Thursday, July 24, 2014

The First Ever Stearman vs. Waco Challenge - Don't Miss It

This logo appears first due to the alphabetical rule.
Attend the fly-in this year to see history in the making.  A decades long rivalry is about to be put to the test. Yes that's right, for as long as you can remember, the Stearman and Waco folks have all agreed their manufacturer is the best and we're going to put them to the test.  How do we plan to do this?
This logo has more weight because the lines are heavier.
You might think it would be difficult to develop a challenge which would accurately determine which is the best all around aircraft make but you're wrong.  It's really quite easy.  Everything about each of these planes, take-off distance, ease of ground handling, maneuverability, and such area all greatly affected by the person at the controls.  Therefore, the person at the controls largely determines how good the plane is on any given day.  Accepting this angle of reasoning, we think it's safe to say you can judge the planes by their owners. Considering that any vintage plane nut worth their salt flies the plane more than they wash it, and that a real aviator would never turn down a chance to stand up for the honor of their make of choice, this means that you only have to count how many of each are on hand to know which is the best.
A little known Stearman from way back.
Got that?  Makes sense, right?  OK, since we all agree on that, here are the rules:
  • 1. The total number of each make, Stearman and Waco, to land at Lee Bottom between 12PM (noon) on Friday September 19th and 4PM Saturday the 20th, will be tallied for the challenge.  This is during the Wood, Fabric, & Tailwheels Fly-In
  • 2. All models of Waco and Stearman count toward the total.  This means Stearman aircraft produced when owned by Boeing are Stearman Aircraft, and even that monoplane Waco counts as a Waco.
  • 3. The total number of Travel Air, Curtiss Wright, Laird, wood structured Cessnas, Staggerwing Beechcraft, and Mooney Mite aircraft on hand will also be tallied.
  • 4. Whichever model, Stearman or Waco, has the least to attend gets to add the total of the other aircraft from rule #3 to their bottom line.
  • 5.  The final tally of rule #4 determines the winner.
  • 6.  The winner of the first challenge determines which name comes first on the trophy that will be used from here on out.
Waco wild card; if you arrive by air in one of these, Waco wins.

Stearman wild card; if you can find a way to get me this plane, Stearman wins.
This is at the bottom because I figured those of you devious enough to look for
a way to "purchase" a win would likely be smart enough to scroll all the way
to the bottom.


lowflybye said...

So the trick is to be one less in attendance than the competitor thus adding all other makes to your tally ensuring your models domination.

Flynscott said...

Finding the better airplane is easy.........
"Ask Any Pilot" :-)

Scott Johansson

Rich Davidson said...

The other aircraft are rare in large numbers so being the group short in numbers is not fool proof.