Today was day 1 of 2 in Moncton, NB. We are operating out of Moncton Flight College, and are open to the public 10-4pm. Blue skies and light winds made for a great day of flying today, Sat, Aug, 4, 2012. Although the exact numbers have yet to be crunched, we shared the magic of flight with upwards of 20 members of Vintage Wings. Out east the Harvard is still the favourite, but today all of the aircraft got their fill. All except the Tiger Moth. An unusual noise yesterday afternoon prompted a peak underneath the cowling, only to discover a missing exhaust manifold stud and gasket. A mad scramble then ensued to get studs and copper gaskets from back home in Gatineau shipped out to Moncton – on the Friday evening before a long weekend no less. In the end our good friends at WestJet helped us out, as did a fine gentleman by the name of Gerry Wilcox. Our Tiger is now back in business.

Not one to be left behind, the Cornell decided to throw a bit of a fit and have her own maintenance issue: a flat rear tire this afternoon. We had already changed her tire back in Halifax, and have now discovered that we must monitor tire pressure carefully, as a pressure lower than 40psi causes the tube to be pinched within the tire and tear. All is now well with the Cornell once again, and all are reminders that 70-year-old aircraft are not able to perform as well as these do without a lot of TLC.

One highlight of today was being able to meet and take up flying a former Cornell pilot; Charles Foster will soon be 90 years of age and was among the first Canadians to fly the Cornell in Bowden, AB. A most interesting man, he went on to fly Harvards, Blenheims, and Lancasters before following a writing career that took him to Hollywood and back. He was a writer for the Beverley Hillbillies (so you know he must have a sense of humor) and to date has written five books. We took a picture of him in front of a Cornell, holding a picture of himself in front of a Cornell, 69 years ago.

Pictures: Charles Foster in front of our Cornell, and the public milling about in Moncton.