Earth Base Zero

I was twenty five and restless when, after two years of boredom and frustration working for Hamilton Standard in Connecticut, I was mercifully laid off in August of 1969. The lay-off occurred while I was on a two-week vacation that I had spent driving out to Utah and back. It was during that trip that…

There was a two-week Christmas vacation in the schedule while I was attending Utah State University. I decided this would be a good time to complete my crossing of the continent. I’d heard a lot about how great the San Diego Zoo was, so I set that as my destination. On December 28th I set out…

At the dawn of the new year, it was time to head east. I departed Lindberg Int’l, and flew along the Mexican border to Yuma, Arizona. This took me over the Imperial Valley, sand hills and a lot of saguaro cacti. I called Yuma Int’l on every published frequency and got no response. The sky…

In the spring of 1970, I emerged from Utah State University with a fresh Airframe and Powerplant Mechanic’s License after nine months of study. This was possible because my BSME degree satisfied all the classroom requirements, and I only had to take the shop courses. My next great ambition was to fly to Alaska in…

On Labor Day weekend I had Sunday and Monday off. This was enough time to make the most memorable trip of my stay. By now I had a tent of my own, so I was equipped to make a solo overnight trip. I also had finally gotten a crystal for my Narco VHT-3 with Anchorage…

As May 1971 rolled around, I decided the time was right to go back to the Yukon to retrieve my airplane. One of the Boston radio stations had a service called “Travelers Friend” which broadcast a list of people looking for rides and travelers looking for riders. I connected with a pair of hippies going…

After losing control of his company during a period of poor health in late 1935, C. G. Taylor started up again by building the prototype model A in Butler, PA in 1936, but moved to Alliance, OH the same year to take advantage of the offer of financing and factory space for production. Just about…

I had just gotten back from a trip to Alliance, Ohio, when it was time to repack for a trip to Oshkosh just eleven days later. I was traveling in company with Ron Brown and his 90hp Cub, so I was operating on his schedule, and he was getting an early start. We departed on…

My wife and I had just gotten back from a camping trip to Nova Scotia in early September, when there was a call on my answering machine from fellow EAA Chapter member, Phil Tedrick, who wanted me to go out to the Midwest to inspect two amphibious airplanes he was considering buying, a Volmer Sportsman…

Outbound This is the story of my pilgrimage to Alliance, Ohio for the annual Taylorcraft Fly-in. I had the plane all gassed and ready to go the day before, so I was able to get off the ground at 5:30 on Friday morning, July 7th. There was a thin line of virga running through Jay…

This is the story of a flight down to Alabama on November 16th, 2001. Phil Bussiere, my hanger mate wanted a gas fireplace insert for his house, but didn’t want to pay the shipping from Birmingham, which was the only place that had a model big enough for his fireplace. And it’s only 1000 miles…

Tach 361.0 It’s the Fourth of July, and I get off the ground at Norridgewock at 6:30AM. The air is perfectly still, but the cloud layer overhead is a little threatening, and it is hazy. Over by Fryeburg, the sky opens up a bit more. I’m at 2500’. Passing over Windsock Village in West Ossippee,…

On Friday September 2nd of 2005, I flew up to the annual EAA Chapter 305 fly-in at Stanley, Nova Scotia in company with Steve Howe and his beautiful Funk. We got underway around noon, with Steve departing from Twitchell’s and me departing shortly after from Norridgewock. We planned to join up over Verona Island. When…

I made my annual trip up to Nova Scotia on September 1st. I departed around 9 AM Friday and flew up to St. Stephens to clear Canadian customs. When I called in from the airport, they just gave me a reporting number, and didn’t come out to look at the plane. I brewed up some…

After a gap of four years, conditions finally looked good for a flight to the 2006 annual Taylorcraft reunion in Alliance, Ohio. Conditions were so good that I couldn’t see waiting for my intended departure day on Friday, so I got an early start on Thursday afternoon, July 6th. I flew my first leg almost…

On January 27th, I went out to the Norridgewock airport around 8:00 for breakfast, and to work with Chuck Boyer on his Tripacer.  While there, Jack Fickett was telling about the runway he had packed down in front of his house on the Kennebec River, so I had to go right over and try it. …

On December 18, 2008 I got out to the airport just as the snow was being plowed from in front of the hangers, so I shoveled out in front of the doors. As it was a nice day to fly, I rolled out the Taylorcraft after checking for water in the two tanks I intended…

For the 2008 Alliance Taylorcraft reunion, I decided to go out early enough to help Forrest Barber get his field ready for the fly-in. I took off from Norridgewock on the Wednesday morning, July 9th. Weather was initially good, but started to deteriorate as I approached the Green Mountains in Vermont. I got a little…

The Lee Bottom Flying Field is a 4100 foot turf airstrip nestled on bottom land in Indiana between a bluff and the Ohio River. This place was a new discovery for me, along with the fact that they have a Wood, Fabric and Tailwheels Fly In every September. Steve Howe, over in Woodstock, got me…

I hadn’t been up to the Stanley fly-in for several years, due to bad weather and the usual run-around by Homeland Security in obtaining a no-transponder waiver. This year I applied a month early, and got approval on the third try. On Friday, September 2, I called Canadian Canpass in the morning and set out…

I’d intended to go to the Simsbury Fly-in in Connecticut for several years, and this year I finally did it. After all, Simsbury is where I bought my Talyorcraft 46 years ago. The fly-in was on Sunday, September 15th, but being concerned about being delayed by morning fog, I decided to fly down Saturday afternoon.…

Having never flown further north in Maine than Patten, and it being a perfect flying day on August 17th, I decided to take in the annual air show at Frenchville. I got an early start, and took my usual course to Patten, passing just west of Brownville Junction and Millinocket. Patten was deserted, but I…

Beech Hill Pond February 15, 2014 Fortunately Parker Tyler came along in the midst of the proceedings, and applied his snow plow to the effort. As he departed, I took two steps forward to finish cleaning up, slipped on the ice and fell on my ass. With two shots of prime, the plane started right…

My cousin, Cory Patten, was graduating from the Composites Technology trade school at the International Yacht Restoration School branch in Bristol, RI on Friday, August 29, 2014. Since he doesn’t have a father, I elected to attend. The graduation ceremony was at ten in the morning, so I flew down after lunch on Thursday, the…

The impetus for this trip was Mark Hayden’s interest is flying out to visit his son in Durango in southwestern Colorado. I was tagging along, in a supporting role. We got underway on Saturday, September 3rd, he from his back yard in North Monmouth and I from Norridgewock. He had taken off light on fuel,…

July 9 was a very pleasant day to fly. Ray and I got off the ground at 6am sharp, so as to get down to Spurwink early, and park close to the food. I was a little high on approach to runway 24, so I had to slip it in, and then there was a…

I needed a windshield for my endless homebuilt Taylorcraft project. The cost of the windshield was bad enough, but the extra $165 for truck freight and $40 for foam packing really upped the cost. For that money, I figured I could fly to Jeanette, PA and pick it up myself. I ordered it from LP…