Happiness is finding just the right angle. These two aircraft and the American flag line up as well as I could ask in this picture from the WACO Air Museum.
The small wooden plane held aloft is a reproduction of the 1919 WACO Cootie, a high wing parasol type aircraft. With its short wings and two cylinder engine, it barely flew but is an important piece of WACO history. Just two of these planes were ever manufactured and the plans have been lost to time so the man who built it did so based off of pictures.
The stunning red and white airplane in the foreground is the 1929 Goodrich Taperwing, a modern beauty and literal showpiece for this museum. It is gorgeous and it looks like it could do anything a good pilot asks it to do.
Lt. Joe Mackey and the US Army Air Corps flew this plane in the 1936 International Aerobatic Competition in Paris. It won, securing the WACO name in the world of higher performance aircraft.
Airplanes aren't meant to be photographed in museums with their harsh light and other planes jockeying for attention in the background. They're meant to be captured soaring high above, stretching their wings and inspiring those bound to earth to reach toward the heavens.
Yet, I was pleased with this photo and the way the Cootie perhaps smiles down on its descendants. The taperwing wouldn't have been possible if not for the early designs of planes like the Cootie.
And, of course, modern aircraft wouldn't be what it is today without companies like WACO. I'm grateful for the museum and for this image to help preserve memories of the day.
No comments:
Post a Comment