Our loyal friend Paul Cullmen visited the museum a few weeks ago with his newest machine, a beautiful Meyers 145 a rare bird indeed. this Meyers has been re-engined with a Fuel injected I0360 Continental and constant speed prop, this combonation makes for a real tiger. Paul lent us his Curtiss Jr pusher two winters ago and it was a big hit. Thank you Paul , your a gentleman and a pilots pilot!! 

A nice shot of the Meyers 145 with Sauk Mountain for the back drop.

Paul on the roll for departure from Concrete.

In 1933-1934 the third version of the popular “Fairchild 22″ series was developed by the Kreider-Reisner for normal operations by the average amateur pilot. The slender  lines were made possible by the new 4 cyclinder 125 hp Menasco Pirate inverted inline engine. One of the more handsome of the parasol monoplanes it was also a rugged, good performing airplane at a very sensible price. The Fairchild 22 model C-7-B was and open cockpit parasol- type mono plane with seating arranged for two in tandem. The fly away price for this beautiful airplane from the factory was $3,450.00 (source: Juptner, Joseph P; U.S. Civil Aircraft Series Volume 5 ; 1971 AERO Publishers INC.  page 235.)

Here is the Farichld 22 just prior to engine start.

Here is  Jim taxing the Fairchild 22 to 34 for departure from Orcas to Concrete.

The Farichild 22 departs Orcas Island with Jim at the controls.

Fairchild 22 in flight photo taken from Museum’s Luscombe. The Menasco purred all the way to Concrete  after leaning out.

Arrival at concrete.

A few months back we got a call from John Sessions asking if we wanted a P-51 and Spitfire flyby at our fly-in here in Concrete. Of course we said yes, and we have stayed in touch and talked about working together more to help promote vintage aviation around the area. Over Labor Day weekend we were honored to be asked to bring some of our airplanes down to Sessions’ Historic Flight Foundation for the annual Vintage Aircraft Weekend at Paine Field. It was a great opportunity to support his efforts of promoting historic aircraft.

Sessions has put together an impressive collection of airplanes at this museum and over the past few years has put a lot of work into developing the vintage weekend at his facility. This year there was an impressive collection of airplanes including numerous warbirds from trainers through fighters and bombers. On the vintage/antique side it was great to see some impressive airplanes including a beautiful Staggerwing, Addison Pemberton’s Boeing Model 40 and the Mueum of Flight’s DC-2 to just name a few of the airplanes that flew in for the event.

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We’re happy to announce that our PA-15 Vagabond is flying again. The path this airplane has followed over the past several years has been a tough one as this is the second restoration in the several years. The airplane only had 1.5 hours on the last restoration before an accident totaled the airplane. We’ll have the rest of the story up here at some later date, but a hint is the airplane’s nickname, “Freeflight.”

Our Vagabond is a Deluxe model that has also been converted to a PA-17. The deluxe model included several amenities from the factory in Lock Haven not found on the budget conscious base model Vagabond. A few items include gear and strut fairings on the outside of the airplane and carpeting on the inside. And the conversion from a PA-15 to a PA-17 was accomplished with the addition of dual controls and it also has a 75 horsepower Continental.

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One of the highlights from the 2011 North Cascades Vintage Fly-In was a visit from local pilot Erik Lindbergh. Erik is the grandson of Charles Lindbergh and is actively involved in the aviation community. His most recent efforts are aimed at electric aviation and getting kids engaged in aerospace through his Lindbergh Electric Aircraft Prize (LEAP).

Erik made a presentation during the fly-in and it was interesting for those from the vintage airplane community to hear from the front lines of the up and coming world of electric aircraft. After the fly-in here, Erik was off to Oshkosh where he presented this year’s LEAP winner.

One of the highlights for us was having the opportunity to introduce Erik to Warren Meyer. Warren is one of our favorite people and frequently visits the museum. A retired Pan Am pilot, Warren was the captain on the flight that flew Charles Lindbergh on what would be his final trip home to Hawaii in 1972 (picture).

Warren did not know Erik was going to be at the fly-in and it was pure coincidence that he happened to be wearing a t-shirt with and image of Lindbergh on the front. Warren learned how to fly in the 1930s and his airline career spanned from the DC-3 to the 747. Like many pilots of his generation, he was greatly inspired by Charles Lindbergh and had many fond recollections of meeting the legendary pilot.

Erik Lindbergh talking electric airplanes at the 2011 Vintage Fly-In.

After a being out of the cockpit for a while, Erik was right back at home flying in the Champ.

With apologies for the delay, we finally have some time to get some pictures up from this year’s fly-in. This year’s fly-in was once again a big success despite some weather over the Cascades preventing some visitors from the east side of the state from making it over the mountains. Our best count was around 160 airplanes that flew in during the day. The picture above was taken late in the afternoon, and there are still over 110 airplanes on the ground.

