Video: Mutant Offspring Of A Super Cub... The Amazing DoubleEnder!

 With me being very busy with day-job work and having ongoing issues with 'focus', I've never posted anything yet about the very unique DoubleEnder homebuilt bushplane even tho I've known about it for since well back into last year. But since it's on the cover of the latest Sport Aviation magazine I figured today was a good day to post a couple videos of this awesome mutant beast!

 As a guy with loads of homebuilt Breezy time, I really like that the pilot sits forward of the wing on the DoubleEnder, even if just barely... especially since a bushplane with enhanced all-around visibility is a really great idea. The DoubleEnder just looks like a really fun airplane to fly, plus you have the added power and safety of being a centerline twin. It'll sure be interesting to see if their goal to eventually make plans and/or kits available is achieved. I'm guessing there's a pretty good Alaska and worldwide market for such a fabulous flying machine. Find out more at BushPlaneDesign.com.

 I can just imagine a 12 seat version with two 600hp PT-6's on it! Maybe a 300 foot takeoff with 5,000 pounds of friends, food and fuel in a built-like-a-tank taildragger. Now that sounds like some serious fun : )

The twin engine DoubleEnder homebuilt bushplane (photo: BushPlaneDesign.com)

Aero Telemetry And Their Dedicated Hughes H-1 Website (H1Racer.com) - With Video

The real Hughes H-1 Racer which is now at the National Air & Space Museum

 Aero Telemetry has had some great experience with one of the the world's most amazing aircraft... they built the flying RC model of the Hughes H-1 Racer that was used in the Aviator film, and then they built a museum quality version of the H-1, that also flies, for the AMA 75th anniversary back in 2011. And now the fine people at Aero Telemetry have introduced H1Racer.com, a website full of interesting info, images, and video about the real H-1 and the scaled down versions they have Built.

 What else can I say? It's a must-see website and you should go there now!

The big and awesome Aero Telemetry 75th AMA Hughes H-1 flying RC model

Video: Flying And The American Businessman - Circa 1953 (Better Back Then?)

 In many ways I'm very old-fashioned... this video is a really good example. It's 13 minutes long and a little slow paced, so don't expect to be taken on a wild ride. But, it's a fascinating look into the past and I say it's more than worth experiencing.

 I think 'modern' 1953 is about 18 times cooler than modern 2014. There's a general style and a sense of design that simply blows our modern world out of the water. You might disagree with me, seems many people do on this issue, but I'd much rather be living there than here.

 Interestingly, the Piper Tri-Pacer seen in this film is a strong reminder to me that the tricycle gear airplane was quickly becoming mainstream in general and business aviation in the early 50's, and in my mind, it's been a long slow slide downhill ever since.

 Fortunately for the modern world, homebuilt and aerobatic aircraft have kept the taildragger alive and well. But even the tricycle gear airplanes in this film feel like they have boatloads more style than our modern aircraft. I think a lot of it is simply the paint. Classic aviation made airplanes look good with color. That's another area where homebuilt and aerobatic aircraft have continued the traditions of the past.

I've said all this before:  Can The Right Coat Of Paint Save General Aviation In America?

 
 Video screenshot of a student and instructor in a Cessna 170 back in 1953

Excellent Intentional Deadstick Landing Video Via Tailwheeler's Journal

 Between the bitter cold this week and starting a new (and large) ceramic tile install, I've been scrambling to keep up with my pig work. Early this morning I spent some time over at vimeo.com looking for a unique avgeek video to unearth, but I ran out of time to get it up because I wasn't finding just the right thing. However, shortly before I headed out the door I found this cool deadstick landing instructional video... which I'm finally getting around to sharing this evening.

 I think there's a lot of value in being capable and comfortable flying an airplane like a Cessna 140 when the prop is stopped. When you pursue a cautious and educated process to learn how your airplane flies deadstick, you significantly increase the likelihood of a positive outcome should the engine ever up and quite of its own accord. I hope you find this video both entertaining and educational.

 I'd never heard of Brian Lansburgh and TailwheelersJournal.com until this morning, but I can see I would sure get along well with this group of taildragger loving pilots. It's not just because I think taildraggers are simply better airplanes (and make better pilots) but because you often find taildragger pilots are serious about wanting to be the best pilot they can be. 'Taildragger' is a lifestyle, and it's one that I was fortunate to be exposed to very young when my dad taught me to fly in a 150hp Citabria when I was just 13 years old. Even better, the airport I learned to fly at in Elgin Illinois, which was permanently closed in 1983, had a main runway 2,600 feet long but only about 30 feet wide, and prone to crosswinds. I learned very quickly to use my feet carefully and very accurately!

