The event takes place in the Seattle area September 28 starting at the Museum of Flight located at King County International Airport/Boeing Field (KBFI). Additional events and celebrations are planned for Magnuson Park, the location of the former Sand Point Naval Air Station, where the four highly modified Douglas World Cruisers took off on April 6, 1924.

Each of the four aircraft was named for a U.S. city—the Chicago, New Orleans, Seattle, and Boston—and each was manned by two U.S. Army Air Service aviators. Since aircraft lacked modern day avionics, navigation was done by pilotage and dead reckoning.

The Chicago and the New Orleans were the only aircraft to complete the itinerary, landing at Sand Point Naval Air Station on September 28, 1924. The crew was awarded the National Aeronautic Association’s Mackay Trophy.

Celebrating the Centennial

Weather permitting Saturday, aircraft will launch from KBFI around 2 p.m. PST, heading east to overfly Magnuson Park. In the 1940s the property was known as Sand Point Naval Air Station and utilized as a training and supply facility until it was decommissioned in 1970. The runways and several buildings were demolished.

In 1975 a large portion of the property was given to the city of Seattle and named for U.S. Senator Warren Magnuson, a former naval officer from Seattle. When overflying the park, outlines of the runways are still visible.

Although it is no longer an airport, a celebration of the world flight centennial is also scheduled  Saturday at Magnuson Park. 

Participating Aircraft

The majority of the aircraft taking part in the flyover celebration have also completed around-the-world flights, said Museum of Flight spokesperson Ted Huetter. Those aircraft include:

• Gulfstream Turbo Commander 900, piloted by Robert DeLaurentis, who in 2020 flew pole-to-pole around the world. On September 29 there will be a screening of Peace Pilot, a documentary about DeLaurentis’ journey, with the aviator on hand to answer questions.
• Bonanza P35 V-tail, flown by Adrian Eichhorn, who made the trip around the world flying eastbound and performed a solo flight over the North Pole.
• Homebuilt Lancair IV flown by Bill Harrelson, who set a speed record in class C-1/D, a world record for distance 8,114 sm, solo circumnavigated over the North and South poles, and flew westbound around the world.
• Lancair Columbia 300, piloted by Harry Anderson, who has flown around the world twice —once heading west, once heading eastbound—and flown solo over the North Pole as well as to all seven continents.
• Homebuilt Long E-Z of Patrick Elliot and Linda Walker. The pair have flown to six continents.
• Mooney M20J flown by CarolAnn Garratt and Carol Foy, who have made the around-the-world flight three times and set a speed record for this class of airplane.
• Homebuilder RV-9A flown by John Koehler, who made the trip around the world eastbound.
• Cessna 210 Centurion flown by Ed Galkin, who has made the journey around the world four times.

A fair amount of vintage aircraft will be taking part in the flyover. They include:

• Bellanca CH-400 Skyrocket Miss Veedol flown by Tim Moomaw and Greg Brizendine. In 1931, pilot Clyde Pangborn and copilot Hugh Herndon were the first to cross the Pacific nonstop. The pair flew the Miss Veedol from Misawa, Japan, to Wenatchee, Washington.
• Cessna 180, like the one used by Jerrie Mack in 1964 when she became the first woman to fly around in the world.
• Piper Apache. In 1964,  Joan Merriam Smith flew a Piper Twin equatorially, and solo, around the world.
• Piper PA-12 Super Cruiser. In 1947, pilots Clifford Evans and Geroge Truman circled the earth twice in their Piper Super Cruisers, covering 22,436 miles and becoming the first pilots of light aircraft to make the journey.

The Commemorative Air Force B-29, FIFI, which is one of two airworthy Superfortresses left in the world, will also be participating in the flyover. The large bomber has been visiting Seattle this week.

It is a homecoming of sorts for this particular B-29 as it rolled out of the Boeing factory in Renton, Washington—justy over the hill from Boeing Field—in 1945.

The post Around-the-World Flight Centennial Celebrations Planned appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

This comes after over 30,000 workers with the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM) rejected a contract renewal with the company and went on strike last week.

The furloughs were anticipated earlier this week as the aerospace giant attempts to stop the financial bleeding caused by the strike. A Bloomberg Intelligence analysis predicted Monday that Boeing could be out $3.5 billion in cash in the third quarter if the strike continues through September.

• READ MORE: Boeing Freezes Hiring, Considers Furloughs as Strike Could Cost $3.5 Billion

In a memo sent to employees on Wednesday by Boeing CEO Kelly Ortberg, workers were notified that production was paused across many key programs in the Pacific Northwest due to the strike.

