October 19, 2006

Early Morning Flight

Ooh, it's hard to pick a winner this week — but we don't think you'll be able to find fault with us if we award the top honor this week to Charles C. White of Truckee, California.  Maintenance (especially maintenance under duress) was a running theme in this week's entries, so we couldn't resist picking Charles's photo to kick off our latest installment of "POTW."

Like all top-spot winners, Charles will receive an official AVweb baseball cap in the mail.  Keep your eyes peeled, Charles — and everyone else, keep on sending those photos!

Misty Fiords, Alaska

We get a lot of pictures from the Alaskan bush.  You might think we'd eventually get our fill of mountain streams and trusty Cessnas on floats dusted with an unexpected morning frost — but you'd be wrong.

Take a gander at this photo from Robert W. Nagel of Hilton, New York, and tell us you could get tired of this sort of thing.  The approach, writes Bob, "includes flying directly at a 3,000' rock face and a steep turn to final."

Nice Camouflage

Gary Dikkers of Madison, Wisconsin made the pilgrimage down to Wright-Patterson AFB in Ohio to visit the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force.  While there, he snapped this colorful display of a World War I-era Fokker D.VII.

Powered Parachute in Bavaria

Bob Perkins of Sherrills Ford, North Carolina writes, "This guy was having a lot of fun in Bavaria.  Wish I'd been with him!"

John (Ripper) Rippinger of the Lima Lima Flight Team — if you're reading this at work, adjust your speakers before you click! — took this self-portrait during a press flight for the Chicago Air & Water Show.

Who could have guessed that those guys' flight outfits were as well-coordinated as their aerobatic routines?

Kenny Chapman of Canby, Oregon sees us off this week with a photo taken at Olbia, Sardegna (Italy).

...

No, wait.  It was a big week for submissions.  Who's game for two more?

Alan Jewell of Binghamton, New York tells the tale:

This is a beautiful 1968 Champion-Citabria en route from Hampton, NH to Fargo, ND.  Piloted by William Cowdan of Fargo when engine problems forced this landing in a cow pasture just two miles short of the Greater Binghamton Airport. This was a spectacular landing, as you can see from the distant photo — a long downhill, a brushy swampy patch, and the little pasture where he finally touched down only to be faced with a four-strand fence and about two acres of muck and cow pies. He took out the fence and got right into the muck, [which] killed off his speed. He somehow managed to keep the nose up and the airplane in a straight line. Unfortunately, the prop did get into the mud, and the pilot got slight injury to his nose, but, all told, he made a remarkable landing.

Indeed!  Thanks for the photos, Alan!

Here's an aircraft that didn't fare as well, unfortunately.  Dean Zinter of Tigard, Oregon writes, "This aircraft last flew in 1990.  The owner would not sell or maintain it ... sad that someone would let this happen."