Biplane adventure

I have enjoyed blogging not because I earn money (the earnings from ads might total $100 a year) but because it takes me places I would otherwise never go and allows me to do things that I would otherwise never do. What happened on Thursday is an example.

On Thursday morning I opened my rensselaeradventures mail and found a message from the Airport Manager Ray Seif that he sent to seven people with media connections. The message said that the biplane operators who will be offering biplane rides this weekend were due in a few hours and were offering rides to media people to help publicize these rides. I thought about it for a while and replied that I was open to the experience. (For me the Ferris Wheel is a thrill ride.)

A few hours later I got a second message saying that the planes would soon be arriving. I drove out to the airport and saw the two planes that will be offering the rides. The blue plane is a 1928 Travel Air. It carries two passengers in addition to the pilot. The red plane is a 1930 New Standard. We were told that there are only eight of these still in operation. It can carry four people in addition to the pilot.

 The pilot of the red plane is Dewey Davenport. He has a youtube channel and you can see him flying the New Standard here. (There is an ad you might want to skip before the video plays.)

After some waiting, three of us got into the plane. I was in one of the front two seats and the other two were behind me. The pilot was in the very back. Below is the view from the plane before takeoff.

 We took off to the south and quickly passed over the fairgrounds. The Fair is the reason that the biplane rides are available this weekend. Each year there is a huge airshow in Oshkosh, Wisconsin.  Planes from all over the United States fly to the airshow and some of them stop at the Jasper County Airport to refuel. (The JC Airport has the cheapest gas prices in the surrounding area.) The two pilots learned that the Fair is next to the Airport and that the Fair attracts a large crowd. In days gone by, barnstormers would look for county fairs as a place to go to sell rides and these two pilots are following in these footsteps.

 We headed south and then turned to the east, passing over the Saint Joseph's College campus. Very visible in the picture below is the road to the new water well.

 Soon we were passing over the hospital and high school.

 We turned back to the west and below you can see the downtown. The sun is shining on the side of the Court House we cannot see, so you may have to look carefully to make out the Court House.

 I turned around to take a picture of my fellow passengers, Nick from the Republican and Johnny from Brothers Broadcasting. You can see only the top of the pilot's head. Note the goggles. I am very nearsighted and must wear glasses to see anything in the distance. I found that the goggles pushed my glasses so that I had double vision. I closed one eye for most of the ride. Also note that we had ear muffs for noise reduction.

 We passed over the Jasper County Airport but did not land.

 As we circled around, we flew side-by-side with the other biplane that is giving rides.

Then we came in for a landing.

 When we landed we saw two other biplanes that had been at the airport getting ready to take off. They apparently had stopped to refuel.

Taking a biplane ride was not on my bucket list and I was not sure I wanted the experience. However, I am glad I went. It was not scary as I had feared (though I kept a firm grip on the wooden bar that was in front of me). I enjoyed the air blowing through my hair, something you can only get in an open cockpit ride.

For more information about these two companies, see here and here. They will be offering rides Friday and Saturday and possibly on Sunday. The price is $80 for an adult and $60 for a child under 12 but there must be at least two passengers. The rides are 15 minutes long. There are no reservations—it is first come, first served. Flights start at either 9:00 or 9:30 and continue until sunset.

While on the topic of the airplanes, the Jasper County Airport Authority Board held an special meeting on Wednesday evening. In it Ray Seif pitched the idea of starting a flight school sponsored by the Airport. He argued that it is an essential component of the Airport's growth strategy. Apparently this idea had been discussed at the regular July meeting (which I did not attend) but there was skepticism and some Board members did not attend.

Seif argued that more local pilots would mean more airport activity and that there would be spinoffs from that activity that would have a positive impact on the Airport and the community. He reviewed a number of objections and answered them. He outlined a plan of action that included purchase of a used Cessna, a plane easy to fly. He reviewed the market of potential renters because this plane would not only be used as a trainer but would also be available for rental by qualified pilots. Currently the nearest place to rent a plane is Lafayette.  Instructors for flight training would be part-timers at first and he identified several who were interested. He said that the plan would lose money in its first year or two and that the risk of failure was low relative to the potential. If the plan did not work out, the plane could be sold, recouping most of the expense. He has been researching this for two years.

The Board agreed to establish a flight-school fund and to make an additional appropriation of $75,000 for this fund. $60,000 would be used to purchase the plane and $15,000 would be for maintenance.  $62,000 would be used to purchase the plane and the rest would be for fuel, maintenance, and additional insurance. It did not appear that all the board members were enthusiastic about this plan, but one of them stated that if anyone could pull this off, that person was Ray Seif. (I do not know if the additional appropriation needs County Council approval.)

In addition to the Oshkosh traffic, a crop duster is using the airport this week.