“… [O]ur business faces substantial challenges, and it is important that we take difficult steps to preserve cash and ensure that Boeing is able to successfully recover,” Ortberg said in the memo. “As part of this effort, we are initiating temporary furloughs over the coming days that will impact a large number of U.S.-based executives, managers, and employees.”

• READ MORE: Boeing Machinists Reject New Contract, Go on Strike

Ortberg stated that all benefits will continue for affected employees. The company is planning for selected employees to take one week of furlough every four weeks on a rolling basis for the duration of the strike.

Along with these steps, Ortberg said that he and his leadership team will take pay cuts for as long as the strike lasts. Ortberg is currently one of Washington state’s highest-paid CEOs. The Seattle Times reports his compensation package could reach $22 million in 2025.

He did not specify in the memo how much his pay will be reduced during the strike.

“Most important, we won’t take any actions that inhibit our ability to fully recover in the future,” Ortberg said. “All activities critical to our safety, quality, customer support, and key certification programs will be prioritized and continue, including 787 production.”

The post Boeing to Furlough Workers Amid Ongoing Strike appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

Mark Flury, a pilot based at another airport, told the Seattle Times he well understands the turmoil the closure of First Air Field (W16) in Monroe, Washington, will cause, but the 36-acre parcel really is a great spot to centralize the Snohomish County Public Utility District electrical distribution services.

Geoffrey Thomas, the city’s mayor and a pilot and hangar renter at First Air Field, disagrees, but there’s not much he or his council can do about it.

The utilities district is offering the family of late former owner Dr. Daryl Habich, who operated a dental office on the airport and even took fly-in appointments, $7 million for the site. For the district, the property is ideal.

“The history of the site is important, but for us it’s really about finding a place that’s a good spot for our crews and a good spot for future growth for the county,” Public Utility District spokesperson Aaron Swaney told the newspaper. “We have to meet that growth, and we have to have facilities that can do that.”

But for local pilots, life without the field just won’t be the same.

“Yes, it’s had a private component, but it’s also a public good,” Thomas told the newspaper. “A place that helps keep us connected—not a place with a 6- or 8-foot-high fence that keeps us out.”

Thomas said that although the city zoning allows for the utility center, the area of the airport is tourism oriented and he’s afraid a large compound of equipment storage and offices will be out of place. He said there is no doubt the facilities are needed (the area is one of the fastest growing in the state) but wishes the utility had found another spot. Fellow pilot Flury said they looked at 10 other places before settling on the airport.

Assuming the deal goes through, it will take several years to break ground on the new facility, and Flury said the district will help pilots find new accommodations. But First Air will leave a hole.

“I’ve made some of my best friends here learning how to work on a plane and learning how to fly,” pilot Edward Haynes said. “It’s just sad to see it go and be another forgotten-about airport that was a really special place.”

Editor’s Note: This article first appeared on AVweb.

The post Pilots Lament Likely Loss of Beloved Washington Airport appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

On Wednesday, Claudia Simpson Jones and Graham Simpson received the FAA Wright Brothers Master Pilot Award during a special ceremony at the Museum of Flight in Seattle. The award is part of the agency’s recognition of safe pilots.

To be eligible for the Wright Brothers Master Pilot Award, the applicant must hold a U.S. Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) or FAA pilot certificate, have 50 or more years of piloting experience, or 50 or more years combined experience in both piloting and aircraft operations.

Applicants are required to submit three letters of recommendation from someone in the industry along with a detailed account of their aviation experiences. 

The application packets for Simpson Jones and Simpson were a little over an inch thick, and according to an FAA representative, “enjoyable reading.”

Simpson Jones, 79, started her aviation career with her first solo on December 3, 1967. As if that wasn’t enough of a memorable experience, an aviation luminary was in attendance. 

“William T. Piper was there the day I soloed,” Simpson Jones said. 

She earned her private pilot certificate in March 1968 and continued training, earning a helicopter rating, commercial certificate for airplane, seaplane rating, Airline Transport Pilot and CFI certificates, and type rating in a Boeing 737. She was one of the first women to be hired by a major airline when she became a first officer for Continental Airlines in 1977.

Eventually her career took her to Southwest Airlines and the captain’s seat as well. She became an simulator instructor for Alaska Airlines for a time, eventually retiring from aviation in 2000 with 24,000 hours logged.

Among her aviation accolades, she served as the first president of the International Society of Women Airline Pilots (ISA+21).

