Owls Head, Pt. 2: Wings & Wheels (pic heavy)
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Owls Head, Pt. 2: Wings & Wheels (pic heavy)
This photo begins the two-day Wings & Wheels show, the automotive aspect of which was a New England All-Corvette meet (though clubs from further afield showed up as well.) The license plate is self-descriptive. The Corvette has changed an awful lot since the early 1950s.
If any of you guys prefer the later 'Vettes, I'm sorry – I didn't take pictures of any from the mid 1960s onward, because I don't fancy them.
An all-black '62. Rowr.
The Collings F4U-5NL returned for this show. The Corsair came with her pilot a week early, and spent her time being pampered by the museum's volunteers. They've a pretty good crew up there, and the vast majority are donating their time.
As you can see, Saturday dawned overcast, so nothing flew all morning. Good for photography, but less good for airshow photography.
Dan Marcotte's Cassutt, “Tigger.” Mr. Marcotte has made a name for himself in Formula 1 air racing since he started four years ago.
lol art. But I can't help it; that's just how much I like the Auburn.
A 1905 Panhard et Levassor Tourer. The blue! The brass! The copper! Man, cars looked neat back then. Too bad I'm not so great at indoor photography.
1929 Deusenburg J with a town car body. Much more impressive in person, but I do the best I can. The Deusey is tucked in between a sweet Packard and a wall, and the lighting and stanchions make it awkward to line up a shot. Begging your pardons.
The Clark Biwing ornithopter, finally fully-feathered after years in the restoration workshop. The would-be pilot sits in a small chair on the left of the picture, behind the engine, and is presumably shaken into madness by the flapping going on about him.
This photo is from last year's show, in place of its too-underexposed counterpart from this year. This automobile is the 1912 Woods Electric Brougham, kin to the early electric car Bounty posted in this thread.
The current exhibit in the State of Maine Wing is “The Model T & ME.” A lot of underexposed photos came out of this section, but I'll post a bit of 'Yankee ingenuity' for the sake of curiosity.
First, the Model T ice saw.
The Model T farm tractor.
The Model T snowmobile, 1926 vintage.
The 1925 Model T railcar. This was used on the narrow-gauge Sandy River & Rangely Lakes RR, though it's in the livery of the Edaville RR, where it was sent after the SR&RL collapsed.
The Model T snack stand. In the background, next to the two gentlemen, is the Model T marine engine conversion.
The Model T truck, carrying old lobster traps – although one visitor, obviously not a coastal person, swore up, down, and sideways they they were little chicken pens.
Also in this exhibit was a Model T sawmill; the rear axle of the car drove a belt which drove a rotary saw.
The 1908 Sears Motorbuggy, available for only $395 through the Sears-Roebuck catalog and contemporary to the Model T.
The pace of progress.
As the morning dragged on, the sky showed no sign of clearing. We were all anxiously awaiting the arrival of a P-51 Mustang and P-40 Warhawk which were holed up in Connecticut, waiting for the weather to cooperate.
This 'Vette is local, as it was at last year's show as well. As you can see, the sky lightened around noon, and hearts lightened with it. The real photo isn't this blue, by the way.
IPMS Southern Maine brought their display as well. Tucked among the tanks and ships and warplanes were two holdouts from their East Overshoe theme build. Absent were the East Overshoe Gyrodyne Air Service, and the East Overshoe Highway Maintenance vehicle – a desert tan SdKfz. 251 with “Wash Me” scrawled in the grime by an in-scale finger.
The Nieuport 28C.1 is in the colors of Sumner Sewall, a Bath-born pilot who served in the 95th Aero Squadron during the Great War, and later as a state senator and Governor during World War II. Sewall was one of the three pilots who apprehended the Fokker D.VII currently in the Smithsonian's collection.
It seems there is a different junker at the show every year. This example lacks humorous embellishments such as “Pass Quietly; Driver Asleep,” “Don't Laugh Lady- Your Daughter Might Be In Here,” and “In Case of Fire Throw This In,” though they would not be amiss. Note windscreen frame and left rear tire.
Milk delivery through the ages. An even older sled is to the right of the frame.
In an attempt to keep the crowd amused as the aircraft remained grounded, an impromptu Ingo Bike Challenge was arranged.
This is an Ingo bike. The rider either converts up-and-down motion to forward motion via the eccentric rear wheel, or makes an utter ass of himself trying. I would have photographed this event, but I was too busy failing to convert reciprocal to rotary.
Free Model T rides for kids of all ages, a show staple. They're only a few minutes, but it's more fun than you might think.
Since it was passed over during the most recent Great Auto Auction, you still have a chance to own this registered, highway-safe Daimler Ferret scout car.
One of the museum's service vehicles – what the devil are those things called? - betrays the east wind which kicked up in the afternoon, dashing the chances that anything would get airborne that day. The wind came straight off the ocean, promising to drag fog along with it.
The vehicle was build by the museum from a Model A. If you look closely, you will see that the radiator cap is shaped like a spigot.
A Piper J3C hangs from the ceiling of the restoration workshop. A wicker balloon basket and the tail of a Curtiss Model D are visible. Just out of the frame to the left is an Hispano-Suiza engine on a test stand, which will go into the museum's S.E.5a as it is completed.
Also hanging from the ceiling is the Domenjoz sail glider, tested at Old Orchard Beach in 1930. It could climb to 300 ft. when towed by a car, but otherwise just sat still. I would hate to have to tack against the wind in one of those.
The Corsair is big. No foolin'.
Sure enough, a fog bank rolled in off the sea and Owls Head was socked in. The P-40 and P-51 never made it to the show; not only would they have been unable to land in the fog, but a line of fierce thunderstorms over the Boston area blocked their way north.
The Corsair adds her own smoke to the damp air. An open flightline and the engine demo were enough to keep my interest, even though nothing flew that day.