The word continues to spread throughout the vintage airplane community here in the pacific northwest and each year we see several new faces as well as welcome back those who have been making the trip for many years. This year one of the many highlights was the arrival of Jeff Paulson and his Stinson Model O reproduction. Several other Stinsons, including a Junior, made it to Concrete as well to celebrate this year’s featured manufacturer.

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Just a reminder that the best little vintage fly-in the the northwest is coming up this weekend. If today’s forecast can be believed, it even looks like summer will make an appearance this weekend as well!

We’ve been busy at the museum getting airplanes ready and over the next few days we’ll be getting things ready at the airport. We’re expecting another great turnout of airplanes including several Stinsons to celebrate this year’s featured manufacturer, including the beautiful Model O. The oldest flying Boeing in the world will be back once again along with several other historic airplanes.

This year’s featured speakers will be Erik Lindbergh and Tom Casey. Mr. Lindbergh will be talking about the inspiration from his family history and how he’s trying to inspire the next generation of aviators as well as the next generation of electric airplanes. Mr. Casey will talk about his epic flight around the world on straight floats. He was the first and so far only person to circumnavigate the globe on straight floats and there are several amazing tales from the trip.

Breakfast will be served at the high school across the street starting at 7am Saturday and food will be available at the airport all day.

We’re looking forward to another great fly-in this year and hope you can join us whether you arrive by plane or by car. For more information on this year’s fly-in click here.

Saturday is typically the busiest day for the Arlington Fly-In and this year the weather cooperated for the big day. Opening day on Wednesday was warm and sunny, but Thursday decided to show what an IFR day might look like for a fly-in with 400 foot ceilings and off and on rain. The good news was the foul weather sent many visitors to the vintage barn to see our displays and stay dry.

Friday was cloudy and cool, but sunshine and 70s made Saturday the best day of the week. With the  good weather and the weekend, a lot more airplanes showed up, including more vintage aircraft. Early in the week we enjoyed the Fairchild 24, Stinson HW75, Boeing Stermans, Stinson Model O, a pair of Fleets and a Travel Air. To fill things out on Saturday some airplanes from the small end showed up including an Aeronca C3, Paul Cullman’s Curtis Junior, and a Culver Dart. And with the better weather, Addison Pemberton was able to fly over the mountains from Spokane in his spectacular Boeing Model 40C.

Addison Pemberton's Boeing Model 40C.

This year the vintage planes added some fly-bys to the show on both Friday and Saturday. The museum’s PT-19 and Call Air each flew both days, along with the Stinson Model O. On Friday the Fairchild 24 and Fleet 7 joined in and on Saturday the Boeing Model 40C impressed the crowds with some laps around the pattern. At the end of the fly-in both our PT-19 and Call Air each received Champion awards in Antique and Classic categories respectively.

Paul Cullman's Salmson powered Curtiss Junior

Overall the antique and vintage turn out was a good one once again and the displays in the barn proved to be a hit with visitors even when it wasn’t raining.

Now less than two weeks for the our home field fly-in, the Concrete North Cascades Vintage Fly-In 2011. We’re looking forward to another great turnout and look forward to seeing everybody there.

Culver Dart and Aeronca C3.

The NW Super Cub Fly-In was once again a lot of fun over the weekend. The only down side was the weather over the Cascades prevented many pilots from flying in from the east side of the state, but more than 40 airplanes ended up making it and both the STOL competition and flour bombing were fun as always.

With several of the STOL competitors not making it in from the east side, there were only a handful of pilots competing this year. In the heavy touring class there were a pair of 180s and a Piper Pacer working hard to keep up with the Cessnas.

In the bush category a trio of Super Cubs kept the distances short. And despite the efforts of the organizers to recruit some of the lightweight airplanes, no airplanes competed in the lightweight category. There was almost no wind for most of the competition so the distances are pretty honest.

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NW Super Cub Fly-In

Just a reminder about the upcoming fly-ins here at 3w5. Next weekend (June 24-26) the NW Super Cub Fly-In will be taking place here in Concrete. This event is organized by a group of local PA-18 pilots, but is open to everybody. The museum will be hosting a Piper Tube & Fabric Fly-In at the same time and we encourage pilots of vintage Piper’s to join us for a great weekend.

The highlight of the weekend is Saturday’s STOL competition. Using the grass next to the runway, pilots are tasked with taking off with as little ground roll as possible from a marked line. They then return and touch down after the line and stop with as little ground roll as possible.

There are multiple categories for the STOL competition and last year entries included Super Cubs, CubCrafter Sport Cubs, 180s and even a 150. So there are opportunities for the non-bush class of airplanes as well.

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