 I'll add that I was talking to Billy Werth from Grayout Aerosports a couple days ago about getting together here before long to get back up in his Pitts S2C so I can finally get a flight review in the logbook. That'll mark the first time I've been officially current in about 18 years. Back in September I did 45 minutes of takeoffs and landings in the Pitts, and while it sounds like bragging to say it, I had no trouble handling the airplane doing touch and goes... what's interesting about that is that I've only been hands-on with any kind of airplane less than 5 hours in the last 10 years, and only made 2 landings in those 10 years. Am I special? I don't think so, but I do think learning to fly that Citabria at a very young age and on such a narrow runway programmed me with some important foundational skills. Those are the kind of skills that Brian Lansburgh and Tailwheeler's Journal are all about : )

Video screenshot: circling and descending over the airport with the prop stopped!

Video: Slick And The Venerable Little Piper Clipper!

 As 2013 near its end, this fresh video from 'Slick' perfectly captures the true essence of what AirPigz is all about... a classic and genuine love for the beauty of flying. And something as simple as a vintage 1949 Piper PA-16 Clipper will serve the purpose about as well as anything. The cute little 115hp taildragger that's actually a bit twitchy on takeoff and landing (it's short coupled) is a truly affordable way to turn a little avgas (or mogas) into a stack of smiles that'll take you all the way to tomorrow.

 And when you add Slick's slick video skills, you wind up with a video that really delivers on the promise of cheap thrills.

 I'm still hoping springtime will have me in a position to be able to purchase a cheap-thriller, and the venerable Clipper is on my short list (as is the swanky Culver Cadet : )

 As always, thanx Slick!

Video screenshot: cheap thrills in a venerable ole Piper Clipper!

Video: Wow! Did You See This Cub Land On Skis?

 So, I was searching for a nice video to post today... there was a fresh people are awesome video with a variety of extreme death-defying sports feats including various airborne activities... then there was a new-just-yesterday extreme wingsuit video with an impossibly long-and-low flight down a slope (literally just a few feet off the ground)... and then I stumbled onto this video of a humble Cub on skis landing on a packed and icy patch next to a runway at an airport up in Canada last January.  Sorry extreme freaks, the Cub wins.

 Honestly, I'm worn out on extreme today. I want real. I want doable. I want everyday.

 I want to savor the simple pleasure of a 65hp 1939 Piper Cub touching down gently, right ski first, with a little wind on the nose. I wanna hear the gear legs and skis make noises as they slide across the icy packed snow. I wanna see a skillful pilot simply land a lowly Cub with a gentle hand and ready feet.

 As a guy with a lot of low-n-slow taildragger time, the joy I get from seeing that Cub touch down so gently is a more powerful feeling than seeing a guy fly down a hill at a hundred miles an hour a few feet off the ground in flying squirrel suit. Don't misunderstand, I like extreme, but I love pure and simple.

 Here's to the new extreme: slow, simple, humble, pure... and awesome.

Video screenshot of the Cub's incredible moment of touchdown!

110 years of powered flight... thanks guys!
Dec 17, 1903 - Dec 17, 2013

Videos: Sweet 'Wheel Landings' With The Under-6-Pound RC C-47!

 I expect that you need to have some taildragger experience in your logbook (or loads of RC taildragger time) to really appreciate how cool it is to see this 10 foot wingspan C-47 making such wonderful 'wheel landings'. If you aren't fluent in 'taildragger', 'wheel landings' are the ones where the tail stays nice and high as the airplane approaches the runway well above stall speed, then the main wheels are (preferably) gently planted on the runway as some forward pressure on the stick is applied to hold the airplane on the ground... hopefully without some sort of bounce, bounce, bounce thing happening. Wheel landings are a real challenge in many aircraft but they are sooo much fun when you know what you're doing. Add a nice grass runway to the mix and you have the stuff avgeek dreams are made of!

Video screenshot of the 10 foot span C-47 and shadow... pure awesome fun!

 
 Given the often twitchy nature of small RC aircraft, wheel landings are usually extremely difficult to master. However, my friend Gary in New Mexico with his awesome 10 foot wingspan C-47, that weighs less than 6 pounds, has it mastered! The very light wing loading and extra large size allow for incredibly realistic looking wheel landings. Lots of practice and some bona fide skill bring it all together beautifully.

