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.