The Scoop
Get Learned, Boy!
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We're looking for some good CFI's. It's hard to find flight schools
and CFI's that offer tailwheel instruction, so if you know of a school or
CFI who works in the dark arts of taildragger flying, send him/her our way.
We want to add them to our CFI list, and hopefully send them some business!
Go to the
CFI Page
Back to the Future!
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While new stuff is always fun, don't forget about the
Archives. We've kept all
our favorite features, videos, and links down there in the basement for you
to dig through at your leisure. Some of it's a little moldy, but trust
us, it's still good.
Go to the Archives
Hot Links
It's Not Sausage...
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AirPigz
Antique Airfield
Barnstorming
Movie
The Biplane Forum
Blue Ice Aviation
The Bosman RV-3
Blog
Campbell
Field Airport
DC Aerobatics
Eric Clutton's
F.R.E.D.
Flying
Antique Airplanes
Ladies Love
Taildraggers
LuceAir
Ohio Bush Planes
Oshkosh365
Peyton's "White
Lightning"
Ranger Airfield
Skagit Aero. Ed. Museum
Skip Stewart
Airshows
Sportsman Pilot
Magazine
The
Ultralight Experience
Van's Airforce
Vintage Flying
Williams Vintage Aircraft
Welcome to Taildraggers, Inc.
Come one, come all! Step right up and get
your daily dose of Aerotainment!
Here at Taildraggers, Inc. we aim to bring you some of the best aero-content
on the net. We love taildraggers, but we don't stop there. We
want to see and share the coolest airplanes, people, places, and websites
that grassroots aviation has to offer. Taildraggers, biplanes,
vintage, antique, aerobatics, bush flying, homebuilts, LSA's, bitchin'
videos, amazing photos, and best of all, really great people are what we're
all about.
If you have a link or photo to share, we'd love to
hear about it, and hopefully add it to the site. We are also looking
for guest writers and photographers to submit content. If you would
like to write an article or a photo essay, shoot us an email. We
won't pay you (we don't even pay ourselves), but we will give you full credit for any contributions.
Drop us a line anytime:
webmaster@taildraggersinc.com
Slick's Airventure 2010 Video :: "Beyond This Historic Brown Gate"
We brought you Slick's 2009 Airventure video last year, so we had to do
his 2010 video. Nobody comes close to Slick's Airventure recap music
videos. Nobody.
See all of Slick's videos
HERE.
Or... Visit his blog
HERE.
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Rans S-9 Loses a Wing
During the recent Show Aéreo 2010 (airshow) in Santa Fe, Argentina, a Rans
S-9 piloted by 22 year old Dino Moline, lost a wing. The above video
footage is pretty incredible. Don't worry, little Dino got out of it
all pretty unscathed. He says he just had a little bit of a burnt
foot from the fire. What a guy.
So... Great ad for
BRS, right?
Wanna see an awesome shot of the wing and plane right after their
separation? Check out this
PHOTO from airliners.net. You can almost see Dino sweating just
a little.
If, after all of this, you still want to build a Rans S-9 Chaos, visit the
Rans Website.
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Toilet Paper Bombers
Yeah, I know... ANOTHER video... But these are all so good, and I don't feel like practicing my creative writing skills this week.
So enjoy another video!
This was posted on vimeo
by user
PaulWhitaker. The airplane is one of them Cessna Birddog's, and
looks like a lot of fun to fly. I've watched the boys at The Flying
Circus on Bealeton, VA do this same trick in a Stearman, but haven't tried
it yet myself. Maybe next time I get up I'll have to take a roll of
TP with me.
When you're done with this one, go watch
the rest of Paul's
videos.
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Freakin' Rocket Belt!!!
As a kid, I used to climb trees for a better view of the world around me.
I had dreams about flying just feet over the rooftops in the neighborhood,
the images as clear and accurate as real life because of my experience
seeing it all from the trees. In my dreams, I could launch from the
sandbox and climb over the roof of our two-story house, glide my way down
the street, and then return effortlessly, without wings. I had, and
still have, a very active imagination.
Watching this rocket belt video reminded me of many of the images in my
dreams as a kid. I know everybody has seen rocket belt videos
before, but I couldn't help but share just one more.
Enjoy!
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Pitts Lil' Monster N97M
To my knowledge, Curtis Pitts only ever built one midget racing plane, but
I'm no authority on the subject. This is another real gem of a
YouTube video. I don't believe that we would ever see videos like
this if it wasn't for YouTube.
From foamyflyer, the person who uploaded the video:
"Built in 1949. One of two formula one's designed and built by Curtis
Pitts. Bought and rebuilt by James Dulin in the mid 1960's. James' racing
number was 8. The registration number was changed to N8JD. He raced at
Cape May, New Jersey and Cleveland, Ohio in 1971. He flew the plane until
his untimely death in 1982. After his death it was bought by Jim Clevenger
and repainted it to its original colors. It was in the Air Museum at
Oshkosh for several years. James loved to fly this little airplane"
According to Carl Pascarell's article "Flying
the Pitts Lil' Monster" published in Air Progress, January, 1991, the
airplane in this video flew over 400 hours of mostly cross country flights
between Florida and California in the 20 years it was owned by Jim Dulin.