 The video above is just one nice trip around the pattern for you to enjoy, shown twice tho, once from the 'hatcam' and once from the onboard cam. (check out that middle-of-nowhere flying field!) The video below is several touch-and-goes giving you several more great wheel landings to appreciate.  #LoveToFly

Poll: Awesome Or Ugly? The Vought V-173 Flying Pancake

Is it a flying pancake, bug or just alien?  The 1942 Vought V-173 all-wing testbed

 I admit that my desire with the 'awesome or ugly' posts is mostly aimed at letting you know that I think the particular highly-unusual aircraft design is indeed awesome. But obviously there's no point or purpose to AirPigz without YOU, so that's why I put a poll with this so I can see if the majority of you think like I do. Interestingly, you've agreed with me (sometimes just barely, other times wildly) on every one so far except for the Shorts SC.1 VTOL testbed. I'd like to take a moment and let you know that I think this level agreeability speaks very highly of y'all... I'm impressed that you have such a fondness for unconventional thinking. Bravo!

It doesn't get much more unusual than the Vought V-173!

 This time around the chosen aircraft is the Vought V-173 'Flying Pancake'. There was only one built, with the first flight taking place in 1942. With that high deck angle and those massive props, it's easy to think of this all-wing testbed as a bit of a beast, but the reality is that it weighs about the same as an older Cessna 172 (both the empty and gross weights) and it's only got a total of 160hp coming from two 80hp Continental engines. There was a dream of evolving the design into the Navy Vought XF5U Flapjack fighter which had dimensions similar to the V-173 but it was powered by two 1,350hp engines and had a gross weight over 16,000 pounds! Two XF5U's were built but with the war over and the transition to jet aircraft underway, the Flapjack program was cancelled with nothing more than just some fast-taxi hops being accomplished.

Recently restored V-173 now at the Frontiers of Flight Museum  (photo: NASM blog)

 The one-and-only Vought V-173 was recently restored over an eight year period by retired employees of Vought.  The airplane is owned by the Smithsonian Air & Space Museum but will be on loan for at least 10 years to the Frontiers of Flight Museum in Dallas Texas. You can learn more in this post on the National Air & Space Museum blog.

 I'll add that I am so mesmerized by the V-173 that if I had the resources I would absolutely consider building a flying replica of the aircraft. Can't you just see me arriving at Oshkosh 2017 in a beautiful replica Flying Pancake! This thing has 'me' written all over it : )

 Vote now... do you think the Vought V-173 is awesome, ugly, or awesome AND ugly?

Replica Gee Bee Q.E.D. In The Sky (The Beauty Of Teamwork)

(click pic to enlarge) The Jim Moss Gee Bee Q.E.D. in the air! (photo: James Polivka)

 There's a good chance you already know that the Gee Bee Q.E.D. replica envisioned by Jim Moss made its first flight back on September 26, 2013. But if you're like me you didn't realize that Jim had been ill for some time during the latter stages of the project, and in fact he passed away on September 1st. It was the team of dedicated friends (wonderful aviation craftsmen) that carried Jim's Gee Bee dream into the sky.

 This helps to explain why the Q.E.D. video that I posted back in August didn't feature Jim and instead showcased these friends who honored Jim by never giving up.

 It appears that the first flights were very successful, and it's encouraging to see that getting the airplane to Oshkosh 2014 to share it with the aviation world is definitely a goal. Congratulations to all involved for building an incredible aircraft, but even more for being such dedicated and hard-working friends.

(click pic to enlarge) The Q.E.D beauty is deeper than its skin (photo:  James Polivka)

more info:

QED Flight Update (Antique Airfield)

Jim Moss's Gee Bee Q.E.D. Makes Maiden Flight (EAA)

Video: Sean D. Tucker - The Man, Living With Passion

 I've watched Sean Tucker fly airshows since the early 80's but it's only been recently that I've really been paying attention. I got a little disinterested back in old days when it seemed that he was on a path that wouldn't be ending well... and I learned in a presentation he did at Oshkosh on Sunday evening before the big week started that Bob Hoover felt much the same way back in those days. But Bob was a friend of Sean's and he made his feelings known, and it seemed to be a wake-up call to Sean to integrate a realistic level of margin into his routines.

 Sean has proven in these last 15 years that you can have the safety margins needed and still put on a world-class extreme airshow that'll leave the audience just as impressed as they were in the old days. I like that, I like that a lot. I also learned in that presentation that there's a lot of depth, passion, discipline and all around kindness in Sean Tucker. And I think this recently uploaded video does a great job of sharing all that.

 At 61 years of age, Sean D. Tucker appears to be at the top of his game.

Sean D. Tucker Named Young Eagles Honorary Chairman

 (click pic to enlarge)  Video screenshot of Sean D. Tucker 'Living With Passion'