Famous author, Richard Bach, came by for a visit and checked out our Travelair 4000. Richard is most famous for his classic Jonathan Livingston Seagull, which is about a seagull that transcends the perceived limitations of his species while trying to get them to go beyond themselves. He also wrote many other classic books revolved around aviation and is a legend in the aviation and writing community.
Richard and my Travelair 4000
I first met Richard about six years ago when he came to visit Fantasy of Flight during the Sun ‘n Fun Fly-In. He has become a great friend, as we both enjoy aviation and using it to get people to look within themselves and self-discover the potential that lies within.
Probably the other most famous book Richard wrote was Illusions, the Adventures of a Reluctant Messiah. It’s a great story about a barnstormer giving rides during a season in the mid-west that happens to bump into another barnstormer and the adventures of self-discovery that follow. Famous film director, Zack Snyder, has told Richard he intends to do a movie-version of the story as soon as he finishes filming Superman II for Warner Brothers.
Guess what airplane the reluctant Messiah flew? . . . a Travelair 4000! Richard has recommended the use the Fantasy of Flight Travelair for the film! Now, how cool is that? I sent a video clip of the Travelair flying to Richard and Zack so we’ll see how all this unfolds!
Kermit
I recently test flew our Travelair 4000 after a complete top-overhaul by our engine restoration specialist, Andy Salter. The aircraft sports a Wright J-5, which is the same engine that safely took Charles Lindbergh across the Atlantic in 1927. This particular airplane had been out of license for eight years so it was great to get it flying again! Andy is currently working on building up another J-5 to power our Spirit of St. Louis replica. This is an extremely rare running engine and is possibly one of the very few, if not the only Wright J-5 engine currently flying!