I just got some very sad news about the death of a pilot I posted in April, I believe the only male pilot we’ve ever posted on Ladies Love Taildraggers. I featured it because his excitement, passion and enthusiasm for flying taildraggers was so genuine and contagious I thought we could all be inspired. Thank you to Shannon Gallagher, Chuck Avon and John Curry for forwarding the links. Our thoughts are with his family and friends. I’m including the email I received from John Curry, along with links to news reports, which I believe you’ll appreciate reading…

“Happened by your website while doing some research and found Joshua Brehm was featured in a past blog.  I thought you may want to know that Mr. Brehm was killed this week when his Taylorcraft BL65 crashed on landing.”

“I didn’t know Mr. Brehm and I don’t fly..ever, I just love and admire vintage planes and vehicles…but reading your blog and his love for flying, knowing what had happened two days ago,  gave me  insight into this man.  So often you hear of someone’s passing and never know who the person really was, but when I read the blog, I understood he died doing what he loved.  We should all be so lucky.”

“Anyway, I thought you may want to let your readers know of his passing.”

Links:

http://www.reflector.com/news/pitt-plane-crash-kills-pilot-593817

http://www.witn.com/home/headlines/126345913.html

John W Curry
D&J’s Photography

————– Posted April 11, 2011 ——————

Just to prove that we ladies love not only our taildraggers but the men that love them too, guess it’s time we hear it from a man’s perspective! Josh Brehm from North Carolina sent in a few pictures and thoughts about flying – very interesting. If you’re flying an antique or vintage taildragger – heck, any taildragger, bet you’ll agree with Josh.  Beware – his excitement with taildraggers is contagious!!!

A happy Josh and wife, Laura Gantt

“I love to fly! I love to fly! I love to fly! Happiest when flying– just about anything is okay, but taildraggers are best. Challenging, humbling, fun, capable, humbling, flexible, good-looking (as an airplane should look!), humbling, fun to land in farm fields, hard to land well, and…uh….humbling.”

Josh's 1940 Taylorcraft BL-65

“There’s a mystique around conventionally-geared aircraft these days that needs to go. When pilots were trained to fly in a taildragger they were aware of wind direction and strength because they had to be. They knew how to correctly line up on a runway and do forward and side slips.”

Looks like he's out to win the spot landing contest!

“They were more connected with the airplane. Trikes led to the “Windows-ization,” the “Walmart-ification” of aviation. Point and click and instant gratification. Forget about the mechanics and the romance and the provenance of the airplane– get it done as cheaply and quickly as you can– who cares where it came from or who built it or what went into its development. Character-be-damned, we want milquetoast flying, benumbed, removed, disassociated from oil and fuel and fire and wind and wires and fabric. Give ‘em metal shells and fiberglass skins and flat panel displays to get from point “A” to point “B” without getting ruffled hair.”

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“I fly with friends who have never had to use their feet on the pedals once they quit taxiing. A long-winged, adverse yaw-prone, lightly loaded ship is an eye-opener to say the least. Some just don’t get it and are instantly frustrated. Others rise to the challenge and ask the right questions and are amply rewarded.”

Laura Gantt

“Need to get my CFI done so I can actually do some training.  We need to get folks reintroduced to aviating as it was done.”

“Not sure what I can offer to the group, but I really enjoy meeting folks interested in old airplanes.”

Josh Brehm

I’ve got my stuff all packed up and getting ready to hop on the U of W bus back to the OSH airport. Before I get my weather/departure briefing, do my preflight and get in the long line of aircraft taxiing for departure, I thought I’d post just a few pictures from yesterday.

Would you like a free wrist band?!!

I ran out of wrist  bands yesterday and was pulling my cash out to buy Friday’s entry wrist band when this very nice young lady runs up to me. Free ticket? Me? You bet!! Great way to start another day at Oshkosh.

Juliet Lindrooth, me and a new lady pilot friend

Friday is always Women in Aviation’s mass women pilot picture day and green was the color this year. I bumped in to several lady taildragger pilots including Juliet Lindrooth. What you can’t see in this picture are the hundreds of women pilots behind us. We’re in the very back row but managed to get a friendly bystander to snap a quick one of us.

It was really great to see so many happy women pilots all in one spot!

I got a call around noon from a friend saying the “stars”  from the cable show “Flying Wild Alaska” were in the Cessna tent greeting people and to get myself over there fast – they were holding a place in line for me! I really enjoyed the show the short 10 weeks it was on and was happy to hear they just finished shooting season two. I’ll be looking forward to the next round!

