AgCat Banner Towing
- Thread starter D.A.
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Waldo M
MEMBER
Finger Lakes area, western NY.
Between working them in season and ferrying new ones in the off season, I got to fly a lot of Ag-Cats. Even got a hop in a Super B Plus a while back..
By far the best flying one I ever flew was a light 'Cat that came from the factory with an R-755 Jacobs. It had an R-985 on a French mount by the time I got to it. What a nice airplane that was.
It would be interesting to fly one of the first ones that had a Continental W-670 on the front.
By far the best flying one I ever flew was a light 'Cat that came from the factory with an R-755 Jacobs. It had an R-985 on a French mount by the time I got to it. What a nice airplane that was.
It would be interesting to fly one of the first ones that had a Continental W-670 on the front.
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WhiskeyMike
MEMBER
West Boxford MA
I almost bought serial #3 from Emory Lyon. It had a Continental W-670-9 tank engine / 240 HP / Gulf Coast Engines. Small wheels and fabric ailerons. Just before I set out from Boston for Louisiana, my FAA inspector (Corky Davison) suggested that I better check the type certificate data sheet before I spent the money. The TCDS specifies that the AgCat with W670–9 engine is not allowed to fly over congested areas and it's not eligible for a waiver to fly over congested areas. My assumption is that's because that engine was never certified regardless of the airframe it was installed in. I suspect that this is what later caused the trouble with the FAA inspector who arranged to stop issuing permissions to use AgCats for banner towing other than those grandfathered in. I always thought that would've been a beautiful flying airplane and I really liked Emery Lyon from whom I later bought an M&M Stearman that had been traded in on an AgCat. That M&M Stearman had exceptionally long Ruletto wings and a heavy stainless hopper. We sold it to Rosie O'Grady's and later bought it back.(Note the J78/15 Cadillac Tires) It ended up in Hyannis Bay in front of the Kennedy compound, when the carb blew off. I was right behind it in another Steraman and thought he'd hit a seagull. The late Corky Davison was my PMI for a period of time and later became a good friend when he worked as a DAR. He had worked in the Ag business in Arkansas years before and had a lot of knowledge. Despite the troubles that some people have with the FAA he and some of the other guys were very good to us and I learned a lot from them. Your milage may vary, as did mine from time to time.
We also flew banners on two 450B models in Nigeria in 1983 during the re-election campaign of Shehu Shagari. They'd been ferried there for ag work. Looks like they're still there in Google maps at the old Kaduna Airport. They told me then that there were a lot of SC's sitting rotting all over the continent. There was also a Cat sitting on a plantation waiting for a mechanic to install a replacement engine. I'm certain it is now well covered in jungle.
That's a story for another time and maybe a different site.
We also flew banners on two 450B models in Nigeria in 1983 during the re-election campaign of Shehu Shagari. They'd been ferried there for ag work. Looks like they're still there in Google maps at the old Kaduna Airport. They told me then that there were a lot of SC's sitting rotting all over the continent. There was also a Cat sitting on a plantation waiting for a mechanic to install a replacement engine. I'm certain it is now well covered in jungle.
That's a story for another time and maybe a different site.
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Waldo M
MEMBER
Finger Lakes area, western NY.
There were many airframe modifications done to Stearmans in an effort to make them better ag airplanes. The Ruletto wings mod was the only one that worked, in my opinion. They would haul a bigger load and the airplane flew across the field in a level attitude instead of the nose high attitude of other Stearmans. I don't know if the wings were mounted at a different incidence or it was just the undercamber of the airfoil that caused that.
I flew a Stearman with a set of four-aileron National High Lift wings and they were a disaster. It wouldn't haul a bigger load and the roll rate was noticeably slower than a stock airplane even with four ailerons. I guess it needed six of them. What a slug.
I flew a Stearman with a set of four-aileron National High Lift wings and they were a disaster. It wouldn't haul a bigger load and the roll rate was noticeably slower than a stock airplane even with four ailerons. I guess it needed six of them. What a slug.
Hardtailjohn
Registered User
Marion, MT
The one I always wanted to get around was the King Cat...with the 1820. I built up an engine for one and a few for Bull Thrush's, but I only got to see one of the Cat's.
John
John
skywagon8a
MEMBER
SE Mass MA6
Corky Davison, there's a name from the past. He signed off a field approval for a homemade aluminum 18 gallon belly tank on a PA-18 on his last day of work.
hotrod180
FRIEND
Port Townsend, WA
I wonder how many PMI's spent their last few days on the job signing off a bunch of field approvals that otherwise they might have gotten static for from above?
Kinda like a slew of presidential pardons being issued the last days in office.
skywagon8a
MEMBER
SE Mass MA6
Good point. I knew this PMI for years, during which I was of the opinion he would only sign his paycheck. When he told me this was his last day at work .... He even printed off a copy of the entire project on the office copy machine. 8)
WhiskeyMike
MEMBER
West Boxford MA
I flew a Stearman with a set of four-aileron National High Lift wings and they were a disaster. It wouldn't haul a bigger load and the roll rate was noticeably slower than a stock airplane even with four ailerons. I guess it needed six of them. What a slug.[/QUOTE]
I bought a 600 HP, Stearman, from Ace Deemers in Oregon. It was the airplane that always appeared in the TAP ads with the extreme droop tips. I couldn’t comment on the load lifting, but I thought it flew well with the exception that those extreme droop tips had a funny reaction / when you used rudder to lift a wing, it actually dug in and sent the wing down instead of lifting.
I bought a 600 HP, Stearman, from Ace Deemers in Oregon. It was the airplane that always appeared in the TAP ads with the extreme droop tips. I couldn’t comment on the load lifting, but I thought it flew well with the exception that those extreme droop tips had a funny reaction / when you used rudder to lift a wing, it actually dug in and sent the wing down instead of lifting.
cubdriver2
FRIEND
upstate NY
Why mess with perfection? I have 116hrs pic in a 225hp Stearman and to me this is the most amazing flying demonstration of all time
https://youtu.be/RB5nYlKd-Dg
Glenn
https://youtu.be/RB5nYlKd-Dg
Glenn
RaisedByWolves
FRIEND
Tx
Saw him fly at Oshkosh. It’s much more impressive in person, and way more when you get some time in a Stearman.
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Waldo M
MEMBER
Finger Lakes area, western NY.
I think John Mohr is only rivaled by Duane Cole in extracting the most aerobatic performance from an airplane of modest power. His flying is very smooth because it has to be to get that performance out of the airplane. Yanking, stomping, and chucking the airplane around doesn't impress anyone anyway. [A fact lost on too many pilots of all types these days].
His snap rolls on a 45 degree downline and recovering at 10 feet agl are the most breathtaking airshow maneuver I've ever seen. He wasn't snapping it on a 45 downline, recovering, and continuing the dive to the surface: he was doing the snap and actually recovering at that altitude.
His snap rolls on a 45 degree downline and recovering at 10 feet agl are the most breathtaking airshow maneuver I've ever seen. He wasn't snapping it on a 45 downline, recovering, and continuing the dive to the surface: he was doing the snap and actually recovering at that altitude.
When Duane Cole was at risk of losing his medical,he had FlightWorks of Austin build him a Capella, it even had his name upside down. This was when it seemed likely that Part 103 would include the lightest of the 80hp Rotax powered ships.(before the ARAC committe ran amuck into present day LSA) He's the reason I built a Capella, but I never heard the 10ft snap recovery story.
