The weekly tradition started in the mid-’80s when Phillips suggested he and a few friends fly in formation to their favorite breakfast spot. “I did a basic formation briefing,” he says, and sketched their positions on the back of a napkin. During the requisite debrief, Phillips says he made the mistake of saying, “That was the damnedest gaggle that I’ve ever flown in.” To his chagrin, the “gaggle” moniker stuck. “It’s kind of demeaning. But it’s one of those things that got away. You can’t get it back,” he says. Today, the Spruce Creek Gaggle Flight has about 100 members. The Gaggle frequently performs fly-overs for Little League opening days, veterans’ events, honor flights, and city festivals—like Daytona Beach Jeep Week—and has been recognized with multiple proclamations.

A former fighter pilot, Phillips is accustomed to more precise formation flying. He retired from the Air Force in 1977 as a lieutenant colonel and became an aerospace consultant for Litton Industries, General Dynamics, and others. Phillips grew up in the 1940s and ’50s near Maule Field (3NP) in Napoleon, Michigan. At 12, he started working after school and weekends for Belford D. (B.D.) Maule, who invented a light tailwheel, operated a tool milling and sharpening shop, and built TV towers and antennas. Maule later developed his signature aircraft and moved his operation to Moultrie, Georgia. Working there, Phillips learned skills that he still uses today. “I call it people’s liberal arts education. I didn’t learn a lot in school, but I learned a lot at the airport.”

An advocate for the Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA), for which he served as president of the Daytona Beach Chapter (No. 288) for nine years, he is as passionate about building aircraft as he is about flying them. An FAA Wright Brothers Master Pilot and Charles Taylor Master Mechanic, A&P/IA, and EAA technical counselor, he has built a Swearingen SX300, a Pitts Model 12, and a hybrid Wittman Tailwind/Nesmith Cougar. Phillips talked recently with FLYING about his passion for aviation, homebuilt aircraft, and his airpark community.

FLYING Magazine (FM): Describe your early pilot training experience at Maule Field?

Keith Phillips (KP): When you’re around an airport, you know, it’s like a farmer’s kid, you learn to drive by osmosis. You never remember really learning to drive. You’re expected to drive. It’s the same with flying. In those days, the GI Bill was a big thing for learning to fly. In ’46, ’47, ’48, every little town airport, they’d have a fleet of J3 Cubs, or Luscombes, or Taylorcrafts to teach GI Bill flying classes. That gave you ample opportunity to learn to fly. I actually learned to fly without a CFI. They’d [ad hoc instructors] get their GI Bill, they soloed and got their private and said, “Come on kid, help me with this and do that, and I’ll give you a ride in the airplane.” I had a student license but never was signed off.

FM: You have owned quite a few airplanes over the course of your lifetime. What was your first airplane?

KP: When I was a junior in high school, I bought a 1941 J4 Cub. But I, of course, didn’t have the money to buy it, so B.D. [Maule] bought it. It cost $400. I put in $200 and he put in $200 for Shirley, his daughter. She really didn’t have any interest in learning to fly and never did, so I ultimately bought her half out.

FM: What aviation mentors have had the biggest impact on you and how?

KP: I had a couple of schoolteachers who were World War II guys. I basically grew up with no father image; even though my mother got remarried, he was a stepdad and was brand new to me. One of the principals in the high school was a C-47 pilot in World War II [Gordon Smith]. Another teacher was a P-47 pilot [Mr. Goodrich]. They encouraged me. But if you did something stupid, they told you about it. I flew under some wires one time when we went to a football game over in one of the towns. Raymond [Maule] and I flew our airplanes over there and landed next to the athletic field, and when we left, I flew under these wires, and the principal saw that and he really chewed me out. They certainly had an influence on me, but nothing like B.D. [Maule]. He wasn’t a good mentor, but he created the environment that allowed me to fly. I wouldn’t have been able to buy the airplane without him. I was making 35 cents an hour; $400 was a big hit.

FM: As an older pilot (Phillips turned 88 in June), are there any challenges that you’ve had to adapt to?

KP: It’s a hell of problem with things like insurance. They told me last year, “Next year, you must have a pilot.” So, I wrote a little note back to them saying, “What am I?” In order to have my insurance valid, I have to have a pilot in the airplane with me that has 25 hours in type, and he’s got to be this and that, etc. So, in essence, if I’m flying my airplane without anybody on board, I’m not covered. That is the biggest impediment that I find. I feel that my skills are still good enough so that I’m safe.

FM: You’ve built three aircraft of your own, contributed to building countless others, and were honored in 2016 with the EAA Tony Bingelis Award for your contributions to the homebuilt community. Why do you champion homebuilts?

KP: I grew up on a farm and then later the airport, and I was always building or doing something with machinery. I have a passion for it. The flying and the building are fulfilling to me. You can be creative, and one thing that EAA has done is they have deployed a degree of standardization and so forth. Early on, there were some really bad homebuilt aircraft. But over the years, standards have come way up, and thanks to Van [Richard VanGrunsven].

FM: What inspired you to build your first airplane, the hybrid Wittman Tailwind/Nesmith Cougar?

KP: In 1956 or ’57, we were at the Rockford Air Show, and I got a first ride in a Wittman. By then, I was a lieutenant in the Air Force. I was in love with little airplanes. I went over there with B.D. [Maule] in his Bellanca. I had a ride in Bud Harwood’s Wittman Tailwind and I said, “This thing is a performing fool.” When you compared it to an average little airplane of that day, it was 40 to 50 knots faster. Prior to U.S. Air Force flying, I was used to J3/J4Cubs’ performance, and that Bellanca was a rocket, and it was still slower than that Wittman. I said, “Man, I gotta have one of these.” I liked that you could make changes, as long as they didn’t impact the airworthiness.

FM: Which of your homebuilt aircraft was the most challenging to build and why? What’s your favorite to fly?

KP: The SX300, by far. It’s a very complex airplane. It goes fast, it’s got a high wing and the gear retracts. Because it goes fast, it’s more rigid [and] it takes more work. And the way Ed [Swearingen] designed it. Ed’s a good designer, but he didn’t have the genius of Steve Wittman or Van. They build things simple. If you can do something with one piece where somebody else takes 10 to do it; like the landing gear [on a Van’s RV], there is nothing there but apiece of rod. The average homebuilder wouldn’t want to get into an SX300. The SX300 is my favorite [to fly]. It makes me feel like a fighter pilot. It goes fast, [and takes] very little effort to fly, cruis[ing] at about 265 knots.

FM: As a lifetime EAA member since 1959 and the former president of one of the largest EAA chapters (No. 288), what is the secret behind your chapter’s success?

KP: When I first got here [Spruce Creek] in 1985, I joined the chapter. They were having their meetings at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in one of their academic rooms. It was only 15 to 20 people. And then we had meetings out here, hangar tours. We had twice as many people at the hangar tours as we’d have at the meetings. The chapter has 245 paid members and 425 on its roster.

FM: You’ve lived in Spruce Creek in Florida since 1985. What does the fly-in community mean to you?

KP: It’s kind of like heaven. They say when you die here, it’s a lateral move. If you’re an airport bum like I am, I just enjoy airplanes, I enjoy the people, I enjoy helping people, and it’s good flying.

• READ MORE: Paying It Forward

Quick 6

Who is the one person living or dead that you would most like to fly with?

Bob Hoover

If you could fly any aircraft that you have not yet flown, what would that be?

The F-22. It lives in a world of its own. It flies supersonic in military power.

What is one airport you love to fly into?

Umatilla Municipal Airport (X23). It’s a great bunch of people, and they have three airport cars so you can drive to the restaurants.

What do you believe has been aviation’s biggest breakthrough event or innovation?

The jet engine.

If you could build another airplane, what would it be?

Vans RV-15, but it’s not on the market yet. When not flying, I’d rather be…Building an airplane.

This article first appeared in the July 2023/Issue 933 print edition of FLYING.

The post In Depth with an ‘Airport Kid’ appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

Studies indicate that more than 2,000 people have died in aircraft accidents as a result, at least in part, from language-related/communication issues—mostly between air traffic controllers and pilots—since 1973. And, researchers suspect that many more aviation incidents and accidents—including in general aviation and pilot training environments—are the result of miscommunication and/or lack of English language proficiency. 

Recognizing the importance of communication to aviation safety, the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), a United Nations agency formed in 1944 to support the global air transportation industry, adopted English as the industry’s universal language in 1951, and has since created English-language Standards and Recommended Practices. Formalized in 2003, ICAO’s language proficiency requirements have been adopted and implemented widely by civil aviation authorities (CAAs) around the world, including the FAA and the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA). 

But Jennifer Roberts, a linguist and curriculum chair for the department of aviation English at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University’s Worldwide campus, says more needs to be done, particularly in the area of English language proficiency for flight training. 

“The ICAO language proficiency requirements, they are for professional pilots, professional [air traffic] controllers,” she says. “ICAO doesn’t actually have regulations for flight students.”

However, the FAA and other civil aviation authorities do. The FAA’s Aviation English Language Standards (AELS), see Advisory Circular 60-28B, applies to flight students as well as professionals working in aviation. The AELS are modeled after ICAO standards and require a minimum of level 4, or operational English proficiency. 

The AC states: “AELS will be evaluated before acceptance of a student pilot application or issuance of a student solo endorsement, recommendation or examination of an applicant for an FAA pilot certificate or additional aircraft rating, and whenever any individual is tested or checked as required by the Administrator under Title 14 of the Code of Federal Regulations (14 CFR).”

The Wild West of the Skies

But Roberts says the way proficiency is evaluated is not standardized, even across the U.S., and this is a problem. There’s also very little policy enforcement. “It’s just really unregulated. It’s kind of wild out there. What’s going on in flight school A and flight school B could be vastly different. It’s a mess,” Roberts says.

What’s worse, she says, is that upon completion of flight school training and receipt of their pilot’s certificate, newly graduated flight students enter a global industry with varying levels of English proficiency. 

“The way the FAA does it, they just put a stamp or an endorsement on [certificates] that says ‘English language proficient,’” Roberts says. “A student can actually go back to Saudi Arabia, for example, let’s say they’re now going to work for Saudi Airlines. That airline may test the student and come to see that they’re not even level 4, which is the minimum.” The student is left with a pilot certificate and ratings that they paid tens of thousands of dollars for and spent years to achieve that is essentially useless, because of their lack of English language proficiency. 

