A Formation Flight Of 2 Fairchild 71’s at EAA AirVenture Would Mean That Half The Registered Fleet Is Airborne At The Same Time

ANN covered EAA’s announcement that Gary Coonan is planning to bring his Fairchild 71 to EAA AirVenture this year, and now EAA has announced that he will be joined by another Fairchild 71.

Marlin Horst, of Bird-In-Hand, Pennsylvania, plans to bring his 1929 aircraft NC9708. There are only four Fairchild 71s remaining on the registry which means EAA AirVenture will feature half the remaining fleet of F71s!

Horst acquired the airplane from the estate of aircraft collector Gene Frank in 2006 and a year later started a six-year restoration that was completed in the fall of 2012. It first flew last August and has about 20 post-restoration hours logged so far.

The registration number 9708 originally belonged to an F71 that was featured in a Fairchild sales brochure designed for the 1928 Hamilton Aviation Fair in Ontario, Canada, touting its use as a corporate airplane.

“It was decked out with the finest attire; the Learjet of its day,” Horst said. He restored his airplane to the specifications of that aircraft from the brochure, choosing wool, mahogany, sapele, leather, and high-quality broad cloth for his personalized custom interior for his NC9708.

Horst also wanted a dependable airplane to fly, and added modern systems including a 28-volt AC electrical system, simple avionics, fuel management, BT-13 wheels and field approved hydraulic brakes, a Pratt & Whitney R-985 engine with a redesigned cooling system, and a Hamilton Standard constant-speed prop.

“I envisioned from the beginning that my wife (Jeanie) and I would fly this great piece of history to Alaska,” he said, pointing out that many Fairchild 71s were destined to fly in the Northwest Territories and Alaska.

Horst would love to form up in the air with Gary Coonan’s Fairchild 71, so the AirVenture attendees can see these two surviving classics from aviation’s Golden Age fly together.

(Image provided by EAA)

FMI: www.eaa.org