By Cassandra Barrong, EAA 1278780
Did you know that it was illegal, according to federal law, to build and fly your own aircraft in the U.S. from the late 1930s until 1952? Oregon was the first state to develop aviation regulations allowing homebuilt aircraft to be registered and flown. In fact, early Oregon aviators fought federal prosecution throughout the 1930s and beyond in order to fly experimental aircraft.
This is part of the history that we preserve and display at the Oregon Aviation Historical Society & Museum (OAHS) at the Cottage Grove State Airport. To celebrate this history, on Labor Day 2018 OAHS hosted the inaugural Great Oregon Homebuilt Fly-In.
Oregon was the first state in the union to form a state board of aeronautics in 1921, and in 1926 it began issuing state pilot licenses, aircraft airworthiness certificates, registrations (including homebuilts) as well as aircraft license plates, which were issued in Oregon until 1941. Aviators across Oregon used these state regulations to build and fly their own aircraft until the start of World War II when a moratorium on flying was issued for the west coast. From Les Long, Lee Eyerly, and the early Oregon builders, to George Bogardus with his cross-country flights to save homebuilding, up through Richard VanGrunsven and the world-famous RV series, Oregon has often been a hotbed of aviation, and we are glad to celebrate.
This year we were honored with the presence of Richard “Van” VanGrunsven who was here to participate in the dedication of the 1971 RV-3 to the OAHS museum collection. The static restoration of the RV-3 was completed by members of our local EAA Chapter 31, with former Chapter President Gary Ludeke, EAA 199851, as project manager. Van gave an awe-inspiring speech on the impact some of these early Oregon aviators had on his life, as well as the design and development of the RV series, and the incredible safety record of the RV community. His presentation can be found on the Van’s Aircraft YouTube channel as well.
While many of our fly-in visitors were RVs from across the Pacific Northwest, there were quite a few others who joined the party. There was a Sonex from the Olympic region, two Bearhawk Patrols, a Luscombe McKenzie Conversion (boasting 150 hp), a Rans 7, a Wheeler Express, as well as two Baby Aces — including Paul Poberezny’s last Mechanix Illustrated Baby Ace flown by Chris Lehner, EAA 1175034, from Camas, Washington.
The OAHS Oregon Collection, was also out on display. Next to the RV-3 was Tom Story’s black and orange Story Special No. 2. One of two built in Oregon in the late 1940s, this aircraft was later owned by Pete Bowers and was his inspiration for the Fly Baby. The Story Special No. 2 was also featured on the first color edition of EAA Sport Aviation in an air-to-air photo with its sister ship, the Story Special No. 1 (now under restoration at OAHS). The biplane featured in front of the museum was the Springfield Cadet/Baby Fleet, built in Springfield, Oregon, in 1931; this was Lane County, Oregon’s first registered homebuilt. It was once owned by a motorcycle dealer in Eugene who is rumored to have flown it downtown to work on more than one occasion.
We were also proud to present the world premiere of Arlen Moore’s SS-3. This bright yellow and blue aircraft had been seen by very few since its first flight in 1982. The SS-3 and its sister ship were built in Sweet Home, Oregon, and the SS-3 was flown for more than two decades by Arlen until his retirement in the early 2000s. Arlen built an SS-1 glider in the early 1960s, which he used to break and set several gliding altitude and distance records. That glider is now in the National Soaring Museum. The SS-3 is currently on loan to OAHS, so come see it while it’s here!
OAHS will host the Great Oregon Homebuilt Fly-In once again in 2019, and if you have or love homebuilt aircraft we invite you to join us on Saturday, August 31, 2019, at the Cottage Grove State Airport (61S), Jim Wright Field. We feature a pancake breakfast 8-11 a.m. and a pig roast luncheon at 1:30p.m.
You can find more information about this event and Oregon’s extraordinary aviation history on our website, or follow us on Facebook.
As always, we hope to see you here!