This weekend was Wings Over Houston airshow and a what a great weekend it was! The weather was wonderful, the Blue Angels flew perfectly and Rutan Aircraft Flying Experience had a grand presence. Lots of people got to see some excellent examples of Burt Rutan’s homebuilt designs.
At Oshkosh RAFE proudly displayed two Rutan Solitaires, it’s recently donated David Miller Solitaire and the Herb Abrams Solitaire, owned by Harold and Eddie Bickford. The rarest of Rutan homebuilt designs, having the only two known flying Solitaires in the world present at OSH was a big deal! The David Miller Solitaire is a nice aircraft but never had an engine installed. It was just towed like most sailplanes.
The Bickford Solitaire is a complete flying aircraft. RAFE flew it last summer in anticipation of having it flying the AirVenture airshow. After much negotiation, RAFE is now the proud owner of BOTH Solitaires, the David Miller Solitaire and the Abrams Solitaire! The RAFE Ellington Canard Base has sponsored the Abrams Solitaire and had it on display at Wings Over Houston. It’s not an understatement that it was an attention getter!
The other big announcement is the RAFE Ellington Canard Base hangar project. With the climate in Houston making summertime hangar temps reaching 100 degrees this is a game changer! The workshop is just the right size to put an EZ in and work in airconditioned comfort. Many thanks to the city of Houston airport staff for coordinating this project and the RAFE EFD Volunteers that built this structure. It will make us be more productive year-round.
Wings Over Houston airshow is probably second only to Oshkosh as our biggest opportunity to interact with the public. With nearly 200,000 attendees over the three-day period RAFE got a lot of exposure. Though this may be the season’s last “big show” there’s still a full calendar ahead for RAFE. December 6-9 the Ellington Canard Base will be hosting a Formation Clinic and open house. We regularly conduct Canard Flight Academy training with the Cozy III in Houston. With two Varieze’s currently undergoing restoration to flight status there is always something to work on.
If you're in the Houston area please come visit us. The RAFE Ellington Canard Base has really cool neighbors. On the field there are other four other museums: Lone Star Flight Musuem, Vietnam War Flight Museum, Natonal United States Armed Forces Museum, and Collings Foundation. Nasa and Space Center Houston are also our neighbers and Ellington is now a "Spaceport" and what better place to have the "Homebuilt’s that Led to Space!"
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