does. Guess I'll have to get him to call for me next year, but I digress.
Plan to write this little column with the editors permission on a semi-regular basis. Over the years we've had some pretty good stuff in the newsletter and I'm hoping this is soooooo bad that it inspires some of the other members to submit something, anything to our hard working Replica Editor Ted Kraver and webmaster Mark Lanterman!
Mike Gretz lives out in Iowa and that's about as far from one coast as it is from the other. Hay! Maybe we need to hold the Nationals out there. But Mike works for SIG Mfg.Inc. and has for years overseen and designed scale kits of some of the best scale models we've seen come across the board.
He introduced me to a group of modelers who model truly large scale airplanes and they are 12" to the foot. This is the Antique Airplane Association. AAA is based at Blakesburg, Iowa which is a stone's throw from Ottumwa, Iowa, about 50 miles south of I-80. There is a grass field there where this past year about 360 classics and antiques flew in to their version of a Giant Scale Fly In.
Last year's theme was the "Air Mail" and this year was "corporate wings" with Howard aircraft being present. They always have cool shirts or something to take home with you, last year it was stamped, canceled air mail envelopes which flew with a re-creation of the air mail.
Where else could you see Mr. Mulligan, Bellanca, Cubs, Aeroncas, Bucker, Waco, DH, Stearmans, Howards, Culver Darts, Rearwin, Travel Air, Laird, antique Cessna aircraft. All of these are in pristine condition also.
They make a week of it, most camping on site and having a great time there and around the airport.
Of course they have a website www.antiqueairfield.com and it's packed with good stuff and photos that make you want to go there! Projects, streaming videos and slide shows from last years fly-in are all there waiting for you to take a look at. The site has over 40 pages on many different subjects. I've downloaded a few of the photos and I'm using them as background on my puter.
One of the coolest things I found on the site was a slide show of the fly-in with a song in the background called "Tree Top Flyer" by Jimmy Buffett. From what I saw in the photos he attended the fly-in also.
AAA is also the host for all of the type clubs for different antique aircraft, so if it's a antique (especially civil) aircraft you can probably find more information on it through it's club. Lots of other great stuff also, you just need to take a look around the site. Gee I can already smell the grass on a hot summer evening. Great!
Next September 2010 the event is to be held on September 1-7th Labor Day week. For more information check out the website.
Fair Skies & Tail Winds.
