Christmas Day at Marathon in the Florida Keys! What could be better than a snoop around Marathon Airport? 1.1/2 Beech 18’s a DC-3 and a Classic WACO YMF-5 offering biplane rides! I’d flown in a WACO from Marathon a few times in the 1990’s, so the red & yellow one parked by the fence looked very tempting. The cost was $110 if one or two used the seats in the front cockpit, so to maximise the value for money, I suggested the wife should accompany me… Needless to say she wasn’t impressed by the idea. Even the pilot, dressed as a reneck with goofy front teeth failed to do the job, so I thought I’d try again another day…. However…. on the Boxing Bay local news was a news film of a joy riding biplane that had ditched in the sea, near Marathon… Yep, it was the same one I was trying to get the wife up in the day before! So chaps, theses are probably the last pics of it before the crabs nibbled the prop…
By: Banupa - 3rd January 2012 at 23:43
May have missed the flight in that one, but I got some stick time in this one from Marathon in about 1990…
By: Banupa - 3rd January 2012 at 23:43
May have missed the flight in that one, but I got some stick time in this one from Marathon in about 1990…
By: robmack - 3rd January 2012 at 15:59
Sorry to hear about 64JE, glad they got out avoiding the sharks. Banupa, this is some of what you missed,
By: robmack - 3rd January 2012 at 15:59
Sorry to hear about 64JE, glad they got out avoiding the sharks. Banupa, this is some of what you missed,
By: AdlerTag - 3rd January 2012 at 14:06
Well I’m glad to know this all ended so well, and congratulations to Mrs.Banupa on avoiding a ducking!
In all seriousness, ditching a fixed gear taildragger can’t be a particularly gentle business, it’s amazing how well the pilot seems to have put it down.
By: AdlerTag - 3rd January 2012 at 14:06
Well I’m glad to know this all ended so well, and congratulations to Mrs.Banupa on avoiding a ducking!
In all seriousness, ditching a fixed gear taildragger can’t be a particularly gentle business, it’s amazing how well the pilot seems to have put it down.
By: Propstrike - 3rd January 2012 at 13:02
Mrs Banupa seems to have very sound judgement !
”Pilot and Two Passengers Swim Away Unscathed After Ditching Near FL Keys
For reasons yet unknown, a 1989 Waco Classic biplane ended the year with a splash as it was ditched off Sombrero Beach, FL, near the Marathon airport in the FL Keys.
The Jacobs powered bipe reportedly suffered some manner of power interruption, while the pilot called for a Mayday on the local unicom frequency and managed what appears to be a pretty well-controlled ditching into the Atlantic.
The Monroe County Sheriff’s Office confirms that there were three people on board the Conch Air Waco flight-seeing aircraft (three men, according to local media reports), the pilot and two passengers. All three occupants refused medical attention (but probably did ask for a towel…) and the aircraft appeared to suffer very little damage in the unplanned arrival away from Terra Firma. Unfortunately; while the aircraft was pulled from the ocean fairly quickly, ANY immersion in salt water probably makes the bird a write-off.
ANN Reader Glen Gates was in the pattern at the time of the accident and reported that he heard the Mayday calls and told ANN that he heard… “a very calm voice says, ‘MAYDAY, MAYDAY, MAYDAY, Waco going down.’ This chilling message on the common frequency is about as rare as hens teeth… I heard the pilot say it again when he added ‘position one mile south of Marathon.'”
The airplane, N64JE, is owned and operated by Conch Air, of Marathon, FL. Conch Air offers air tours, sightseeing rides, aerobatic rides and has a special offer of a “Free Ride To Anyone Over 100 Years of Age.” Reader Gates reports that he flew with Conch Air’s pilot, Paul, about a year ago and found him to be a “pretty good aviator” and based on the success of the ditching, we have a reason to suspect that Glen’s judgement is right on the money.
N64JE is a red/yellow 1989 Waco Classic, powered by a Jacobs R755B radial engine producing some 275 HP. With a stall speed in the neighborhood of 51 kts, the bird obviously offered the safety of being able to flare at a slow speed prior to water impact (indeed, our experience flying this breed of aircraft revealed exceptional handling in the low-speed regime right up to and through the stall). The accident occurred about 1435, and within minutes, over a half dozen watercraft were close to the aircraft and assisted in extricating the pilot and passengers and assisting them back to solid ground. The aircraft reportedly took several minutes to sink, offering more than sufficient time for the occupants to clear the aircraft and get to the boats.
(ANN thanks reader Glen Gates and the Monroe Co. Sheriff for the pix).”
http://www.aero-news.net/index.cfm?do=main.textpost&id=316885e5-5ce2-46b7-9f93-16c276d23e12
By: Propstrike - 3rd January 2012 at 13:02
Mrs Banupa seems to have very sound judgement !
”Pilot and Two Passengers Swim Away Unscathed After Ditching Near FL Keys
For reasons yet unknown, a 1989 Waco Classic biplane ended the year with a splash as it was ditched off Sombrero Beach, FL, near the Marathon airport in the FL Keys.
The Jacobs powered bipe reportedly suffered some manner of power interruption, while the pilot called for a Mayday on the local unicom frequency and managed what appears to be a pretty well-controlled ditching into the Atlantic.
The Monroe County Sheriff’s Office confirms that there were three people on board the Conch Air Waco flight-seeing aircraft (three men, according to local media reports), the pilot and two passengers. All three occupants refused medical attention (but probably did ask for a towel…) and the aircraft appeared to suffer very little damage in the unplanned arrival away from Terra Firma. Unfortunately; while the aircraft was pulled from the ocean fairly quickly, ANY immersion in salt water probably makes the bird a write-off.
ANN Reader Glen Gates was in the pattern at the time of the accident and reported that he heard the Mayday calls and told ANN that he heard… “a very calm voice says, ‘MAYDAY, MAYDAY, MAYDAY, Waco going down.’ This chilling message on the common frequency is about as rare as hens teeth… I heard the pilot say it again when he added ‘position one mile south of Marathon.'”
The airplane, N64JE, is owned and operated by Conch Air, of Marathon, FL. Conch Air offers air tours, sightseeing rides, aerobatic rides and has a special offer of a “Free Ride To Anyone Over 100 Years of Age.” Reader Gates reports that he flew with Conch Air’s pilot, Paul, about a year ago and found him to be a “pretty good aviator” and based on the success of the ditching, we have a reason to suspect that Glen’s judgement is right on the money.
N64JE is a red/yellow 1989 Waco Classic, powered by a Jacobs R755B radial engine producing some 275 HP. With a stall speed in the neighborhood of 51 kts, the bird obviously offered the safety of being able to flare at a slow speed prior to water impact (indeed, our experience flying this breed of aircraft revealed exceptional handling in the low-speed regime right up to and through the stall). The accident occurred about 1435, and within minutes, over a half dozen watercraft were close to the aircraft and assisted in extricating the pilot and passengers and assisting them back to solid ground. The aircraft reportedly took several minutes to sink, offering more than sufficient time for the occupants to clear the aircraft and get to the boats.
(ANN thanks reader Glen Gates and the Monroe Co. Sheriff for the pix).”
http://www.aero-news.net/index.cfm?do=main.textpost&id=316885e5-5ce2-46b7-9f93-16c276d23e12
By: Rocketeer - 3rd January 2012 at 07:46
very nice!
By: Rocketeer - 3rd January 2012 at 07:46
very nice!
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January 2, 2012 at 10:42 pm