|
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
|
One of my greatest experiences flying was a check out in a Waco UPF – 7. I always wanted to fly an open cockpit biplane and the experience exceeded expectations. I had some significant experience with tailwheel aircraft by this time but any way you look at it the airplane was a big step up from the J – 3 in which I received my tailwheel endorsement.
One beautiful summer day, more than twenty years ago, my instructor informed me that he wanted to fly to western Pennsylvania and suggested that I go with him in the Waco to get some cross-country experience in the aircraft. This was not a hard sell. Our destination was over an hour away so it was a significant amount of flying there and back. The destination was a grass field out in the country and a perfect venue for the Waco.
The owner of the L – 4J we wanted to see was waiting for us. The airplane was an interesting variation of the J – 3 I was familiar with, and something I had never seen at close quarters before. After a couple of hours and lunch at a local restaurant, it was time to head for home. My instructor was excellent. By this time we had been friends for years and worked well together. We communicated very effectively in the air. I took off and set up a course for home.
The Waco UPF-7 I flew post restoration.
It was a warm day and I sat in the open cockpit directly in a shaft of sunlight. I had the flying tasks to keep me occupied but after a time I had to laugh. There was a rear view mirror mounted in the center section so the instructor could keep an eye on the student in the rear cockpit. In this case it enabled me see that my instructor appeared to be fast asleep. His face was leaning on the leather coaming around the edge of the cockpit and he seemed as trusting as a child. I sat back and enjoyed the view of the surrounding countryside. Fields and farms passed beneath us. The flight was an epiphany. I adjusted my goggles and looked around marveling at where I was. I only wish it could have lasted longer, but all good things must come to an end, including this flight.
A dilemma arose. There was no activity in the front seat and the airport was in sight. It was becoming clear that I would have to land the airplane with no advice or coaching from the front cockpit.
Of course I had made a number of landings under supervision but this was a bit tricky. The airplane had moderately long oleo struts in the main gear legs. When landing until these struts were completely compressed by the weight of the airplane the angle of attack and the airplane’s forward speed could give it little choice but to try to fly, and this could induce a bounce bad enough to require a go around. Ask me how I know this.
With no traffic visible I entered a left base for the airport’s grass runway. I had been told over and over by this point that the aircraft’s best instrument was its windscreen and the importance of keeping my head up and eyes outside the airplane was emphasized. In this case, the sound of the engine and the wind in the wires told me what I needed to know about the airspeed on short final. I judged the flare accurately and set the airplane down in a three point. Judicious use of the elevator made the airplane come down and stay down. It wasn’t the sort of flourish reserved for a 1,000 hour pilot but it was competent and safe. I slowed to a walk and turned to taxi to the hangar to park the airplane.
With the engine shut down there were signs of life in the front cockpit. I couldn’t resist chiding my instructor about sleeping through the landing. He said, “ Oh no, I was watching you. I just wanted you to see that you could do it yourself. “ This was a great object lesson and a wonderful confidence builder. I have never forgotten it.
- Aviation is the universal language - September 29, 2023
- My checkout in the Waco - June 12, 2023
- Almost a ground loop - March 1, 2021
I very much enjoyed the article Tom Matowitz wrote about flying the Waco UPF-7. Nicely written and it makes me envy his opportunity to pilot such a great classic aircraft. Well done Tom!
Thanks Tony –
This means a lot coming from you.
Great article, Tom. The picture you included nicely captures the beauty of flying a radial powered biplane; flying on a nice summer day from a grass strip is always a spiritual experience for me. In one of these aircraft, one truly develops a “feel” for flying and becomes one with the machine. A pilot hears subtleties in the engine with the slightest change of throttle. At full power, one is immersed in the awesomeness of the sound and vibration. At idle, the relative silence of the engine is replaced by the whistle of the airflow over the wings, a whistle which acts as an airspeed indicator to the attentive pilot. A pilot has a fantastic, panoramic view of the world up above and down below. The sensation of experiencing the rush of fresh air is sublime. I have quite literally soared with bald eagles in a Stearman, circling around them, with them, on a warm fall evening while enjoying the fresh country air. When a pilot becomes one with the aircraft and, in a sense, one with the world in this way, flying one of these types can give even the most experienced pilot a renewed passion for flight and offers anyone a sincere appreciation for what we can experience in this life.
Thank you for this great response. It’s obvious that you know the experience firsthand. We have been blessed to know these magnificent airplanes.
They taught me a lot. This is what I will always remember when I think of flying. I fell in love with open cockpit biplanes at the age of eighteen and have never gotten over it.
May you continue to enjoy it as much as I have.
Thank you, love it.