Gallery Update: A RARE Kreutzer Air Coach Sighting in Independence!!!

This weekend has turned out to be full of surprises! Thanks to a pilot friend over in Independence who posted about it on social media, a rare tri-motor aircraft flew into Independence State Airport yesterday. I just knew I had to go see it for myself, so I did just that this morning!

The aircraft in question was a Kreutzer K-5 Air Coach, a late 1920s-era light transport aircraft. A brainchild of Joseph Kreutzer, who developed a series of small high-winged trimotor light transport aircraft, naming each the Air Coach. Each had a fixed tailwheel undercarriage with the two outboard engines slung from the supporting bracing struts to the high wing. After Kreutzer formed the Joseph Kreutzer Corporation in 1928, he was joined by Lawrence Brown and Albin Peterson who had designed the Brown-Mercury C-2, which the K-series Air Coaches were designed from. The K-5 Air Coach I saw today was fitted with three 100 horsepower, five-cylinder Kinner K-5 engines. The K-5 variant becamse Kreutzer's standard aircraft model before his company suspended operations in 1931 with no further aircraft developments taking place, hence the extreme rarity of this particular aircraft.

Independence (7S5) 7

Preview:

Kreutzer K-5 Air Coach (NC612A) parked on the ramp.

The Air Coach saw service with small air transport operators in the United States and in Mexico.

As it turns out, this airframe is the sole-surviving example of the Air Coach family of aircraft. Fifteen examples were built. It was sold to Mexico in 1931 as XB-AHO and was flown by La Compania Aeronautica De La Sierra on routes from Parral to local silver and other mining operations in inaccessible territory, carrying equipment and personnel to the mines and valuable ores on the return journey. It was sold in 1939 for operations from Chihuahua. After becoming derelict, it was recovered and was maintained in airworthy condition by the Golden Wings Air Museum in Blaine, Minnesota until the museum unfortunately closed permanently. Thankfully, this plane (along with the rest of the former museum collection!) seems to have found a new home!

Originally built as a K-2 model, it was upgraded to a K-3 and then a K-5 standard (the K-4 designation was never used).

Face-to-face with this mini Tri-motor!

The engine gauges for the two wing strut-mounted engines are actually on the inner cowling, perfectly in-view of the pilot from the cockpit!

This airframe bears the colors of Navajo Airways, a former Arizona-based air transport company. Truly a relic of the early days of aviation!

Gallery Update: T-28 Sighting in Salem!

Last night as I was headed out for a quick little flight, I saw a North American T-28 Trojan arrive into Salem and it appeared to park on the ramp for the night. It was already dark, so I didn't get any photos, nor did I even bother having my camera on me last night. Banking on the possibility that it would still be there the following morning, I decided to get up at sunrise to see if it was still there, and my hunch paid off! After the Reno Air Races last weekend, this little bonus warbird was a nice catch!

Salem (SLE) 92

Preview:

United States Army Beechcraft C-12F Huron (84-0486) parked on the ramp. I've seen this military King Air before. Quite unusual to see it parked on the FBO ramp instead of the Army National Guard base on the other side of the airport.

North American T-28B Trojan (NX194RR) parked on the ramp. Arrived from a private airstrip nearby out of the Independence/Monmouth area. Per flight tracking, it was in Reno after the races.

Originally delivered the United States Navy as 138194 in March 1955.

Currently registered to Mentor Flight, LLC out of Cincinnati, Ohio. Always a pleasure to catch a random warbird in Salem!

Gallery Update: Global 6000 Sighting in Salem

A little over two years ago, I had the opportunity and photographed a Bombardier Global 5000, a member of the Global Express family of large, long-range business jets. Since then, I've paid closer attention to corporate aviation and started seeking out opportunities to photograph various makes and models of private business jets and other corporate aircraft as opportunity permits. And one such opportunity presented itself today as I got to photograph for the first time a Global 6000, the third generation member of the Global Express family after the Global 5000 and Global Express XRS.

The Global 6000 was launched by Bombardier in 2012 and offers improved range via a larger fuel tank located at the wing root. It also features a rather flexible wing and one of the highest wing loadings in it's class, making it a comfortable ride in turbulence. The Global 6000 competes with the likes of Dassault's Falcon 8X and Gulfstream Aerospace's G600 and G650.

Salem (SLE) 91

Preview:

Cessna 182Q Skylane (N4783N) parked on the ramp.

Life Flight Network Eurocopter EC135-P1 (N841LF) making a southbound downwind departure after taking off from the ramp area.

Bombardier BD-700-1A10 Global 6000 (N259SB) arriving on 31 from Provo.

Pretty bland, "white-tail" livery, but still good to finally catch a Global 6000 for the first time.

N259SB taxiing to the ramp.

N259SB parked on the ramp.

Almost looks like a "white-tail" CRJ-200!

Gallery Update: The Great Oregon Homebuilt Fly-in 2021 Recap

I took a friend flying down to Cottage Grove today to attend the Great Oregon Homebuilt Fly-in, hosted by the Oregon Aviation Historical Society. It was definitely a nice little fly-in that was easily doable in half a day.

And considering that the year 2021 commemorates 100 years of aviation in the state of Oregon, flying down to Cottage Grove and spending some time with this museum was very appropriate, considering that they focus on amateur-built and homebuilt aircraft and preserve the history of Oregon pilots, especially the "Beaverton Outlaws," early aviators who fought with the feds (due to experimental/amateur aviation and aircraft being illegal in the United States until 1952, with the exception of Oregon, which served as a sort of safe haven for these pilots) prior to World War II and how they sought to change the regulations after the war; we can partially credit these Oregon aviation pioneers for starting a movement that would eventually lead to the creation of the Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA) that we know of today.

