Warbird Information Exchange

Got this great photo in my email today from a gentleman named Jack McCuaig. It was a post card. Not sure of the date, but if you look close you can see a small "star" behind the passenger door, which would be the livery/insignia of "Quirk Airways". They imported the airplane in 1948, and flew it as a commercial bushplane until about 1952.



What a terrific thing! Lovely to get this in my Inbox.

Some changes: it has a constant-speed metal prop. And it's a bit strange how the float struts don't attach to the fuselage up front, but to the gear struts.

And what are those little posts sticking up out of the wingtips?

Anybody have any idea what the colour would have been?

Dave

Another photo in my email Inbox, this one from Jim Long (who helped me source my CHT), who got it from the CD that can be purchased from the Fairchild Club.



The fellow in the picture is Reid Hutchinson. We bought the airplane from him. He's an ex-Spitfire pilot who flew in Italy. At one point during the war he was laid-up after a forced-landing, and while he was recuperating, on light-duties, flew the squadron "hack", an Argus (F-24W). He liked it so much he rebuilt this one, CF-EKC, in the 70's. Great guy. Full of stories. (And spare parts and knowledge, too, which I drew on heavily.)

Dave

Dave, I sure hope Reid's stories are being preserved.

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"I love the smell of 100LL in the morning."

Possibly connections for a radio aerial.

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Lest Hero-worship raise it's head and cloud our vision, remember that World War II was fought and won by the same sort of twenty-something punks we wouldn't let our daughters date.

Ah... an antennae. Of course. I know bushplanes were using HF in places right until the 90s. In fact my brother Phiil and I got rescued once, at the end of a canoe trip in NE Manitoba, via the HF -- the Otter that came to fetch us cracked a jug, and called in 2 Cessnas to haul us out (and bring in a spare cylinder and some planks to stand on). (and some bug dope)

Canso, I believe Reid has been interviewed a bit, but as you well know only a fraction of the actual pilot-stories ever get preserved.

Dave

Flew up to Edenvale to instruct on the Tiger Moth, but then it developed a snag, so we looked around for something to do. The student(s) (if you can call them that -- both are ATPL professional pilots and they tow gliders on the side), hopped in the Fleet Canuck, and Robin and I fired up the Fairchild, and we visted the glider strip at Tottenham (Ronan's).






Mike was shining up his Model A for an outing, so we rolled it in front of the Fairchild.





Very pleasant little jaunt.

Dave

Dave, it's good to see the F24 isn't growing any grass around her wheels. How many hours total time on the airframe and how many have you put on it?
blue skies
Doug

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"I love the smell of 100LL in the morning."

Doug, the Fairchild has 2450 hours TT, and we've put about 185 hours of that on it ourselves. Not a high-time airplane (just high-fun!).

Nothing to do with the Fairchild, but I had an interesting flight yesterday. I met up with Paul Kissman (VWoC Chief Pilot) at Gatineau and we flew the P-40 so he could get his type-rating on it. It's interesting to sit in the back seat and see a very experienced and highly focussed professional test pilot sort out a new airplane. Supposedly I'm the Instructor, but it's probably me learning the most during the flight.

Planet Earth's newest P-40 pilot.





Dave

Congratulations to Paul! My philosophy has always been if I don't learn at least one new thing every day, I'll lay down because I know I'm about to have a lot of dirt thrown on my face, and rightly so...........stay curious

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Don't make me go get my flying monkeys-

And there's no better way to learn a thing than to try to teach it.

I think this is one of the most FUN threads on WIX!

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Cheers,
Kurt Maurer
League City, Texas

PIC, Ford 6600 pulling Rhino batwing up and down the runway

If you think you're good at describing something, call up a friend and talk him through tying his shoe laces over the phone.

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Don't make me go get my flying monkeys-

What are you going to do now Dave, you'll have to share the P-40....
Perhaps it's time for Rob to share the Hurri.

Terry

Hi Terry,

Yeah I've been slated to check out on the Hurricane all season, but it's actually quite difficult to arrange a student, an instructor, a serviceable airplane, and decent weather all in the same time and place. I was supposed to be flying it to the Edenvale "Gathering of the Classics", Aug 06, but now it looks like Paul or I will ferry the P-40 there. (I'll be busy sheperding the "Yellow Wings" flock across the province, starting in Windsor Aug 02.)

I mocked-up the installation of a modern radio in the Fairchild yesterday. Ugly, ugly, ugly.... (Can you spell anakron... annachron... anacroan... one-of-these-things-is-not-like-the-others?)



It'll work, but jeez...

Solution: what I'll do is recess the radio into the panel, then cover it for static display -- I found this neat late-1940s King radio, and I'll cut the cover plate off it, put velcro on the back, and stick it over the modern one when it's not in-use. That should suit.

Dave

On the road with the Yellow Wings tour of Vintage Wings of Canada for the past week.

Had a fine show at the Edenvale "Gathering of the Classics".



Many more fine photos at http://gusair.com/htdocs/html/edenvale.html

Got checked out in the Cornell there. Lovely thing to fly in all aspects except climb rate. But sweet on the controls -- has a very similar control feel and response rate as our F-24W.



George Mayer photo -- not me in the aircraft (I don't have any good ones yet)
Dave

I really like following this thread, thanks for sharing, your Fairchild is a beaut!