Galesburg – Hangar Flying

This piece originally ran in Vic’s Checkpoints column in the December 2023 issue of EAA Sport Aviation magazine.

My favorite fly-in of the year is the National Stearman Fly-In in Galesburg, Illinois. Unfortunately, last year the weather was so bad between Atlanta and Galesburg that I didn’t get to go, despite trying for five straight days. This year, the weather for the trip was perfect, albeit hot, so I was able to go. It turned out to be really special.

This year was the 52nd annual fly-in. By the end of the week there were about 72 Stearmans there. Again, it felt like going back in time, with biplanes flying all day and every day, from solo flights to multi-ship formations. Except for the missing square grass field, it must have looked — and sounded — like a World War II training field.

For those who are wondering, the square field was so the Stearmans could land in any direction. During the day, someone would go out to the center of the field and place a large arrow on the ground, indicating the direction of landing. The pilot’s operating handbook for the Stearman has a note in it that “crosswinds should be avoided.” Yep, on cross-country trips we do look for airports with runways aligned into the wind.

While many of the Stearmans seen at Galesburg are gorgeous, the atmosphere is more about the people. There are minimal vendors, so no one is spending time trying to get a deal on the latest new avionics. Those who aren’t flying can be found sitting around in groups, making new friends or sharing memories.

One thing is for sure, just like the rest of aviation, the average age of the group is increasing. The ray of hope for me is seeing some of the 80-plus-year-old pilots still flying Stearmans, including Tom Lowe, one of the co-founders of the event.

But for a few, age is finally catching up. I was introduced to the Stearman by some good friends — Cal Tax, John Laughter, and Jim Ratliffe. Cal and I were partners on the first Stearman we bought. Cal still owns it and has flown to Galesburg in it for the past 27 years. When we bought the Stearman, one of the first things Cal demanded was that he had access to it for the first week of September every year. When I asked why, he said to go to Galesburg. I figured it was for family. Now that I’ve been attending, I realize thinking it was for family was not exactly a wrong guess!

Since that first Stearman, Cal, John, Jim, and I have flown formation together, including many air shows over the years. I learned much from them and hold them in the highest regard.

Cal and John are both Vietnam-era pilots with hundreds of formation combat hours. Jim flew C-130s during the war. Each of them takes formation flying seriously, and I feel like I learned from the best.

The formation flying is something I enjoy very much, but I do limit it to those I trust. Unfortunately, in the past few years, our formation flying as a team has dropped off. That aging factor is beginning to come into play.

Jim has also been a fixture at Galesburg for many years. In fact, Jim, Cal, and I have flown up and back together a couple of times. But it was not to be this year. Jim has had some health issues this past year, and Cal mentioned he might skip this year and attend next year. I could have sworn I felt a disturbance in the Force when he said that!

Truth be told, it was dampening my spirits. At the same time, another local good friend and Stearman pilot, Harry Ballance, who has also been a Galesburg staple over the years, mentioned he was going, and then subtly mentioned he liked traveling with another airplane for safety’s sake. Hmm. Now my spirits brightened. Sounds like a good excuse to me. I really don’t like being gone from home for a week, but I’d not had any luck convincing Carol to make the trip in the Stearman. I think I really pushed it with the trip in the helicopter to Oshkosh just a month earlier.

With the weather looking so good, I told Harry I would go. About a day later, Cal called and mentioned another alternative. If I didn’t go with Harry, would I be willing to take him and Jim up in the RV-10 for a day? Hmm. I said yes to Cal, but I really wanted to attend Galesburg in the Stearman. Putting my brain in high-gear solution-solving mode, I came up with an idea, but it meant the weather had to cooperate big-time.

Back to Galesburg being about the people. Every day there are fly-outs for lunch to various airports, the highlights being Tri-County and Wolford’s. Why? Because they are privately owned airstrips. Both the Shipleys and the Wolfords open up their hangars to the Stearman pilots and serve up a wonderful lunch!

Dave Shipley and his wife, Cathy, have a huge and gorgeous hangar. In it is a beautiful RV-14A that Dave built during COVID. At Wolford’s Airport, it is the same deal on Friday. Wolford’s identifier is IL01, as it was the first licensed airport in the state of Illinois.

With Wolford’s fly-in being on Friday, it usually has the best participation. More Stearmans show up during the latter part of the week. I figured it would be the best event to get Cal and Jim to, which would allow me to fly there on Sunday with Harry and his co-pilot, T.J. Fuller. T.J. is also ex-military with his own stories to share. All I needed was for the weather to cooperate, and it hadn’t been too cooperative over the last few years. If I could get back to Atlanta by Wednesday or Thursday, I could return with Jim and Cal in the RV-10 on Friday.

The long-range forecast looked good, so we departed on Sunday, arriving in Galesburg late that afternoon. The next few days were unbelievably hot, with temps in the 90s each day. Finally, a cold front came through on Wednesday with wind and rain, putting a damper on the lunch fly-out to the Kewannee Municipal Airport. However, in true pilot spirit, almost everyone drove out to Kewannee. Now I would have to wait until Thursday to return home. I was hoping to have a rest day prior to returning, but it was not meant to be.

For my return Thursday, the route was looking plausible, with marginal VFR until middle Tennessee, and then the usual afternoon thunderstorms in the Atlanta area. But tailwinds were forecast along the entire route. Tailwinds in a Stearman are like drugs to an addict!

I departed at 8 a.m. and had mostly 1,000-foot ceilings along the route as forecasted. I made certain I stayed on the magenta course line displayed on ForeFlight, as I had scoured the route for tall antennas prior to departure. Dutifully, they all passed off to the sides of the aircraft as I went by them.

I made it back home in the Stearman in six hours, as opposed to the eight-hour trip on Sunday, so that felt good. Friday in the RV-10 was a go, with the cold front having cleared out most of the weather. We departed at 7 a.m. and were on the ground at Galesburg by 9:30 a.m. local. En route I was regaled by some of Cal’s and Jim’s combat stories, making the trip even more memorable. Truly great pilots.

There was a reason for landing at Galesburg rather than the Wolford’s. Unbeknownst to Jim, the president of the Stearman Restorers Association, Mike Rutledge, had arranged to take Jim to Wolford’s in a Stearman. Mike and the rest of the board of directors had also decided to break protocol and give Jim the Bill Adam’s award at Wolford’s instead of at the Saturday night banquet, since Jim couldn’t be there.

The Bill Adam’s award is given to someone of extraordinary contribution to the Stearman world. Over the years, Jim has restored several Stearmans, some even being award winners.

Overall, it was a Galesburg that I will remember for a long time. Many people came together to do the right thing, and the weather gods cooperated. The fun factor was alive and well, but the real coup de grâce was that the whole experience really reinforced my thinking so long ago that Cal wanted the Stearman to visit family.

Vic Syracuse, EAA Lifetime 180848, is a commercial pilot, A&P/IA mechanic, designated airworthiness representative, and EAA flight advisor and technical counselor. He has built 11 aircraft and has logged more than 10,000 hours in 74 different types. Vic founded Base Leg Aviation, has authored books on maintenance and prebuy inspections, and posts videos weekly on his YouTube channel. He also volunteers as a Young Eagles pilot.