John Cuny is working on a Seabee project - John says:

The airplane is a 1946 Republic Seabee. It has been through a extensive restoration. It will be powered by a IGSO-480 Supercharged Lycoming. It's in Brian VanWagnen's shop in Jackson, Michigan. I have owned this airplane for the last 30 years and has taken me to lots of interesting places. Looking forward to its first flight again this summer. John Cuny

Here's the Northwest Missouri Chapter's May newsletter - flying to the midwest from Oregon in a Fairchild 24, and this month's member airplane profile. The poster plane is: Cessna 120.

Online and paper mail registration is now open for the 2013 Fly-In, Celebrating the Antique Airplane Association's Diamond Jubilee!

You can register using a credit card or PayPal online, or you can paper-mail the paper registration form with a check. Note that you must be a member of the AAA, or an invited guest, in order to attend, however anybody who's interested in antique and classic aircraft is invited to join the AAA - you don't have to own or fly an antique/classic to join.

• Fly-In Home Page
• Accommodations and Activities
• Fly-In Rules and Pilot Information
• First Timer's Guide the AAA/APM Fly-In, with Videos
• Registration Forms

"Congratulations" to Steve, Tina and the rest of the crew at Poplar Grove who helped put another Waco back in the air!

The latest issue of the Antique Airfield Runway will be headed to the printers the last week of May. It will contain all the information on the upcoming AAA/APM Invitational Fly-in. AAA members can look for it in their mailboxes by the middle of June.

Cover photo by Gilles Auliard

Here's the last Florida Cub Flyers Newsletter of the season - those Florida folks have a funny inverted idea of what "flying season" means! This issue includes wrapping up the story of Cub flying in Australia.

Click for the newsletter.

The folks at Cawley's South Prairie Airport, near Seattle, host a fly-in around this time every year. South Prairie resident and well-known restorer/replica-producer Jim Moss opened up his hangar and rolled out the Gee Bee Q.E.D. replica that he and his team of volunteers have been building. It is an impressively large machine - look at the side view for scale. Photos by Russell Williams.

Sport Aviation ran a feature on the airplane several years ago showing a much earlier stage of construction (must be a logged in EAA member to see it).

Walter Omiecinski had his Interstate Cadet, "Dreamweaver", restored by Tim Talen in Oregon. Walter lives in northeastern Ohio, and he's sent us a story, "Mountain Obscuration," of flying his no-electric Cadet home after the restoration.

"The vertical visibility was still good as I peered down through the wing struts on the port side. The rapid approach of Lookout Pass was becoming evident as the valley narrowed. In the snow, the mountains are not seen so much as felt. It was growing darker due to the snow fall and even the vertical visibility was deteriorating. The question at the moment was how low will you go? The sight of the snow hitting the windshield had a disorienting effect. The prospect of an off field landing was in the back of my mind and moving forward rapidly. Going through the checklist: locate a landing area, stow loose gear, harness tight, fuel off, mags off, door open, ELT switch on. Then in the best dime novel tradition the sky began to brighten, the snow veil began to lift and I began to have forward visibility. Looking down at the mustard colored sectional just reinforced "Toto I don't think we are in Kansas anymore". I longed for the shade of my green Detroit sectional."

Click for the full story.

Ian Harvie is an Australian antiquer, who together with his son Don are active in the Australian antique scene. Travis Gregory, owner of "Cousin Eddie", an Aeronca Chief, says that Don has a beautiful Auster and Ian has a remarkable Chief that is "tanked up for long distances". His cross countries seem to be Sydney to Perth!

Ian says:

The Antique Aeroplane Association of Australia is obviously what it stands for, but more than that, they are great bunch of people.

Now in the old days Australia would "only buy British" It was actually a law and you had to get permission to import say from the States. Well up till the early fifties most of the aircraft were of course British. So you had all the Dehavilland products, Austers, Proctors, Miles, Avro, etc. Also although from Canada there was the Chipmunk.

Well the most common light aircraft of course were the Austers and Tiger Moths, and although the Air Force never used them, there were a lot of Chipmunks brought in.

So the regular fly ins throughout the year were of course the Auster Rally, Chipmunk fly in etc. Now we have a "Short Wing Piper" fly in as well as the Spring fly in and annual AAAA get together.

The Auster 180 is a civilianized version of the military Mk5 and has a 180 Lyc. It won "Best Auster" but was a professional restoration. The Red Auster VH-KBK was one I rebuilt some years ago, and has won Best Auster twice before.

I think I mentioned that I won the "Honorary Auster" with my Chief, which I also won a few years ago. Ian

Ian Harvie has another story of antique airplane flying in Perth, Australia:

In 2011 I flew to Perth in the Chief for the Langley Park fly in. Langley Park was the site of the first airfield in Perth in 1921. Now right between the Perth CBD (Central Business District) and Swan River and not an airfield now. Quite exciting landing in the middle of a big city. Here are a couple of shots.

Last year I also flew over for the AAAA "Chipmunk" fly in. It's something over about 2300 miles from Sydney.

Think I want to head North next time. Ian