Phil, Judy, Dick & and the new superstar of "Flying Wild Alaska", Ariel Tweto

One of our lady taildragger pilots, Julie Hartlaub, and her husband were a couple of fun people to meet. They distribute and were displaying a Zlin Savage Cub that I got a chance to take a close look at. It was pretty amazing to me how similar it is to my Rans S7. I could see myself being very happy flying this brand new bird around. I know $77,000 is a whole lot of money but compared to other new light sports available this is a bargain. It’s not a kit – it’s ready to hop in and fly home!

Zlin Savage display

OK, I’ve got to get moving. I’m looking forward to a beautiful flight home with unlimited visibility and no weather between me and Indianapolis!

Yesterday we were scheduled to have our Ladies Love Taildraggers interviews in “Vintage” but as luck would have it, we got rained out. OSH may have cancelled us yesterday but they made it up to us today! Promptly at 11:00 today, Ray Johnson began his program in the Vintage area of  EAA AirVenture and Jeanne MacPherson and I were able to participate. Thank you, Jeanne, for sticking around beyond your original departure day & time to speak about your amazing life in aviation. Jeanne and her husband had a family reunion they needed to get to today and because of the rain-out yesterday she stayed overnight to help us out.

"Vintage" Interview, Thursday. Four lady tailwheel pilots, Jeanne MacPherson, Jeannie Hill, Kristee Quinn and Judy Birchler.

I had a little late morning adventure when I was zipping through the Plaza today, not paying a whole heck of a lot of attention and thinking about where I was headed next. I suddenly looked up and realized I was in a huge mass of people who seemed to come out of nowhere and they were all moving very quickly. A moment later I was standing right next to Chuck Yeager in the middle of his entourage and swarming fans. I couldn’t have planned that better if I tried!

Chuck Yeager trying to make his way through the awe struck crowd

And if that’s not enough, I heard Burt Rutan speak a short time later at the Conoco Phillips Plaza.

Burt Rutan

Glasair Aviation’s “Sportsman” caught my eye this morning while I was hurrying by. I had to take a few minutes to check out this 4 place, high utility, folding wing, trailer-able taildragger; cruises at 150 kts, stalls at 42 kts, useful load of 950 #.  Very nice.

Sportsman

We got the airshow in today…. barely, but the performances were all the “low” shows due to the cloud deck. I’m not sure what the ceiling was but they were struggling to get enough altitude to give us all a look at what they can do.  Sean Tucker rung out his Oracle Challenger biplane which is astounding to watch and the Misty Blues all woman jump team kicked the show off.

The Heavy Metal Jet team did their very, very low show but that's the way it goes sometimes.

I was back hanging out with my Rans for most of the airshow, luckily under the wing when the show was cut short by a major deluge.

I was happy I'd picked up 2 ponchos the day before but there's still no way to keep dry when it's raining and blowing this hard

Lucky kids were having a great time kicking around in the water puddles and most of us big people gave up trying to avoid them too!

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See all the Rutan design aircraft in the back of this next photo…. they got prime parking spots this year in honor of Burt Rutan.

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I had an invitation from Rod at www.mytransponder.com to his social media – podcasters – bloggers party, hosted by Sennheiser Aviation, and it turned out to be a very cool event. It was a great way to meet up with the movers and shakers in the aviation social media world and pick up a few tips.

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Thanks to Michele Combs for all the introductions and techno tips. Michele’s husband, Michael Combs is flying his REMOS light sport aircraft to all 50 states. After recovering from a serious illness that nearly stole his dream to fly, Michael set out to fly into all 50 states to encourage more than 50 million people to Never, EVER give up on their dreams. He has now logged more than 28,000 miles, 175 airports and 49 states, setting four world records. Hawaii is the next on the list!!

With Michael Combs

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What was I thinking when I left Indy without packing some rain gear? A cover up or an umbrella or a hat would have all come in very handy today! It rained overnight and was sprinkling when I got on the bus this morning and by the time the bus actually arrived at AirVenture 15 minutes later it was an out and out downpour. Luckily there’s a very small covered shelter at the bus stop so I made a mad dash to it and waited – and waited – and waited for the rain to stop.

This shot was taken of the OSH tower early afternoon when the rain had stopped and things were starting to look a little better.

