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old farts converge on okeechoobee

turbo

Well Known Member
old farts converge on okeechoobee, punta gorda, arcadia....

info taken from our top old fart roger. what a day!

Old Farts

I wish I could unequivocally proclaim a new attendance record... I ?Think? we set the bar even higher today at Okeechobee. I arrived before eleven and there were a couple Old Fart planes already on the ramp. I parked next Old Fart Fred Celce?s RV-8. There was soon a steady stream of aircraft in the pattern. Mike Mitchell told me that once out of Punta Gorda airspace, he switched to OBE?s 123.0. He said the OBE radio traffic was non-stop all the way over from Punta Gorda.

I stayed on the ramp, taking pictures and doing my best at meeting and greeting. I finally went inside the Landing Strip Cafe a little after 11:30. There were still planes in the pattern and my Old Fart tail count was right around forty. Once inside, I hollered above the din to introduce Old Farts Myra and Roger Hirschbein along with an invite for everyone to be sure and check out their beautiful, brand new, RV-14. I also introduced our founder, Old Fart Larry Robinson, who gave us a short debrief of the highly successful Ranch Tour/Young Eagle event he organized last weekend. As Larry said, ?If you missed it, you really screwed up!? In the short time this took, I counted several more aircraft landing and circling the ramp in search of a parking space. I figured we hit about 45 aircraft at this point! Checking out the window while waiting for my lunch, more aircraft continued to arrive, including Dave and Jeanne Allen in their incredible 1934 Cabin Waco. Since coming out of restoration in 2013, this aircraft has won ?Grand Champion? honors at just about any Aviation event you can think of. By this time, I was ?guesstimating? about 50 Old Fart aircraft. Some early arrivals, like Fred, were saddling up to leave.

Then, as if we hadn?t taxed the restaurant staff enough (the place was jammed full), the Thursday Lunch Bunch out Venice began arriving. No count on their aircraft. A guess is ten, or so. I trade emails with a Venice guy, Gary McBride, also and Old Fart. Our goal is to not collide at the same restaurant. Their group had planned on Winter Haven, but weather was an issue, so they decided on Sebring. Once at Sebring, they found the restaurant closed and diverted to Okeechobee! Thankfully, they were on the late side, and slid into openings being vacated by Old Farts. A few of the Venice guys are double-dippers and get our Old Fart emails as well. I?m claiming at least two of their group in our count. All said... I am ?unofficially? placing our aircraft count at 50-plus! Our old record was set last spring at Wing South. That count was 46.

Before I go any further, I want to throw out a huge THANK YOU to the staff at the Landing Strip. Those gals did an incredible job, and all with a huge smile! They love having us there. At least, that?s what they tell me! Anytime you may drop in for a meal, please pass along a thank you from the Old Farts!

Here?s a shot of Old Farts Roger and Myra Hirschbein in their spanking new RV-14. Myra says she flew it to the west coast (United States, not Florida) right out of the box! I saw lots of gawkers after lunch. Wish I?d had more time for a better look. Keep coming back Roger and Myra!
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Old Fart Dave Allen wife Jeanne, arrived a little late because of low WX at their Grassroots Airpark home NW of Orlando. They couldn?t even get theirvbeautiful Waco pushed back in the parking space vacated by Old Fart Fred Celce, without a crowd of gawkers descending upon them. Great aircraft! Always a treat to see it!
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A couple crowd shots. There were nearly this many more Old Farts behind me. Old Fart Fred Celce?s RV-8. I think Fred shows up at more Old Fart lunches than I do!
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Clockwise: Our Founder, Old Fart Larry Robinson in his Husky. New Old Fart Gary West in his pretty C-150. (Raise your hand if you don?t have any C-150 time?) Old Fart Ed Katzen in his pretty V-Tail. My award winning PT-17 Kaydet (Five time winner ?Most in Need of Restoration? at the National Stearman Convention.)
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Clockwise: Old Fart Marc Rodstein and his nice Lake EP (sorry, did not retain his copilots?s name). Old Fart Urs Schmidt?s Rans STOL aircraft. Another new Old Fart, I met, but lost the name, alongside his nice Champ. Old Fart Turbo Eddie?s RV-6. Old Fart Fred Stucklen?s RV-7 with triple IFR redundancy. At the other end of the equipment spectrum are Old Farts Bill Ford and Bill Kaser in their 1934 Aeronca Chief... no starter, no GPS, no electrical system and only a handheld for marginal communications.