On the other hand, Roberts says, “Some countries, when they receive a student back from the U.S., they automatically assume that they must be at least level 4 because they managed to get through training in the U.S. But that’s so far from true. That’s very far from true, to be honest.”

Need for a Universal Assessment Tool

Henry Emery, cofounder and managing director of Latitude Aviation English Services in the U.K., which prepares students for flight training in an English-speaking environment and works with airlines and air navigation service providers, says a universal [aviation English language proficiency] assessment tool is needed. 

“One of the greatest problems is that no instrument was set down, no instrument was professionally developed in accordance with the ICAO standards and then adopted by member states so that the assessment was uniform at the same level worldwide,” Emery says.

Ideally, role-specific language assessment tools would be developed for each area of aviation, Emery says, with a different test for pilots (further broken down by commercial pilots, student pilots, general aviation/private pilots, and rotary wing pilots); for air traffic controllers; for aviation maintenance professionals, etc. 

Given the associated costs of creating and maintaining a universal aviation English language test instrument, Emery says it will take a collaborative effort to achieve. “And that has to come through civil aviation authorities, through airlines, through air navigation service providers working together, making a financial contribution to an instrument which is universally owned and operated, making sure that it’s done to at least minimum standards.” 

Who Determines Aviation English Proficiency? 

Another challenge in the implementation of ICAO’s standards, is that the people assigned to make judgments regarding aviation English language proficiency aren’t necessarily qualified to do so. And, there’s a lot that hangs in the balance: the candidate’s career and livelihood, for one, and for aviation safety, Emery says. “The decisions you make around language, whether it’s a student, or a pilot keeping his or her license have an impact on safety and on the individual as well. You would like to think that the candidate being subject to taking language assessment would have the highest standards that the field can offer…and sadly, that’s very often not the case.” 

The FAA, per AC 60-28B, assigns language proficiency assessment and decision-making to any/all of the following: “FAA personnel, DEs, flight and ground instructors, Training Center Evaluators (TCE), check FEs/check pilots, training facilities, and flight schools.” 

“Flight examiners can interact with a student pilot and say they’re level 6,” which means they essentially communicate at the level of a native-English speaker, Emery says. This then nullifies the requirement for any additional language courses or assessments. “That’s problematic in itself as very often aviation professionals are not language professionals,” Emery explains. “Very often what we find in the U.S. and the U.K., and other places in the world, are those without the education in language assessment performing language assessments with varying degrees of quality and success.” 

He adds, “We are 18 years into the language proficiency requirements—and to be honest, at the moment, it’s a dog’s breakfast. I would imagine it’s going to be another generation before we’re anywhere close to having meaningful workable standards worldwide.”

Pilot Shortage Intensifies Aviation English Issues

According to Roberts, complicating the situation is the aviation industry’s increased demand for pilots. 

“Ab initio flight training organizations are experiencing a push to get students through quicker and more cost-effectively than before, due to the pressure facing the airline industry to hire new pilots and keep the National Air Space System operating efficiently and safely,” Roberts states in a paper she coauthored in 2020. The result, she says, is that more students are coming to flight schools in English speaking countries, like the U.S. And, while ground and flight instructors are well-versed in teaching flight operations, they are not usually experienced in teaching English-as-a-second-language learners. 

Andrew “Andy” Schneider, aviation English coordinator for the flight training department at Embry-Riddle’s Daytona Beach campus, says oftentimes—especially in today’s pilot hiring environment—flight instructors are young. “They’re in their 20s…they’re kids teaching kids.”

Teaching CFIs How To Teach Second-Language Learners

Schneider helped establish several programs at Embry-Riddle to help non-native English speakers achieve greater success. This includes language training for the Part 141 school’s certified flight instructors. 

“I do a hefty amount of training with our instructors on how to teach using language and how to work with second-language speakers both from a psycho-linguistics perspective, like a cognitive perspective, and a cultural perspective,” he says. One thing Schneider emphasizes is, when it comes to English language proficiency, “It’s not something to be swept under the rug.” 

• READ MORE: Boeing Forecasts Demand for 602,000 New Pilots 

He says, “All of the flight instructors are language teachers, whether they know it or not.” In addition to non-native English speakers, CFIs teach all of the pilots they train how to talk on the radio. “Part of the training [we give at Embry-Riddle to instructors] is informing them, making them aware of what the English language standards are, because that is not part of the CFI materials from the FAA now. It’s part of the circulars, but it’s not part of the fundamentals of instruction, their FOI.”

Aviation English Entry Exams Are One Solution

Addressing the need for evaluation at the very start of flight training, Embry-Riddle has established its own aviation English language standards. All non-native English-speaking students entering flight training are required to take the university’s Aviation English for Flight Training course (FA 135) as a prerequisite, Schneider says. However, those who pass a specialized placement exam created by Embry-Riddle, called the English for Flight Training Assessment or EFTA, can “place out” of taking the course.

The exam is designed around ICAO’s rating scale for pronunciation, structure (grammar), vocabulary, fluency, comprehension, and interactions to determine a student’s “plain language proficiency,” he says. The exam does not assess aviation phraseology or a student’s knowledge of technical or operational language.

English for Radiotelephony

For Schneider, radio communication is a key element of English-language instruction for student pilots, and it’s at the heart of why ICAO established its English language standards in the first place. 

“Most of the famous accidents have to do with standard phraseology,” Schneider says. But learning this “second/technical artificial language,” which is unique to air traffic controllers and pilots, is only part of the issue. Non-standard phraseology and “local code” often creeps into radio communications, he says; for example, when air traffic controllers use the term “no delay” in place of the standard term, “expedite.” This can cause confusion for pilots—especially for those who are non-native English speakers. 

“I think standard phraseology solves 90 percent of our problems,” Schneider says.

To this end, Schneider created Embry-Riddle’s PILOT (Preflight Immersion Laboratory for Observation Training) program, which gives non-native and native-English speaking students 35 hours of virtual reality training, including radio communication and standard phraseology.

Emery says it should come as no surprise that non-native English speakers have difficulty communicating on the radio. “I cannot conceive of learning to fly an aircraft in a second language….It would be really hard in my own language,” he says. “So the fact that these kids do it at all, is a thing of wonder.”

However, at the starting point of learning to fly, plain English skills are actually more important.

“The work we do to prepare students for flight training is very different from the work we would do with an experienced airline pilot who needs to brush up on language in order to maintain his or her license at level 4,” Emery says. “You need to give them [students] the skills they need to listen to instructors, to cope with a preflight briefing, to be able to read training manuals on a variety of subjects, such as powerplants, rules of the air, meteorology…Those sorts of learning contexts are very different to aeronautical communication.” 

This is why aviation English language assessments for flight training applicants and aviation English preparatory courses are so important to student success, he says.

Safety Should Come Before Business

Another challenge related to ensuring student pilots are English-language proficient when they take to the skies is the business model of flight training. In the U.S., some for-profit flight schools shy away from a robust front-end screening procedure, Emery says. “Because what they want to see is people who have 60,000 U.S. [dollars] in their pocket…the last thing a flight school wants to do is to turn that business away because somebody isn’t language proficient, which is probably a reason why there are still so many language issues in the States. Flight schools are frightened of the negative impact that good language screening will have on their business.” 

Despite the challenges surrounding aviation English proficiency, Emery says progress has been made, and thankfully, flying is still “phenomenally safe…compared to other forms of transport.”

He adds, “Language should not be a point of discrimination. Language is an enabler; it’s the thing that lets us do things. Language should be opening doors to this fantastic industry, to a brilliant career as a pilot, or a controller, or a maintenance engineer, or whatever the next generation are going to be. But if we don’t treat it as an enabler and we don’t assign a level of importance to it, then there’s really no point in doing it at all.”

The post FAA’s English Language Standards Leave Gaps for Learners appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

The Lay of the Land

Asheville is located in the center of North Carolina’s mountain region at the confluence of the French Broad and Swannanoa rivers in the southern Appalachian mountains. Given its elevation (2,200 feet) and location, it’s a great place to visit year-round to experience all four seasons. Summers are warm and humid with July reaching average highs of 84 degrees Fahrenheit. January, being the coldest month of the year, has average lows of 27 degrees F and average highs of 44 degrees F.

The steep rocky peaks surrounding the city range from 4,000 to almost 7,000 feet in elevation, creating a hikers’ mecca. With several ski slopes in the area, Asheville is also a great jumping off point for winter sports.

• READ MORE: Flying to Asheville? Here’s Where To Land

A popular site for geological study, the rocks in the area tell a complete story of the evolution of continents. Scientists estimate the majority of the region’s stones to be more than 1 billion years old to about 500 million years old, with the “youngest” rocks being at least 200 million years old.

At close to 6,000 feet, the highest point on the Blue Ridge is Grandfather Mountain. Southwest of Asheville are the Great Smoky Mountains and several other mountain ranges. To the northwest are the Bald Mountains and the Black Mountains, which include Mount Mitchell—the tallest mountain east of the Mississippi River at 6,684 feet. From Mount Mitchell, backpackers can access the Mountains-to-Sea State Trail. Added to the state park system in 2000, the trail stretches 1,175 miles from the Great Smoky Mountains to the Outer Banks, passes through 37 counties and four national parks, and connects to 10 state parks.

Outdoor Diversions

But you don’t need to hike for miles to enjoy the great outdoors of western North Carolina. Near Asheville there are trails of varying distances and for all skill levels. The most traveled paths reward hikers with gorgeous views—and sometimes a misting from a waterfall or a refreshing plunge in a natural pool.

There are, literally, hundreds of waterfalls in the area. Just 25 minutes from the city, you’ll find Skinny Dip Falls, where a half-mile trail leads to multiple pools fed by cascades. It’s no surprise it’s a favorite local swimming spot; however, bring your swimsuit. Despite the name, clothing is not optional.

A little farther from the city in Pisgah National Forest, you can take a short hike to or view the 75-foot Looking Glass Falls from a roadside observation point. And, from Asheville, it’s just 65 miles to the Great Smoky Mountains, which has waterfalls galore. One trail in the Smokies leads you past three waterfalls: Deep Creek, Indian, and Tom’s Branch falls. Looking for a scenic drive and not quite as much walking? A trip to Chimney Rock State Park, located 25 miles from downtown, rewards those willing to climb 500 steps to the top of a towering stone overlook that offers views of up to 75 miles on clear days. Geologists estimate the Chimney Rock monolith to be 500 million years old.

