Warbirds take flight again
By Jennifer Lassiter
STAR STAFF
jlassiter@starhq.com
Warbird SkyVentures will be offering nostalgic
rides in authentic World War II planes to guests at Elizabethton
Municipal Airport beginning this Friday through Memorial Day.
Customers will soar over parts of Carter County and the Watauga
Lake area in one of two aircrafts, a North American AT-6 and
a Boeing N2S-5 Stearman.
Warbird Sky Ventures is a barnstorming flying
service which was established in 1999 by Gina Moore, chief
pilot and president. Based out of Gallatin, Tenn., they travel
across the country to approximately 50 locations to give customers
of practically all ages a view from the sky.
Barnstorming was started by World War pilots
who needed extra money after the war and began giving lessons
and rides. Back then, pilots would stay in barns overnight,
hence the name "barnstorming".
Gina Moore, who has a created a career for herself
from her love of flying by starting SkyVentures five years
ago, has over 6,000 hours of flight time and currently flies
full-time in the North American AT-6.
The North American AT-6 was used as the advance
trainer in World War II. The AT-6 has a 600 horse power engine
to push its top speed up to 240 miles an hour. Its wings span
42 feet in length and weigh around 5,900 pounds. This is the
most popular ride because of it's capabilities.
The 1942 Boeing "Stearman" piloted by Chuck Garderner
will be one of the featured flights this weekend also. In
its prime, the "Stearman" was used as a primary trainer for
the Navy or Army Air Corps pilots. There were only 10,000
made from 1936 to 1945. After the war, 2,000 of the planes
were turned into crop dusters. Today, there are only 1,000
left, and only half of those still have flight capabilities.
The inside of the 1942 Boeing "Stearman" is constructed
of steel bars, similar to the roll cage of a race car, surrounded
by an canary yellow cockpit. The wings stretch 32 feet in
length, and are constructed of spruce wood that is carefully
wrapped in fabric and finely painted.
The gauges inside the "Stearman" are basic compared
to the control panels of today's airplanes and even the AT-6.
They consist mainly of the altimeter, whiskey compass, oil
and fuel gauges, tackometer and a few others.
According to Gardner, a compass is a tool pilots
use as a directional to stay on course. Historically, a compass
required water to function properly, which would freeze at
high altitudes. Water also tended to corrode and rust metal.
To solve the freezing and crosion problem, pilots of the day
used whiskey, mainly because it freezes at a lower degree
than water. The compass also bobbles around during flight
which makes them appear "drunk".
Gardner's passion for flying is a family tradition.
Everyone in his family is involved with flying, and, from
there, he gained his "passion for WWII planes". Gardner is
the most recent Stearman Pilot with Warbird Sky Ventures.
Gardner also enjoys taking photos and writing articles about
war birds.
The rides are smooth and customers aren't pushed
to do aerial tricks unless they want. Gardner said, "It's
not the same sensation as a rollercoaster."
People from all walks of life come to take a
ride in the war birds. Many of them are veterans, historians,
children, airplane buffs and more. War birds have flown with
people as young as nine and as old as 92. Gardner said, "
If you can climb in the cockpit we'll take you."
This weekend walk-in's are welcome. For more
information, please call (888-532-5787) or www. WarbirdSkyVentures.com.
