“There’s a perception that aviation is super expensive on all ends, and it doesn’t have to be,” said longtime pilot and aircraft owner Steve Givens, Vintage 9629. If you’re looking to buy a brand-new, high-performance airplane and take it on long trips across the country, of course it will be more expensive. But if you’re simply looking to go up for a few hours at a time just for the fun of it or to make a short hop to a pancake breakfast in the area, there are plenty of airplanes that are a perfect, and affordable, match.
Steve, and a few of his pilot friends in the Muncie/Anderson area of eastern Indiana, have been practicing fun and affordable flying for years now, operating vintage taildraggers typically with engines between 40 and 90 hp. Some come from deep aviation backgrounds — some don’t. Some are experienced and seasoned pilots — others aren’t. But all of them have found their way to this niche of personal aviation and are enjoying the ride.
Tony Hensley & Stephen Reese
Operating on two different ends of the aviation spectrum, Stephen Reese, EAA 74868, and Tony Hensley co-own a 1941 Aeronca Super Chief. Stephen, whose family founded Reese Airport (7I2) just outside of Muncie after the conclusion of World War II, has been flying basically all his life and is currently a flight instructor.
“The airport started with my dad and his two brothers, right after he came back from World War II as an instructor,” Stephen explained. “That’s what I’ve done all my life: flying and corporate flying and instructing.”
Meanwhile, Tony was Stephen’s student years back before dropping out of aviation for a while. But Reese eventually convinced Tony to get back into it and has made it an affordable venture by offering him a share of the Aeronca.
“Things weren’t going well at first,” Tony said. “We weren’t broke, but we didn’t have the money to do it. I saw Steve at church and he said I need to start going flying again, and I said, ‘Okay.’ I never did. He took me up in the Aeronca and a Cub, and then I kind of phased out again. But he’s made it so I can be partners with him on the Aeronca.”
Although Stephen was a corporate pilot for many years and has about 27,000 hours in his logbook, he flies as a hobby now and has made it possible for guys like Tony to become involved by owning shares of a few different airplanes.
As to why he enjoys flying these types of airplanes, Stephen pointed to the low costs and a couple of other factors.
“Fuel cost and maintenance cost [are low],” Stephen explained. “There’s a lot of history involved. They’re great airplanes. They’re the airplanes that taught everybody to fly over the years. They’re still the best trainers. If you learn to fly in a taildragger, you’re going to be a better pilot. There’s a lot of history to them. Family history and flying history. … They’re more fun, they’re better for grass fields and rough fields. They’ll make you a better pilot.”
F. Wiley Grant
With a flying career that began in 1957, it shouldn’t come as much of a surprise that Wiley Grant has flown a wide range of airplanes over the course of the past 60-plus years. As a kid, he’d ride his bicycle to the local airport and bum around the hangar, beginning his lifelong passion for aviation. From J-3 Cubs to military aircraft to business jets, Wiley has an extensive swath of cockpit experience. He currently owns a 1948 Piper PA-17 Vagabond, which he’s had in his possession for about the past decade.
Since acquiring it, Wiley has mostly used it for local flying, to fly-ins and pancake breakfasts, and despite the number of different airplanes he’s flown over the past six decades, he has developed an attachment to the Vagabond for a few reasons.
“It’s a keeper,” he said. “You can’t afford not to keep it. It’s inexpensive. I like it because of its age, because of its finished features. There’s no electrical system. It’s like stepping back in time in a way, from what we have out here today. It’s a nice little airplane and fun to fly. It’s a good-weather airplane, it doesn’t fly at night. It performs well, has about a 90 mph cruise, and stalls at about 41. The airplane weighs empty 635 pounds and has a gross takeoff weight of 1,150 pounds. With full fuel and everything, you can carry about 400 pounds of passengers. Pretty good for a 65-hp airplane.”
