Preferred Altitude Podcast: Unique and Timeless Aviation Podcast

This episode is a story of a family trip to Oshkosh AirVenture, a very unique family trip to Oshkosh. James Good lives in California, and he, his wife and son went to Oshkosh AirVenture 2019. While that is certainly special, what’s unique about their story is that James flew his two seat 1948 Ercoupe, while … Continue reading 25 – California to Oshkosh Family Adventure

On this episode we talk about some airplanes that are definitely unique and timeless: Corben Super Acede Havilland CometHatzTravel AirCaudron On this episode we talk with Mark Lightsey of Aerocraftsman who specializes in restoring, and in some cases re-creating, antique and classic airplanes. He’s had experience with all of those airplanes I mentioned, and more, … Continue reading 24 – Aerocraftsman

We talk with Vans RV-9A builder Aitor Lazo, catching him at his first trip to Oshkosh AirVenture. How did Aitor decide to build an RV-9A? In addition to sharing that back story with us, he goes beyond the rivets and wing ribs of this kitplane. He also shares some of the special interactions he’s had … Continue reading 23 – Airplane Builder

We talk with Joey Shreve, who’s a relatively new Sport Pilot. Joey flew in to Airventure Oshkosh 2018 for the first time in his 1946 Ercoupe 415-C. Talking with Joey is a fantastic example of how Oshkosh is more than airplanes. There’s so many interesting people to meet there too! Joey shares his adventure of … Continue reading 22 – Sport Pilot Flies to Oshkosh (2018)

If you’ve experienced Airventure Oshkosh before, you might have heard some stories of the long distances people have traveled to get there. Well, I’ve never heard of a longer distance than what Glen Towler traveled: 11,898 miles. Glen is from New Zealand, and on this episode we talk about a lot of interesting things: what … Continue reading 21 – 11,898 Miles to Oshkosh

One of the many amazing things to see at AirVenture Oshkosh are the “mass arrivals”. The large group arrivals of one type of aircraft. One of those mass arrivals involves Piper Cherokees. They even have a group called “Cherokees to Oshkosh”, and I was fortunate to view part of a “mini-clinic”. A “mini-clinic” is a … Continue reading 20 – Cherokees to Oshkosh

On this episode we spend some time talking about the Aerolite 103, an aircraft that is in the “Part 103” Ultralight world of aviation. Dennis Carley talks about how much fun the Aerolite 103 is to fly, tells about it’s performance, how you can build it, or even buy it fully assembled and ready to … Continue reading 19 – Aerolite 103

Have you ever wondered how a wooden propeller is made? Alaina Lewis from Culver Props will show you how she does it on Facebook and Instagram. In detail. And it’s fascinating. Alaina is a third generation maker of beautiful wooden propellers for experimental aircraft. Once you hear this podcast, hear about her family’s aviation history, … Continue reading 18 – Culver Props – The Story Behind Their Wooden Propellers

An extraordinary range of experiences in aviation! This is a visit from Sun ‘n Fun 2018 with Retired United States Air Force Colonels Blake and Sandy Thomas. This husband and wife team have built not one, but two replica WWI aircraft together…along with a 200 MPH RV-7. Amazing, right? Well, there’s even more. You’ll also … Continue reading 17 – WWI Replicas to the F-15

You’re about to hear a conversation with Matt Brignac who talks about some very interesting and unique areas of aviation. Matt’s an Aerial Applicator from Mississippi who also has, as a traveling airplane for him and his family, a Cessna 185 with a belly pod. We’ll learn about number of things: what people used to … Continue reading 16 – Aerial Application, Cessna 185, Warbirds and More!

We talk with Mike Harris of the “Why We Fly” podcast, and we talk about that exact topic. Why do we fly? We talk about how we can help people, who don’t have much exposure to general aviation, understand how fantastic general aviation is. This episode was recorded at Sun ‘n Fun 2018 under the … Continue reading 15 – Why We Fly

If you’re a pilot, and if you have a dog (even if you don’t take your dog flying), you’ve probably noticed a unique product in the aviation world called “Mutt Muffs”. Mutt Muffs are hearing protection for dogs (and cats). On this episode we visit with Shelly McGuire, the founder of Mutt Muffs. You’ll hear … Continue reading 14 – Mutt Muffs