This was the morning we were scheduled to do the Ladies Love Taildraggers interviews in Vintage and I was supposed to be there, whether I looked like a drowned rat when I arrived or not! So even though it was pouring down I made a wild dash to the AOPA tent where they were kindly passing out rain ponchos to the masses – thank you AOPA!  As it turns out, Ray Johnson and the EAA staff were already checking the radar and it was obvious an outdoor presentation was not meant to be on this rainy day. But that’s OK – we reschedule for tomorrow at 11:00 a.m. and that freed me up to finally get to spend some rainy day time in the vendor display buildings.

I've been thinking about an angle of attack gauge since I bought the Rans so I stopped by the Alpha Systems booth and heard how their electronic kit works.

I was also on a mission to evaluate headsets and find the one that best met my requirements and price point. I checked out the Clarity Aloft aviation headsets which came in at about $500 plus an extra $250 for a bluetooth feature. Next was Sennheiser who had a heck of a deal for $265 for their HME110 passive noise attenuation headset. I’d heard good things about it from a fellow woman pilot who won one last year at Oshkosh. Of course, I had to swing by Bose and see what they had to offer. All good but $1100 just seemed like too much to spend on myself for a headset. Next was Lightspeed Aviation who have great deal going for those that already own a Lightspeed and want to trade it in on a new one; $250 credit towards the purchase of a new headset and their Zula at $600 qualifies for the discount.

The last on my list to check out was Quiet Technologies

Take a good look at this picture; yep, you’ll see me on the left but if you don’t recognize the lady in the middle, it’s Debby Rihn-Harvey, 2006, 2008 & 2009 U.S. National Aerobatic Champion and just so happens, a customer at the Quiet Technologies booth while I was there. She just happened to stop in for what she considers to be the best headset to fly while doing competition aerobatics and performing in airshows. I got the biggest kick out of it when she put one of the headsets on and bent over and shook her head back and forth, up and down, to show how well they stay put during a performance, all the while being able to hear and speak clearly through them. She mentioned the competition Clarity Aloft headset which is priced much higher didn’t fit her and she was far happier with the Quiet Technologies “Halo” headset we were both looking at.

OK, so the thought process went something like this……Judy, you’ve looked at them all, you’re leaning towards the Halo headset already, Debby Rihn-Harvey loves them, flies world class aerobatic competition in them, performs wearing them ….. what more could you possibly need to make a decision?!! You guessed it. I am the proud owner of a new Quiet Technologies Halo headset and looking forward to my flight back home to put them to my personal test!!

Ladies, have I got an Oshkosh story for you!! I’m staying at Gruenhagen residence hall, one of the tall dorms on the campus of the University of WI at Oshkosh. They’ve got lots of empty dorm rooms for the summer and put up thousands of EAAers every year during AirVenture. I’ve stayed here lots of times in the past and quickly get used to sharing a bathroom down the hall and living without air-conditioning (it’s hot here). So with a good night’s sleep behind me, I got ready to go this morning then made my way to the elevator and hopped on. Big Mistake – should have taken the stairs this time!

NOOOOOO..... don't let me get stuck in this elevator!!

It’s a long story but suffice it to say, YES, I did get stuck in that elevator – by myself – in the dorm – this morning! Ikes!! I relaxed and snapped this picture after I was finally sure somebody realized I was in there and I knew help was on the way. Do you believe there isn’t a magic button somewhere that somebody can hit and get you outta there? No, this was a job for the Oshkosh fire department! I’m not a huge fan of elevators since I got stuck in one several years ago in Florida – by myself – on a hot stuffy day with no air conditioning. All I could think this time was, “please, let the air keep running” and “GET ME OUTTA HERE”! I spent about 25 minutes waiting to be rescued by the Oshkosh Fire Department, talking to a lovely lady on the emergency elevator phone and hollering back and forth to the fire department on the other side of the doors.

The Oshkosh fire dept, me, and the great guy that knew I was stuck in there and wasn't leaving until I was rescued!

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This was the very sweet and professional voice on the other side of the elevator doors hollering updates to me on their progress.

So that’s how my day started, on the day we were having our Lady Taildraggers Lunch at the Hilton! No problem though, I was rescued and on my way back to the airport with big plans to meet all the ladies.

We had a great turnout including Heather Gamble, Elaine Kauh & Jenny Schindeldecker

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Jeanne MacPherson, Janet Gonzales & Sharon Johnson

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Anne Wright (I think she liked the green stuff)

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Anne Wright, Anne Dunn & Carole White

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And Darlene Kellner!

