26-50

Slingsby Venture T.Mk2

November 5, 2025 by Bob Stoney Leave a Comment

Aircraft Information
> Aircraft Make: Slingsby Sailplanes Model: T.61 or T.Mk2. Nickname: Falke or Venture
> Aircraft Mil Civ Description: Airplane SE Piston
> FAA Category and Class: Airplane SE Land
> Engine Description: Single engine piston

Aircraft Experience
> As of: 11/5/2024
> Number of Hours Flown: 0.8
> Number of Times Flown: 2
> Other Aircraft Models Associated:

First Flown Information
> Sequence First Flown: 42
> Date First Flown: 5/8/1988
> Location First Flown: United Kingdom, small grass field near Boscome Down
> Who and/or What Organization First Flown With: A glider club, I did not record the instructor’s name 🙁

Recollections:
I was in England for a DT-II (at Boscombe Down) and had a day off. What to do? Why, go to the local airfield and try to talk my way into a flight! I managed to fly this motor glider with one of the club instructors on two separate flights.

Slingsby Venture T.Mk2; Stock Photo
(c) happyscale-modellbau.blogspot.com

Aviat Pitts Special S-2

November 3, 2025 by Bob Stoney Leave a Comment

Aircraft Information
> Aircraft Make: Aviat Model: S-2 Nickname: Pitts Special
> Aircraft Mil Civ Description: Airplane SE Piston
> FAA Category and Class: Airplane SE Land
> Engine Description: Single engine piston

Aircraft Experience
> As of: 11/5/2024
> Number of Hours Flown: 1
> Number of Times Flown: 1
> Other Aircraft Models Associated: S-1

First Flown Information
> Sequence First Flown: 34
> Date First Flown: 5/21/1987
> Location First Flown: NAS Patuxent River, MD (KNHK)
> Who and/or What Organization First Flown With: Jim Palmer, part of a USNTPS Qual Eval

Recollections:
We brought the Pitts in for a student qual eval exercise. Based on the date, I had JUST come back onto staff as a JO IP and I’m sure was excited to fly a new plane. The flight was all acrobatics and spins, including an outside loop (I believe the first time I’d done one) and Jim taught me how to do a proper “airshow roll” (utilizing rudder and elevator to keep the fuselage in line as the airplane rolled).

Edgley Optica Scout

November 3, 2025 by Bob Stoney Leave a Comment

Aircraft Information
> Aircraft Make: Edgley. Model: Optica. Nickname: Scout
> Aircraft Mil Civ Description: Airplane SE Piston
> FAA Category and Class: Airplane Single Engine Land
> Engine Description: Single Piston

Aircraft Experience
> As of: 11/5/2024
> Number of Hours Flown: 0.6
> Number of Times Flown: 1
> Other Aircraft Models Associated: EA-7

First Flown Information
> Sequence First Flown: 50
> Date First Flown: 12/29/1988
> Location First Flown: Summitt, Delaware (KEVY)
> Who and/or What Organization First Flown With: Qual Eval with Duane Erickson

Recollections:
I ferried a T-28 from Martin State to Summitt, Delaware (gear down) at the behest of my TPS classmate, JB Hollyer. When I got to Summitt, Duane Erickson let me fly the Optica. It was a very interesting, if slow, airplane.

Optica Scout, Ex-registration G-TRAK, now N130DP, stock photo
(c) Airport-data.com

Optica G-TRAK; sotck photo
(c) airport-data.com and Anthony Noble

North American T-6/SNJ Texan/Harvard

April 24, 2025 by Bob Stoney Leave a Comment

Aircraft Information
> Aircraft Make: North American Model: T-6/SNJ. Nickname: Texan or Harvard
> Aircraft Mil Civ Description: Airplane SE Piston
> FAA Category and Class: Airplane SE Land
> Engine Description: Single Engine piston

Aircraft Experience
> As of: 4/20/2025
> Number of Hours Flown: 12
> Number of Times Flown: 9
> Other Aircraft Models Associated:

First Flown Information
> Sequence First Flown: 40
> Date First Flown: 3/30/1998
> Location First Flown: NAS Patuxent River, MD
> Who and/or What Organization First Flown With: Bob Ellis, Kalamazoo Air Zoo

Recollections: My first flight in a T-6/SNJ was with Bob Ellis of the Kalamazoo (Michigan) “Air Zoo” museum in 1988. He brought the T-6 to Pax River for a student Qual Eval and I flew it as part of the Staff. Next time was in 1997 for a very similar exercise (this time with a different vendor, whose name I did not record). The next time was in 2024 for my “FAM 1” with amazing Warbird Pilot Michael Kopp after having purchased into a partnership! The airplane is amazing, in part because it flew with the South African Airforce from WWII thru 1995. Having been professionally maintained by an Air Force for all those years means it’s in wonderful shape and has virtually every mod. That has continued to this day with a great group of partners dedicated to preserving this wonderful machine.

The T-6/SNJ was the Army Air Corps’ and Navy’s advanced trainer in WWII. Aspiring aviators would fly the Stearman and then the Texan/Harvard.

Being lucky enough to be part owner of one now, I appreciate the complexity of this WWII design, with an interesting hydraulic system and full instrument panel. It’s a pleasure to fly and I feel lucky to be able to preserve the history.

Hawker Sea Fury

January 27, 2025 by Bob Stoney Leave a Comment

Aircraft Information
> Aircraft Make: Hawker Model: T.20 Nickname: Sea Fury
> Aircraft Mil Civ Description: Airplane SE Piston
> FAA Category and Class: Airplane Single Engine Land
> Engine Description: single (radial) piston

Aircraft Experience
> As of: 6/25/2024
> Number of Hours Flown: 3
> Number of Times Flown: 2
> Other Aircraft Models Associated: Several variants of the Sea Fury

First Flown Information
> Sequence First Flown: 47 (error, see below, error not corrected)
> Date First Flown: 9/26/1988 (note: when putting together this website, I realized–too late–that I’d made an error; my first flight in the Sea Fury was actually 9/26/1986, making this actually my 26th airplane flown; discovering the error too late, I did not correct the website).
> Location First Flown:
> Who and/or What Organization First Flown With:

Recollections: I flew this amazing machine during my year as a student at USNTPS. I flew it first for “Qual Eval 3” and a few weeks later as a “special project” that my best friend and TPS Classmate JB Hollyer had devised and gotten approved by the staff, to allow us to compare and contrast these two WWII fighters. The P-51’s first flight was October of 1940, contrasted with the Sea Fury’s first flight which occurred in September 1944. Although the P-51 clearly went through continued development during those war years, the complaints I had about the P-51’s control forces and roll rate (refer to my P-51 recollections) were virtually gone in the Sea Fury, showing just how quickly technology had advanced during the war. The Sea Fury was a pleasure to fly, light-ish on the controls, with rates that more resembled the post war airplane that followed.

Hawker Sea Fury T.20 N924G at 2014 Reno Air Races (stock photo)
(c) wikipedia/D Ramey Logan

In case you’re wondering why I don’t have pictures of myself in front of many of the airplanes I report on, there’s two reasons: (1) I haven’t gone thru all my old photos just yet and (2) I’ve always been reticent to take a bunch of pics, for fear of appearing as a poser. I also have a strict rule (that many who have flown my O-1E will tell you): “No hero pics BEFORE the flight, only AFTER!”. All of that said, I now wish I’d taken more photos.