Needless to say, this sampling only scratches the surface of the more than fifty aircraft in attendance. Keep coming back, I promise to get better with the names and get your plane in my photo gallery. Your attendance and enthusiasm is what makes this organization so much fun!

We are going to Punta Gorda next week. Lunch at the EAA Clubhouse. Pulled pork with sides. We are hosted by Old Fart and Chef, Larry McClure. After lunch will will be bused across the field to tour three hangars full incredible aircraft. Old Fart Jim Lyons will be our host. Look for details on Monday. I WILL need a good headcount for this one.

Old Fart Roger
 
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Great pictures Turbo!
I met a few of those old farts in Laconia(KLCI) last October.
I hope to catch up with you all once I complete my panel upgrade in few weeks.

See you all soon.
 
Been There

That's where I ate when Jan Bussell was giving me transition training in his RV6A. Great restaurant.
 
Dang... I missed it

Nice write up Turbo. I have been away from VAF too long. Lots has happened. Sorry I missed the Old Farts fly-in. I certainly qualify ....LOL
 
from old fart Roger.........

Old Farts

I want you all to know that I really appreciate the numerous ?Thank Yous?, compliments and ?Atta Boys? sent my way for running this outfit. However, I often feel the shoe should be on the other foot. Today?s event at Punta Gorda (KPGD) is a case in point. It was way too cold to fly my old Stearman an hour each way. No problem, Old Fart Jeff Weston chauffeured me in his 1958 Comanche 180... a truly great airplane. Once at EAA Hangar 565, Old Fart Larry McClure and his crew fed me, and even gave me an ?Old Fart? coffee mug. Then Old Fart Walt Fricke chauffeured me across the field to the hangars where we were all treated to a tour of incredible aircraft. The tour was made possible by Old Fart Jim Lyons. And, more than twenty of you braved the cold and flew in to let me look at your airplanes.

Makes me wonder who should be thanking who? How about a big, ?Hip, Hip Horray!!!? all the way around?

What a great venue!!! The EAA clubhouse was once the concrete backstop for sighting in P-40 Warhawk machine guns. The airfield was a WWII training base. It is the only WWII building remaining on the field.

Here?s a pano shot of the interior. I think Larry?s crew fed well over fifty.

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Below is our host crew at EAA Chapter 565. From the left are Old Farts Wally Rojem, Larry McClure, David Jones and Ned Rose. Above and beyond... I mentioned to Larry last night that a big kettle of chili would hit the spot on a cold day. Guess what? There was a big kettle of chili waiting for us... plus the pulled pork, sides and cookies. David spent close to two hours parking airplanes out on the cold ramp. Thanks guys! Keep it up and we?ll be back every week!
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The Vans RVs are taking over. I counted at least 23 aircraft and I think twelve were RVs. I got pictures of most, but know I missed late arrival Old Fart Jeff Edwards in a buddy?s RV-9. The buddy is Old Fart Jim Clark.

Here are some random shots from the ramp. The one out of place photo is from indoors at the ?collection?. Old Farts Walt Fricke and Louis Meiners are trying to figure out how they are going to fit in the ultra rare 1929 Davis Parasol monoplane.
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I neglected to get a picture of Jim Lyons, but can?t thank him enough for letting us tour this fantastic collection. It takes up three hangars. Three of the aircraft are Jim?s (Army Stearman, Ryan PT-22 and the Piper AT-1... a very rare ambulance version of the L-4). The rest belong to a German collector/pilot that prefers to remain anonymous. The centerpiece of the collection is a P-51 Mustang ?Sweetie Face?. Here are a couple pictures...

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Other aircraft on display, (all flying condition and regularly flown) are an AT-6, another PT-22, Tiger Moth, Piper J-4 and two more Stearmans. Also of interest are engines, WWII poster art and 1940s music playing over the sound system. INCREDIBLE!!!
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That?s a wrap... Again... Thanks to everybody who help make ?Old Farts? what it is. That includes all of us. Keep coming back!