She didn’t learn to fly to get to the airlines, she said. Also a musician, she originally learned to fly as a means of transportation, flying her band around in a Piper Cherokee Six.

“I had maybe 40-something hours at the time, and the band would just jump in the airplane and we’d go,” she said, noting that music remains a big part of her life.

She was working as a CFI when she intercepted her younger brother Graham on his way home from high school. Ten years his senior, she was in charge, she said. Simpson said he remembers her telling him, “We’re going to the airport for an hour,” and she then gave him a flying lesson.

Graham Simpson soloed on September 23, 1970, in a Piper Colt and earned his private pilot certificate in 1971 right after his 17th birthday. Like his sister, he spent the next few years adding ratings, including commercial, helicopter, instrument, CFI, Flight Engineer, ATP, and type rating in a B-737 and Airbus A320. 

Simpson spent 41 years at the airlines, racking up more than 30,000 hours. Some of those were flown in the former Piedmont Airlines 737 now on display at the Museum of Flight. 

“The last time I was in this airplane was in 1985,” said Simpson, taking the left seat for a photo op with his sister.

The post Brother, Sister Receive FAA Wright Brothers Master Pilot Award appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

The wrongful death suit was filed by law firms Stritmatter Kessler Koehler Moore and Wisner Baum on behalf of Precup. King County, Washington, names Textron Aviation Inc., Mistequay Group Ltd. (Aeromotion by Textron Aviation), Ace Aviation Inc., Raisbeck Engineering Inc., and “John Doe one through ten” as defendants. These are the businesses that designed, manufactured, and maintained the Cessna Caravan.

As previously reported by FLYING and according to the preliminary report from the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), the right wing separated from the aircraft during flight.

• READ MORE: NTSB Releases Details of Caravan Crash That Killed 4

About the Mission

The purpose of the flight was to test Raisbeck Engineering’s aerodynamic reduction system. Precup, 33, was working for Raisbeck as the instrumentation engineer during the test flights. The Raisbeck company makes modifications for corporate and business aircraft to improve performance and efficiency. The Caravan was on loan to Raisbeck Engineering. According to the complaint, the aircraft was owned by Copper Mountain Aviation LLC.

According to the NTSB, Raisbeck holds the supplemental type certificate (STC) for an aerodynamic drag reduction system (DRS) on the Cessna 208B. The purpose of the flight was to test the ability to expand the applicability of that DRS to the Cessna 208B EX model.

Raisbeck noted the flight was conducted prior to the installation of a Raisbeck modification, which is “standard industry practice that allows aviation engineering firms to establish baseline aircraft performance under a highly structured flight profile to later measure and compare the change in performance after any proposed modifications are installed. The aircraft was in this initial testing phase and had not yet been modified in any way.”

The accident happened during the last of a five-flight series to establish baseline performance. In addition to Precup, both pilots and the test director were killed. Several flights with several test pilots were completed in the days leading up to the accident.

The first flight took place on November 15 and consisted of three segments totaling 1.1 hours. The purpose of the flight was for the pilots to build familiarity with the aircraft and a ferry flight to have the airplane’s weight and balance performed. The next day the aircraft was flown for a total of 4.6 hours to establish baseline data for future test flights for both mid-center-of-gravity (CG) cruise flight and forward CG stall speeds. On November 17 two more test flights were completed, for a total of 1.2 hours to test the aft CG static stability. The last flight on the 17th was cut short with only half of the planned test maneuvers completed because a crewmember in the back of the airplane was feeling ill. 

The final flight took place the morning of November 18. The intention of the flight was to complete the test maneuvers from the prior day, which consisted of testing the aircraft’s stall performance.

The aircraft’s radar track shows it taking off from Renton Municipal Airport (KRNT) around 9:25 a.m. PST and heading north. The conditions were VFR as the airplane climbed to about 9,500 feet msl and began a series of turns. The airplane flew for approximately 45 minutes, its altitude varying between about 6,500 feet to 10,275 feet.

At 10:17 a.m., the track data showed the airplane in a climbing left turn. It was just about to complete a 360-degree turn when it abruptly entered a sharp 180-degree left turn to the west. The last 12 seconds of the radar capture show the airplane in a descent exceeding 14,000 fpm and gradually lessened to 8,700 fpm at the last report. The main wreckage was located about 2,145 feet east of the last recorded track data. The right wing was located some distance away.

