Thousands turned out for the return of Flight Fest on Saturday at the Chatham-Kent Airport to see vintage airplanes up close, but some people took the opportunity to experience the event for the air.
Rudy Toews, of Chatham, was one of the visitors to pay for a flight in a 1952 Harvard MK IV, flown by Dave Carrick, chief pilot at the Canadian Aviation Museum in Windsor.
“It was an amazing flight,” Toews said.
Noting he’s always liked smaller, non-commercial aircraft, Toews said, “The opportunity was here and I just jumped at it.”
This was his first time flying in the Harvard so Toews took the opportunity to have the cockpit open.
“The takeoff was smoother than the landing, but when up there, if you stuck your hand just out of the cockpit, it was unbelievable the wind that was up there,” he said.
Carrick, who has flown the Harvard for about eight years, said it is considerably different than modern day aircraft.
“For one, it’s a tail-dragger so the wheel is in the back instead of in front,” he said. “It changes the ground handling quite a bit and they get a little more challenging to take off and land.”
Carrick said the museum has three planes it offers rides in; adding bookings for flights are backlogged.
Several impressive aircraft were at the show and many people stopped to watch as a shining silver Beechcraft 3NM Expeditor twin engine plane landed and taxied onto the tarmac.
Pilot Glenn Goldman said he’s fortunate to qualify 70 different airplanes, including several Second World War planes.
“But, this is my favorite airplane of everyone I’ve ever flown to fly,” he said.
“Just the control forces are not that heavy, they’re light enough that you can maneuver the airplane, but they’re still heavy enough that it’s a very stable aircraft,” he added.
The plane handles turbulence well, he said.
“The sound, the feel, the controls are very well harmonized,” Goldman said. “It’s just one of those airplanes you move the controls and it’s just all natural.”
He noted the plane brought to Saturday’s how was built as a 3NM for the Canadian Air Force in 1952, adding the model was navigator trainer.
“The M means it was modified,” Goldman said. “What that means is fixtures were put in the floorboards so the navigator training table and equipment could be removed and seats could be put in.”
He said this particular plane still has all the original navigator fixtures and the astrodome is original to the plane, which was used to take the star shots and sun shots when navigators are being trained.
Goldman said this model of aircraft was built until 1967 and many are still being used today to deliver freight and carry parachutists around.
Sarnia pilot Barry Bond flew his 1941 Boeing Stearman to Flight Fest.
When asked what attracted him to this plane, Bond said, “I just like the Stearman . . . and it’s a tail dragger.”
He added it’s “lots of work and very fun to fly.”
Bond said the Boeing Stearman was used by the US Navy for training during the Second World War.
Another impressive aircraft that caught the crowd’s attention was Karl Pfister’s BO-105 PAH (Panzer Armatec Helicopter) that he flew in from London.
He bought the helicopter five years ago as surplus from the German army and spent two years to restore it.
“I was a young private at the time in the army and I got a ride in one during my service,” Pfister said of what attracted him the aircraft.
“That was just my dream,” he added. “I could never sign up for the air force. . . but when finally these things become surplus I was able to get one and restore it.”
Tim Schinkel, a member of COPA YCK 203, who organized the event with the Chatham-Kent Airport, said being static display event it gives people a chance to see the aircraft up close and talk to the pilots.
He added there was also the opportunity to see the planes land and take off.
He was not surprised the pilots were enjoying the event.
“Pilots always have a good time when they can fly,” Schinkel laughed.
He credited the sponsorship of Waste Management and the Ridge Landfill Community Trust for along with Schinkel’s Legacy and Engie for enabling the event to be free.
A highlight of the evening was a performance by country music start, Merlin native Michelle Wright, who was sponsored by JM Controls and Electric, Clarke Construction, Apollo Property Management, DAJCOR, SM Freight and Maple City Homes.
“It was a wonderful experience working with all of us together to put this on,” Schinkel said.