• READ MORE: Fly These Aircraft to Asheville

There are so many trails to choose from in the Asheville area that you might want to use a hike search website or app to help you narrow your options. There are several with skill-level and other preference-based filters that can assist you in this task.

You can find a more organized outdoor experience at the Adventure Center of Asheville, which offers ziplining, a treetop challenge course, and mountain biking. The center’s Kolo Bike Park has 4 miles of trails to test your endurance and balance skills. Designed to be progressive, there’s a designated kids bike playground and trails for beginners to experts. Features include “step downs, tabletops, road gaps, drops, and transfers,” according to the website. When it gets warm in the summer, the French Broad River, which runs right through the city, is a popular spot to tube or paddle. You can float past the Biltmore Estate and through the heart of Asheville’s River Arts District on trips that range from 3 to 12 miles coordinated by French Broad Outfitters.

A more active sport, fly fishing, is also a favorite activity for visitors. Nearby, the Nantahala and Pisgah National Forests offer streams that are plentiful with trout, small and large-mouth bass, crappie, and sunfish.

Another favorite outdoor (and indoor) diversion is the Biltmore Estate. From early April through the end of May, the estate celebrates Biltmore Blooms. Guests can wander the property’s 8,000 acres of gardens and grounds and enjoy its colorful variety of carefully curated flowers and plants. The estate also has 20 miles of trails, a winery, and offers tours of the historic George and Edith Vanderbilt home.

City Scene

Given its modest population of 94,000, Asheville has a surprisingly large number of cultural centers and museums. But in light of the city’s history of celebrating and preserving the arts, as well as craftsmanship, it makes perfect sense. In fact, the Asheville Museum of Art was established in 1948 and is the third oldest art museum in the state.

Today, the region’s appreciation for art and culture is just as prominent. Local artisans are known for demonstrating their skills and techniques, many of which are distinctive to the Appalachian region.

The city’s River Arts District, a revitalized industrial area, is a great place to visit to see artists in action. The 2-square-mile district has 23 buildings and is home to 200-plus working artists. You can peruse the studios of potters, sculptors, painters, glassblowers, photographers, jewelry makers, and other artisans, most of whom are happy to answer your questions. At the North Carolina Glass Center, you can watch glass blowing demonstrations and make your own glass work with guidance from a professional artist. Nearby, the Odyssey Center for Ceramic Arts offers classes and workshops as well.

For a different kind of interactive experience, visit the Asheville Pinball Museum. It has 35 working pinball machines that you can play for a price, and serves food and drink. Another Asheville museum honors the life and works of author Thomas Wolfe.

As an aviator, you will enjoy the Western North Carolina Air Museum. Located about 25 miles south of Asheville in the city of Hendersonville, the museum has a 1927 WACO 10, a 1915 Sopwith Baby replica, a 1915 Morane Saulnier N, and several other historic aircraft.

Asheville has something for music fans, as well. Both the Asheville Symphony Orchestra and the Moog Factory call the city home. Known for revolutionizing music with the invention of the synthesizer in 1964, Bob Moog opened the factory here in 2002. It offers tours and allows visitors to experiment with its synthesizers.

Asheville is well known for its breweries too. In fact, it has the most breweries per capita in the U.S. With roughly 100 local beers and 40 breweries, it has earned its nickname as “Beer City USA.” The city hosts many annual beer festivals, including the NC Small Batch Festival in April, Asheville Beer Week at the end of May to early June, Beer City Festival in May, Burning Can Festival in August, Tour de Fat in September, North Carolina Beer Month in October, and more.

History

To learn about Asheville’s history, take a stroll along the city’s Urban Trail, which winds past 30 interpretive placards that narrate historical moments and celebrate the achievements of individuals with deep ties to the region. Famous local people featured on the trail include: George Vanderbilt II, a philanthropist and founder of the Biltmore Estate; E.W. Grove, a real estate developer who established the six-story Grove Park Inn in 1912—now an Omni property and luxury hotel; plus authors Thomas Wolfe, F. Scott Fitzgerald, and O. Henry; and Douglas Ellington, an Art Deco architect. The No. 1 placard is located at Asheville’s Pack Square, which is named for George Pack, who donated the land in 1900 to be used as a public park. A frequent scene for local festivals and gatherings, the park also contains the art deco City Hall, a Veterans’ Memorial, and other historic buildings.

The most notable historic building in the area is the Biltmore Estate. George Vanderbilt II, the youngest son of William Henry Vanderbilt and an heir to the Vanderbilt family fortune, first visited Asheville in 1887. A year later, he returned and started buying land for what would become his country estate. The 250-room French Renaissance-style chateau took six years to complete.

This article was first published in the 2022 Southeast Adventure Guide of FLYING Magazine.

The post Explore the Eclectic Vibes of Asheville appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

What Are Aviation Scholarships? 

Some colleges or universities may have aviation scholarships available to you; however, most college/university scholarships go toward tuition-based costs, not flight training. Flight training costs are extra and are generally assessed by the hour. This is because you are paying a certified flight instructor an hourly rate to teach you. There are also costs associated with using a training aircraft in the college fleet. 

That’s where scholarships come into play. They’re offered by organizations and corporations who want to increase the number of pilots for the aviation industry. Corporations, including regional and major airlines, are particularly interested in having a trained and qualified pipeline of future pilots from which they can draw to pilot their corporate, passenger, and/or cargo aircraft. Aviation scholarships are available to pay for the costs of flight training, whether you’re enrolled at a college, university, a flight school, or a fixed base operator (FBO). 

How Much Does Flight School Cost?

The average cost of flight training ranges from $5,100 to $16,000, and that’s just to earn your private pilot certificate. With a private pilot’s certificate, you can fly VFR (visual flight rules) with up to one non-paying passenger—but for non-commercial purposes only. 

If you want to be paid to fly, you need to continue your flight training and earn a commercial certificate and/or an ATP certification. It can cost upwards of $100,000 to earn all of the certifications—and more importantly, to get the in-flight hours that you need to become an FAA-certified airline transport pilot (ATP). 

Can You Go to Regular College to Be a Pilot?

If you want to earn a traditional four-year degree and/or pursue graduate studies, you can do this and do your flight training at the same time. There are several accredited colleges and universities that offer aeronautical science and related aviation degrees that also offer on-site flight training. Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University and the University of North Dakota are two well-known programs for this degree.  

If you prefer, however, you can fast-forward your flight career and earn your pilot certificates at a flight school or FBO. Several major airlines recently relaxed their hiring requirements for a bachelor’s degree, including Delta Airlines, American, Southwest, and United. So you now have a direct path to becoming a pilot for the airlines without earning a traditional four-year education. 

The current and projected pilot supply shortage has opened up other routes to the airlines as well. United Airlines recently launched Aviate, an in-house pilot career development program.

How Do I Find Aviation Scholarships?

There are a number of organizations and corporations that offer aviation scholarships. These include the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association, the Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA), and many others. 

The FAA includes a list of organizations that provide scholarships as well. To find aviation scholarships, visit reputable flight-oriented and aviation-related organizations and associations online. You can also search the internet using keywords, such as “aviation scholarships” or “flight training scholarships.” Your flight training school, college, or university may also have aviation scholarship resources. 

Women in Aviation International (WAI)

If you’re a woman, there are specific aviation scholarships just for you. Less than 5 percent of airline pilots in the U.S. are women, and there are initiatives across the industry to increase this number. Women in Aviation International, a nonprofit organization aimed at supporting and encouraging women in aviation careers, offers more than 100 scholarships each year, totaling hundreds of thousands of dollars. Following are the basic criteria for these scholarships.

Application Requirements: 

• Be a member of Women in Aviation International by October 1 of the current year.
• Submit two, one-page letters of recommendation.
• Include a typed, 500-word essay and a professional resume.
• Submit clear, high-quality copies of aviation and medical certificates, including the three most recent pages in your flight logbook (for flight training scholarships).

Scholarship Amount: Each scholarship amount varies. Not all are for flight training. WAI offers a variety of aviation scholarships to meet the needs of the entire aviation industry, not only the airlines.

Where to Apply: When the application period is open, apply here. Most WAI scholarships are due in October.

Sisters of the Skies

If you are a woman of color, Sisters of the Skies, a nonprofit that supports and encourages women of color who want to become pilots through scholarship, outreach, and mentorship, has a number of scholarships just for you. In the past four years, Sisters of the Skies has awarded $500,000 in scholarships for women in aviation.

Application Requirements: Vary based on the scholarship for which you apply. 

Scholarship Amount: Each scholarship amount varies. 

Where to Apply: When the application period is open, apply here. 

Amelia Earhart Memorial Scholarships and Awards

Offered by the Ninety-Nines, an international organization that advances aviation and women in aviation through education, scholarships, and support, Amelia Earhart Memorial Scholarships are awarded each year to qualified members for five different scholarship types: flight training, academic, technical training, the Vicki Cruse Memorial Scholarship for Emergency Maneuver Training, and the Kitty Houghton Memorial Scholarship. 

Application Requirements: 

• For flight training, academic or technical training aviation scholarships, the applicant must have been a member of the Ninety-Nines for one full, continuous year before the application deadline.
• Applicants must have a goal to advance in the field of aviation or aerospace. 
• Applicants must demonstrate financial need (except for those applying for the Vicki Cruse Scholarship)
• Applicants must possess a medical certificate and/or driver’s license (for certificates/ratings that do not require a medical). Academic and technical training scholarships do not require a medical certificate.
• Additional requirements may apply, based on the type of scholarship. 

Scholarship Amount: Each scholarship amount varies. The Flight Training Scholarship covers up to $20,000 for one pilot training course, certificate, rating, or type rating; and the Kitty Houghton Memorial Scholarship offers up to $20,000 for flight training or education in an aviation-related field. More information can be found here. 

Where to Apply: When the application period is open, apply here. 

Navigate Your Future Scholarship

The Navigate Your Future aviation scholarship is offered by the National Air Transportation Association (NATA). 

Application Requirements:

• Applicants must be a senior in high school and plan to pursue a career in general aviation.
• Applicants must be enrolled or accepted into an aviation program at an accredited college/university.
• Applicants must demonstrate a passion and interest for general aviation.
• Applicants must provide one letter of recommendation and a high school transcript that shows their rank in the graduating class.
• Applicants must include a personal statement discussing their career goals and why they should be selected for the scholarship. 

