My Ride in a FLYING MODEL A ROADSTER, or as there also known as a biplane

Its Hard to argue that postwar hotroding owes its boom to servicemen returning home from the war. Some of these men had been exposed to some serious horsepower and modern engineering (for the time).
Today I had the opportunity to check out some of these machines and take a ride in one. At the Sonoma Valley airport they have quit a few WWII airplanes you can take a ride in from the 1942 stearman pt 17 biplanes to the 1942 Snj-4 fighter.
I chose to go for a ride in the biplane because during WWII my grandfather was a mechanic at a pilot training school, on the east coast and as a kid he would tell me stories of terrifying rides he was taken on by the instructors in the biplanes. I’ve never been in a prop plane, or a small plane for that mater so I was A little nervous. In fact I opted out of the barrel rolls and loops. As we taxied out through the grass field to the airstrip I couldn’t help but to compare the plane to an AV8, and how they had the same feel to them, Mostly that they are both crude and clunky. All I can say is its unreal, if a roadster could fly this is what it would feel like. So after we get back and my wife tells me “no you can’t have a plane” they gave us a tour of some of the hangers with planes they have restored and that are currently under restoration.
If you ever get the chance to go up in a biplane take it. And if you live in the Bay Area, you really should visit the Sonoma airport and take a ride!

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That rules. Thanks for the Pics!

 

cool matt. i like the good luck symbol...

 

cool pics, i would love to take a ride in a flyn model A .

 

oh ya fun fun fun i went for a ride in a bi plane all around seattle last year ..jeffrey

 

Cool pix! Runway looks better than the last time I landed there.

 

First time riders in a slow flying, low flying open cockpit aircraft - it's almost like what Wilbur and Orville felt like!!! Something you will never forget. Gary

 

Matt,

Are they getting this F3F 1/2 back to flying condition (that would be awesome!!!)?

 

22 years ago i rode in the yellow and silver steerman there it stikk looks good
a friend restored a ? PVD gun nose there Doug Lacey they crashed the plain in Clear Lake years ago

there was lots of old war planes being restored there then
Thanks for the memories

 

dang. cool.

 

wow awesome man thanks for sharing.

 

yes, from what I remember it was in a museum, and they are taking it back to its original color.

 

Thanks Matt, that's great to hear!

 

Bitchen!! I love vintage aircraft.

 

Did you get in wing walking in?

 

Great Pics & Story ,,Thanks ,,
I never got to go up in a Bi-Plane ,,But,,when i was in the Air Force ,Stationed at Roswell ,New Mexico .'62 & '63,,,i was a member of the Pecos Valley Glider Club ,,our tow plane was a PT-23 ,,open cockpit ,but single wing ,,i solo'd in it and in a glider before being transfered to Alaska late '63 ,,
those were / are sum great aircraft ,,back then ,,i was a jet mechanic ,,T-33's ,B-52's and in Alaska ,,F-102's ,,but i always loved those old Re-Cip aircraft ,,

 

Thanks for for the pic's. Look's like a great afternoon!

 

Outstanding! Aircraft are the ultimate Hot Rods! If the little biplane is the Model-A Roadster of the sky, then surely the P-51 Mustang must be the Deuce Coupe!

 

My dad has a stearman, like the one above an ex Navy trainer I believe..I have yet to go up with him..his landings scare the shit out of me..Hes 74..and i dont know enough to jerk the stick at the right moment..so i'll just watch for now. I know its wierd that I have such an opportunity a phone call away on any nice day..but jeesus you havent landed with him..its real bad.

 

thanks for sharing! way cool!

 

That too kool Matt. Looks like a goodtime.

 

Hey, My buddy has a Stearman, a 450 hp model withe the 985 cubic in ch radial. He took me up one day and it was frickin amazing. I was still grinning days later.
I had to spare a thought for the guys who had to fly them in rough and bad weather, it was no picnic for them, but on that perfect Friday I went up, it was the absolute best.

Bruce.

 

Thanks for the cool pics of real planes........
I made my first selfmade landing with my Telemaster-plane yesterday. I also own a GeeBee R1 and a Bearcat F8F, which both are in the buildup process.

But all are rc model planes........)))))))))

By the way, any rc model pilots here on the HAMB?

 

As a kid, my dad had a friend with a Globe Swift. We went for rides in formation with him and another just like it. A cool experience, very basic planes. Nothing like a cushy airliner.

 

Yes, as Matt mentioned they are returning this one to the air.

It was flyable several years ago. It was in a Museum in Galveston when the Hurricane clobbered the area and unfortunately, it was submerged in all that water.....so it's being re-restored.

 

Thanks for sharing. Open cockpit planes are a whole other world from enclosed aircraft. You get to experience flight from a whole new perspective.

Frank

 

ya that plane was not fast, but then again the pilot was not pushing the limits, I think Im going to have to go back and do some aerobatics.

 

that is awesome

 

Awesome ride,thanks for the pics! I gave up wrenching on aircraft 20 years
ago to go back in the family business. Then THIS sprouted up next door.
http://www.fantasyofflight.com/
I never tire of watching these old birds make laps overhead and hitch a ride
whenever I can.

If your a Hamber in Florida you should really consider the Roar And Soar
show Nov 13-14 2010. http://www.fantasyofflight.com/roar-n-soar/
I'd really like to see MORE traditional rods and customs there and can
likely get us all together. PM me for details.


Even have another F3F

http://www.fantasyofflight.com/aircraftpages/f3f.htm

 

Yeah,I like those Grumman planes. Unusual for a biplane to have retractable wheels.....