Jim rebuilt the airplane twice during the time he was custodian for this
amazing little bird.
This airplane was rebuilt in the late 1980's and was the subject of the
above mentioned article, which can be read in it's entirety (with more
photos) on Budd Davisson's website,
www.airbum.com
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The
Glide-O-Bike
Do they still sell stuff like this?
How cool would it be if you could build your own flying bicycle?!
Hell, the Wright Brothers were bicycle mechanics, so it's a natural and
logical assumption that airplanes and bikes go hand in hand, right?
This has got to be the downright coolest invention since Lucky Lindy
crossed the Atlantic, inspiring boys of all ages to take to the skies in
whatever creations would get them into the air. And for only 25¢.
What a deal.
As LeVar Burton always said on Reading Rainbow, "...but don't take my word
for it."
Here's what other boys are saying:
"Your Glide-O-Bike is the dandiest thing I ever owned. It sure
gives you all the thrills you want."
T. Wendell, Springfield, Mass.
"I've already begun to give other fellows rides and make money on my
airport. That's besides the fun I have myself. I never spent a
quarter better I can tell you. The Glide-O-Bike is so good I can't
tell you how much I like it."
Robert Holt, Los Angeles, Calif.
Where do I send my check?
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The
Secret Lives of Charles Lindbergh
When I was in elementary school, I
wrote a book report about Charles Lindbergh, the American hero pilot who
flew the Atlantic solo in 1927. I read about the planning and
determination that went into his famous flight. I read about the
engineering efforts required to build the airplane that would complete the
33 1/3 hour trip unrefeuled.
What I didn't read about was his beliefs of white supremacy, or the seven
children he fathered outside of his marriage. Maybe you already know
about these things, but aside from learning a little about his involvement
with the Nazi party before WWII, I still held on to my childhood
impressions that Charles Lindbergh was a hero, an inventor, an airline
entrepenuer, and a role model. Well, National Geographic has shown
me otherwise.
In their documentary, "The
Secret Lives of Charles Lindbergh", they examine some of the lesser
known facts about Lindbergh. I recommend watching the program, for
if nothing else, it will remind you that all men are just men, and that
heroes are fallible.
Link:
The Secret Lives of Charles Lindbergh
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Taildraggers,
Inc. Tip of the Day:
Join the Taildraggers, Inc. Forums!
We've added a
Forum to the
Taildraggers, Inc. website. It's completely free to register and
use. As a registered user, you can post new topics, reply to
existing topics, and communicate with other users via email and private
message.
We've
got Forums for
Hangar Flying,
Upcoming Events,
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For Sale / Wanted section.
The Forums are for you
to use, and they depend on you for their growth and content. You can
navigate to the Forums
by clicking on the "Forum" tab at the top of this page, or by clicking on
the "Discuss this in the Taildraggers, Inc.
Forum link at the
bottom of each daily update.
Take a minute to register, and become a member of the Taildraggers, Inc.
community. Once you do, post a new thread telling us a little bit
about yourself on the
New
Members area.
We're glad to have you.
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The
$1 Pietenpol
This isn't a new story. If you've been around Pietenpols, or the
Brodhead Pietenpol
Association for very long, you've no doubt heard of the dollar Piet.
The story goes something like this:
N13961 was built by Edgar Russert of Lewiston, MN back in 1933 using the
plans from a 1932 Modern Mechanics magazine. Some time around 1935,
Russert sold the airplane to five friends, including Bernard Pietenpol,
for $50 a pop. Rumor has it that the airplane was involved in a
mid-air with some power lines, and after Pietenpol finished the repairs,
the airplane was sold to Allen Rudolph in 1941.
Rudolph flew the airplane to many fly-ins throughout Minnesota and
Wisconsin over the years, and eventually was part of the inspiration for
the forming of the Brodhead Pietenpol Association. The airplane
ended up at Brodhead for an extended stay due to a burned up piston in the
old Ford Model A engine. That was sometime in the 1980's. In
1993, Ted Davis and Jim Hammond led a group who recovered and and repaired
the now 60-year old airplane. That year, Allen Rudolph was once
again able to take to the skies in N13961.
The people involved in this airplane made a decision to "keep it in the
family", and not let it be sold to someone who would take it away from
Brodhead. Jim Hammond became the first owner after Allen Rudolph,
and then when he was ready to move on to something different it sold the
airplane to Ted Davis.
For one dollar.
Ted later sold the airplane to Frank Pavliga, who is the current owner.
Also for one dollar.
To read the Smithsonian's article on the One Dollar Piet, click
HERE
To visit the Brodhead Pietenpol Association, click
HERE
To buy a set of Pietenpol Aircamper plans, click
HERE
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Looking for some more Aerotainment? Go to July 2010 :: OR :: Check out the Archives!