The pilot who had flown the test flights the day before told investigators that it appeared that the flight crew were conducting the second-to-last maneuver on the card, which specified: 96 knots indicated airspeed; flaps in landing configuration; 930 foot-pounds of torque; propeller rpm fully forward; and accelerated 30-degree bank to the left. 

Witnesses on the ground reported seeing the airplane “fall apart” in midair then corkscrew to the ground. The event was captured by a security camera, and several witnesses reported seeing a white plume of smoke when they observed the airplane break into pieces. The fuselage appeared to be rotating about its longitudinal axis in a nose-low attitude.

Investigators noted that the right wing was found 200 yards from the main wreckage. The main wreckage, consisting of the engine, cockpit (and cargo pod), cabin, vertical stabilizer, and rudder, was partially consumed by fire. The right-wing strut had separated from the fuselage attachment point but remained attached to the wing. The right flap was separated into numerous pieces and scattered among the debris field. The left wing separated from the fuselage, although it was located adjacent to the main wreckage. The flap remained attached and was found in the retracted position.

The NTSB is still investigating the cause of the accident.

The post Lawsuit Filed Over Fatal Caravan Flight in Washington appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

The talents of One-G Simulation, the makers of FAA-approved flight training devices, and education technology company Cignatec have created two Sopwith Camel simulators as part of the Museum’s World War I exhibit.

The museum commissioned One-G to design and build the devices to give museum visitors an immersive flying experience through a range of user-activated scenarios.

About the Simulators

One-G produces FAA-approved professional grade aviation training devices. The company began in a Seattle-area garage when One-G CEO Xylon Saltzman, an engineer, flight instructor, and charter pilot was forced to travel to Arizona for type-specific recurrency training. He realized that there was a market for better access to equipment and the company was born. According to Saltzman, One-G received its first letter of authorization from the FAA in 2011. Today, One-G has approximately 100 devices in the flight training world ranging from primary training units that simulate round-dial and G1000 cockpits to the more advanced devices that are used for training by companies such as air ambulance providers that utilize TBM and PC-12s.

“As a longtime resident of Seattle, it has been a pleasure collaborating with the Museum of Flight, successfully bringing the experience of flying a Sopwith Camel into the hands of the general public,” said Saltzman.

• READ MORE: When the Nose of a Camel Starts to Wander

Cignatec is devoted to creating learning experiences through the application of technology. Josh Swanson, president of Cignatec, is enthusiastic about collaboration with One-G and the MOF. “As a long-time member of the Museum of Flight, and advocate for STEM education, supporting the museum with this project has been a privilege and a lot of fun — and of course, it’s always great to work with One-G.”

According to Drew Pine, chief simulation engineer for One-G, “We hadn’t done anything like this before. It was quite a departure from FAA projects that we mostly develop. We wanted to make it enjoyable for non-pilots.” To that end, the units have elevator and aileron control and auto-rudder. “It is more along the lines of an arcade educational device rather than a training device,” he said.

There are three scenarios: takeoff and landing practice, follow the leader (another Sopwith Camel), and flying through rings. The flights take place over rural Europe, circa 1917. The scenarios are selected by pressing a button, and last for approximately two minutes.

About the Sopwith Camel

The Sopwith Camel is an open-cockpit single-seat biplane from World War I. Introduced by the Sopwith Aviation Company in 1917, it became one of the best-known fighter aircraft of World War I. The airplane was also immortalized in the Peanuts comic strip as Snoopy, the cartoon Beagle with the rich imagination, pretended to be a WWI flying ace at the controls of a Sopwith Camel while sitting atop his doghouse.

About the Museum of Flight

The Museum of Flight is located at King County International Airport/Boeing Field (KBFI). The museum collection contains aviation artifacts that predate the Wright Brothers and extend through the space program. The MOF is one of the largest aviation museums in the country and has the added bonus that pilots can fly in to visit.

For more information visit https://www.museumofflight.

The post Fly a Virtual Sopwith Camel appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

On August 10, 2023, a ceremony was held to announce the mission has been accomplished. The new dock and seaplane terminal are open, and flights for the public begin this weekend.

Celebration

Tribal council members and dignitaries arrived at the welcoming ceremony aboard a Kenmore Air 1955 de Havilland DHC-3 Turbine Otter. The airplane is the backbone of the Kenmore fleet. This particular aircraft, N90422, is decorated with a Native American salmon design that honors the Puyallup Tribe.

