Online Barnstormer: First Airplane Ride

About me

EAA member #99884 and Young Eagle Pilot #04. Enjoyed volunteering for Young Eagles Chairmen Cliff Robertson, General Chuck Yeager and Harrison Ford. Won 3 awards at Oshkosh for Best-in-class 1946 Ercoupe and won First Place at the National Ercoupe Convention. I have flown classics, warbirds, and high performance airplanes, sail planes, Hangliders, Powered Hangliders and Ultralights. I started with a Rogallo hanglider in 1972. I became knowledgeable in electrical and mechanical processes, tolerances, safety, reliability and quality building and flying RC planes since grade school. I own a 1972 Jobe Rogallo Hanglider, Icarus V powered hanglider and owned 1946 Ercoupe(s). FOR HISTORIANS - Many famous people started out flying in an Ercoupe including John Travolta, Johnny Carson, Sam Walton and Pappy Boyington (Pappy's first GA airplane).

Sunday, June 30, 2019

First Airplane Ride

1947 Taylorcraft

My very first airplane ride at 5 years old was in a 1947 Taylorcraft which belonged to my Grampa Freiman. We were at a family reuinon at his sons farm (my uncle Tom) in Jordan, MN. There was no flat grass runway or straight enough road to take off and land. The farm was hilly with bolders. What did I know? I was five. We started to take off up a hill then down a hill. It was a 15 minute flight. Landing was on the side of the up and down hills because some grazing cows moved to the flat take off area. I have never had a problem finding a landing area when taking a check ride and the instructor surprisingly pulls power and says "Where you going to land?" I learned I can land anywhere as long as there isn't anything bigger than the airplane to hit. When I purchased an Ercoupe I would land on farm fields as part of my personal training and almost always landed on every grass airstrip I could find.