Monthly Archives: February 2009

No Solo Campo and His Lark Commander Most of the available Darters have 150-hp Lycoming engines, and  swept-forward, Mooney-style vertical stabilizers. By:   Norm Goyer Frank Campo was a delightful septuagenarian and a retired piano tuner. Frank was a recent widower … Continue reading →

During WWII, the Douglas DC-3 was indispensable; it was used in every theatre of the war including every action in Europe, Africa and the South Pacific. It was a workhorse, and it was dependable. Our “Under the Radar” this week, mentioned the Japanese Zero and the Grumman Wildcat being converted to floatplanes to assist newly-arrived troops on islands without an airstrip, but miles of ocean beaches and lagoons. Continue reading →

I learned to fly in a tandem-seated Cub, and my small fleet of surplus military trainers were all tandem seated. In my opinion there is no better flying or fighting platform than one seated right on the center line of the aircraft. Then the pilots started taking their wives and girlfriends with them, and the complaining began, “I don’t like to sit by myself with no one to talk to,” and so on and so forth. Continue reading →

I have had a ongoing love of the Piper Arrow series. It wasn’t the fastest, it wasn’t the sexiest and it surely wasn’t in the same company as the Mooney, Bonanza or Centurion, but those Pipers sure worked for me. In the late 1960s, I lived in Northampton, Massachusetts, and had a motion picture contract with a motorcycle firm in Schenectady, New York. My transportation was a Piper PA-28R-180, in other words, a retractable 180-hp Arrow, one of the first models produced. Continue reading →

The most famous airship of all time was the ill-fated Hindenburg, which caught fire on landing at Lakehurst, NJ; this film clip is still one of the most highly viewed video/motion picture news clips ever. Many people are also aware of the US Navy’s two dirigibles, the USS Akron and the USS Macon. Continue reading →