Paul Stambaugh’s Hangar Party at KARB

This is a regular blog post. If you’re looking for the current show notes, please check the entries below this one.

Nothing quite like a hangar party on a nearly perfect September day! Paul Stambaugh (whom you’ll remember from the Airspeed episode “Lunch with Aerobatic Pilot Paul Stambaugh” (listen at http://media.libsyn.com/media/airspeed/AirspeedStambaughLong.mp3) and another hangar renter at Ann Arbor Municipal Airport (KARB) again hosted their “Fly “em If You Got ‘Em” hangar party on September 15. I took Cole and Ella to the last one two years ago and brought them again this time.

Paul got out his Pitts “Psycho Therapy” and, together with another gentleman who brough along a WWII Navy trainer named California Girl (the designation of which escapes me – If you recognize it, please e-mail me at steve@airspeedonline.com), treated us to a couple of cool passes. The hangar is located at the departure end of Runway 24 (3,500′ x 75′ asphalt) so we could see departures and arrivals at the end of the hangar row. Last time, Runway 6 was active so we saw climbouts.

This shot is of Paul’s high-speed pass.

Here’s California Girl during one of two formation passes that the two aircraft did. She led the formation.

The first of two shots of one of the formation passes. Although Paul in the Pitts was well behind California Girl and there’s some forced perspective here, the size difference is reasonably well portrayed.

My favorite shot ot the day. This was just after the previous picture when Paul in the Pitts had just settled into train with California Girl. Nice clouds and the lighting from in front of the aircraft here really worked well.