Mike Volpp
Mike Volpp, EAA 719898, is a proud Purdue University graduate who learned to fly in the 1970s after he moved out to eastern Ohio and had a bit of money to his name. Earning a tailwheel endorsement early on, Mike became acquainted with a local farmer who had a landing strip on his farm, and together they resurrected an Aeronca Champ and a Stinson 108. Since then, Mike has picked up multiple ratings and owned multiple airplanes and now owns a 1946 Taylorcraft BC-12D1, which he has a special connection to.
“I’ve always liked old things, and it happens that the data plate in that airplane is from the same month and year as mine would be if I had a data plate,” Mike said. “I have a little kindred spirit in that respect. It’s simple, easy to maintain, and inexpensive to own and fly. It’s a little faster in the scheme of things with regard to tailwheel airplanes, not that it makes a lot of difference because it’s mostly used for breakfast flights and pleasure flights, really no cross-country.”
Like the rest of the airplanes included in this story, Mike said owning his Taylorcraft is a relatively inexpensive endeavor.
“It’s inexpensive to buy,” he explained. “T-Crafts can be purchased these days for the same amount of money as a Harley; say $15,000-$20,000 will get you a nice T-Craft. They burn 4 gallons of fuel an hour. They don’t use much oil. Wherever you are, of course the hangar cost comes into play. It’s a very reasonable cost. The annual inspections usually aren’t a big deal. They don’t have many ADs; they’re hearty creatures. We fly them a lot off of grass, so they don’t get abused much.”
Doyle Bell
When it comes to flight training students, you won’t find too many like Doyle Bell, EAA 1244721. Although he went through some initial flight training when he was in the Army in 1958, Doyle spent the majority of his career in the political arena in Muncie. Following his retirement, Doyle, at the age of 79, decided he wanted to finish up what he started 60 years prior. Now, at the age of 81, he’s training for his private pilot certificate at the urging of Wiley and with the help of Stephen.
“I flew a little bit of training in my final years of service back in 1958 when I was in Louisiana. It was a flying club they had on base,” Doyle said. “My discharge came up, so I didn’t have much time. I didn’t have my license or anything. I thought that when I got back home, I’d get back into it. But I hadn’t been to college, so I started to go to school at Ball State. Raising a family and all the things that go with that. Then I got involved in the political arena, I was an office holder here [in Muncie]. The flying was on my mind, but I had just not gotten back to it. Wiley Grant is my neighbor, and I was speaking to him and told him what I’d done and that I really enjoyed it, and he said, ‘Doyle you seem to be in good health.’ … I don’t take a lot of medications and am blessed with good health at my age. He asked why I didn’t get back into it. … Being able to do this is kind of a dream fulfilled.”
Doyle was able to purchase a 1941 Luscombe 8A, which was converted to an 8B in 1965, for a reasonable price after its owner died in 2017 and has been training in it ever since, which has been challenging but rewarding at the same time.
“It being a taildragger, they say they’re more difficult so once you get your training in that, it’s going to make you a better pilot,” he said. “Of course not having flown other planes and starting with it, it’s kind of like driving an automobile. Every move, once you go through and practice them and are able to perform them — I’m just working through it and doing it over and over again. I really feel like climbing into it is like getting into my car. Familiarization with everything and being able to perform the maneuvers I need to do.”
Mike Finney
With a flight instructor for a father, Mike Finney has been around airplanes nearly his entire life. As the owner of a 1946 Piper J-3 Cub, Mike fell in love with what is arguably general aviation’s most iconic airplane as a child.
“What started me in the Cub originally was that’s what my dad learned to fly in back in 1945, so my dad was my hero and that was definitely important to me,” Mike said. “When I was about nine years old, I got to go for a ride in a J-3. That was the first airplane I got to sit in the front seat of. That was pretty cool. I just thought it was a cool-looking airplane. I fell in love with it then, and it stuck.”
Soloing on his 16th birthday, Mike was initially just an airplane owner early on, but he soon caught the restoring bug. After acquiring his Cub, which interestingly enough was once owned by John Hatz of Hatz biplane fame in the 1950s, it took Mike three years nearly to the date to restore it to its current state.