The event for today was somewhat hampered due to smoke from nearby wildfires burning east of the valley, particularly out towards Oakridge and the Crescent Lake area (places I visited last year); the smoke probably deterred a lot of pilots from making the trip out to Cottage Grove, hence a smaller than expected turnout; I even questioned whether or not if we could make it in, but we managed thankfully. Even so, it was still a fun outing and it was good to revisit Cottage Grove, attend the fly-in, and check out the museum again.

The Great Oregon Homebuilt Fly-in 2021

Oregon Aviation Historical Society (Revisit)

Preview:

Fly-in Displays

While fly-in attendance was a bit lackluster due to all the wildfire smoke coming from the east, there were still some noteworthy and interesting aircraft brought in and put up for display.

Barrows Bearhawk Patrol (N240BP) on display. The Patrol is a two-seat variant of the Barrows Bearhawk, a family of homebuilt high-wing aircraft.

Barrows Bearhawk Patrol (N241BP) on display.

Rans S-7S Courier (N8595Z) on display. This one's locally-based.

Kitfox Super Sport 7 (N990TT) on display.

Van's RV-7A (N137RV) on display. Owned by Van's Aircraft, Inc. this RV-7 has the distinction of having serial number 1!

Van's RV-14A (N214VA) on display. I've seen this one before, but this of course is the very-first RV-14 ever built!

Adams Arrow (NX437A) on display. Information on this aircraft type is hard to come by even after an Internet search. It is classified as an Experimental home-built, which would explain the vague information.

Great Lakes 2T-1A Sport Trainer (N31GL) on display. The Great Lakes Aircraft Company built large numbers of these aerobatic trainers/touring biplanes before they went bankrupt during the Great Depression. Owing to the type's popularity however, other manufacturers such as WACO Classic Aircraft placed it back into production. The 2T-1A was Great Lakes' most well-known aircraft.

Oregon Aviation Historical Society Museum Revisit

My first official visit to the Oregon Aviation Historical Society Museum was back in 2016, just before I moved out of Oregon to begin flight training. In addition the fly-in displays, the museum hangar was open for tours along with the collection of very vintage and historic (not to mention one-of-a-kind!) aircraft.

Coast Ranger 1 (N6099C) on display. This one-of-a-kind experimental/home-built is a very-recent addition (like just a day before this event was to take place!) to the museum. Built in 1954 by Cliff Krum of Portland, Oregon, a pioneering home-builder and a "Beaverton Outlaw."

Ralston Special "Wimpy" (N15516) on display. Thought to be the first successful low-wing design of a homebuilt airplane, the "Wimpy" seen here is at near-completion. According to one of the individuals closely-associated with this plane, the engine that powered it has been hard to come by.

VanGrunsven RV-3 (N17RV) replica on display. This airframe is just a static display made to look like the prototype RV-3. The original is on display at the EAA AirVenture Museum in Oshkosh.

Springfield Cadet (N10670) on display. The 1931 Springfield Cadet was designed and built in Springfield, Oregon by Jim McManiman. It was owned and flown by motorcycle dealer Clarence Saville in 1935 before it was acquired by the museum in 2003. Airframe has been restored to static condition and is not airworthy due to it's historic value.

Great Lakes 2T-1A Sport Trainer (NX315Y) on display. 

This was one of the museum's pieces that I've been dying to see! This biplane is famous because Dorothy Hester and Tex Rankin flew this ship with great skill and to much acclaim as it flew in countless air shows throughout the west and extensively at the Cleveland Air Races before it was wrecked in the 1960s. The museum has painstakingly restored this airframe to completion earlier this year, just as it looked when Tex Rankin last flew it.

Long Anzani Longster AL-1 (N930AL) on display. An early homebuilt aircraft designed by Leslie Long. This airframe is a replica built from the original plans by students at Lane Community College specifically for display at the Oregon Aviation Historical Society.

Tom Story Special #1 (N1337) on display. Design based off the "Wimpy," this airframe is an important and historic piece of Oregon’s homebuilt aircraft lineage.

Gallery Update: Flying Legends of Victory Tour in Salem

After performing at the AirShow of the Cascades last weekend, the Commemorative Air Force, Arizona Wing's B-17 Flying Fortress known as "Sentimental Journey," has come to Salem, the group's next stop for their Flying Legends of Victory Tour; it was only four short years ago that I got to see their B-25 in Heber City, Utah during their 2017 tour.

Since I saw "Sentimental Journey" fly at Madras last weekend, I didn't spend too long touring the aircraft nor was feeling too enthusiastic considering how much work has taken its toll on me. But I took today as an opportunity to actually get inside this B-17 and support the Commemorative Air Force, especially after last year's dumpster fire. I'll let the photos speak for themselves.

Flying Legends of Victory 2021 - B-17G Flying Fortress "Sentimental Journey"

Preview:

Commemorative Air Force Boeing B-17G Flying Fortress "Sentimental Journey" (N9323Z) on display.

A look into the nose-gunner position of the Flying Fortress.

View of the cockpit.

Looking back at the tail-section through the top turret.

Looking back into the radio operator's station.

Looking back towards the rear with two of the side-gunner postions.

This particular airframe was manufactured in 1944 at the Douglas plant in Long Beach, California.

Face-to-face with "Sentimental Journey." I will never take for granted opportunities to see such a treasured piece of history such as this!