This striking 1946 Globe GC-1B Swift was at the end
of a row of handsome Swifts this year. N80919 is powered by a Continental IO-360-D engine and is registered to Bruce Mayes of Honolulu, Hawaii.
Vintage member Mike Lazarowicz of Port Clinton,
Ohio (right), was visiting with his buddies Bill Miles from Lillian, Alabama (left), and Larry Haas from La Cygne, Kansas (center), beside his freshly restored 1946 Taylorcraft BC12D. As it turned out, Mike not only had a good time seeing his friends, but also when he received the Custom Class A (0-80 hp) Small Plaque award for N95817. Sharing a bit about his airplane, Mike says, “I bought this Taylorcraft for $1,150 in 1969, when I was 17 years old. I went to college, and my friend helped me re-cover it the second year; I flew it all the way through college, got all my ratings, and then I sold it in 1973. I bought it back six years ago and restored it. This is the same exact paint job I had on it in 1970, when I was an 18-year-old kid. It was what I liked! You can restore them to original, but my goal was to make it a flier and enjoy it, and relive my youth!” Mike grins when he refers to his buddies, saying, “I met Larry through the Taylorcraft forum and then Larry introduced me to Bill. They own four Taylorcrafts between them, and they ‘stalk’ me at every meet— they’re always behind me at least four steps!” Bill used to volunteer in the Federal Pavilion, and he especially enjoys coming to the fly-in just to socialize and look at airplanes. Bill has an extensive history in aviation, from flying crop dusters to transporting prisoners to flying for the airlines. He soloed in a Taylorcraft in 1946, back when Mike’s plane was brand new. Explaining why he owns two of them now, Bill says with a gentle laugh, “I like the airplane because of its flight characteristics. It’ll outfly a Cub. In fact, when I’m flying with a Cub in formation, I have to pull the throttle halfway back. I enjoy landing mine on my 1,340-foot runway in my pecan orchard; it’s plenty wide in there for the Taylorcraft. The tree trunks are 90 feet apart, and the tree limbs go overhead and make what kind of looks like a tunnel that you land in.” Being good friends with Bill has its perks; Larry has experienced the delight of landing in the pecan orchard in Bill’s Tri-Pacer as well as the Taylorcraft. It was Larry’s 44th consecutive year at Oshkosh; he’s a talented restorer and homebuilder. Describing a little bit about his aviation background, Larry smiles and says, “I’ve owned two Taylorcrafts for 51 years now, and they’ve both won prizes up here. I learned to fly in one, then went and bought one. I flew it a year or so, and then my dad learned to fly, so we had to have a second airplane. We painted them just alike, and we went everywhere in two airplanes.” It’s easy to deduce from these gentlemen’s stories that throughout nearly 70 years, the Taylorcraft is still a “keeper.” Yet, as Mike points out, “Airplanes at Oshkosh are great, but the people are the real story!” (Watch for an upcoming feature on this airplane.) 46 NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2013
N7040E has been beautifully restored and is “Flying in Memory of Wallace Smith, 19541976, and Glenn Hulslander, 1928-1993.” This 1960 Cessna 175A is owned by David Smith of Milaca, Minnesota, and received the Outstanding Customized Bronze Lindy award.
W. Lee Hussey, II of Martinsville, Virginia, is the proud owner of this 1964 Piper PA-24-400 Comanche. With its cowling open and its rocker box covers shining in the sun, it attracted quite a bit of attention. N8455P received the 2013 Contemporary Grand Champion Gold Lindy award (and was the 2010 Bronze Lindy winner).
Above: This un-
signed, time-worn image was painted directly on an interior wall panel in the VAA Red Barn and had apparently been covered over for years. Curiously, it is remarkably similar to NC14163 at right.
This gorgeous 1934 Stinson SR-5A bears the logo “Abraham Lincoln Life Insurance Company,
Springfield, Illinois” on its fuselage. NC14163 is powered by a Lycoming R-680 and is owned by Keith Swalheim of Cottage Grove, Wisconsin. It cruises at 120 mph and lands at 70 mph. It received the Antique Transport Category Runner Up award. (Watch for an upcoming feature on this airplane.)
This 1929 Spartan C3-165 was on the flightline very briefly one day. NC705N is owned by Lee Kunze of Howards Grove, Wisconsin, and is one of five C-3s listed on the FAA Registry. Appropriately enough, Tempus Fugit II adorns its cowling (Latin for “Time Flies”).
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