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Flying "TV Tower" gives world a different perspective!
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Location: Blogs Sly Comments |
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| Posted by: Emory Schley |
10/19/2007 4:50 AM |
Many years ago, I was talking to a fellow on the phone, and when we had concluded our business, he nonchalantly asked, “How’d you like to take a ride Sunday – in an open cockpit airplane?”
“Would I? You bet,” as visions of one of those old bi-planes, like a Sopwith Camel, danced through my head. This guy was a long-time pilot, and a flight instructor, as well as a certified airframe mechanic, I think it’s called. Needless to say, he knew his way around an airplane. The following Sunday, at the appointed time, I showed up at his place, a small airpark he owned in Citrus County just over the county line when you go out State Road 200.
He took me out to the hangar area and proudly pointed out the “open cockpit” airplane.
It was NOT a Sopwith Camel, or even anything remotely close to that. It belonged, he explained, to a friend of his who was temporarily storing it in his hangar. It was one of those homebuilt jobs. It looked like a section of TV tower laid on its side with a set of wheels, a tail assembly, a pair of wings and a couple of seats bolted onto the tower portion up front. Oh, yeah, it had an engine installed on the rear of one of the wings. The engine and propeller pointed toward the back of the airplane. He asked if I were ready for that ride. I looked at the plane, then at him, and said, “You’re flying, right?” He said yes. OK, I said, and sat down in the passenger seat.
He fired up the engine, taxied out of the hangar and onto the grass airfield. The engine roared, we started rolling and then we were in the air. I could look straight down between my legs at the ground below me through the lattice work of steel webbing. It was cold, and I was glad I had taken his advice and worn a jacket even though it was a warm summer day down on the ground.
I was a bit uneasy for about five minutes or so, but soon decided that this contraption worked pretty good despite its ugly duckling appearance. We flew around a bit, and he flew over my house, some 500 feet below or so, to give me a good bird’s-eye view of my humble homestead. I was amazed at just how much I could see from the air, without an airplane body hindering my vision. We flew around for about 15 minutes or so, then it was time to return to the airfield. We landed uneventfully, and he expertly brought the plane to a stop just outside the hangar. That was truly a day to remember.
Even today, whenever I hear the term “open cockpit,” I no longer think of those old bi-planes, but visions of flying “TV towers” come instantly to mind! |
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