Puyallup Tribal Council Chairman Bill Sterud noted how moving it is to see the tribal lands from the air. For millennia the Puyallup Tribe lived along the shore of what is now the South Puget Sound, living off shellfish, native plants, and the all-important salmon. Today, the Puyallup Tribe is a sovereign nation of more than 5,000 members, and is one of the largest employers in Pierce County. The Tribe’s businesses include the Emerald Queen Hotel and Casino in Fife, billed as the entertainment capital of the northwest. The tribe name is pronounced “pew-AWL-up,” and means “generous people” or “welcoming people.”

The opening ceremony was held next to the dock and began with a traditional Native American prayer, followed by a traditional song and dance.

The dock and restaurant are located on Ruston Way along the Tacoma waterfront bordering Commencement Bay. Ruston Way is a wide, walkable path that hugs the shoreline for approximately 2.5 miles. In addition to spectacular views of the Sound and sometimes the sealife (today a pair of seals made an appearance), the path is interspersed with historical markers, sculptures, mosaics, and poems carved into the pavement.

Giving Thanks to All

Sterud noted that the seaplane dock and restaurant terminal would not have happened without a great deal of work and cooperation between the Puyallup Tribe, and local, state, and national representatives, the FAA, and Kenmore Air.

After the ceremony, the media were offered scenic flights, flown by Kenmore Air chief pilot Jay Todhunter. I scrambled into the right seat of the cockpit (my natural habitat) and donned the headsets the passengers wear on the flight to listen to a recorded tour of the area. The audio points out landmarks and gives a brief history of them, for example during the flight over the Tacoma Narrows Bridge, the narrator talks about “Galloping Gertie,” the name given to the bridge when it was torn apart in a windstorm on November 7, 1940.

Kenmore Air is synonymous with floatplanes and the Puget Sound and has been so for more than 75 years. Traditionally, Kenmore Air’s scenic flight season runs from April until the middle of October. This year, flights from the south sound seaplane base will begin August 11 until October 15. Each flight will last about 20 minutes and show off some famous landmarks and aerial views that have made the area famous, such as the Tacoma Narrows Bridge, Point Defiance Park, Vashon Island, Commencement Bay, and Mount Rainier.

According to Kenmore Air officials, the aircraft will be making several scenic flights a day from the dock along the Ruston Way waterfront. The terminal was built in a building that until the pandemic, contained a restaurant. There is a comfortable waiting area, and the building will also house a restaurant operated by world-renowned Chef Roy Yamaguchi.

READ MORE: Building the Dream Beaver for Future Generations

In addition to scenic flights from its Seattle base, Kenmore also offers trips to the San Juan Islands and Victoria, B.C. Company officials note it’s possible that in the future, the South Sound base might provide access to those destinations as well.

For more information or to purchase tickets: kenmoreair.com

The post Puyallup Tribe and Kenmore Air Open Seaplane Base in Tacoma appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

In the early stages of COVID-19, it was almost certain that I would lose my Boeing 737 captain seat and be downgraded to first officer with an attendant decrease of income. A furlough or my airline going bankrupt were possible too. As the situation evolved and my position appeared safe, the geographic and mental separation of being a continent away from our land combined with the restrictions of quarantine to ensure that our focus drifted and deadlines slipped. And then the Pacific Northwest real estate market went nuts, supply chains went FUBAR, the cost of lumber quadrupled, and available construction workers became rare as hen’s teeth. 

Initially we persisted, knowing we wouldn’t build until 2023 but otherwise hewing close to our original plan of building a three-bedroom, 2,300-square-foot timber-framed house and 50-foot-by-60-foot hangar in quick succession. We hired an old-school architect who expanded on my longtime vision to produce a beautiful, understated Northwoods design that we fell in love with. But as we pored over plans, financial reality set in. The cost of building the home would likely exceed $400 per square foot, putting the price of our humble forest cottage near $1 million. That rankled every fiber of my naturally cheap being, but if I could accept this as the cost of having a roof over our heads in Seattle, we could afford it. 

What we could not afford—and what probably wasn’t possible given all the supply-chain and labor shortages and construction delays—was to build the hangar simultaneously with or shortly after the house. When I ran the numbers, it would take several more years of saving to put us in a comfortable position to build a hangar and buy an airplane. So we had to decide: What did we want more, a house or an airplane? 

• READ MORE: Building the Dream Gets Off to a Rocky Start

Captains at my airline make a decent income and most have rather nice houses. There’s a certain cultural expectation, but I had long broken the airline pilot mold by selling everything and running off to sea. Post-boat, our lifestyle has remained mobile, minimalistic, and adventure-oriented. We lived in 200 square feet for nearly five years and had the time of our lives. We never really missed having a big house. We did, however, miss having our own airplane—Dawn even more so than me. Our choice was clear. The hangar came first. 

