Speaking of oldies and goodies!

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FastEddieB
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Joined: Wed Jan 07, 2009 9:33 pm
Location: Lenoir City, TN/Mineral Bluff, GA

Speaking of oldies and goodies!

Post by FastEddieB »

Over on the Pilots of America site, I wondered if anyone had stumbled across any of my old planes.

A member there tracked down my first plane, a 1968 Cessna 150, that I owned for a short time in 1975:

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Of course, he used the FAA database (d’oh!)

Anyway, miracle of miracle the plane is now based at Monroe County Airport in Madisonville, TN. An airport I virtually fly over when commuting between Copperhill and our Lenoir City property.

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I contacted the new owner and flew in one day and met him and his girlfriend:

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Not much changed in 40+ years. Drooped wingtips, painted spinner and updated radios, but not much else is different.

The owner is a nice young man working on his private. He offered to let me fly the plane some time, and I hope to take him up on it.

On a sadder note, the 1975 Traveler I owned not long thereafter was totaled, though fortunately not a fatal.

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So it goes...
Fast Eddie B.
Sky Arrow 600 E-LSA • N467SA
CFI, CFII, CFIME
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smutny
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Re: Speaking of oldies and goodies!

Post by smutny »

I soloed in N9894J in 1986.

Last time I saw her was the early 90's, sitting next to a hangar sans wings, engine or dignity. Brought a tear to my eye.
John Smutny
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Normandy Aircraft @ S50
TimTaylor
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Re: Speaking of oldies and goodies!

Post by TimTaylor »

It's too bad a C150/152 is not an LSA
Retired from flying.
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Scooper
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Re: Speaking of oldies and goodies!

Post by Scooper »

Sadly, the Nike Flying Club C-150 I used to fly on Kwajalein in the early 70s has been de-registered. The salt air must have taken a heavy toll.

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Stan Cooper (K4DRD)
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FastEddieB
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Location: Lenoir City, TN/Mineral Bluff, GA

Re: Speaking of oldies and goodies!

Post by FastEddieB »

As an aside, I went back and checked my logbook and I only owned the plane for about two months. I could have sworn it was longer.

I had bought it for $4,000 in May of 1975. That sounds like a steal, but I recall back then a new C150 was just under $10,000, and a new Aerobat just over $10,000. So, $4,000 for a 7-year-old plane was probably fair at the time.

Unfortunately, about 2 months later, in June, I went for a trip to the NE from S FL with my ex-wife. On the way back from visiting friends in Lock Haven, we landed at College Park, MD and had an oil change. Unfortunately, a lot of the wrong kinds of metal were found in the filter or screen, which would necessitate an overhaul. An overhaul we could not afford at the time. Sad.

The mechanic knew someone on the field who was looking for a project, and he gave us $2,500 for it as it sat. That was the last I saw it. Until now.

Then again, it set the stage for what was my second plane, a 1976 Citabria 7ECA - and a long, and so far safe, flying career.

If anyone cares, here's that final flight:

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Fast Eddie B.
Sky Arrow 600 E-LSA • N467SA
CFI, CFII, CFIME
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rsteele
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Re: Speaking of oldies and goodies!

Post by rsteele »

Eddie, have you been back to Collage Park since your unfortunate oil analysis?

It's the oldest continuously operated airport in the US. The Wright Bro's taught the Army how to fly there. After 9/11, emergency services flew out there just to keep it operational and open to maintain that record.

For those that don't know, Collage Park is one of the "DC Three" airports that lay within the DC flight restricted zone. One must take a course, get finger printed and have a background check to fly into any of these airports. There are a fair number of local pilots that do this to help keep these airports open.

Collage Park also has nice Museum on the field with some historic aircraft and a Wright B model reproduction. It's a short walk from a Metro stop (although nearly at the end of line, so about 45min from the city center). If any one is interested in actually flying in, I'm pretty sure Helen as CSP could help with that.
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FastEddieB
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Re: Speaking of oldies and goodies!

Post by FastEddieB »

I have not been back since. I have landed at Dulles and at Montgomery County Airpark in the vicinity.

To show how things were different, back then DC had a TCA. My 150 had neither transponder nor encoder. I remember calling Washington Approach from the vicinity of Quantico (lower left below) for traffic advisories, planning to stay clear of or under the TCA.

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They cleared me to fly up the river. I advised negative transponder, negative encoder and they said fine, fly up the river and report College Park in sight.

I was probably around 2,000' and had quite a nice view of the Capitol, Washington Monument and the like out my left wing.

Really sad how things have changed.
Fast Eddie B.
Sky Arrow 600 E-LSA • N467SA
CFI, CFII, CFIME
[email protected]
rsteele
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Re: Speaking of oldies and goodies!

Post by rsteele »

FastEddieB wrote:
They cleared me to fly up the river. I advised negative transponder, negative encoder and they said fine, fly up the river and report College Park in sight.

I was probably around 2,000' and had quite a nice view of the Capitol, Washington Monument and the like out my left wing.

Really sad how things have changed.
Sad indeed. Flying up the river with no transponder today would likely get you a visit from an F16, or may a military helicopter. There are also a depressing number of airports that no longer exist, thus the interest in keeping the DC 3 around, although I think one has already be sold for development. I'm a relatively new comer to the area, but friends talk about airports that used to be inside the Beltway that no longer exist.

This link http://www.airfields-freeman.com may take a few people down memory lane.
(edit, fixed link)
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