You’ve probably heard of Stinson aircraft before, and you’ve probably heard of Piper aircraft before, but have you ever heard of a Piper-Stinson? Most people haven’t heard of a Piper-Stinson airplane, and I think you’re going to enjoy learning more about this unique aircraft, and the story behind Mike and Sasha White, the husband and … Continue reading 13 – Piper-Stinson

There are so many unique stories in our amazing world of aviation, and this episode highlights one of those stories. I had the opportunity to sit down with Aaron McCartan, a pilot who really enjoys aerobatics. This interview was recorded in October of 2017, shortly after Aaron had competed in the United States National Aerobatic … Continue reading 12 – Aerobatics and US National Aerobatic Competition with Aaron McCartan

Have you ever heard of the Nicholas-Beazley Airplane Company before? Until recently, neither had I, and it may be the most fascinating aviation story I had never heard of. It’s a very unique aviation story about a small town in Missouri that, for a period of time, was an incredible intersection of aviation involving well … Continue reading 11 – Nicholas-Beazley Airplane Company

If you’re into timeless grassroots aviation, you might have heard of a little airport in a small town in southern Wisconsin. Brodhead, Wisconsin. And if you haven’t heard of Brodhead, Wisconsin, I think you’ll want to listen to this podcast and find out more. This small airport in this small Wisconsin town could be described … Continue reading 10 – Brodhead Airport’s Kelch Aviation Museum

In aviation there are so many unique and special airports, and so many unique and special people. The airport you’ll hear about in this episode is more than airplanes, it’s about building relationships with people. Walter Ferguson is the Deputy Director of Operations at the Dickson County Municipal Airport in Tennessee. He’s one of the … Continue reading 09 – Unique and Special Airport in Dickson County Tennessee

If you’re familiar with homebuilt and experimental aircraft you’ve probably heard of the Hummel Bird. It’s definitely a unique aircraft in the history of aviation. While the Hummel Bird has been around for some time now, Hummel Aviation today actually has a number of aircraft available. And like so much of aviation, there’s some great … Continue reading 08 – Hummel Aircraft

What’s a gyroplane? How does it relate to Mentone, Indiana? What does PRA stand for? All of this is yet another depth to unique and timeless aviation, it’s yet another community within aviation, and yet another aviation story that I think you’ll find interesting. This episode is about rotorcraft and the Popular Rotorcraft Association. Link … Continue reading 07 – Rotorcraft and the Popular Rotorcraft Association

A B-25 bomber you can actually climb into and get a ride in, an L-17 under restoration, a motorpool of historic military vehicles, a museum of fascinating military artifacts…and more historic airplanes! On this episode we learn about the Commemorative Air Force Minnesota Wing, based in South St. Paul at the Fleming Field airport. It’s … Continue reading 06 – Commemorative Air Force Minnesota Wing

In aviation, type clubs are a fairly common thing, but to have a type club own the type certificate for the aircraft and build a new museum to honor the legacy of that aircraft, is frankly extraordinary. It is a story very much worth sharing. This episode is about “The Swift”. Link to the Swift … Continue reading 05 – The Swift

When most aviation people hear the phrase “Ercoupe Racing”, they may pause, they may chuckle a bit, and they’re usually quite intrigued and want to know more. William Dubois pilots “Race 53”, the Ercoupe in “Ercoupe Racing”, and he races that Ercoupe in the Sport Air Racing League. What I think you’re going to find … Continue reading 04 – Ercoupe Racing

What do the aileron, the “fastest man alive” on a motorcycle, and the P-40 Warhawk have in common? They all trace back to a fascinating person in aviation history that you may have heard of before, but I wonder if you know how fascinating his story really is. This episode is about Glenn Curtiss and … Continue reading 03 – Glenn Curtiss and the Glenn Curtiss Museum

Airplanes without engines.  Gliders.  Sailplanes.  Soaring. There’s a special and historic place in a beautiful part of upstate New York that that you may not heard of before. A place that is VERY special in the “un-powered” world of aviation and, if you like unique and timeless aviation, I think you’ll find this interesting. This … Continue reading 02 – Soaring and the National Soaring Museum

I thought it might be helpful to know a little bit about what’s planned for this podcast, so here goes… On this podcast I plan to feature unique and timeless aviation stories, people, airplanes, places, experiences and hopefully more. Take a listen to find out more about the podcast. The podcast is produced by PreferredAltitude.com … Continue reading 01 – Introduction to the Preferred Altitude Podcast