Van's Aircraft 21 Sept 2010
A business trip to the Portland, Oregon area left me with a day and no meetings on 21 September, so I charged off to find Van's Aircraft in Aurora, Oregon. Van's is a leader in amateur built aircraft kits with nearly 7000 aircraft now flying. I toured the factory which was fascinating itself, then flew one of Van's demonstrator aircraft with a company pilot. I flew the RV-9A pictured at left. "Wow!" describes it pretty well. (photo source unknown).
WAAAM 23 Sept 2010
The afternoon of 23 September was also free, so we headed for the Western Antique Aeroplane and Automobile Museum (WAAAM) in Hood River, Oregon. (http://www.waaamuseum.org). This is a fairly new museum filled with early aeroplanes, automobiles, motorcycles, tractors, and farm engines - all running. Further, all aircraft are restored to flight worthy. Many of the aircraft are extremely rare. Above is a Curtiss "Jenny".
The museum has a collection of over 70 aircraft - most, if not all, are air worthy and some are flown on the second Saturday of each month. Below are some of the aircraft that caught my attention in the short time I was there. There are so many more aircraft that are not pictured.
One of the most beautiful aircraft ever designed is the Beech Staggerwing. The aircraft on display at the museum was truly beautiful.
The photo gallery below contains many of the other aircraft. Click the pictures to enlarge them.
One of the most beautiful aircraft ever designed is the Beech Staggerwing. The aircraft on display at the museum was truly beautiful.
The photo gallery below contains many of the other aircraft. Click the pictures to enlarge them.