Mike admits that due to the Cub’s popularity, the starting cost of ownership is high in comparison to other similar airplanes, but it’s still a relatively straightforward airplane to maintain and operate.
“With the Cub’s initial price, it’s getting up there where it keeps a lot of people out of it, but I can buy them and restore them myself, which helps me,” he said. “As far as the year-to-year maintenance, the annuals and stuff I can do. You don’t have a lot of things that go wrong with them. You don’t have a starter; there’s no battery. I can fly them for many, many hours, and it doesn’t cost anything in maintenance. All it costs is fuel and oil and that’s pretty inexpensive.”
Cory Day
Owner of a 1947 Luscombe 8A, Cory Day, EAA 1102225, is following in his father’s footsteps.
“My dad started flying, and he got his [pilot certificate] in 1970, bought his first Luscombe in 1973,” he explained. “It was a 1948 Luscombe, and he and I bought another Luscombe in 2008. It’s a 1947 Luscombe 8A. … It’s the first plane I flew in. It’s something I pretty much grew up in, and I’ve always liked it. It’s very nice to go up and take rides.”
As an inexpensive and easy-to-operate airplane, Cory enjoys the Luscombe for the reasons many of his fellow pilots like vintage taildraggers.
“The Luscombe is just a very versatile plane. It’s a taildragger, so it can go into grass strips very well, but you can also go into the paved runways. It can go low and slow. It’s not a fast airplane, it’s about a 90 mph airplane. … You can slow down enough to see things — the lakes, the trees, the houses. It’s a nice airplane to go out sightseeing and play around in. It’s got the 65-hp Continental engine in it. Burns about 4.5 gallons an hour, which most planes are 10 or 15 gallons an hour. I’m burning 4.5, and I can fly around and play around and not have to break the bank trying to do it. That makes it very nice. … It’s very easy to maintain. The Luscombe is very simple. There’s no electric, so it makes it even more simplistic. All you have to do is take care of the engine, and the plane will take care of you.”
Givens Family
Among the handful of airplanes Steve Givens, EAA 200833, has owned over the years is the 1946 Cessna 120 that he, his fiancée, son, and daughter-in-law currently fly. Interestingly enough, Keith Givens, EAA 771483, Jenny Givens, EAA 1078960, and Treasa Allen are all training to be pilots in the 120.
“It offers some challenges for the student,” Steve said of the 120. “Of course these were originally built as a primary trainer. They’re very sprightly, they’re light on the controls. There’s a wonderful support group — the [International Cessna] 120-140 Association. You’ve got a lot of support; you’re not an orphan out there on your own. There’s still a good abundance of parts. It also offers some cross-country utility. You can comfortably put two people and an overnight bag in it and go somewhere. The Cubs and stuff are a little bit on the slower side. It’s full electric, and that helps with going cross-country because you’ve got your radio and transponder. They’re comfortable to sit in, and they work well for instruction because your instructor is sitting beside you. For us, it’s been a great addition to the airplanes we already have because it’s kind of a working airplane for our family. Four of us fly it, and three of us are taking instruction in it.”
Keith, who is an A&P mechanic, has been around airplanes his entire life and is finally getting his pilot certificate.
“I’ve been flying my entire life,” he said. “I started when I was 16, flying our 170. Then girls and motorcycles and cars came into my life, and I took a little break. Now I’m getting back into it. So for me, transitioning from the 170 to the 120, they’re really similar as far as ground handling and approach speeds and all that. It’s a very comfortable airplane and it’s got just enough equipment so that you’re not overwhelmed.”
Whether they’re used for flight training, $100 hamburgers, or just as a way to enjoy a leisurely and affordable flight around the countryside, these vintage taildraggers have withstood the test of time and are truly where the fun is.
This story was originally published in the January 2019 issue of Vintage Airplane, the publication of EAA’s Vintage Aircraft Association. It is the first in a series that will highlight fun and affordable vintage aircraft in each issue.