Scholarship Amount: $2,500 to be used toward one year of undergraduate study.

Where to Apply: When the application period is open, apply here. 

EAA Aviation Scholarships

EAA offers a variety of aviation scholarships, including flight training, post-secondary, and the Ray Aviation Scholars awards. Supported by donors, these endowed scholarships award more than $1 million through EAA programs every year. The scholarships are “awarded to those who show the greatest potential to be actively engaged in aviation,” according to the EAA. Flight training scholarships can be used at any non-university flight school in the U.S. or Canada.

Application Requirements: 

• Flight training scholarship funds must be spent within one year of the award.
• Applicants must be eligible for the flight training process. 
• Other requirements may exist, based upon the scholarship for which you apply.

Scholarship Amount: Each scholarship amount varies. 

Where to Apply: When the application period is open, apply here. 

6 Tips for Winning Aviation Scholarships

Flight training is expensive and just because you apply for a scholarship doesn’t mean that you’ll get it. To increase your chances of funding success, apply for as many aviation scholarships that you are eligible for—and that relates to your aviation career goals. Keep the following tips in mind as you complete your aviation scholarship applications. 

Write Clearly and Concisely

Scholarship judges may review hundreds of applications. Be succinct in your writing and follow the application instructions to a T. For example, if the application calls for a 500-word essay, do not exceed this word limit. 

Share Your Passion

Aviation scholarships are awarded to individuals who are passionate about the field of aviation. In the essay/open-ended portion of the application, be sure to tell your unique story and explain how this passion was ignited, and how you plan to contribute to the greater aviation community, above and beyond your future job. If you are involved in aviation associations and/or volunteer at aviation conferences, airshows, etc., be sure to mention this as well.

Avoid Misspellings and Typos

Sloppy writing won’t win you any points from the aviation scholarship review team. Ask a teacher or mentor to review your application for grammar, punctuation, spelling, and inadvertent typos before submitting it. 

Fill Out the Entire Application

It’s important to provide as much information about yourself and your aviation career goals as possible, so don’t skip any questions/response fields in the application. Unanswered questions offer the perfect excuse for weary aviation scholarship judges to “weed out” your application. 

Be Positive

Yes, flight training is expensive, but don’t gripe about it in the aviation scholarship application when discussing your financial need. Talk instead about the proactive steps you are taking to help fund your training, e.g. working part-time, starting a side business, working at the local airport in exchange for flight hours, etc. Industrious aviation scholarship applicants will fare better than those just looking for a handout. 

Use Examples

When responding to aviation scholarship application questions, be sure to use personal examples. Instead of saying you’re a “hard worker,” explain how you helped with your family business as a teenager; and/or discuss the various part-time jobs that you’ve held, while also earning a high grade point average, volunteering, earning entry-level flight certifications, participating in sports or other extracurricular activities. 

A Pathway to the Sky

While aviation scholarships are competitive, given the pilot shortage, more and more scholarship opportunities become available each year. If you follow the tips provided here, you’ll be one step closer to funding your flight training—and to your future office in the sky. 

To keep abreast of all things aviation, subscribe to FLYING Magazine. Published by FLYING Media Group, the leading aviation media brand in the world, FLYING offers news, content, and information that is relevant to pilots and aviation enthusiasts: flyingmag.com/subscribe. 

FAQ

The post 6 Tips for Winning Aviation Scholarships appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

Lunseth was recently surprised to learn that the National Aeronautic Association (NAA), in partnership with the Air Care Alliance (ACA), will be honoring him as a Distinguished Volunteer Pilot. The organizations’ 2022 Public Benefit Flying Awards recognize volunteer pilots, as well as other volunteers and organizations engaged in flying to help others—and those who support this work.  

For Lunseth, there’s more than one cookie in this jar.

On November 18, Angel Flight Central will honor the pilot—who is also a practicing intellectual property attorney—with its Lewis Young Pilot of the Year Award. According to the NAA, since 2011, Lunseth has flown more than 93 Angel Flight missions, donating the use of his aircraft—and fuel costs totaling more than $61,000—to provide non-emergency medical flights for health care and humanitarian purposes. 

Lunseth says as soon as he had logged the minimum 500 hours that Angel Flight requires to volunteer as a pilot, he signed up. “It looked like a fun thing to do as a way to help,” he says.

In his Mooney M20K 231, he says he has “hauled hundreds of pounds of donated blood and bone marrow,” breast milk to medically fragile babies, children with HIV to special summer camps, and patients. 

According to Lunseth, the relationships, albeit temporary, that he forms with his passengers are one of the most rewarding aspects of volunteering. 

“In most cases, the patients are anxious, not so much about the flying, but about what’s going on with them,” he says. Many of the patients he’s transported are fighting cancer and going back and forth to chemotherapy treatments. “It’s a real ordeal for them and you see them slowly sinking, and we don’t win every time,” he says. “[But] you start a conversation and you spend two hours with them. And you hope that by the end of the flight, that they’re feeling a little bit better and they have a little more hope, and they have the feeling that there’s someone else on their side.”

Another thing Lunseth finds rewarding is knowing that the donation of his aircraft and his time goes 100 percent to the beneficiaries. For most nonprofit organizations, only a percentage of donations go directly to programs—and the other percentage pays for administrative and fundraising costs. “The real thrill of it is the gift goes directly to the person sitting in the right seat,” he says. 

Lunseth isn’t the only Angel Flight volunteer the NAA and ACA will recognize with a 2022 Public Benefit Flying Award. 

Turning the $100 Hamburger on Its Head

David Knies has also volunteered for Angel Flight. In his 20s, he chaired the Angel Flight Southeast Board. He’s also volunteered for Angel Flight Soars, Vital Flight, FlyQuest (a STEM education organization), and the ACA. The latter, a partner in the Public Benefit Flying Awards, helps refer patients and volunteer pilots to nonprofit flying organizations that provide free flights for medical and humanitarian purposes and lobbies for legislative support for their activities. Knies will receive the NAA/ACA award for Outstanding Achievement in Advancement of Public Benefit Flying.

According to the NAA, Knies, has dedicated over half his life to flying patients for gratis and supporting the organizations that facilitate these flights. He owns a travel agency, a Cessna 210, and works as an office manager for Air Comfort Control, a residential air conditioning business in Huntsville, Alabama.

Knies says at one time he wanted to be a commercial airline pilot. While trying to build his flight hours in the late 1990s, he discovered Angel Flight Georgia and Angel Flight Southeast were looking for pilots. He was hooked. 

He says he most enjoys the flights that are difficult to schedule, whether because of the weight of the passengers and cargo, the range, or the route. “I view them as missed opportunities,” he says. “My fallback mission is to use my travel agency business and buy them an airline ticket.” 

Knies encourages other pilots to volunteer for public benefit flying organizations.

• READ MORE: Angel Flight Needs Pilots

“There seems to never be an end to the number of people who need help, but there always seems to be this finite number of people willing or able to help them,” he says. “I can’t be the only one that set out and said, ‘The $100 hamburger is getting old, I need to do something useful.’”

Knies, who serves on the ACA Board, says his desire to create more awareness surrounding the services offered by public benefit flying organizations—and the opportunities available for pilots to help—led to his involvement with the ACA. He suggests that those who need a non-emergency medical flight, and pilots who are willing to fly them, reach out to the ACA. 

Other 2022 Public Benefit Flying Awardees

In addition to Lunseth and Knies, the NAA and ACA will recognize:

Wayne Maynard – Distinguished Volunteer Pilot

Maynard, who has served as chair of the Angel Flight South Central Board of Directors since 2019, and is a CPA and a certified financial planner, “epitomizes selflessness in his unwavering commitment to charitable flying and helping others,” according to the NAA. “His devotion to taking on as many missions as possible, even during the most challenging of times, while offering compassionate care to his passengers, is inspirational.”  

Master Sgt. Michael Fontaine – Distinguished Volunteer 

An active-duty military liaison for Honor Flight San Antonio, Fontaine coordinated complete logistical support for two complimentary flights that provided war veterans all expenses-paid trips to visit their memorials in Washington, D.C., the NAA says. Fontaine also worked to secure funding for special events and honoree travel, planned and executed fundraising events, briefed personnel from various airlines and security agencies to promote and garner support for Honor Flight San Antonio’s mission, and established a recognition program for active duty military volunteers who dedicated time to honor our nation’s heroes, according to the NAA.

The National Business Aviation Association – Champion of Public Benefit Flying

“NBAA has long supported charitable aviation’s work by helping individuals and communities in need through business aviation and by telling the stories of volunteer pilots and other charitable aviation organizations,” the NAA says. Additionally, NBAA’s people give of their time, effort, and personal involvement to engage in public benefit flying, and have provided their facilities, publications, and other resources to substantially further all groups’ missions, the NAA says.

The 2022 Public Benefit Flying Awards will be presented on a date and location to be determined. For more information: www.naa.aero. 

The post NAA and ACA To Honor Pilots and Aviation Volunteers for Helping Those in Need appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

At the 2022 fly-in, the private field saw more than 1,700 aircraft movements and hosted more than 800 aircraft. Pilots can fly-in for a day, multiple days—or spend the entire week camping with their aircraft and socializing. A commercial kitchen and club house constructed on the site serve nightly barbecue fare, and permanent bathhouses give campers a chance to shower and refresh themselves. There are also 100 camping sites for RVs with water and electrical hookups.

Amphibious aircraft are also welcome to join in the “fun, fellowship, and hospitality”—which is what Triple Tree delivers, according to its website. The aerodrome has a lake with a landing surface measuring 4,000 feet by 200 feet; however, pilots should call ahead before attempting a water landing. A private airport, the lake and Triple Tree’s 7,000-by-400-foot grass strip (SC00) are closed to public use, except during scheduled fly-in events.

• READ MORE: Triple Tree: How To Get There

Operated as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, Triple Tree relies upon volunteers and contributions to fund its year-round programs, which include Aviation Centered Education, youth outreach, and scholarships.

In addition to the September event, Triple Tree hosts several other annual fly-ins. Its Young Aviators Fly-In, held the second weekend in June, is the only U.S. fly-in operated entirely by aviators under the age of 25. The annual gathering includes educational seminars, career programs, and Young Eagles flights.

