Last weekend I took the long drive to Gardner, Kansas for the annual WWI replica airshow. It's a small affair with about ten to fifteen replicas, all homebuilts, and very organic. It's held at the Gardner municipal airport, which is an example of a very old school place to fly - no fences with goofy locks or limited access to the flight line. No stands or announcers. Just aircraft and the guys (and gal) that built and fly them answering questions and when the weather works, taking them to the air.
There's no schedule for flying. When the weather agrees they just take off after talking with each other about safety. Few radios in use, which can get interesting when there's six planes buzzing about.
The real magic is if one shows up on Friday morning, the day before the airshow, and lends a hand in assembling the aircraft as they come off trailers. They appreciate it, especially if one knows the difference between an aileron and a rudder. It was a godsend for a guy like me building his own, as ten seconds putting a hand on a part is worth hours of typing online and showing pictures.
The drill usually went that folks would help with the unloading and lifting of bits, but the builder assembled the hardware himself. Can't say it's not a bad system - if I'm flying an airplane I think I'd rather make sure all the bolts are in correctly and tightened myself.
If you've seen the Airdrome Airplanes promotional video, you'd recognize folks from it...and they're just as nice as can be. Rick Bennett, for example, is a sort of legend in the replica world for his attention to detail and incredible machining, welding, covering, etc., work.
Naturally I caused a few lengthy conversations by asking opinions on some design decisions. The cool thing is that with these guys it's all respectful even when they vehemently disagree. That's Butch Witlock in the background lighting a cigar after giving me his heartfelt opinion on axel design and strength requirements - he's a big guy that can look fierce but is simply a helluva a great guy to talk to.
Here's Butch's full scale Fokker DVII after assembly. It has some minor illness that kept it from flying, but what a beauty. I got to help put on the horizontal stab and elevator, which comes as high praise as both he and Rick usually don't let anyone they know do much but drool over their aircraft.
Flight line shaping up...Nieuport 17, Siemens-Schuckert D.I, and a Fokker DVII (all 7/8 scale). The D.I is a cheater plane - the damned Germans basically copied the N17, putting their own spin on it.
That's a Mariner amphib flying down the strip, the only two placer at the show.
This is Rick Bennett buzzing down the strip about an hour after getting his plane assembled. Pay attention to that windsock - it's very limp, as the wind was calm.
He's joined quickly by another Belgium Nieuport for some close formation flying.
I joked that the Belgium contingent was in quarantine, as they parked on the other side from the main flight line; I suspect the hand polished cowling had a lot to do with it. I think putting a handprint on one of them probably warrants a punch to the nose.
There were no ropes around aircraft on the line. One was encouraged to walk right up to them and gape, as well as ask questions.
The air soon had the rumble of VW powered replicas as they taxied out to the grass strip. It's the only public airfield I've ever seen with one.
I don't have a lot of pictures of them flying, as I didn't bring my zoom lens and wanted the memory to be of watching planes rather than of me taking pictures of planes as they flew.
Morane in the front, Nieuports in the back - and one guy couldn't resist sticking his Taylorcraft on the end. It's a warbird, so nobody said nothing, too busy staring at the glorious work the guy did to restore it. On Saturday he put it in his hangar to keep people's hands off it.
Saturday came with winds - 13 knots that went up to 20 with gusts to 25. Only one soul braved it - Rick Bennett - though he cut it short as it got worse.
Look at that windsock on Saturday. Not a big deal, one might say, until the earlier picture of them lining up on the grass strip. Rick landed in that wind with an almost perfect 90 degree crosswind. Lots of us watching it with held breath, but he made it look easy.
Robert Baslee of Airdrome Airplanes brought out his latest creation, a full scale SE5a. I missed taking pictures of it in flight, as the camera was in a hangar and I was on the other side of the airfield when it was showing off. An oil leak ended her demonstration. What a beast!
I sat in several of the Nieuports in order to see the sightlines for my own
, but only Sharon Starks had the presence of mind to ask if I wanted my picture taken while in the seat. Heck yeah!
With a storm coming in with high winds on Sunday, the whole thing shut down late Saturday. The Nieuports are just over ultralight in weight and aren't built for taking winds like that, so I helped tear them all back down and put them back into and onto trailers.
I learned a lot about the things I needed to do on my own plane as well as ordered the VW from the Valley Engineering folks before setting back for the long drive back to Alabama.