Waco Fly-In

braunpilot

What day is it?
Here are some videos that I took a couple of weekends ago at a Waco Fly-In. More pics to come I just don't have time to upload them.

Waco Departure
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Waco Low Pass
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Sweet Pics! thanks.

ummmm...wacofan, where are you? thought you'd be the first to jump in this thread
 
Just got here! I assume this was the Waco Fly-in at Creve Couer? Haven't looked at the pics yet - let me see...

Great shots - particularly the S3HD!
 
Just got here! I assume this was the Waco Fly-in at Creve Couer? Haven't looked at the pics yet - let me see...

Great shots - particularly the S3HD!

I can't help it... I've got to ask... Why the Waco over the Stearman?
(question influenced by the white Stearman in the background of the second vid!)
 
Actually it was at Aero Estates on Sat morning...they fly over from Creve Couer for breakfast and fly back. I know one of the residents there. It's located close to ACORE NDB. I got more pics but I am having trouble uploading them. I will get them up when I can. If you want a pic PM me.
 
I can't help it... I've got to ask... Why the Waco over the Stearman?
(question influenced by the white Stearman in the background of the second vid!)

Waco's are much prettier than Stearmans (the Boeing Stearmans - Lloyd Stearman made some nice looking airplanes, but the "Stearman" that everyone things of was produced by Boeing after Lloyd was long gone and working for Lockheed (I think)).

Also, Waco UPF-7's (the direct comparison to the Stearman) had four ailerons as opposed to two, and all Waco's are generally very nice flying machines, with nice control harmony. Waco's powered the same as a Stearman (220 Continental, 275 Jacobs) will run away from the slower, boxier Stearman. Waco also had been one of the dominant airplane makers in the 20's and 30's. The UPF-7 I show below is simply for comparison to the Stearman pictured - they were contemporaries, but Waco built many other airplanes (like the one in my avatar) and also was one of the only companies to build both open AND closed cabin ships (Travel Air did as well, as did Stinson and others - but not nearly in the volume that Waco did. The cabin ships shown above are also beautiful and nice flying. Now, the things that make Waco's beautiful and desirable today are the very reasons the Stearman was better suited to the task of WWII - the Waco required a lot of craftsmanship and custom work. The Stearman is more boxy, standardized and is basically built to be put together fast, abused in training, fixed fast, abused more in training, etc. The Waco is as tough as the Stearman, just more labor intensive to build and fix.

Here is a UPF-7. Compare this to the Stearman.

waco_upf7_n39713_lfq_600x322.jpg


This is the view a Stearman pilot sees as a comparably powered Waco flies by it in cruise:
Jackwaco.jpg
 
Actually it was at Aero Estates on Sat morning...they fly over from Creve Couer for breakfast and fly back. I know one of the residents there. It's located close to ACORE NDB. I got more pics but I am having trouble uploading them. I will get them up when I can. If you want a pic PM me.

My plan was to go to the National Waco Club Fly-in in Ohio last week. Obviously things fell through. The two guys that run Creve Couer were the guys that ended up buying my Grandpa's two Waco's after he died. I like those guys a lot and they have a wonderful airport and museum. Whenever you get pics up I'll be ready. Thanks for adding this!
 
Thanks Waco, I appreciate the commentary. I just found it interesting that most people can only think of a PT-17 when an open cockpit biplane comes to mind. I don't personally know many people who know what a Waco is, let alone know how to pronounce it.

I definitely didn't know, however, that the UPF-7 is significantly faster than the PT-17, that's rather interesting!
 
A couple more, hopefully this works.

EDIT -- It did, partially.
 

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I'll be damned, it sure is. I should have been paying more attention!

Buckers had strange landing gear geometry in which the struts jutted forward, and to my knowledge no Bucker product ever had outrigger style gear - that is a late 20's/early 30's design fad - early Waco's, Stinson's, Great Lakes, Stearmans, and Travel Air's had them among other makes. Another give away is the tail. I think you were fooled by the wing sweep and the inline engine. The early Great Lakes airplanes had Menasco Pirate's. I believe this example pictured has a 200hp Ranger. In my mind, the old inline GL's look the best, followed by the ships powered with 185 Warners (ala Harold Krier), and some I have seen with 220 Continentals (although that engine and prop set look "too big" for the airplane).
 
As a follow-up, this is a Warner powered Great Lakes. Got this today. This specific airplane has just been restored and was Betty Skeltons first mount, then we she moved on to the Pitts, Frank Price bought it. The Warner, in my opinion, is the best looking engine on a Great Lakes.

GreatLakes-Warner.jpg
 
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