Field of Dreams
Prose: Richard Souza
Photography: Richard Souza, Ryan Tykosh, Nicholas Pascarella
By the time October rolls around, the 19 on the “yearometer” start to roll up and the number’s 2 and 0 begin to show. The falling brown colored leaves are another visual reminder that both the air show season and the year are coming to an end.
It was another year of back to back weekends, long days, endless drives and adventures, not to mention the thousands of photographs that will provide material for the next decade. For Full Disc Aviation, the highlights of the season were those “first time” shows Seymour Johnson, Beaufort and Chino, or the epics Thunder Over Michigan and Oshkosh. But there were still those “backyard” shows that are “musts and nevermisses".
My MUST and NEVERMISS is any one of the half dozen or so events held at the Golden Age Air Museum. You remember that place? This is the charming little museum with the vintage aircraft and the grass strip. This is that magical field of dreams that we introduced to our followers in feature stories last year. Well, the place is still charming and the field always magical.
This year, Full Disc Aviation was able to attend the two Flying Circus Air Shows as well as the Wings & Wheels Fly-in. Unfortunately, we were not able to attend the first ever Vintage Glider Meet and the ever popular “Great Pumpkin” Fly-in. There is nothing better than sitting on the museum porch sipping some hot chocolate and watching folks drop pumpkins from an airplane, unless you are the person dropping the pumpkin.
I recall the first time I set foot on this field. I didn’t know anyone and nobody knew me. After I was introduced to Paul Dougherty and Mike Damiani, I would never be a stranger again. Now, as I walk up to the ticket booth, “How do you do?” is replaced with “How have you been?”. Walking past the hangar, I run across the usual cast of characters; Paul, Caroline, Mike, Eric, Neil, Robert, Tom, Andrew and the battalion of support volunteers. Each one takes the time to stop and say hello. This is just one of those friendly places where everybody knows everybody, even if they just met.
Getting ready for any one of their events takes preparation. If you are one of those who likes to show up early, you will see this little battalion slowly put everything in place for whichever event they are holding. The Flying Circus Airshow is probably the event that requires the most preparation and set up. After twenty-two seasons, they have this down to a science. The aircraft are rolled into position, the crowd line is strung up, the announcer stand in place and audio is tested. The only thing missing is the big top.
Before every show, the cast and crew gather at the announcer stand. Everyone is handed the show schedule and every part of the show is discussed. Who does what, who plays which character and most importantly… safety, safety, safety. They draw straws to see who is going to fly the slow 1917 Rumpler C.V replica. Everybody knows Tom Beamer always draws the short straw. Tom is the only one that hasn’t realized that the straws are probably marked.
Some will make the argument that the Flying Circus show is always the same, show after show, season after season. I beg to differ. While every show has the same basic story line, there is always something different to make us laugh and smile. Each cast member interjects a little something to shake things up. If you look closely, you will notice that they actually crack each other up. That is a sign of how close these people are. They are friends having a good time and entertaining a crowd that enjoys vintage airplanes and a good show.
This year, Brodah, as I affectionately call Nick Pascarella, attended his first Flying Circus Airshow. Brodah had heard so much about this place and the excitement was showing in his eyes. Throughout the day, I would look over my shoulder and search for Nick. I could see that he was soaking it all in; the show, the aircraft and the surroundings. Living in the Big Apple, you don’t get to see a lot of this kind of nature. Nick would wander off to the edge of the corn field to photograph corn stalks. I just smiled because I knew that the magic of this place had touched him.
As we drove back east, I asked Brodah what he thought about the show and he responded “...it's unlike anything I've ever seen; almost like a theater comedy played out on an airfield set in the 20's." I asked him what struck him the most, and he thought for a moment. "Pilots chugging bottles of XXX faux booze before an air race, a professor riding a rocket powered bicycle, bumbling cops, cross-dressing pilots and convicts 'stealing' airplanes to fly haphazardly around; I don't know," he laughed, "it all felt like something out of a silent film.” But there is nothing silent about Golden Age. The engines of these century and near-century-old aircraft sing the stories of a time gone by. This place memorializes that feeling and vibe and reanimates it at all its different events all year long.
The Wings & Wheels fly-in is no different. Dozens of aircraft will show up throughout the day. Some will camp out on the field while others will land, grab a burger at the Tailspin Snack Shack Café, check out the classic cars and fly back out. It’s like attending someone’s family reunion picnic. The vibe is always friendly.
As the crowds leave, those who stick around are almost guaranteed to see something special. Tom Beamer doesn’t go home until he does his signature pass across the grass field. Brodah, Ryty and I witnessed Neil Baughman give a Ed Hoelker, in his nineties, a birthday flight in the Taylorcraft L-2M Grasshopper. If that wasn’t enough, a second Grasshopper Eric Ridilla flew in formation alongside Neil and Ed. They flew over the field several times and when they landed, the Veteran signed both of the pilots' log books.
After the events and the clean-up is complete, the pilots will huddle around and plan a post-show flight. You never know what play they are going to use until the ball is hiked. As the sun began its slow descent, the huddle formed. Neil Baughman, Eric Lunger, Tom Beamer and special guest and aerobatic pilot RJ Gritter decided to celebrate 80 years or Aeronca history in one flight, from the 1936 Aeronca C3 to the 8KCAB Decathlon. Standing at the end of the grass strip, Ryty, Brodah and I witnessed the “historic event”. The lighting could not have been better.
One of the ships used in that flight was the 1947 Aeronca 7BCM also known as the “Pink Aeronca”. This aircraft and I have a very special relationship. This aircraft has been the photoship of numerous air to air photoshoots I have been a part of. This year, the pilots broke from the huddle with the plan to shoot the 1926 Winstead Special and the 1928 Velie Monocoupe 70. In the air, pilots Neil Baughman and Andrew King fly a precision ballet. They knew exactly where and how to position the aircraft. It was then up to me to capture that moment. After shooting from every conceivable angle and the sun coming down at an ever increasing rate, I put the camera down for a moment and just watched. Ohhhh, the beauty and grace of fabric and wire.
As the Monocoupe landed, Neil flew overhead. I heard Neil through the headset… “The pup is taking off”. He was referring to the Museum’s award winning 1916 Sopwith Pup replica as it lifted off beneath us. At the controls was none other than RJ Gritter on his first ever Pup flight. Seeing the Pink Aeronca and a jaboke with a camera onboard, RJ began to close in on us. I hit the shutter button over and over again. I know what you are thinking… but thankfully, this wasn’t my first rodeo. There was plenty of memory left on my card and a spare battery in my pocket. I will only fall for the banana in the tailpipe once. As the background faded and the picture changed, the sun inched ever closer to the horizon. I just looked through the viewfinder and see RJ’s grin. All I could do was whisper to myself...Life is good.
As the sun comes down, the color of the sky changes every second. The Golden Age Family all gather around the picnic tables that sit under the protective structure. Everyone waves us over and says “why don’t you join us?” Unfortunately, Newark Penn Station is a long drive away. I needed to make sure Brodah got home at a decent hour. As we made our way back down I-78, Brodah and I talked about the day gone by. We agreed that this place is much more than flying or melodramatics that is played out by the pilots during the show. It is friends and family under that big Pennsylvania sky, the smell of the rich forest hills and rows and rows of swaying cornfields. Not a bad way to spend an afternoon...not at all.
For Paul Sr.
