Guelph - Antique airplanes!

Monday, May 18, 2009

Back to the trip report...

Flying in the Fleet Finch!

The reason for this detour to Guelph began when Glenn's eldest son sent us an email with this link to a video called Flying the Fleet Finch: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1LvE6plMwa8. Back in January I wrote a short email complimenting the producer of this beautiful video. Next thing you know we had an invitation from him and his wife, 'Fearless' and 'Widget', to visit the Tiger Boys Aeroplane Works and Flying Museum. This group of airplane enthusiasts track down rare old airplanes and restore them to pristine, and often flying, condition. No half measures here. We would meet some of the Tiger Boys and see some interesting airplanes. We would also get to flying in that marvelous Fleet Finch!

By the time we got off the train in Guelph, taxied over to Avis where we had to wait for the rental car to be washed, got lost on the drive to our hotel, and checked into our room it was about 3:00 in the afternoon. We met Fearless & Widge, who seemed like old friends, and followed them to the airpark. It is a small airport with two runways - an old-time kind of place too few and far between these days, where people are in their glory doing what they love.

Out on the flightline sits a Tiger Moth, the type of airplane Glenn did his illegal solo in many years ago.

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But we're going flying in this beautiful 1940 Fleet Finch biplane, flown by the same pilot, 'Rotten' (that's his nickname), as in the video. Glenn has flown in Fleet Finches a long time ago, but I never have. When I asked that we not to anythng too freaky on my flight he said we could do some wingovers. I didn't even know what that meant, but they sure were fun!

Taxiing out. Tiger Moth is in the foreground. These pictures are a compilation of both Glenn's and my flights.

And we're off! So handy to have paved and grass runways here. Could we have asked for a better flying day? I don't think so.

Climbing away and looking back.

We fly over flat-flat land - much different than here on the island...

... and over sparkling water.

What's this coming up? Another plane. It's getting closer...

closer...

We get to do a bit of formation flying! Glenn was on the ground remarking that I would get a kick out of this, and I sure did.

On Glenn's flight they did some fun passes over the airport. Glenns says, "Rotten brings us in over the trees for a low pass, levels out and with a sharp pull up, throws in a steep bank! We see two photographers catching the action. As we climb away I study the stick and rudder pedals and Rotten asks, "Do you want to fly it?" Well, I guess so! I'm at the controls for a couple of medium turns. Ain't nothing like stick control!"

Handing it back to Rotten he sets us up on the crosswind.

Turning Final for landing on the grass.

And setting up for a greaser of a landing.

The many uses of Pledge furniture polish... Rotten cleans up the Fleet Finch before putting it away in a hangar.

An interesting feature of this Fleet Finch is this inspection zipper, now cleverly adapted to a panel for easier access.

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Afterwards we went out to dinner with Fearless and Widget at a restaurant in Guelph. They tell fascinating and often hilarious flying stories. Widge, by the way, has been flying since she was 16 years old.

Beautiful weather, wonderful flights, friendly people and lots of laughs - it was a day we won't forget. Many, many thanks to everyone involved in giving us this marvelous experience.