Next week, Thursday, January 25 is Arcadia for burgers on the grill. We will again be hosted by George Chase and the guys at Aviation City. We will get to see their new bath house. Bring a tent and spend the night.

Thursday, February 1st, Old Fart Carl Miller is arranging a tour of LoPresti Aviation at Sebastian, transportation and lunch at a nearby restaurant.

Tentative plans are for a trip to Albert Whitted in Clearwater on February 8th.

Old Fart Roger
 
arcadia X-06 today

Old Farts...

Our trip to Arcadia (X06) worked out wonderfully! The weather cooperated with winds coming straight down Runway 06, mostly sunny skies and tolerable temps. The big winds held off until we were all back in our hangars. Our hosts, George Chase and his Friends of Arcadia Airport, again went above and beyond to make sure we had everything we needed for our cookout. Randy and Beverly Barry, owners of Eagle Vista Aviation and operators of the X06 FBO, went out of their way to make sure we were welcome. They shuttled Old Farts from the ramp in their golf cart and offered up tours of their agricultural aerial spraying training facility. And finally, as an unexpected treat, we were allowed a look at an incredibly rare Antique Aircraft based at Arcadia. What a great day! Oh... I counted 31 Old Fart aircraft and we went through sixty burgers and six pounds of BBQ chicken!!!

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Old Fart Mike Ebaugh and my wife, Terese, did the cooking! I heard no complaints!!! Besides the burgers and chicken there was Terese?s Picnic Beans, potato salad, coleslaw (my recipe), drinks, condiments and cookies. Mike hauled it all in his ?Old Fart Truckster Cherokee Six?. He was much lighter heading home. In all, we collected almost $650. $400 covered the food cost, I kept $45 as seed money for our next event and donated $300 to Aviation City. George was extremely happy with the donation and assured me/us that it will be put to good use. Friends of Arcadia Airport is a great organization. Visit their website, for more info... www.FoAA.us. There you can sign up for updates on activities, to include their pancake breakfasts.

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In the above photos are hungry Old Farts at the Aviation City Picnic Shelter and our hosts. Left to right in the bottom picture are Dave Hutchinson, Paul Moore and George Chase from Friends of Arcadia Airport. In less than a year, they raised $46,000 to construct the new bath house in the background. The new facility will be open to visitors and campers at Aviation City, beginning next week. Several Old Farts have made charitable donations. Yay, Old Farts!!!

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A totally unexpected surprise was a chance to see this 1935 Wiley Post Aircraft Corp. biplane. The little biplane is one of only four built. One other is in the Wiley Post Museum in Oklahoma City. This is the only other survivor. The owner, whose name I failed to record, was kind enough to let us have a look. He also answered endless questions from the swarm of Old Farts. The current owner inherited the plane from his father. I peeked in the tiny cockpit and noted two seats! The father told his son that 300 pounds was his pilot and crew weight limit. Not many Old Farts are going to make that happen! It is powered with a souped up Model A Ford engine, making perhaps 50 horsepower. I don?t have to tell most of you who Wiley Post was, but highlights of his career include first to fly solo around the world and numerous high altitude records. He died in a plane crash with passenger Will Rogers. A quick google search turned up a great picture of Wiley and an old shot of this very airplane. I also failed to ask if it is currently flying, but suspect that it is flyable. What a treat!!! In the bottom picture are Old Farts Jack Madden and Turbo Eddie.

Here are some random shots of Old Fart aircraft. I got a pic of most of them. Also, a tip of the hat goes out to Old Fart Eddie Flack who graciously chauffeured Terese and I in his beautiful Cessna Turbo 206. What a machine!

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Thanks again to everybody! Great Day!

Next week is a trip to Sebastian and a tour of LoPresti Aviation. Old Fart Carl Miller is organizing this one for us. It promises to be another great outing. Details will follow in my email post on Monday evening.

We have tentative plans to go to Albert Whitted at St. Petersburg on February 8.

Save the date!!! The Aero Acres Fly-In is scheduled for Saturday, February 24. I will post an informational copy of our flyer soon.

Old Fart Roger
 
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