When we moved west in August last year, we had the idea that we would get a tiny home, and we even looked at a few. They aren’t quite legal in our county, though, and we had difficulty getting a septic system approved for a “seasonal cabin.” We considered building the hangar in 2022 and just wildcatting an apartment in the loft for a year, but the wily county planners were once again ahead of us: Given our zoning, it turned out that a hangar could not be permitted without an existing legal single-family residence. This revelation sent Dawn and I into a late night, wine-fueled brainstorming session, sketching out eight solutions and listing the pros and cons of each. 

By night’s end, our course was clear, and the next morning, I started drafting plans. Our new aim was to build the 50-by-60-foot pole-barn hangar with an attached 15-foot-by-60-foot side shed, finished out as a two-bedroom living area—a “barndominium,” if you will—all permitted as a single-family residence. We found a pole barn company able to engineer my plans and supply the kit, and engaged contractors to erect the shell, pour the slab, and install the septic system. 

Dawn and I will finish out the living quarters ourselves, with the assistance of my retired contractor father. We ordered a 44-foot-by-15-foot Higher Power hydraulic door and will incorporate PEX tubing for radiant heat into the slab, but the hangar portion will remain otherwise unfinished for the moment. We’ll add insulation, a boiler, a standby generator, and solar power as time and finances allow. We plan to live in the hangar for three to eight years and build the house when the time is right, at which point the annex will make for extra storage or a nice mother-in-law suite. 

We ordered the pole barn kit in March 2022, and I refined the annex plans and put together a building permit application package that we submitted on May 7. We’d already been doing a lot of site prep since last December, thinning trees and brush and expanding the clearing. In January, we cut in a driveway and bought a storage shed, and material deliveries started in June. We trenched in power and water just prior to heading east for Oshkosh, and after a few small changes, our building permits were issued on July 22. As it stands in late September, we have broken ground and erected the poles; the trusses go up soon and we hope to have a roof and a slab before autumn rains begin. We’ll start the living quarters in late October, planning to move in early in the new year. 

Throughout this process, two things have become very clear. Whether putting in a long hard day of work on our land or listening to bullfrogs by the campfire on a still summer evening, we absolutely love spending time at the airstrip. It’s a little slice of heaven, and we can’t wait to call it home. And secondly, our yearning for an airplane of our own has only intensified, even as we rent a local Piper Cherokee and fly my neighbor Ken’s generously lent Super Cub. It’s been more than six years since we sold our Piper Pacer, and we need to find another vintage adventure machine to explore far horizons. 

The draw of the airstrip and the promise of our own airplane have been hugely motivational as we’ve put in a ton of hard work and navigated all the twists and turns of the process these last six months, and I expect they will power us through all the really hard work ahead (and various additional wrinkles). In a way, this is a very analogous repeat of how we built our life together cruising aboard Windbird: hard work, persistence, flexibility, and living each day intentionally. If the result is anything like our last adventure, the reward will be supremely worthy of the struggle. 

The post Building the Dream While Rolling With Twists and Turns appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

One of my learners made this remark after landing at Jefferson County International Airport (0S9) in Washington. The hangar is a weather-beaten metal structure with lines of square windows at the roofline. You half expect to see the doors being pushed open by men wearing coveralls and newsboy caps so that an open cockpit biplane occupied by a pilot wearing a leather helmet can be pushed onto the ramp.

That’s probably happened, says Lee Corbin, a Seattle-area retired military and commercial pilot and local historian. According to Corbin, the metal hangar at Jefferson County dates back to World War I. It was a pre-fabricated steel and sheet metal hangar known as a United States All-Steel Hangar, built by the Carnegie Illinois Steel Company.

“This particular hangar was originally built at Rockwell Field down at San Diego. With the opening of Seattle’s first airfield at Sand Point on Lake Washington, the Army decided they would send a small detachment of aircraft to have a presence in the Pacific Northwest,” says Corbin. “The hangar was disassembled then shipped north to Sand Point in 1922.”

Sand Point evolved into Sand Point Naval Air Station. The base was used for training and support through World War II, the Korean conflict, the Cuban Missile crisis, and Vietnam. The proximity of the base to the populated bedroom communities for Seattle resulted in the base closure in 1970. Much of the property was repurposed. Today the property known as the Sand Point Naval Air Station landmark district occupies 89 acres. Several of the original buildings are still intact but the open areas that once were runways have become trails and athletic fields. Most of today’s visitors don’t realize that a great deal of Seattle’s aviation history happened at the location.

