Old Airplane/Bars question

I don't know what year you were a kid, but I'm having flashbacks to Tale Spin on the Disney Afternoon.

But honestly--- if you've seen it--- can you remember any plots that stuck with you and might give you the germ of an idea to re-interpret and develop in your own setting, with your own characters?

Here's a quick episode list with a plot summary for each one. But the underlying thoughts behind some of them would be relevant to someone trying to brainstorm.

Like the episode where Big Business decides to go with robot pilots to save money on salaries--- and the live pilots are facing the elimination of their livelihood. Main Character Pilot has to prove that he's better than a machine that never makes mistakes. Or the episodes where Valuable Cargo Has To Get Delivered No Matter What. Or Con Artists Do X. Or Famous People Visit And Y Happens. Etc, etc, etc.

Most of the airplane pilot biographies I can think of are either like Chuck Yeager, or combat pilots. But you might see if you can find some anecdotes that could get translated into something pertinent to your setting as well.

Look up Pancho Barnes, who ran the Happy Bottom Riding Club near what is now Edwards AFB. Chuck Yeager and friends hung out there between test flights.

Some things to think about: Where is it set? Are these international flights? Does your story follow one main character or is there an ensemble cast? Is there one plot line or are you writing a series of interlinked stories?

Ford Tri-Motors up until the 1930's, DC-3 after that. DC-3's are still flying in a lot of areas of the world, don't think any have been built for 60 years or so (Military was the C-47 during WWII). Catalina flying boats are still being used in the various islands of the world, and there are still a lot of Beechcraft Super Kings in use, as well as Cesnas for small numbers of passengers, usually 10 or less. One of the charter companies near here flies a Piper Cheyenne, though it's the only one I've ever seen. There are a ton of European and Soviet piston planes still flying, even still being built.

I used to eat at a bar/diner that was an old hanger at the airport, built in a quonset hut style and decorated with wooden propellers and lots of models hanging from the ceiling. Another place was a standard building but with corrugated steel on the ceiling and backs of the booths and more propellers on walls and ceiling. They had the wing of an old Curtis Jenny over the bar and landing gear held neon signs for whatever beer was on tap. Was at a bar a thousand years ago called the Zeppelin that had the rounded profile from a typical airship but it really wasn't airplane themed.

Lots of options out there, short hops or short runways make good places to use the old piston planes. Lots are island hoppers or land at remote strips in jungles and so on, but there are still a few that are used for odd routes around the US and North America, especially more remote areas that jets wouldn't be profitable to fly.

Jeff

If you want modern piston engined passenger aircraft then look at the DeHavilland Dash 7 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/De_Havilland_Canada_Dash_7 and the range made by Embraer https://www.aircraftcompare.com/manufacturers/embraer/

Well, I'm thinking if this airline runs Tiki bars, it's probably in the islands someplace and maybe an amphibious plane might serve well. DH 2 Beavers, which are single engine high wing planes, and most are fitted with floats. The standard model will seat up to 7 passengers, and some variants will carry up to 11. Another option is a PBY Catalina, which is a twin engine airboat with more generous seating and cargo capacity.

Another more common alternative to the Beaver is a Cessna 207 Skywagon, which also has a seating capacity of 7. Also, the Cessna Caravan (208) is used worldwide by small airlines as a short haul transport, although it is a turboprop. Both can be fitted with floats, and both have (without the floats) good unimproved field capability.

If you move into turbo-props, Norman Islanders are used widely for inter-island travel. I've also flown in a Pacific Aerospace P-750 XSTOL over the Papua New Guinea Highlands. We had a perfect landing on a very, very short grass strip carved out of the jungle. If we'd overshot, we would have face-planted in the Sepik River.

Grumman Mallard.
Grumman Albatross.


-cb

Islander as turbo-prop? Coulda sworn the ones I flew in (PAX) were straight recip motors. BTW, to add to the fun, there's the Trislander - the prop/motor's high up on the tail. It can be tail-heavy (now there's a surprise) if not loaded right. A local commuter flew the Islander and Trislander. Sitting on the ramp, waiting to ...ah... de-plane, the ground crew seriously punted, took bags out of the nose compartment without putting the tail stand in place. The bags came out, the nose started up, someone literally draped himself over the nose to bring it back down, and we PAX said, "oooohhhh!" Hard to forget those fun moments.

Anyway, for ticky-tacky Tiki Air, stick with a clapped out DC-3, maybe, as suggested, a Grumman Widgeon, Albatross, etc. if the plane's supposed to get wet, or, the bush pilot's fave, the DH Otter and relatives, with or without floats, floats recommended for lake landings...

The Catalina / PBY is probably so (relatively) rare as to be closer to a museum piece. Pass.

Of late, even operations like Watermaker Air, between Staniel Cay, Exumas, Bahamas, and the US, have "civilized" a/c, quite ho-hum. Unless they're your a/c! Planes and salt sea air do not agree well! Strong spring into fall thunderstorms in even (Bahamas) large a/c are downright scary. Had an unplanned stop in Freeport that way. Eek!

Check out the landing sequence early in the movie "Club Paradise" (Robin Williams!) for an idea of island flying gone wrong.

HTH!

RBEmerson said:

Islander as turbo-prop? Coulda sworn the ones I flew in (PAX) were straight recip motors.

Click to expand...

You could well have. There are different models.

Ay-uh. They've been around long enough...

Dunno if you've flown in them. Not for the claustrophobe - think large cigar tube. All of the trips between Wings Field (Whitemarsh Township, PA US - for anyone who cares to Google - to PHL) for $10 (subsidezed by the big boys) and free parking was a delight for the biz traveler - ignoring having to stand on a scale, before one and all. Weight and balance was no joke (see Trislander story). All of the trips were Jan-Feb of one year. even the relatively short 20-30 miles, in sloppy WX, was ...ah... memorable. One trip, the lady on my left, in mild terror, asked to hold my arm. The bruises subsided a couple of weeks later. Great fun. NOT! And all but Wings and PHL are gone.

I have jumps logged in the '60s from a Tri-motor Ford owned by Johnson's Flying Circus ("Service," actually) in Missoula, Montana.

Three piston engines powered this old bird used for early smoke jumpers up to my skydiving days.



In Missoula, after-jump meeting places for pilots and jumpers were the Silver Dollar Bar and the Stockman.

In Bozeman, the Rocking R Bar and Molly Brown's.

In Great Falls, Shakey's Pizza Parlor and the Two Js out by the drop zone at Square Butte.

I'll check my Parachute Log Book for more. I know I have one jump over Great Falls International Airport at an airshow from a piston powered de Haviland Otter piloted and signed off by Susan Oliver, the lovely green alien from the original Star Trek series.

Susan Oliver? Wow - v. cool!

IIRC also Wilbur's wife on Mr. Ed (I will not Google, I will not Google, I will not Google...)