But Triple Tree is not only a venue for general aviation pilots, its radio-control (RC)/model aircraft events have an almost cult-like following. The biggest is Joe Nall Week. Each May, it draws tens of thousands of spectators and RC pilots with model aircraft of all sizes from across the U.S. and internationally.

Round out your visit to the area with a trip to nearby Greenville, South Carolina. The city has a variety of recreational and entertainment options—including college football and basketball, minor league baseball, and minor league ice hockey.

The Lay of the Land

Located in the heart of South Carolina’s Upcountry region—in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains—the Greenville-Spartanburg area is known for its rivers, lakes, waterfalls, wooded forests, and scenic highways.

Triple Tree borders the Enoree River to the south, an 85-mile tributary of the Broad River. A South Carolina Blueway, the Enoree beckons paddlers and anglers to its shores. Fly-in visitors can watch general aviation aircraft land and takeoff at Triple Tree field—then stroll to the river to watch red-shouldered hawks and barred owls soar in search of prey.

Bring your rod and reel, and you may have fresh fish to take back to camp for dinner. The river is known for its plentiful catfish, red-eye bass, and bream. You can also paddle and fish in the three lakes at Triple Tree—just keep a lookout, when on the main lake, for amphibs on approach.

With average temperatures that range from 34 degrees Fahrenheit in the winter to 90 degrees F in the summer, and 51 inches of rainfall a year, they call it Greenville for a reason.

Outdoor Diversions

There’s no doubt that the most popular activity at Triple Tree is mingling with fellow aviators as they fly in and create an ever-evolving static display of increasing proportion. But the aviation destination also offers 6 miles of walking trails, a hangar full of vintage and RC aircraft to peruse, and a replica of Monet’s Garden in Giverny, France. The field’s restored World War II (advisory) control tower also merits an up-close inspection.

Hikers and cyclists can choose from a variety of trails in the Greenville area, including Swamp Rabbit. The 22-mile, multi-use transportation trail system runs adjacent to and over Reedy River, and it provides access to several communities, including downtown Greenville. Further north, at Paris Mountain State Park, there are a variety of trails that range in distance and skill level for hikers and mountain bikers to enjoy. Plus, tent and RV camping sites are also available at the park.

Closer to town, Greenville’s Falls Park is a popular gathering place. The park’s 345-foot-long, curved suspension bridge—the Liberty Bridge—is unique in the U.S. because of its geometry, design, and construction. The bridge gives pedestrians a front and center view of Reedy River Falls, and the site where the city’s first trading post was constructed in 1768. The park also hosts public art, including permanent works by Dale Chihuly, Bryan Hunt, and Joel Shapiro.

Nearby Roper Mountain Science Center with its T.C. Hooper Planetarium—the state’s largest—offers Starry Night experiences every Friday night. The center is also home to the nation’s eighth largest refractor telescope. Check the website for stargazing opportunities.

City Scene

Located in the most populous county in the state, the city of Greenville, 35 miles northwest of Triple Tree, offers a perfect opportunity to extend your time in the region. A cultural center for the Upcountry, the city is home to a number of museums and the Center for Creative Arts. The Greenville County Museum of Art is known for its impressive exhibit of Andrew Wyeth watercolors. It claims to have the world’s “largest and most complete” collection of Wyeth watercolor art owned by a public museum.

While you’re here, enjoy a performance of the Greenville Symphony Orchestra, which is celebrating its 75th anniversary this year, and be sure to take the kids to the 80,000-square-foot Children’s Museum of the Upstate—the seventh largest children’s museum in the U.S.

Baseball fans can watch the Greenville Drive, the Class A affiliate of the Boston Red Sox, play at Fluor Field, and visit the Shoeless Joe Jackson Museum and Baseball Library, which honors baseball legend, “Shoeless Joe,” who along with seven other White Sox players was accused of conspiring with gambling bookies to “throw” the 1919 World Series. Despite being acquitted in court, the players were banned from Major League Baseball.

Depending on the season, add a college football or basketball game to your schedule. Furman University, a member of the NCAA Southern Conference, is located in Greenville, and Clemson University, an NCAA Atlantic Coast Conference team, is just 30 miles away.

Greenville also has an “AA” ice hockey team. The Swamp Rabbits, members of the ECHL, play in the Bon Secours Wellness Arena, which also hosts top-name performers and concerts.

Named the No. 1 “Under-the-Radar Southern Food Destination” by Zagat and one of “The South’s Tastiest Towns” by Southern Living, Greenville is fast-becoming a dining hotspot. With more than 100 restaurants downtown and more than 1,000 more in the county, Greenville offers a diversity of cuisine, from southern barbecue to classic French and Italian and everything in between.

Are you a beer fan? The city has a growing number of craft breweries, and a local bus company offers a Hoppy Trails Brewery Tour. The Greenville Craft Beer Festival, held annually in November, is also popular.

History

The Triple Tree Aerodrome’s founder, Pat Hartness, grew up in Greenville and started flying control-line aircraft at the age of 7. He hosted his first fly-ins at his family’s property in Greenville in 1983. Needing more space, in 1997, Hartness purchased the 400-acre property near Woodruff, South Carolina—part of the former Kilgore Plantation—with a dream of creating an aviation destination for RC and GA enthusiasts. Recognizing the importance of safeguarding the events and the venue that he created for posterity, in 2010, Hartness established the nonprofit organization—The Triple Tree Aerodrome—and gifted the property to the organization so that it could serve the community in perpetuity.

• READ MORE: LSAs: Perfect Aircraft for a Fly-In at Triple Tree Aerodrome

The Upcountry is also known for its Revolutionary War battlefields. The Battle of Musgrove Mill State Historic Site, 16 miles south of Triple Tree, commemorates the August 19, 1780, battle between the British forces and American colonists. In Gaffney, an hour’s drive north of Triple Tree, the Cowpens National Battlefield preserves the site of the 1781 battle that signaled the “turning point of the war in the South.”

Local Events & Festivals

This article was first published in the 2022 Southeast Adventure Guide of FLYING Magazine.

The post Triple Tree: Fly-In for ‘Fun, Fellowship, and Hospitality’ appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

Once it is airworthy—volunteers project a first flight by July 2023, in time for EAA AirVenture at Oshkosh—the classic business air transport will be used to promote the history of women in aviation as a flying exhibit for the Vintage Flying Museum in Fort Worth, Texas.

According to Bill Goebel, the museum’s volunteer crew chief for the restoration project, the Beech Super 18, N13JC, was the last airplane Cochran flew. “She was in her mid-60s at the time when she owned the airplane [1969-1971], and stopped flying it because she was unable to renew her FAA medical certificate due to illness. Aircraft logbooks indicate her last flight was on April 4, 1971,” he says.  

However, Cochran’s ownership of the radial-powered twin is only part of its storied past. 

After losing her certificate, Cochran sold the 1954 E18S-9700 model to Anthony Productions—the copyright holder for The Merv Griffin Show and Dance Fever.

“Merv actually flew the hell out of it,” Goebel says. “He basically used it instead of driving the [Hwy.] 405.” 

Thanks to the detailed logbooks of Griffin’s corporate pilot, the names of the rich and famous, who traveled with him around the Los Angeles area and on junkets to Las Vegas and Palm Springs, were fastidiously documented. According to the flight logs, the list of celebrity passengers included: Clint Eastwood, Burt Reynolds, Leslie Uggams, Gene Hackman, Wayne Rogers, Dinah Shore, Arthur Murray, Dick Carson, Jan Michael Vincent, Marty Allen, Pamela Mason, Doug McClure, and others.

“[And] Dar Robinson, a big stuntman from the era, jumped out of it over Caesars Palace in Vegas,” Goebel says.

It is this history of transporting Hollywood actors and actresses that inspired the twin Beech’s new moniker: the Hollywood Bomber.

“While Jackie is part of the story, she is not the whole story,” says Goebel, an FAA-certified airframe and powerplant (A&P) mechanic with inspection authorization (IA), and an FAA-designated engineering representative—vintage (VDER).

“[The Beech Super 18] is an absolute reflection of corporate aviation in the ’60s and ’70s. It’s really neat, the connection with Hollywood….A lot of famous people flew in this thing—and that’s what you did in the ’60s and ’70s and these were the kinds of corporate aircraft [used], and that’s the story and it’s a great story to tell.”

To note: Goebel acknowledges the Beech Super 18 is not and was never a “bomber,” but he thought it was a catchy misnomer for the project, and the Vintage Flying Museum (VFM) agreed.

Bringing the Aircraft Back to Life

The Beech Super 18 came to the museum in 2019 after serving as a maintenance trainer for Tarrant County College. The aircraft sat outside for most of its 30-year lifetime at the college, exposed to often-harsh North Texas weather conditions.

After learning that Cochran owned and flew it, the college then started “restoring” it, says Goebel, who served on and chaired the aviation advisory committee at the college for several years. “They started basically disassembling it; unfortunately, they didn’t get a lot put back together.”  

“It’s one of the larger projects we’ve taken on,” admits Bill Gorin, A&P, IA, and the volunteer director of operations at VFM. “You’re taking an airplane that’s been asleep for 40 years, basically, and trying to wake it up and get it flying again.”

Because of its extended time outside in the elements, every steel screw was rusted and is being replaced, he says. “We’re having to change a lot of nuts and a lot of screws.” The airplane’s belly skin was also replaced, owing to corrosion that was likely caused by an onboard potty.

While the Pratt & Whitney R-985 engines are mid time, they remain a question mark for the project. “We’ve inspected the engines, but there’s still a lot of unknowns with them,” Gorin says. 

According to Goebel, the plan is to track the engines’ performance with oil analysis and monitoring, eventually overhauling both engines using a rotable in order to keep the aircraft available.

Of course, if a large-enough donation comes in, Gorin says they will overhaul the engines much sooner. “It’s about $50K per engine, plus the cost of the accessory overhauls. We would love to find someone to donate that, as well as upgrading the old generators to modern Jasco alternators.”

The museum has established a GoFundMe account for monetary donations. The current fundraising goal is listed at $103,000.

Before it goes airborne, the Hollywood Bomber will have new, updated avionics and be completely rewired. Some upgrades are also planned, including adding external oil filters on the engines. “There’s a pre-oil system out there that’s available for it, to pre-oil the engines before you start them, so that way you’re not starting the engines on dry bearings,” Gorin says.

A new paint job and restoring the interior, including new upholstery, will likely be the final touches for the project—most likely after it’s airworthy.

