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Old cars at our museum
There are two old cars at our museum, a 1932 Graham-Paige and a 1918 Stanley Steamer. Both were taken out and driven for display at a local Concourse d’Elegance (old car show). And, we got a ride in the Stanley Steamer!
It took well over an hour to get the Stanley up to steam. Partly because of poor fuel; there is little kerosene available. Also, the boiler is almost 100 years old, so it makes sense to bring up steam slowly. Once going however, we felt that the Stanley was quiet, smooth and powerful.
Both cars in front of the Pearson hanger. The Stanley is steaming
A good view of the Stanley Steamer
Detail of the boiler room
Now that is a real tilting steering wheel!
Lots of smoke!
Pumping the starting fuel pump
Checking to see if it ready yet
Almost ready….
The condenser (radiator) is actually blowing steam rings
Finally, enough steam is showing to go for a ride
John in the Stanley
Looks like Romola is getting ready to drive off
An overall view of the Graham-Paige touring car
Port side view of the Graham Paige engine
Driver side view of the Graham Paige engine
Closeup of the Graham-Paige emblem
Flying in a biplane
A while back the Pearson Flight Museum had an open house. There were lots of display aircraft, as well as flying ones. But for us the excitement was in being able to get a ride in a 1929 biplane. At first, Romola was a bit reluctant to go, but after it was over she agreed: Fantastic!
There is something magical/historical to fly in an open cockpit plane, one with an original radial engine. The experience… sound, vibration, wind… all add to the feeling. Here are some images; the aircraft is a 1929 Travel Air E-4000.
Here comes our ride!
Tight fit in that cockpit, sure wouldn’t want to make a long flight!
On takeoff, you can see the Fort Vancouver site itself
Flying over the Port of Vancouver
Shipping on the river
A steep bank over one of the ships
Starting our “crop duster” pass
On the deck, below the tree top level, full speed!
That dike up ahead is looking rather large
Flying over Vancouver Lake, again below treetop level
Another tight bank at full speed over the Lake
There is Fort Vancouver, on the horizon
Making a Fort Vancouver pass. Runway visible.
Lining up on the runway
Back on the ground. That was such fun!
Pearson Air Museum
Across the street from Fort Vancouver is Pearson Airport, one of the oldest operating air fields in the country. In the late 1800’s, it was a base for flying blimps. In 1905, the first fixed wing flights took off. Among the “firsts” were the first airmail flight, as well as the first trans-polar flight (by the Russians, who landed here).
It was an important base during both WW1 and WW2. In WW1, most of the wood for building aircrafts came from here. In WW2, Kaiser Shipyards built over 500 ships, including aircraft carriers, on the river.
Now it is still operational but includes a nice museum. It reflects on the importance of aviation to our society, and the importance of Pearson Field in particular.
A racer from the '30's
An AT6 Texan, later Harvard as a trainer
Painted red, this Fokker DR1 was the plane used by the Red Baron in WW1
A radial engine
A classy looking biplane
A look down the runway, Mt. Hood in the distance
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