EAA Staff Visits the Pacific Northwest

May 5, 2016 - EAA Senior Editor Hal Bryan and videographer Jim Soyk were on a story-gathering trip to the Pacific Northwest recently, and were joined for portions of the trip by Jim Busha, EAA’s director of publications, and noted freelance aviation photographer John Dibbs. During their travels various members of the group:

• Spent two and a half days in Comox, British Columbia, interviewing, shooting video, taking pictures of and in some cases flying with the Canadian Forces Snowbirds. Watch for stories in Sport Aviation magazine and the AirVenture Oshkosh souvenir program later this summer.
  
  
• Had a short visit with Greg Anders and Kate Simmons of the wonderful Heritage Flight Museum in Skagit, Washington. Greg is flying The Pearl to Oshkosh this summer as part of our commemoration of the 75th anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor. The airplane is an Interstate Cadet that was flown by civilian flight instructor Cornelia Fort and was actually airborne during the attack. We also accepted the EAA #AVChallenge of the month and dined at a new airport restaurant. Be sure to share your picture of 'Trying Something New in Aviation' by tagging it with #AVChallenge on your favorite social channel!
  
  
• Spent some time at Glasair Aviation in Arlington, Washington, getting a look at their first certificated airplane, the Merlin LSA. The weather prevented any flying, unfortunately, but we’ll do a Sport Aviation story and an accompanying video once we’ve flown it.
  
  
• Paid a visit to EAA Chapter 84 in Snohomish, Washington. Chapter 84 was one of the participants in the Give Flight project, in which volunteers built five sets of wings onsite at AirVenture Oshkosh 2015. Chapter 84 got wings to a Zenith CH 650; they’ve since formed a separate flying club, Sno Fly Inc., and took delivery of the rest of the kit last September. As of our visit, the airplane was on its gear, and well ahead of schedule. A video story about our visit is in the works.
  
  
• Visited with Cub Crafters in Yakima, Washington, for a couple of days. We can’t say much about our visit just yet, but we can say we had a blast. Photos, videos, and a feature story are all in the works.
  
  
• Dropped by the Olympic Flight Museum in Olympia, Washington. This vibrant, active flying museum is home to an award-winning Corsair that came to Oshkosh in 2015, as well as a Mustang, a Stearman, and a number of helicopters including the only flying Kaman HH-43 Huskie in the world. We plan on publishing a print story about the Huskie in the future.
  
  
• Checked out the world-famous Museum of Flight in Seattle, Washington. We were there just in time to see the arrival of their classic Boeing 247, one of the first “modern” airliners, as it made its last flight before being put on permanent display. The museum is home to scores of other aircraft, and is a must-see for any aviation buff in the area. This visit provided some excellent background material for our plans to celebrate Boeing’s 100th anniversary this summer at AirVenture Oshkosh 2016.
  
  
• Enjoyed a tour of Paul Allen’s Flying Heritage Collection, another active flying museum that’s home to a beautiful collection of Warbirds, including a Mustang, a Hellcat, a Spitfire, a Hurricane, a Thunderbolt among many others. The Collection also includes the only flying examples of an original Fw 190 and an Ilyushin Il-2.

This was an extremely productive and, of course, enjoyable trip. As noted, you’ll see stories in print and online in the coming months, but, in the meantime, check out the photo gallery to see a few snapshots from some of the stops.