Waco UPF-7
October 14, 2020
Waco UPF-7
An historic Waco UPF-7 which was owned by Pacific Northwest legend, Wally Olson, Evergreen Aviation, Vancouver, WA, underwent finishing touches by a friend of Big Sky. The owner obtained this Waco and has given it tender loving care toward restoration.
John Pike, owner of Big Sky Stearman, soloed this Waco at the age of 16 in 1961 for $12.00 an hour dual. Many individuals were given the opportunity to check out in it. Wally was being very unselfish in allowing it to be rented.
Wally is gone now but his memory will be forever honored by this Waco UPF-7 that gave so many people and opportunity to enjoy the thrill of open cockpit biplane flying.
Memphis Stearman Rebuild (In Progress)
Rescue: 1940 Cessna "Crane" Bamboo Bomber
Super Stearman
Restoration of a 1943 Howard DGA 15 Jobmaster, from the ground up.
We completed a ground up restoration of the 1929 Bellanca Pacemaker in 2016. We put it on wheels to get all the bugs out, but the plane was to put it on floats. We flew it to our first Oshkosh Airventure Fly-in that summer and had a blast. That winter we converted it to Floats and by the summer of 2017 we were off to deliver it to the Artic Circle, to it's owner in Norman Wells, Northwest Territories. John Pike wrote a small book about our adventures. (LINK coming soon)
4-Aileron Stock Stearman
President George Bush the Elder Stearman wing build
Many a wounded GI was grateful for the little ambulance airplane that got them out of harm's way during WWII and Korea. The Stinson L5 Sentinel came in two versions, the observer and ambulance versions. It was used under fire as a forward observation platform with aerial photo capability, personnel transportation, ambulance and about every other use that an aerial "Jeep" would be useful for. It was "STOL" airplane that utilized fields, roads and other "bush" areas for takeoffs and landings.
The Ghost Ship flown by the ghost....
Cessna C34 Airmaster Wing Spars