When I was a flight instructor working my way through college in 1956, a P-51 taxied into our ramp. Its pilot was Vance Breese, the Mustang's original test pilot. During a conversation with him, I learned that he had flown more than 100 types of aircraft. Wow, I thought, that's a lot of airplanes, and it prompted me to check my logbook to see how many types I had flown. At the time, July 24, 1956, I had checked out in 18 types. The first was an Aeronca "Champ." One hundred types seemed an impossible goal, but for reasons I could not explain, I felt challenged and made it a point to fly as many different types of aircraft as opportunity would allow. I am still an avid "collector" and have flown more then 363 types. My most recent was a Velocity V-Twin. My current goal is to fly 400 types, although I doubt if I have enough years left to do that. As the years rolled by and my list grew, I began to realize that I had flown some aircraft that I probably wouldn't recognize even if I saw them clustered on a ramp. These included such scarce aircraft as the Lombardi FL-3, the Morelli M-100S, and the Warwick Bantam. Being somewhat obsessive-compulsive, I decided to put together an album containing a representative photo of each type that I have flown. Some may wonder why I would want to fly such a large variety of aircraft. For me, every flight in a new airplane is an adventure, an opportunity to sample a designer's talent and ingenuity of which some obviously have more than others do. While we applaud some designs, such as the Siai-Marchetti SF.260, one can only wonder what inspired the manufacturers of others to risk the embarrassment of bringing their craft to market. A few are so underpowered that a prayer should be included on their before-takeoff checklists. Sampling a wide variety of aircraft gives me a chance to compare handling qualities, performance, and systems. It helps me to know what is possible in an aircraft design and to distinguish between the good, the bad, and the ugly. Determining which aircraft is a new type (to me) and which is not can be subjective. For example, I regard the Cessna 120 and 140 to be the same; there is insufficient difference between them to regard each as a separate type. Similarly, I consider all models of the Cessna 172 to be a single type. On the other hand, there is such a significant difference between the Cessna 182 Skylane and the Wren 460 Beta STOL (a modified 182) that I consider them to be different types. The latter is equipped with a reversible-pitch propeller, a canard-elevator combination on the nose, and spoilers for roll control. These convert an airplane that already has good low-end performance to one that is dramatically better. I also regard all Piper Comanches as a single type except for the Comanche 600. When AirResearch replaced the Lycoming piston engine with a 600-hp Garrett turboprop engine (flat-rated to 400 hp), the machine assumed a startlingly different personality. Reflecting on my first flights in some aircraft returns me to the memory of where I flew them. For example, I rented a De Havilland Chipmunk in Bristol, England, and recall flying it over the white cliffs of Dover and low over the English Channel while imagining that my wing-mounted twin-50s were armed and at the ready. Ghostly images of the Normandy beaches emerged from the morning mist as the Chipmunk and I dashed to assist in freeing France from the grip of the Hun.
©Barry Schiff 2022-2023 Contact Barry Privacy Policy
