How about some interesting logbook entries?

[JoeB]

Looking through the paperwork and logbooks on the Pacer, it starts with an interesting history.
Hours and hours of spotting fish!

Logbook #2 starts with:
8-19-58 in Reedville (VA?),
Local flight SPOTTING FISH
Tach time 1924:05 - 1936:35
Duration 12:30

There are 6 pages of flights similar to this logged by Pilot Kell. These flights occurred on a daily basis, until 12-18-59.
After this point the logs were updated at the end of each month by a new, unnamed, pilot. Hours flown also dropped, usually 15-20/month but sometimes up to 40/month.

This might explain why there is a letter from the FAA allowing the operation of the airplane with one door removed? Makes it easier to see the fishies with?

I believe it was owned by York Aviation Inc. in Thomasville PA at the time. This name still comes up with a Google search but it will probably take a few hours/days/months to get the rest of the story. I wonder if they still have log book #1 from 1950 - 1958 in a file cabinet somewhere?

What were your Pacers used for back in the day? Any good history? Bad history? Famous owners?

[d.grimm]

Had the Pacer at a local grass strip and a old guy with a twin Commanche came out and started talking about Pacers. Said he had several thousand hours in one mapping South America for the forerunner of MAF. Had a 55 gal drum in the back seat with a wobble pump and would stay in the air over 8 hours at a time.
Dave

[Jinkers]

Mine was featured in "Flying Consumer - Short Wing Pipers" - http://www.flightprep.com/store/index.php?sp=A0038N. It's the yellow one pictured on the DVD jacket. Roger Stenbock (Flightprep, Duats, Flying Consumer) interviewed the gentleman that converted it to a tailwheel and restored it in 1999 for this episode. Stenbock later owned it for several years.

Aside from that it seems to have had a very average life.

[Curly]

Patsy the Pacer was converted from a Tripacer by a Mr Bert Paine of Cashmere Washington and registered N3935P. The conversion and complete restoration took 5 years and she was flown for the first time on Mr Paine's 65th birthday with Doug Stewart in the left seat. At some point she was exported to the UK and then to Australia in parts. Reassembled in Australia she is well known all over the country having spent over 400 hours visiting every state. :D

She was featured on the front cover of the March-April 1988 Short Wing Piper News together with a story of the rebuild .

[Bob Jagodzinski]

My Cessna 140 is not a Short Wing but on 9-22-1956 it went from Ft. Lauderdale to Havana. Took 2.5 hours. On 9-23-1956 it left Havana for Key West. That flight took 1.1 hours.
On 11-19-1956 Lyon Weir flew from Ft. Laud. to Nassau and spent 3 days before coming back. He went back on 12-5 for 2 weeks. Back to Nassau then Coral Harbor on 1-16-1957 returning on 1-26-1957. He made a couple of other trips to Nassau
and then in 1959 he sold it to John Shay. Lyon Weir was based at Teterboro in 1952 when he bought the 140.
Mr Weir had no qualms of flying over water on rag wings and 85HP. The Cuban Revolution started in Dec. of '56.
I've flown from Ft. Pierce to Freeport in a Cherokee 140, 106NM open water. From FLL to Nassau is 157NM.
Bob N5656H and N72672

[Curly]

And if your anything like me (longest overwater flight was about 40nm in a Bonanza) you heard every cylinder fire, every creak and groan the airframe made and felt every vibration! ;) - I hate water - it's cold, it's wet and has big bitey things swimming in it!

[Bultaco Jim]

Curly, I live adjacent to the Farallon Islands, where the white sharks are over eight feet WIDE. It's a funny thing; whenever the plane hits a 45 degree angle (in height ) out from shore, the plane automatically does a 180.

[Curly]

Jim - I just Google Earthed Farallon Islands - Nice spot, but the only way I would ever get there by air would be heavily sedated - like out cold! :shock:

I used to do a lot of diving in my younger days but Peter Benchley and "Jaws" fixed all that. We were diving for crayfish when my diving partner pointed out a "shadow"in the distance. We were resting in the boat (a 14' tinny) when the "shadow" swam past - 18' of Great White - it was like a Volkswagen with a tail! :o

Sold my gear the next week!

[Bultaco Jim]

Smart man. I've always wondered why most wetsuits were black; imitating the sharks favorite food!

[smcnutt]

I went swimming with the seals in New Zealand once. Pretty cool experience. However, on the way back we spotted some killer whales heading in to feed and I asked what they ate. I was told seals and here I was the slow-fat seal that was splashing around on the top of the water in my wetsuit. :shock:

Still a cool experience and I would do it again in a heartbeat.

[smcnutt]

Mine was featured in "Flying Consumer - Short Wing Pipers" - http://www.flightprep.com/store/index.php?sp=A0038N. It's the yellow one pictured on the DVD jacket. Roger Stenbock (Flightprep, Duats, Flying Consumer) interviewed the gentleman that converted it to a tailwheel and restored it in 1999 for this episode. Stenbock later owned it for several years.

Aside from that it seems to have had a very average life.
Is that a good DVD that's worth purchasing?

[Ed Brown]

Not really a logbook entry, but does show flight plan to Honolulu from Oakland. Look closley and you can see there are 1933 nm to go, while making 149 kt ground speed. Flight took exactly 15+00.

[d.grimm]

Ed,
That is impressive, I guess you don't have a problem flying a single engine overwater. I won't fly over Lake Michigan
in a single, guess I'm really a wuss.
Dave

[Ed Brown]

I spent many years as a cloud seeder. Got caught in hail a few times. Here's one of them.

[Gilbert Pierce]

He Ed, you know the old saying. You reap what you sow.

[Ed Brown]

That's right Gilbert. But of course as a hail suppression cloud seeder I went out looking for trouble on every flight. And often found it in spades. Was pretty much fun in the daytime but flying around thunderstorms at night, with tornados in the neighborhood, and burning pyrotechnic devices on the airplane can take the happy right out of a guy.

Anyway it's fun talking about past adventures and showing the photos, but I sure hope it isn't considered hijacking the log entry thread since these aren't short wing Pipers in the photos.

[Steve Pierce]

Cool stuff Ed. I'd love to see more and from your visit here I know you have plenty of great material. ;)

[Ed Brown]

OK Steve, Here are more cloud seeding shots.
I know it's off the ShortWing subject, but I figure many of us took circuitous routes to ShortWing ownership, and the other planes we flew might be interesting to others.
Maybe I should start a "Other Planes We've Flown" topic.

[Stephen]

Geeeez Ed....you've got the great life. Getting paid for flying :?

[Jinkers]

Mine was featured in "Flying Consumer - Short Wing Pipers" - http://www.flightprep.com/store/index.php?sp=A0038N. It's the yellow one pictured on the DVD jacket. Roger Stenbock (Flightprep, Duats, Flying Consumer) interviewed the gentleman that converted it to a tailwheel and restored it in 1999 for this episode. Stenbock later owned it for several years.

Aside from that it seems to have had a very average life.
Is that a good DVD that's worth purchasing?

I think it its, but I'm kind of biased:) The previous owner sent me his copy when I was looking at the airplane and it pretty much made up my mind about buying it. It does has some good buyer's guide information as well as lots of good flying scenes.