The metal hangar spent about 10 years at Sand Point and had a few famous tenants, notes Corbin. “We know the Spirit of St. Louis was hangared overnight in September 1927, during Lindbergh’s tour of the U.S. There’s also a good possibility it was used during the three weeks of preparation of the Douglas [World] Cruisers for the Army’s round the world flight in 1924. It remained at Sand Point until 1931 when they disassembled it again and moved it to a newly created Army emergency airfield at Fort Townsend, over by Port Townsend, Washington.”

Jefferson County International Airport (0S9), Port Townsend, Washington, as it is officially known, sports a 3,000-foot by 75-foot paved runway. The airport is listed on the Seattle VFR sectional as an AOE, or airport of entry, which means customs can be cleared at the airport.

The airfield was declared surplus by the military after WWII, and turned over to the city of Port Townsend in 1947. The airport is the home of the Spruce Goose Restaurant, a place where the pie is so good it is spoken of in hushed, reverent tones, even by the aviation-challenged.

Today the metal hangar is still active. It houses Tailspin Tommy’s, an aircraft maintenance shop owned by Scott Erickson, an AP/IA. Erickson purchased the business from Tommy Wacker in the 1990s. Wacker’s was the second maintenance operation to occupy the space.

According to Erickson, there have been some changes to the building over its lifespan at Jefferson County. “There is a stamp in the concrete floor indicating it was poured in the 1930s—it reads July 10, 1930. The hangar is the largest hangar on the field. If an airplane can’t fit in other hangars on the field they put it in here. However, it does have some quirks though, because of its age.”

Erickson says he’s been working with the county, which owns and operates the airport, to keep up the maintenance on the vintage building to keep it safe and usable while simultaneously keeping its vintage look.

“I enjoy being in there doing maintenance alone when it’s quiet. because there has been so much maintenance in that hangar,” he says. “I enjoy getting completely absorbed in aviation… that’s what it is all about. All the pilots come by and visit.”

The WWI Hangar Turned Shell House

On the shores of Lake Washington is another vintage aircraft hangar which you may soon see in a major Hollywood movie: it is the all-wooden hangar built during World War I to house seaplanes that were used to train naval aviators, and it later became a home to the crew team of the University of Washington. The building, located northeast of the Montlake Cut on Union Bay, still belongs to the university.

According to Corbin, the University of Washington was one three universities selected by the U.S. Navy to train aviators during the war. “The others were Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Dunwoody Industrial Institute in Minneapolis. These are trade schools that turned out high-quality naval aviation cadets that would go on to naval flight training,” he said.

“What makes this hangar so unique is the fact that it is constructed entirely of wood, making it the only known, all-wood, WWI-era, Navy seaplane hangar remaining in the world,” Corbin continued. “Unfortunately, it was completed after the war ended and only saw service as an actual seaplane hangar for a few weeks as the Navy’s aviation ground school classes finished up by the end of January 1919. But that allowed the opportunity for it to become the most unique shell house in the collegiate rowing world.”

The university is in the process of raising funds to restore the building, and they want to recognize both the military and athletic use of the facility.

“The facility saw about 15,000 volunteers come through during WWI,” says Nicole Klein, capital campaign manager for the Associated Students of the University of Washington. “The building had a metal steel trolley that was used to hoist the seaplane out of the water.”

According to Klein, between 1920 and 1949, the 12,000-square-foot building was utilized by the UW men’s rowing team, and George Pocock, a legendary boat builder, had a workshop in the structure where he built the shells that took the UW team to Olympic gold in 1936 and 1948.

The 1936 team is the subject of Daniel James Brown’s 2013 book, The Boys in the Boat, which has been adapted into a film produced by George Clooney. The story follows the University of Washington men’s rowing team as it moves past collegiate rowing giants Harvard and Yale and ultimately go to the 1936 Olympics. The project, which was announced in 2018 was delayed by the pandemic. Filming was done in Los Angeles, Berlin, and at Winnersh Film Studios in Berkshire, U.K., where a replica of the shell house was built.

According to Klein, “The hangar turned shell house was placed on the National Registry of historic places in the 1970s, and it became a Seattle landmark in 2018.” That was also the year that the ASUW launched a fundraising campaign to restore the building and bring the large wooden structure up to code so that it can be used for rental of public gatherings and educational tours.