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This is the view from the rooftop restaurant at the Hilton on the field. It's a secret though!

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Here's the whole gang!

Thanks ladies for joining me. It was so great to meet everyone and learn a little more about each other. Hope you enjoyed it as much as I did!!

I have to tell you, it’s a really great feeling to fly into Oshkosh – especially great when you’re doing it solo! I arrived yesterday (Sunday) evening 45 minutes before they closed the field – but it took a long day of wx checking  and waiting around to get me there. Severe thunderstorms worked their way from the northwest area of Wisconsin & Iowa southeast across the hard hit Chicago area and down through Indianapolis on Sunday. Parts of Chicago got 7.5″ of rain with strong winds and hail and it wasn’t anything anybody I know wanted to mess around with, much less try to fly through. At 3:45 I was finally able to pull the Rans S7 out of the hangar (through the water puddles) and depart Indy with the hope of making it to OSH without hitting any more weather. Turns out that I had nicely improving weather departing Indy and one quick fuel stop in Joliet, and I made it there in well under 4 hours!

A sure sign you're on the ground at Oshkosh!

Flying into Oshkosh isn’t for sissies! I got the NOTAM booklet and pretty much memorized it. Overkill? Maybe. But when there are dozens of aircraft approaching a single spot on the ground called “Ripon”, possibly right when you are, it’s best to understand what’s about to happen to you.

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50 Miles south of Ripon I started trying to pick up any Oshkosh frequency; ATIS, Fisk, north tower, south tower, it didn’t matter – I just wanted to hear somebody up there and start getting some clues about runways in use, traffic, anything at all.

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I couldn’t hear anybody or anything for long enough that I convinced myself I’d have the whole approach all to myself – it was getting late and surely anybody that was coming today would already be there?! No problem, no sweat, piece of cake. I could be the only airplane still flying in the state of Wisconsin tonight!

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Of course I came to my senses quickly and  flipped the other way ….. oh come on Judy, this is Oshkosh, the Big Boy, the Mecca, this is Oshkosk – and you’re not going to be that lucky!! The first traffic I saw was about 15 miles south of the Ripon intersection; I caught it out of the corner of my eye coming up around on my left to the west. OK, one airplane, no big deal.

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Then another from the north, then another from the east, oh my, then more from the west. Nope, I’m not alone! Traffic all descending to the required 1800′, all powering up or powering down to the required 103 mph and all headed toward that well know pinpoint on the ground, Ripon.

It was organized, it was fun, it was exciting, it was scary, it was very cool to fly into Oshkosh solo. It’s simple, hit Ripon, fly up the railroad tracks 10 miles, wait for the controllers on the ground at Fisk to identify you and ask you to rock your wings, listen to your runway assignment, change frequencies, follow the Notam instructions and the controllers instructions, fly the pattern and land. Land and keep your distance from the plane landing right in front of you, land on the colored spot they assign you, slow it down, slow it down….then get the heck off the runway – NOW!! There’s lots more coming in right behind you and they’re about to land right where you’re sitting!

Helen Brennan is based at OH15 , Minerva Airport, Minerva, Ohio.

Over the flatlands of NW Iowa

I have been flying since 1993, progressing through the customary 152′s, 172′s and Cherokees.  Back in those days (has it really been 18 years already?), ground schools were always full of student pilots and the flight school planes were booked weeks in advance.  That led to the first airplane purchase, a Piper Cherokee, which was a kind, gentle airplane.  There were many great flights exploring the region, supporting every eatery within walking distance of any airport and taking friends and relatives for rides.  But there was more to flying, more purpose and more benefit which led to a satisfying several years of being a Search and Rescue pilot and DEA pilot for the Civil Air Patrol.  Those years honed the skill of flying low and slow in all kinds of VFR weather over frequnetly inhospitable terrain, often never in the same aircraft twice and with many different faces on board.  Even as the hours mounted in my logbook, the experiences became invaluable.

It doesn't get much better

These experiences led to wanting to hone more skills, try new things, and what better way to do that than to get a tailwheel endorsement!  After searching as many sources as I could, I finally accepted the fact that I could get the training and ultimately the endorsement, but would not be allowed to solo the airplane – insurance stipulations I was told.

