My wife and I spent the weekend in Key West. Our air travel provider had us change planes in Miami. Air Force Two (a Boeing 757) and an accompanying C-17 were present on a distant ramp, but by the time I noticed them and could get into a position to maybe shoot a pic or two, they'd taken off! A quick internet search revealed that Joe Biden was in Miami for a speech at one of the local colleges.
On a distant freight ramp were these Convair 580 freighters and one ex-American Eagle Shorts "Shoebox":
On Saturday at Key West, we took a sightseeing flight in the Conch Republic Air Force's grand old Waco UPF-7 biplane. The nondescript hangar that they operate from turned out to be a real toy box! The hangar was so packed that it was hard to shoot decent pics, but I tried. As you can see, the WX was rainy and our departure was delayed about 40 minutes. In fact, we actually took off in a light rain, but we quickly flew out of it and found some of that Florida sunshine.
The Waco (N39721). That's a Continental W670 up front, 220 HP:
Stearman 4CM-1 Junior Speedmail (NC488W): (what a stunner!!!)
SNJ-5C Texan (N5632F):
Pitts S2C (N31TA):
Piper J-3 Cub (NC38159): (another real beauty!)
Out on the ramp, DHC-3T (N435B) was parked sans elevators:
Our pilot for the Waco flight was Raymond Cabanas, who is the son of the late aerobatic, warbird, and Reno race pilot Fred Cabanas:
Here's a look over the nose at the southern end of the island, with the airport dead ahead:
The
Arleigh Burke-class destroyer USS James E Williams (DDG-95) was in for a port call. In the background along the quay is the museum ship USCGC Ingham.
That's it. If you ever get down to Key West, drop by the airport and visit the Cabanas family, tour the hangar, and take a flight in the Waco, the Cub, or the Pitts. You'll love it!
Login
Register
FAQ
Search