WATCH: Historic Shell House, by Alex Chen, videographer

“Many visitors are surprised at how large the all-wooden structure is. The Pocock Shop is a small upstairs loft that was able to produce racing shells up to 60 feet long,” says Klein. “Once the restoration is complete it will be open for tours and event rental, it seats 350. The location on the water makes it a prime location for watching regattas and holding picnics.”

If you would like to help restore the shell house, donations can be made here.

What Can You Do To Help?

There are vintage hangars all over the United States, maybe even in your part of the world. If you would like to preserve and perhaps restore the building there are steps to take.

The National Register of Historic Places is the official list of the Nation’s historic places worthy of preservation. Authorized by the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, the National Park Service’s National Register of Historic Places is part of a national program to coordinate and support public and private efforts to identify, evaluate, and protect America’s historic and archeological resources. 

Begin the process with your State Historic Preservation Office and check their web page for National Register information, research materials, and necessary forms to begin the nomination process. If the property and or building is on federal or tribal land, the process begins with the Federal Preservation Office or Tribal Preservation Office.

The property’s age (at least 50 years old), and cultural significance and integrity are taken into account.

The post Historic Hangars of the Pacific Northwest appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

As previously reported in FLYING, after December 27, 2022, all airplanes must have modern cockpit alerting systems to be certified by the FAA.

According to the Seattle Times, the crew alerting system won’t be required, however the language in the new bill includes a condition proposed by U.S. Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., that requires all airlines to retrofit Max 7, 8, and 9 jets already in service.

The bill gives Boeing three years after certification of the Max 10 to retrofit all models of the Max jets with the safety enhancements. Boeing will foot the cost of the retrofit. Aircraft in the field that are not retrofitted will not be permitted to fly.

FLYING reached out to Boeing this morning for comment. A spokesperson for the aerospace giant replied, “We do not have anything to add.”

As previously reported, the new cockpit-alerting requirements that are part of certification reform legislation that was passed in 2020 after two 737 Max accidents—one in Indonesia, the other in Ethiopia—that killed 346 people. In the aftermath, the global fleet of Boeing 737 Max jets were grounded for two years while Boeing, the National Transportation Safety Board, and the FAA conducted investigations.

• READ MORE: Boeing May Miss End-of-Year 737 Deadline

The accidents were blamed on issues with the 737 Max and its maneuvering characteristics augmentation system (MCAS). According to a congressional investigation, both crashes were attributed to “the plane-maker’s unwillingness to share technical details.” Changes were made to the MCAS software and new training protocols were developed. The aircraft returned to service in November 2020.

Boeing stood to lose billions of dollars if Congress did not grant a waiver that would allow the aerospace manufacturer to seek certification before the safety enhancements were added to the airliners.

Big Customers

The company has multiple orders on the books for the Max 10 from several airlines including Delta Air Lines [NYSE: DAL] and Canada’s WestJet Group.

In addition, representatives from Boeing’s two largest unions contacted Congress to warn them about the negative financial impact of job losses for thousands of workers at Boeing should the certification of the Max be delayed.

Airline pilots who will subsequently fly the Max 7 and 10 had mixed reactions to the proposed certification without the crew-alerting system upgrade.

The Allied Pilots Association, which represents some 15,000 pilots at American Airlines, clamored for the upgrade to make the aircraft safer, while the Southwest Airlines Pilots association pressed Congress to grant Boeing the ability to pursue certification without the upgrade.

• READ MORE: United’s Big Boeing Purchase Set to Advance Its Ambitious Climate Goals

The Safety Upgrade

After the Max accidents, Boeing developed training protocols including computer-based training modules and simulator sessions for pilots, as well as system improvements. These improvements are being tested on the Max 10. Among them are enhancements to the angle of attack sensors and flight computer to give the pilots a better understanding of the aircraft’s flight attitude—including the ability to silence a false stick-shaker alarm, as a false stick-shaker alarm was identified as a factor in the Max crashes as it distracted the pilots.

Several media outlets have noted the families of victims of the two Max accidents in 2018 and 2019 have spoken out against the waiver, accusing Congress of putting Boeing profits over safety.

In October, Boeing stated it expected the certification of the 737 Max 7 to happen in 2022 or in 2023, and the Max 10 to begin FAA certification flight testing this year or 2023, with a projected entry into service by 2023 or 2024.

As far as the extension of the deadline, the FAA stated in October, “Safety dictates the timeline of certification projects. Only Congress can change the crew-alerting-system deadline.”

The post Congress Gives Boeing Clearance for 737 Max Certification appeared first on FLYING Magazine.