Arriving Blakesburg, IA

Determined not to be discouraged, in 1997 I bought N43759, a 1946 Taylorcraft BC12-D.  She had a recent fabric job but was all white, except for the oil streaks on her belly from the engine and the fuel stains down over her cowling.  So while the A-65 engine was being overhauled, I designed some color graphics for her.  She got a new interior, new tires, new paint on all metal parts, new tailwheel and a new pilot – me!  I was fortunate to have a great tailwheel instructor who made sure that I was as comfortable on concrete as on grass.

Nov. 2009 Vintage Magazine

Since then, the little white plane and I have had many adventures together, seen many places, met many new friends, and continue to share the skies and chase clouds when we choose.  I took a break in 2007 to get my IFR license and another in 2008 to get my Commercial license and am now studying for my CFI written exam.
I am looking forward to meeting all of you lady taildragger pilots and hope to see you at Moraine in August!

Helen Brennan

Click here to listen to Fisk VFR Approach….

Fisk VFR Approach

Click here to listen to KOSH Tower North 9/27….

Tower 9/27

Click here to listen to KOSH Tower South, 18R/36L…

Tower 18R/36L

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I finally got to meet Lisa Martin from Montana at Smiley Creek and can tell you her Super Cub looks just as fine in person as it does in her pictures. Lisa turned out to be a soft spoken, beautiful and very sweet little gal that was up at the crack of dawn every morning ready to fly that taildragger!

Lisa's got the coolest stainless steel marshmallow skewers you've ever seen - made by her husband!

Note to Lisa: It was a pleasure to meet you. You sent these pictures in a couple weeks ago and I’m sorry it’s taken a little time to get them up. No worry though, they are beautiful shots, especially the amazing one taking off in the driveway with the mountains in the background! Please leave a comment and tell us more about “Jerry’s first solo”?

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Finally made it to my old home (Cut Bank, MT) to visit my husband’s family. They have a cattle ranch right on the US / Canadian border east of Glacier Park.

Great Fallc

It’s about 380 m each way. A nice morning flight in calm, cool, stable air Saturday morning. We landed on the driveway of the family ranch my husband grew up on and got to pull the Cub right up to the front door beside the pick ups for overnight parking!

Front door parking

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Jerry's first solo and lic pilot

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We messed around a little too much on the way home. Stopping in to visit several of our Montana friends and then lit in Columbus, MT for lunch at about 1:30. IT’s only about a 1/2 m walk to the nearest restaurant.

Columbus, MT for lunch

It was hot there! About 95* and the run-off was really flowing down the Yellowstone River. Clouds were starting to build by the time we took off again, so we made a bee line for home.

Unfortunately, it wasn't the last or the biggest gust

A dry micorburst system reigned terror on our hometown Sunday afternoon. I’m extrememly thankful that our Cub was not in our hanger when a gust tore off the west wall!

Lisa Martin

Summer

Yes, it’s true, Summer Martell will be flying her 1931 Student Prince biplane to the Lady Taildraggers Fly-In in Dayton this August!! From Washington State!  3,400 miles round trip!! Open cockpit tandem biplane! Over the Great Divide!  Across the Plains! To the heart of where aviation began – Dayton Ohio! What an incredible adventure is about to unfold for Summer and her lucky, passenger (a.k.a. back up stick) Super Cub pilot Jerry Ryder! Summer, we all wish you well and will be following you on your blog as the date for departure nears.

She's going to need lots of these!

Ya gotta love the ipads for flight planning and Summer is taking full advantage.

How many legs am I counting?!

And a little tidbit for all the Cessna 120/140 ladies coming to the fly-in, Summer also owns a 1946 Cessna 120!

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From Summer’s new blog… “I plan on fulfilling a lifelong dream of flying across the United States and back in my biplane. A 1931 Student Prince, N10686 one of only three factory built Student Princes ever made by Aircraft Builders Corporation on Swan Island, in Portland, Oregon. My Student Prince was the third and last one produced. With a speed of 85 mph. and 1700 nautical flying miles one way from Port Townsend, Washington to Moraine Field in Dayton Ohio, it’s sure to be an adventure of a lifetime!” Follow Summer and share her adventure….. Summersky 2011 Blog

Everyone’s invited to our August 12-13-14 2nd Annual Lady Taildragger Fly-in at Moraine Airpark, I73, Dayton, OH. Please be sure and register on the link so we can plan all the meals accordingly!! If you’re staying at the Courtyard by Marriott and want the group rate “Ladies Love Taildraggers” you must make your reservation by midnight July 25.  Link to all the details  Lady Taildraggers Fly-In .