Field of visionaries

In 1929 Roscoe Turner—the barnstorming race pilot who was known for flying with a lion cub—flew to 4,000 feet in a Thunderbird W–14 biplane and activated a whole-airplane parachute attached to the front of the airplane. The airplane sustained a rather solid touchdown that crushed its landing gear, but Turner lived to fly another day. (He wasn’t flying with the lion cub on that occasion.)

Turner’s airplane—and 30 others with fascinating backstories—are on display at Eagles Mere Aviation Museum in Eagles Mere, Pennsylvania. The collection includes a 1917 JN–4C Curtiss Jenny that flew in Howard Hughes’ epic film Hell’s Angels; a 1929 Curtiss Fledgling—the only one flying; and a 1928 Travel Air 3000, one of two in existence—and completely original. Then there are three climate-controlled rooms that house engines and a vast assortment of parts to ensure the airplanes continue to fly. On summer weekends, local pilots fly the airworthy pieces of history off a grass runway for the entertainment of anyone who comes by.

The pre- and post-World War I aircraft were acquired by George Jenkins, a private equity advisor who said he fell in love with Eagles Mere when he started spending summers here in 1988 (see “A Summer Retreat,” sidebar). Jenkins built the museum, which encompasses about 40,000 square feet of hangar space, as well as a runway (Merritt Field, 4PN7) where visitors can see these unique airplanes fly on weekends from May through October. Jenkins convinced his business partner, Mark Stitzer, to build a car museum on the property. The two-story Eagles Mere Auto Museum is home to more than 75 cars from the 1950s and 1960s, and Stitzer rotates the selection regularly from his collection of 320 vehicles (see “Hot Rod Heaven,” sidebar).

What is it about the post-World War I era that intrigues Jenkins? “There was a massive progress in World War I that led to a functional awareness of what you could do with an airplane,” he said. “The world was full of visionaries. The pilots came back from the war; they became barnstormers, and entrepreneurs were trying to sell the public on airplanes.”

It started with a Stearman

Jenkins became intrigued with antique aircraft after he learned to fly a Stearman. He’d been gifted a copy of Alan Lopez’s book, Biplane Odyssey, a chronicle of the author’s quest to land at every U.S. state and Canadian province.

“I thought, I have to have a Stearman,” Jenkins said. He didn’t have a tailwheel endorsement at the time. He’d heard Van Sant Airport in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, was the place to go for tailwheel training. He discovered Lopez had an airplane based at Van Sant, and met the author. “I got introduced to guys playing with old airplanes, and that was the death knell—you can’t stop with just one,” Jenkins said.

Indeed. Jenkins’ collection spans the years 1911—a Morane-Borel monoplane—through 1944, with a Boeing Stearman PT–13D. He knows the history of each, and he can show you original sales and reference documents for every airplane.

Take the 1917 Polson Special, emblazed with the name “Daugherty.” That’s Earl S. Daugherty, considered to be one of the best aerobatic pilots of the era. He designed the Polson Special and built it entirely out of redwood. It was meant to be a competitive race airplane.

“I view them as being alive,” Jenkins said of the airplanes. “They’re [all] in annual.” Part of the challenge of collecting old airplanes, he said, is that “you end up collecting engines and engine parts.” Hence the three climate-controlled rooms that house only engines. To rebuild a Wright J–5—the same type of engine that flew Charles Lindbergh across the Atlantic—took nine years and a search around the globe for needed parts. “We’ve had to buy two other engines just for parts,” he said. “We probably have 12 to 14 OX-5 engines.”

Keeping them flying

Jenkins credits a dedicated team of employees and friends who help to keep the collection flying. Mechanic Chad Wilcox joined the team in 2005 after a stint in the U.S. Air Force running crews that maintained jets; he has since earned an airframe and powerplant certificate and a private pilot certificate. “He’d rather read an old engine manual textbook than do other things,” Jenkins said of Wilcox.

Wilcox is modest, but he’s also particular about how he wants the airplanes restored and maintained. “A lot of 1980s restorations were [done with] nylon self-locking nuts and bolts because it was quick,” Wilcox said. His expression indicates that “quick” is not what he wants.

“I bring them up to where I’m happy with them and then keep them running. There’s not much to them, after all,” he said.

Steve and Juliet Lindrooth, who are airline pilots, will fly the airplanes on the weekends, along with Jenkins, Wilcox, and pilot Jeremy Cook. They’ll perform takeoffs and landings and toilet paper cutting demonstrations. “People have the hardest time comprehending that these airplanes can land on grass,” Steve Lindrooth said.

Two hundred people come out each weekend to watch the display. The roster of airplanes depends on which airplanes are currently flyable, and the weather conditions. Too much wind is not good for these airplanes. “Right now there’s only a few we’d take up,” Jenkins said on a breezy day.

“Whichever one’s full of gas,” Wilcox quipped.

Future of Eagles Mere Aviation Museum

Eagles Mere Aviation is a 501(c)(3) organization, and while Jenkins owns most of the airplanes associated with it, a trust is in place to continue the museum as a long-term permanent facility. Museum operating costs are approximately $200,000 a year, but admission fees don’t cover even the cost of fuel for the airplanes.

Jenkins hopes to preserve a treasured part of aviation history for everyone to enjoy, and to educate the public about the aviation pioneers who made today’s air travel system possible. But he admits, as well, to hoping the collection reignites a love of tailwheel aircraft in general. “You can live the experience in a Luscombe or a Cessna 140,” he said. “You just need a tailwheel instructor and a grass field.”

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