“The biggest challenge is just trying to get all the parts,” Gorin says. “If people want to donate money, or parts, or services, we’re a nonprofit, it’s all a tax write-off for anybody who’s interested.”

The project has already received several donations. These include: an S-Tec autopilot from Genesys; fabrics for the interior from Duncan Aviation; clocks from Davtron; fuel cells and installation from Southwest Airframe and Tank Services; and a spar X-ray from Apex Inspections.

Volunteer Labor Fuels the Project

Goebel, who is documenting the restoration project on his YouTube channel, HangaRatz, says without the support of volunteers, the restoration project would be at a standstill. “Everything is pro bono as far as labor goes. It’s all just community helping this aircraft get back [in the air],” he says.

Some of the volunteers have never worked on an airplane before, and Goebel says that’s OK. As the A&P of record, he is teaching and coaching the volunteers through the entire process.

For example, “The instrument panel was hand-crafted by volunteers who have never built one. No computers. No CAD. No high-speed routers. Drills, punches, and files. And it’s a gold-plated example of their capabilities and efforts,” Goebel says.

One of those volunteers is Abigail Kennedy-Dominguez. The high school senior started helping with the project before the COVID-19 pandemic slowed its progress. Early-on, she says she learned some of the basic skills and techniques to help maintain the airplane. Now that she’s older, she’s been able to participate in more hands-on activities, including helping to cut and file the new instrument panel, sealing and patching holes in the fuel bay, fitting patches for antenna holes in the belly, and taking apart old seats so they can be reupholstered.

“I believe that it’s important to maintain a woman’s touch on this plane,” Kennedy-Dominguez says. “Jackie Cochran created a legacy for all women in aviation by introducing the idea that women were just as capable as men when it comes to flying (and all things). I think it would be disrespectful for us to ignore that legacy by restoring the plane with a group solely made of men. A woman made that plane glorious, and women should be involved in returning it to glory again.”

Katrina Lorenzen and her husband, Joey, are also helping with the project. When they’re not working on the Hollywood Bomber, they’re building a Van’s Aircraft RV-7A at their home. From transcribing the Beech Super 18’s logbooks to drilling out old rivets, removing the mounting stations and helping final fit and rivet filler plates to patch the old holes, she’s integrally involved with the project.

“This plane has a rich history and the more stories we uncover, the more driven and connected we feel to the project. We are all committed to getting her in the air and off to share with everyone we can,” Lorenzen says.

A Female-Centric Vision

Lorenzen and Kennedy Dominguez’s contributions to the Hollywood Bomber project align well with the museum’s vision of using the flying exhibit to celebrate women in aviation, past, present, and future.

“It’s all about showcasing aviation opportunities for women,” Goebel says.

Gorin agrees. “Ideally, what we’d love to see is that airplane flown and maintained by women. I would love to see it go to shows with a couple of women flying it and women maintaining it. That would be better for the next generation than the current generation.”

Believed to be one of only a few women in the U.S. to found and direct a flying museum, Charlyn “Chuckie” Hospers, couldn’t agree more with the vision for the Beech Super 18, and she’s already creating educational curricula and displays to accompany it. For example, a traveling exhibit of display boards the museum designed and built—available through the Texas Trail Lakes Region—salutes women’s contributions to aviation and World War II. “Two of the panels are on Jackie Cochran, and we have panels with Rosie the Riveter…and we have Wally Funk [and others],” she says.

Forming a Flying Museum

Hospers and her husband, William “Doc” Hospers, purchased the museum’s 9-acre site and two hangars—one a B-29 World War II-era hangar—located at Fort Worth Meacham International Airport (KFTW) in Texas in 1988. “We actually started with a B-17 Flying Fortress that we had for 31 years,” she says. The couple were co-founders of the B-17 Co-op, which to this day supports owners of the famed World War II bombers.

Hospers recalls her first introduction to the B-17 that would ultimately become the museum’s first aircraft. “It turned out when my husband came home with the B-17 Flying Fortress, he didn’t tell me at first,” she says. “He flew it in and had me meet everybody out at the airport. And he took me by my hand and led me underneath the wing of the aircraft, and he said, ‘What do you think of this?’ And I said, ‘What is it?’ And he said, ‘It’s ours.’ That’s how it started. He had taken a big stick and painted my name on the side of the nose of the B-17. He knew what he was doing.”

Hospers says she got on the “bandwagon,” learned to fly, got her taildragger endorsement and her multiengine rating. “We had it [the B-17] for 31 years, and we flew it to airshows and it was all volunteers that maintained it and kept it flying,” she says. Following Doc’s death in 2010, she sold the B-17 named Chuckie. Today, the vintage bomber is owned and operated by the Erickson Aircraft Collection in Madras, Oregon.

A former FAA runway safety expert, Hospers says “it’s amazing” how far the museum has come since it was incorporated as a nonprofit in 1990. Today, several other aviation-related nonprofits call the museum home, including the CAF Invader Squadron, PGM Aviation, Greatest Generation Aircraft, and the Fort Worth chapter of the American Rosie The Riveter Association.

“We have almost 30 aircraft on display now [about 50 percent airworthy], and some very rare and valuable,” Hospers says.

The famed flying B-29 Superfortress FIFI and B-24 Liberator Diamond Lil called VFM home for seven years before moving in 2021 to the Commemorative Air Force’s new headquarters at Dallas Executive Airport (KRBD). And, the space they left has already been filled. “We actually have a waiting list for aircraft,” Hospers says.

Hospers, Gorin, and Goebel and their team of volunteers are working diligently to get the Hollywood Bomber back in the air. Gorin, who is a pilot, says one day he’d like to fly right seat in the aircraft—after he gets a couple more ratings. “[But] I’d rather stand back and watch the ladies fly it, that would be more rewarding to me.”

Specifications: Beechcraft Super 18 E18S-9700

The post Restoring a Beech Super 18 to Former Glory appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

For a more thrilling drive on terra firma and an interesting view from the air, travel the 11-mile stretch of U.S. Route 129 called the Tail of the Dragon. Aptly named, the two-lane road carves a jagged path between the Great Smoky Mountains and the Cherokee National Forest near Deals Gap, North Carolina, and gives motorcyclists and sports car enthusiasts 318 curves to navigate—uninterrupted by intersections or structures.

An abundance of rivers and streams in “the Smokies” provide natural swimming holes, tubing, paddling, white-water rafting, and fertile fishing grounds, while its mountain towns and the city of Knoxville offer shopping and attractions, including the world-famous Dollywood theme park.

• READ MORE: Great Smokies: How To Get There

Flying yourself to the Smokies this time? Don’t miss the Tennessee Museum of Aviation at the Gatlinburg-Pigeon Forge Airport (KGKT). Among the 18 aircraft on display are two P-47 Thunderbolts, a Douglas A-1H Skyraider, a Grumman Albatross, and a Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-17F. Plan your trip to the Smokies around Knoxville’s Smoky Mountain Air Show (September 10 and 11) and combine the best of aviation and the great outdoors.

The Lay of the Land

Geologists believe the Smoky Mountain peaks started forming between 310 and 245 million years ago, when the North American tectonic plate gradually (a few inches a year over millions of years) sideswiped the African tectonic plate.

The pressures created by the collision contorted once-horizontal sedimentary rocks into the folded and faulted strata that make up the Appalachian Mountain Range of which the Smoky Mountains are a part. The Smokies are some of the oldest mountains in the world and include 16 peaks in excess of 6,000 feet.

The tallest, Clingman’s Dome, stands at 6,643 feet and is the highest point in Tennessee. A half-mile paved hike near the top of the dome leads to an observation tower that provides views of up to seven states on clear days.

Outdoor Diversions

A popular location for outdoor adventurers, the national park includes: a portion of a true hiking mecca—70 miles of the famous Appalachian Trail, which continues north to Maine; 11 waterfalls; four visitor centers; two historic grist mills; and numerous historic family/community burial grounds. The most visited national park in the country, more than 14 million people passed through a portion of its 500,000 acres in 2021.

The park is known for its rich biodiversity that includes the American black bear, about two per square mile; 67 native fish species; 80 types of reptiles and amphibians; and the ever-popular synchronous firefly. One of 19 firefly species in the park, the synchronous firefly gathers by the thousands once a year in a particular campground to put on an unparalleled light show. You can enter a lottery to buy a ticket to the show at recreation.gov. Part of the species’ breeding ritual, the light show usually takes place over an eight-day period in late-May/early June.

• READ MORE: Great Smokies: Aircraft for the Adventure

Incidentally, the Great Smoky Mountains National Park is an International Biosphere Reserve, a World Heritage Site, and has been called the “Salamander Capital of the World,” given the 30 salamander species in five families that inhabit its waters.

The Dollywood Theme Park in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, offers an outdoor experience of a different kind. With 50 world-class rides, musical entertainment, seasonal events, dining, lodging—and a waterpark voted in the Top 10 by USA Today readers in 2020—the park is a favorite destination for locals and visitors.

It may be the biggest, but Dollywood is not the only attraction in the area. Nearby, you’ll find Paula Deen’s Lumberjack Feud Show & Adventure Park. Celebrating the history and skill of timber harvesting, the park includes live shows and encourages visitors to participate in ax throwing, speed climbing, and log rolling challenge activities.

At Rowdy Bear Mountain Glider, in Gatlinburg, Tennessee, you can almost take to the air in a single-railed in-air coaster that combines the sensations of free falling and hang gliding. And, if ziplining is your thing, Wildwater’s Nantahala Gorge Canopy Tours in western North Carolina, 10 miles from Bryson City, has 11 zip lines and seven sky bridges that offer views of Clingman’s Dome and Fontana Lake.

A popular winter destination is Banner Elk, North Carolina, a short drive from two top Smoky Mountain ski resorts: Sugar Mountain and Beech Mountain.

On the North Carolina side, Grandfather Mountain boasts a mile-high swing bridge, and Watauga River is famous for its rainbow trout.

The Great Smoky Mountains Railroad provides yet another perspective on this breathtaking landscape with steam and diesel train tours that range from two to four hours roundtrip. The trains leave from Bryson City, North Carolina, and offer different excursions and experiences.

Are you looking to pamper yourself or someone special? Look no further than Blackberry Farm in Walland, Tennessee. This luxury resort in the foothills of the Great Smoky Mountains offers overnight accommodations, fine dining, and a smorgasbord of activities including carriage rides, archery, skeet shooting, horseback riding, paddle sports, paintball, and fly fishing. When you’re ready to relax, the on-site spa provides a variety of massage and facial treatments.

