Fri, Aug 15, 2003
To honor the founding of EAA
Chapter One and the people who have designed and built aircraft at
Flabob Airport's facilities in Riverside (CA), the EAA provided a
significant piece of real estate at Wittman Airport for an exhibit.
The Thomas W. Wathen Foundation, which is headquartered at Flabob,
charged Rafe Tomsett (right) with the responsibility to tell the
Flabob/Chapter One story at Oshkosh. Tomsett deserves kudos
for a job very well done.
Tomsett created a miniature replica of Flabob's runway and
lined both sides of it with some of the significant aircraft that
were designed, built or which reside there. These included
airworthy replicas of the famous Golden Age of Air Racing era
speedsters, the de Havilland DH88 Comet (pictured below)
and Roscoe Turner's Miss
Champion.
Both aircraft were built at Flabob for Tom Wathen. There were
also copies of some of the famous designs that have emerged from
Flabob: the Stits Playboy and Playmate, the Marquart Charger and
Stolp Staduster.
However, it was really the
founding of EAA Chapter One, so eloquently told in a series of
illustrated panels, that drew crowd attention. Ray Stits, who was
responsible for the creation of Chapter One in 1953, was on hand to
discuss what that first chapter has meant to the sport aviation
movement, as well as the 15 aircraft he designed.
In the course of AirVenture, tens of thousands of people stopped
to admire the aircraft and read the displays about Flabob and
Chapter One.
Representatives of that first chapter handed out over 23,000
Flabob buttons. Since the founding of EAA�s Chapter One,
over a thousand other chapters in more than 100 countries have been
added to the list. At this time, EAA Chapter One, with nearly 700
members, is the world's largest EAA Chapter.
More News
Known Traffic With respect to ATC clearances, means aircraft whose altitude, position, and intentions are known to ATC.>[...]
Aero Linx: Aviation Suppliers Association (ASA) Established February 25, 1993, the Aviation Suppliers Association (ASA), based in Washington, D.C., is a not-for-profit association,>[...]
Abeam An aircraft is “abeam” a fix, point, or object when that fix, point, or object is approximately 90 degrees to the right or left of the aircraft track. Abeam indic>[...]
Aero Linx: The Air Charter Safety Alliance The group, called the Air Charter Safety Alliance, will raise awareness of illegal charter flights among potential customers, charter bro>[...]
“For months, ALPA has been sounding the alarm on the ongoing efforts by some aircraft manufacturers to remove pilots from the flight deck and replace them with automation. To>[...]
ANN's Daily Aero-Term (06.10.24): Known Traffic
See All