Iceberg Lake photo by Dianna Troyer
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– Governor’s Conference on Aging & Montana Gerontology Conference – Insights Into Alzheimer’s Disease: Lifespan Respite Care & other Aging Resources –
pages 74-80
Flying The Flathead With Dick Schaus By Michael Ober “What’s the best way to get into this thing?” I asked, while looking up at the open cockpit of the sky-blue fuselage. “Well, you just hoist yourself up onto the wing walk section and then grab hold of the upper wing handles and lower yourself in. You’ll have to stand on the seat first, but that’s okay. It’s the only way in.” Obligingly, I do as instructed and fold myself into the spartan surroundings of Dick Schaus’ 1943 Stearman biplane. Strapped in place with the lap and shoulder harness, I look around and wonder at the utility of it all. Tubes, wires, and cables extend along the sides of the front seat area. The control stick rises awkwardly from the aluminum floor. A small cluster of only six gauges is arrayed to the front and it all looks so… well, old. “It should be.” Dick proclaims. “It’s a museum quality aircraft.” I wonder why it isn’t in a museum instead of taking me up for an evening spin around the Flathead Valley. “Well, you see, it just wants to fly!” he says almost triumphantly. The original Lycoming radial engine provided early trainee pilots with 220 horsepower, while the 450 horsepower, Pratt and Whitney engine that replaced it in the restoration process supplies us with an assuring, throbbing, primeval rhythm. After the preflight checks with me over the intercom, Dick supports his claim, and as we roll across the tarmac, past private Gulfstreams and Lear jets, pilots peer out their windows and nod approvingly. It is a plane over which all pilots lust. We taxi to the end of the runway and it’s power up – we accelerate down the runway. “Tail is up,” he announces. Seconds later, “Wheels off… and we’re off.” Airborne. Ordinarily the roll and liftoff could be done in an astonishingly short distance. “But that would take too much gas.” Dick shouts into the intercom. “I give it just enough throttle to get it airborne and then let the plane do the rest.” In Montana there are very few vintage aircraft collectors – long winters and harsh weather – and especially for open cockpit configurations. On the other hand, uncrowded, endless blue skies provide a priceless panorama. Dick flies his Stearman year ‘round. What it gains in performance it gives back in efficiency. After all, it is a military airplane. “It drinks gas. Did I mention that?” asks Dick. (Continued on page 62) Dick Schaus and the author’s wife, Alanna Ober, stand in front of Dick’s 1943 Stearman, which has been completely restored. Many military pilots trained in the rugged Stearman during the 1930s and 1940s. Following WW II, thousands of Stearmans saw service as crop dusters, sports planes, and for use in air shows. [Photo courtesy of Dick Schaus]