City Scene

From the booming city of Knoxville to bustling mountain towns, the Smoky Mountains have options for city folk too. Visitors can go back in time to 1912 and relive one of the world’s most devastating maritime disasters at the Titanic Museum in Pigeon Forge. The museum, which features costumed cast members in period attire, has more than 400 artifacts from the Titanic on display, which tell the story of the transatlantic cruise that ended in the loss of more than 1,500 passengers and crew.

In Gatlinburg, families have lots of entertainment options. There’s Ripley’s Aquarium of the Smokies, which showcases 10,000 sea creatures and a colony of penguins, unique mini golf courses, and Anakeesta’s Rail Runner Mountain Coaster—the only single-rail alpine coaster in North America. Visitors can also take the SkyLift to the Gatlinburg SkyBridge, a 680-foot-long pedestrian cable bridge that measures 140 feet high at its midpoint.

Into arts and crafts? Travel the Gatlinburg Craft Trail, an 8-mile loop that features more than 100 artists and makers including weavers, carvers, whittlers, potters, candle makers, and more.

In Cherokee, North Carolina, at the southern gateway to the Smoky Mountains, you can try your hand at the slots, blackjack, craps, and other adult games at Harrah’s Cherokee Casino Resort, and hit the greens at Sequoyah National Golf Club.

An hour’s drive from the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Knoxville is home to the University of Tennessee, the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame, unique boutiques and big brand stores, and the Sunsphere, a 26-story landmark built for the 1982 World’s Fair. If you’re there on the weekend, be sure to check out the Farmer’s Market at Market Square, where local vendors showcase their fresh-grown produce and meats, and arts and crafts on Saturdays. An historic Knoxville site is the Tennessee Theater, which opened in 1928 and is on the National Register of Historic Places. Considered the city’s earliest skyscraper, the theater hosts concerts, films, and Broadway shows, and is home to the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra and the Knoxville Opera.

Do you have a Brownie or a Girl Scout in your family? Don’t miss visiting the Girl Scout Museum in Knoxville and its archival library of hundreds of years of Girl Scout-affiliated records and artifacts.

For those who enjoy craft beer, you may want to head out on the Knoxville Ale Trail. You can visit 20 local breweries on the trail and mark your progress on a pre-printed Ale Trail Passport. With names like the Crafty Bastard and Barrelhouse by Gypsy Circus, each brewery offers unique flavors, and some also showcase unique wares. For example, the Pretentious Beer and Glass Co. serves its craft beers in hand-crafted glasses and offers glass-blowing demonstrations for those who wish to learn more about that art.

History

Nestled in the Great Smoky Mountains are the vestiges of culture, family heritage, and early communities. From prehistoric Paleo-Americans to early European settlers in the 1800s, the national park has attempted to preserve this history for its visitors.

The history of the park itself is unique. More than 300,000 acres of parkland were purchased with appropriated funds from the states of Tennessee and North Carolina and matched with dollars raised by private individuals and organizations, including the Laura Spelman Rockefeller Memorial Fund. Thousands of small farms and parcels were purchased along with larger tracts. More than 1,200 families moved away from their homes and livelihoods when the park was established in the 1930s. The national park has preserved more than 70 of these vacated original structures—including homes, barns, mills, schools, and churches—and has the largest collection of historic log buildings in the Eastern U.S. Cades Cove, which offers a self-guided walking/biking/driving loop tour, has the largest concentration and variety of these buildings. Settled by Europeans around 1818, at one time Cades Cove was home to 271 people.

At Elkmont, now a national park campground, archeologists have discovered evidence of human occupation that dates 8,000 to 5,000 years ago. Visitors can view the ruins of two early-1900s resorts, the Appalachian Club and Wonderland Hotel, that were developed there. Two buildings used by the Appalachian Club have been rehabilitated for day use.

For more ancient history of the Smokies, visit the Museum of Cherokee Indians and the Oconaluftee Indian Village, a living-history museum, both in Cherokee, North Carolina.

This article was first published in the 2022 Southeast Adventure Guide of FLYING Magazine.

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Just a short drive from Charleston, the island makes a great jumping off point to explore the rich history of one of America’s best-preserved colonial towns, unique Lowcountry cuisine, and a thriving nightlife. Kiawah Island is a luxurious retreat, a playground for the affluent, and a peaceful nature preserve for those looking to escape the bustle and noise of the city.

• READ MORE: Flying to Kiawah Island? Try These Airports on for Size

The Lay of the Land

A low-lying coastal region along the South Carolina coast, Kiawah Island is a watery wonderland. More than 60 ponds and lagoons dot its landscape. The roughly 10,000-acre island is separated from its near-neighbor barrier islands, Johns Island and Seabrook Island, by the Kiawah River, and to the north by its confluence with the Stono River.

Salt marshes, maritime forest, and sandy beaches and dunes comprise the island’s ecosystem, which is home to diverse wildlife that include alligators, 140 species of birds, whitetail deer, bobcats, and the endangered Atlantic loggerhead sea turtle. Recognized for its efforts to safeguard the loggerheads and their habitat, the island was commended in 1981 by the Izaak Walton League with a National Conservation Award.

Roughly a 30-minute drive from the island, the historic city of Charleston sits on a peninsula between the Ashley and Cooper rivers, which empty into a deepwater harbor. The first “planned” American cityscape, early settlers who were familiar with the narrow and twisted roads of Europe, purposefully laid out the streets of Charleston in a wide and straight grid fashion—making this one of the easiest cities to navigate.

Outdoor Diversions

A natural area with its own nature conservancy, activities on Kiawah Island tend to revolve around the outdoors. Kiawah River and its many ponds and lagoons offer those equipped with a rod and reel the opportunity to reap southern flounder, speckled trout, black drum, redfish, and more. Fly-fishing is also popular in the Kiawah River marshes. Travel 20 to 50 nm east in the Atlantic and you’ll find some of the best offshore fishing in the world. With multiple artificial reefs and its proximity to the Gulf Stream, anglers reel in tuna, mahi mahi, sailfish, wahoo, grouper, snapper, marlin, and other sport fish in the area. Multiple fishing charters are available.

Crabbing is also a local pastime. Near Blue Heron Pond, you’ll find a community crabbing pier. No license is necessary for recreational crabbing if you use three or fewer hand lines in the tidal creeks of South Carolina—just make sure any crabs you catch measure more than 5 inches from point to point and don’t have any egg sacks. Check regulations at dnr.sc.gov.

• READ MORE: Aircraft for Your Escape to Kiawah Island

With more than 30 miles of paved pathways and typically a hard-packed sandy beach, Kiawah Island is also a bicyclist’s paradise. Encompassing 8 acres of natural habitat, Marsh Island Park is a favorite biking destination. Pedal along its wide wooden paths to the park’s observation tower for an unparalleled view of the island.

Located on the Kiawah Island Golf Resort, the Heron Park Nature Center gives you the opportunity to view wildlife up close. Animal exhibits include local diamondback terrapins and a 10-foot-long Burmese python. The resort also offers nature tours that include dolphin encounters, bird-watching, and alligator adventures, as well as recreational programs, such as kayaking, stand-up paddleboarding, yoga, shelling, and surfing.

For swimming and suntanning, visit Kiawah Beachwalker Park, the island’s public beach. The beach gets its name from the wide swath of generally hard-packed sand that leads to the ocean shore—the perfect surface for walkers or bicyclists.

If tennis is your game, the island has a court for you. The Roy Barth Tennis Center and West Beach Tennis Club, both operated by the Kiawah Island Golf Resort, have hard courts and Har-Tru clay courts that are open to the public and available for reservation.

Golfers’ Haven

With five public championship golf courses on the island, it’s no surprise that Kiawah Island is a top destination for golfers. The island is known internationally for its Ocean Course, which offers 18 holes of ocean views and hosted the 2021 and 2012 Professional Golf Association Championships. Also operated by the Kiawah Island Golf Resort, the links at Turtle Point, Oak Point, Osprey Point, and Cougar Point are building names for themselves as well. Each course has its own unique challenges, and, like the Ocean Course, is grassed with seashore paspalum, which is known for being the turfgrass of choice for professional golfers.

City Scene

Kiawah’s Freshfields Village offers a low-key, upscale shopping experience for Lowcountry island visitors. High-end retail shops, unique boutiques, and local craftspeople come together at this open-air center. You’ll find everything from island/resort apparel, custom home furnishings and accessories, and hand-crafted jewelry to hand-made soaps and scents, sporting goods, pet supplies, and eyewear. A spa, grocery store, and pharmacy are also available.

Dining options on the island cover a broad range. For a take on Lowcountry fare, try Jasmine Porch at The Sanctuary. The restaurant’s seasonal selections feature locally harvested seafood and organic produce. The Cherrywood BBQ & Ale House is a stop on the South Carolina BBQ Trail and a People’s Choice winner for best pulled pork at The Festival of Discovery BBQ Competition. At Freshfields Village, you can choose from lighter fare, like sushi, wine, cheese and charcuterie, or enjoy staples, like pizza, submarine sandwiches, and ice cream. Hege’s Restaurant offers classic French cuisine and Cantina 76 is a popular Mexican food hangout.

Looking for a faster pace and even more dining selections, take the 30-minute drive to Charleston, which is known for its authentic Lowcountry and Gullah Geechee cuisine. Dishes like shrimp and grits, oyster stew, she-crab soup, Lowcountry boil, crab rice, and coconut cake follow foodways tied to the region’s roots. Look for Nigel’s Good Food, or Rodney Scott’s BBQ, to start.

When the lights go down, Charleston is the place to be for nightlife. Nightclubs range from The Cocktail Club, a stylish speakeasy-style bar that serves specialty cocktails on a rooftop terrace, and The Belmont, which shows classic black and white films while you sip on hand-crafted drinks, to the Deco Nightclub Charleston, which boasts “the largest upscale dance floor in the heart of downtown,” and Dudleys, an LGBTQ-friendly bar that features drag performers, karaoke, and dancing.

