It's a pure delight to fly, and I have to admit the exposed tubular frame in the cockpit adds a lot of character to this beautiful airplane, as do the strut braces on top of the low wings. This plane is surprisingly docile, very stable, and effortlessly controllable. It isn't long before I regain my feel of a stick. We climb at 65 mph and then level off to cruise speed. At 50 mph we rotate and gain altitude in the direction of Red Mountain. The 360-degree tail wheel would allow me to back up, if that were possible.Īfter a quick run-up, we're cleared for take-off, and in no time we are rolling on Runway 4R. When required, heel brakes aid turning, but I have no trouble at all using the rudder pedals alone to steer or stay straight. (Isn't that part of why these classic airplanes are rebuilt?) And the between-the-legs stick is pure enjoyment for me. The eight-foot-wide landing-gear stance is responsible for the remarkable stability, which was often lacking in light aircraft. It is amazingly easy to maneuver on the ground, and with the added forward visibility, there's never that angst associated with the worry of what one might run into while taxiing. For a pilot who has grown up on yokes and tricycle landing gear, the word "taildragger" has always been synonymous with "hard-to-control." Not so in the CallAir.
Calair crop duster portable#
Our CallAir has no communications radio - typical of the era - so we are using a portable unit rigged with an intercom to headsets and microphones.Īfter Falcon Tower clears us to Runway 4R, George invites me to take the controls.
Our electrical system is powered by a battery under the engine cowling. Lack of on-board electrical generation was typical for the era, thus no starter, and batteries, alone, usually powered the navigation lights. He does it effortlessly, and it only takes three tries for the 100-HP Lycoming engine to spring to life. He is comfortable with hand-propping the engine, which has no starter or generator. He also flew for Flying Tigers and was a corporate pilot in the left seat of a DC-3, a B-18 and Queen Air B-80.įor today's flight, Bormet is at the controls, while Price is in front of the propeller. He has also logged MATS hours (Military Air Transport Service) in the P-47 Thunderbolt, the P-51 Mustang, the B-24 Liberator and the B-25 Mitchell. He is of slight stature and a man of 80 years - old enough to qualify for entry to the UFOs, the United Flying Octogenarians, the international club for pilots 80 and over.īormet began his flying career in 1938, when he flew the Hump in C-46 Curtis Commandos and C-47 Skytrains (aka DC-3) during World War II. In the cockpit with me today is Dick's long-time friend and flying partner, George Bormet, a 16,000-hour pilot who was the first person to share the privilege since 1957 - to the tune of those 7 hours so far. Only 7 hours have been logged since it was completely restored. The 43-inch-wide fuselage provides generous comfort, and we might easily fit a small, third person in the cockpit with us. N34841 is surprisingly spacious inside for a two-place airplane, especially the side-by-side seating. For anyone annoyed by the massive blind spot while taxiing in many tail draggers, the CallAir solves this problem. The CallAir is a tail dragger, and even in our three-point stance in front of the hangar, I can see the waist of an individual standing not far in front of the airplane. The first thing I'm impressed with after I settle into the right seat is the forward visibility - it is phenomenal. The tail dragger sits high off the ground (7 feet 3 inches), has that ribbed-look appearance that can only be attained from fabric-over-wood-framers, and its larger-than-normal size for a light airplane evokes a feeling of strength and endurance. The CallAir looks remarkably familiar to me, and after I think about it a bit, the fuselage appears similar to that of a Bellanca. Price hasn't allowed anyone the privilege, but rather because N34841 until November of 1998 had been dismantled for 41 years - six years of which were used to restore the beautiful plane from spinner to tail. When I climb into the cockpit of Dick Price's newly restored 1945 CallAir at Falcon Field in Mesa, Arizona, I'm honored to be only the third person ever to fly in this classic airplane since 1957.
Reprinted from the August 1999 issue of CUSTOM PLANES magazine (page 28).
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