History

Named for the Kiawah Indians who lived on the island prior to the 1600s, the island’s Native American history goes back to at least 2000 BCE, as evidenced by dense shell midden sites, as well as pottery sherds and stone fragments found on the island. In the 1670s, as European colonists moved in, the Native Americans pushed west. The only structure still standing from the island’s early settlement days is the Arnoldus Vanderhorst Plantation home, circa 1801. The Vanderhorst family owned the island and raised cattle and cultivated cotton and indigo there, until they sold the property to C.C. Royal in 1951. In 1974, Coastal Shores Inc., a Kuwaiti company, purchased the island from the Royal family trust. The plantation home is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and today is fully restored and privately owned.

Looking for a restored plantation that you can tour? The McLeod Plantation Historic Site in nearby Charleston is a 37-acre property with a restored home, farm buildings, and quarters for the enslaved that will help you understand the history of the place. Established in 1851, the plantation is also home to the McLeod Oak, believed to be more than 600 years old.

Another interesting historic site in Charleston is the Old Exchange and Provost Dungeon, built in 1771. During the Revolutionary War, the British used the bottom floor of the building as a prison. The Exchange was also the location where South Carolina leaders ratified the U.S. Constitution in 1788, and where public slave auctions were held before the Civil War. Next door, you’ll find the oldest continuously operating
liquor store in the U.S.

A visit to the area wouldn’t be complete without taking the ferry to Fort Sumter, a national park that sits on a constructed island in the Charleston Harbor. The fort dates back to 1829, when soldiers started building it as part of the U.S. defenses against foreign invaders. Occupied by Union forces, on April 12, 1861, it was the first federal installation to be shot upon by the Confederate Army. The battle that ensued signaled the start of the Civil War.

Despite its Civil War past, the city of Charleston has more than 3,500 well-preserved buildings that showcase early Americana architecture. Recognizing the value of its history, the city passed the nation’s first historic district zoning ordinance in 1931.

This article was first published in the 2022 Southeast Adventure Guide of FLYING Magazine.

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Their names dot the streetscape on the signs of dining and drinking establishments. You’ll find Kid Rock’s Big Ass Honky Tonk & Rock ‘N’ Roll Steakhouse, Dierks Bentley’s Whiskey Row, and Miranda Lambert’s Casa Rosa, to name a few.

Known for its excellent acoustics, the historic Ryman Auditorium, built in 1892 as the Union Gospel Tabernacle, and the former home of the Grand Ole Opry, is a popular downtown concert venue and offers daytime tours.

In 1974, the Opry—a country music and variety radio show that started in 1925 and enjoyed a 31-year tenure at the Ryman—moved 11 miles northeast to the 4,300-plus-seat Grand Ole Opry House theater built especially for it.

Backstage tours of the Opry House offer an inside look into the history and mystique of the show that’s known for turning novice singers into stars.

• READ MORE: Where To Land in and Around ‘Music City’

While country music is the city’s biscuit and butter, Nashville has some surprises. The state capitol, built in the 1840s, is an excellent example of Greek Revival architecture—and its original architect is entombed within its walls. The city encompasses more than 20 colleges/universities, a full-scale replica of the Greek Parthenon and its 42-foot sculpture of the Greek goddess Athena, and is the resting place of U.S. President James K. and Mrs. Polk.

The Southern hospitality of this Bible Belt community combines with its street performer aura to create a unique and sometimes kitschy culture. The city has 700 churches—the oldest dating to 1847—and it’s also home to the Tennessee Titans NFL team, the Nashville Predators National Hockey League team, and the minor league Nashville Sounds baseball team.

The Lay of the Land

Set against the curves of the Cumberland River, Nashville is a metropolis of nearly 2 million people, yet it maintains the qualities of a much smaller city. Rimmed on three sides by ridges (the Highland Rim), the Nashville or Central Basin is characterized by low rolling hills covered alternately with forest, pasture, and grasslands.

Radnor Lake, a state natural/protected area, lies within the city limits, but activities there are restricted to hiking and wildlife observation. For watersports and fishing, visit nearby J. Percy Priest, a 14,000-acre Corps of Engineers dam-constrained lake. Just a 15-minute drive from downtown, the lake offers boating, camping, fishing, swimming, and other recreational opportunities.

Old Hickory Lake, named for President Andrew Jackson, is northeast of Nashville and offers a similar variety of activities.

Outdoor Diversions

Greenspaces abound within the city itself. Centennial Park in Nashville’s West End neighborhood is a favorite for locals. The site of the 1897 Tennessee Centennial and International Exposition (the World’s Fair), the only remaining park structure erected for the World’s Fair is a replica of the Greek Parthenon. The building was restored in 1931 and houses the tallest indoor sculpture in the Western Hemisphere, Athena, a nod to Nashville’s claim to being the “Athens of the South.” From the park, visitors can cross the street and stroll nearby Vanderbilt University, a national arboretum. The campus’s Bicentennial Oak, estimated to be 250 years old, predates the university itself.

The 5-acre Riverfront Park downtown beckons people to bask on the shores of the Cumberland River. The grassy incline creates natural seating for the park’s outdoor amphitheater, which hosts musical performances throughout the year, and the city’s annual “Let Freedom Sing” July 4th celebration.

You can find a different perspective of the city from the water. A variety of outfitters offer kayaking and stand-up paddle board tours on the Cumberland River. The General Jackson, a 300-foot paddle wheel showboat, provides a more elaborate experience with lunch or dinner cruises that include musical entertainment, as well as watching the river flow by in the boat’s wake.

City Scene

As America’s “Music City,” a trip to Nashville wouldn’t be complete without visiting the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum. The “custodian” of the country (and western) music art form, the museum started in 1967 but moved to its current location in 2001. Today, the facility includes 350,000 square feet of exhibits, galleries, event space, and archives. It also operates year-round educational programs and the Hatch Show Print letterpress business on the museum grounds.

Don’t miss the Music City Walk of Fame, which pays homage to those who “make, create, record, perform, and present music” of all genres. The Walk of Fame includes a star for the Fisk University Jubilee Singers. In 1871, the a cappella ensemble, which consisted of mostly former enslaved people, organized to raise money for the historically Black university. The first musical act to tour globally, the ensemble is credited with starting the city’s musical heritage and earning it its Music City nickname.

Get a glimpse into the business side of the music industry with a visit to Nashville’s Music Row, centered around 16th and 17th Avenues South. The neighborhood is home to RCA Studio B, established in 1956 and listed in the National Register of Historic Places, as well as a number of other historic recording studios. A ride on the Nashville Old Town Trolley Tours offers insight into the industry, history, and businesses of Music Row—named a National Treasure by the National Trust for Historic Preservation.

Country music fans may also enjoy a visit to the Johnny Cash Museum, which houses the most comprehensive collection of artifacts and information related to the singer known as the “Man in Black.” But despite its preeminence, it’s not all about country music in Nashville. The city boasts the largest professional ballet and largest opera companies in the state, and the Grammy Award-winning Nashville Symphony.

Nashville also played a role in developing jazz and the blues. In the 1940s, clubs on Jefferson Street, once the northern edge of town, hosted entertainers such as Little Richard, Otis Redding, Etta James, Billy Cox, and Ray Charles.

Today, the National Museum of African American music in downtown Nashville—the only museum of its kind—brings the stories of Black musicians of all genres to life.

Dining and shopping options are plentiful with each of the city’s unique neighborhoods providing a different ambiance. The Gulch, for example, a mixed-use LEED-certified community on the southwest edge of downtown, features restaurants that range from the Whiskey Kitchen to The Turnip Truck Urban Fare, and retail shops that include globally recognized brands, such as Urban Outfitters and Lucchese, as well as a wide range of boutiques for a more small-town shopping feel.

With 27 breweries and taprooms, Nashville is gaining a reputation for craft beer, and the Belle Meade Historic Site and Winery and nearby Natchez Trace Wine Trail offer wine-tasting. For more potent spirits, take a one-and-a-half-hour drive to Lynchburg, for a tour and tasting at the Jack Daniel’s Distillery.

History

There are a cornucopia of interesting sites in and around Nashville for history buffs. Founded in 1779, the city was named for Francis Nash, a general in the Continental Army and a Revolutionary War hero. Originally called Fort Nashborough, a replica of the early fort and interpretive displays can be toured at Riverfront Park.

The Hermitage, the plantation home of Andrew Jackson, the seventh president of the U.S., sits 12 miles east of Nashville. The home turned museum offers tours and exhibits that detail Jackson’s life as a politician, husband, and owner of enslaved people. The 1,100-acre estate is also the final resting place for Jackson and his wife, Rachel.

An historic shipping and railway hub, Nashville was the first Confederate state capital taken by Union troops during the Civil War. This victory of the Union forces is thought to have resulted in the ultimate demise of the Confederacy. A white granite and bronze monument erected on the battleground property, south of the city center, commemorates the 1864 Battle of Nashville, its soldiers who died in the battle, as well as those who perished in World War I. The city’s turn-of-the-century, Gothic-design Union Station, built in 1900 as a transportation terminal for the Louisville and Nashville Railroad, is a must-see for its well-preserved architectural features. Now a hotel, restaurant, and event venue, the station is listed in the National Register of Historic Places.

The city also features a rich aviation history. During World War II, Vultee Aircraft produced the Lockheed P-38 Lightning fighter at a factory adjacent to Berry Field airport—now Nashville International (KBNA)—becoming the first military defense enterprise for the region. At one time, when owned by Avco, the plant made parts for aircraft that ranged from the Convair B-36, Lockheed C-130, McDonnell-Douglas F-4 Phantom II, C-141, and Bell Huey and Cobra helicopters, along with the space shuttle and rockets. Now owned by Tect Aerospace, the factory still operates today.

Flying yourself to the city? Don’t miss a flyover of the abandoned Cornelia Fort Airpark (once M88) in East Nashville. The airfield is named for the city’s first female flight instructor, who was also the first U.S. pilot to encounter Japanese air forces during the Pearl Harbor attack, and the first woman pilot to die while on active duty—as a member of the Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASPs). Built in the 1940s, the airpark closed in 2011, following the 1,000-year flood of 2010. It’s most known for its inbound air passengers, country singers Patsy Cline, Hawkshaw Hawkins, and Cowboy Copas, who on March 5, 1963, died when their aircraft crashed 90 miles west of its destination in Camden, Tennessee. While no longer an active airstrip, once a month from May to August, the Shelby Park and Bottoms community hosts a benefit event called the Cornelia Fort Pickin’ Party.

Local Events & Festivals

This article was first published in the 2022 Southeast Adventure Guide of FLYING Magazine.

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