Wyoming Pilot’s Amaizing Flight Over The Bighorns

On this episode of Flying With Glenn (NOT Wyoming radio talk host Glenn Woods) a pilot named Glenn takes his little airplane from Gurnsey, Wyoming, over the Bighorn Mountains.

After crossing the mountains, he stops at the airport in Buffalo for a break and some fuel.

He takes a moment to investigate two airplanes that have been sitting out in the elements for a very long time.

But first, let's get over those mountains.

Glenn is not flying anything powerful. It makes tackling a trip over those high peaks challenging.

Watch his amazing journey over the Bighorns in the video below.

His plane is called the Aeronca Champ. It is a two-seat, high-wing, general aviation airplane known for its tandem seating and conventional landing gear.

It was designed to compete with the Piper Cub and was produced by Aeronca Aircraft Corporation from 1945 to 1951.

Below is a selfie of Glenn and his plane at the airport in Buffalo.

Look at the nose of the airplane. Those Champs always look like they have a smile.

The Champ is a popular choice for flight training and recreational flying due to its simple design and ease of handling.

Glenn takes us on a scenic flight south, down the west side of the Bighorns before turning over Powder River Pass.

That takes him to Buffalo, where he stops for fuel.

Arriving in Buffalo, he explores two abandoned planes that we had written about a few years ago.

These planes come with a rich history.

They were purchased for historical reasons and were supposed to have been moved.

Below is the story we wrote several years ago.

Just outside of Buffalo, Wyoming, at the tiny Johnson County Airport, two vintage WWII war birds sit, almost forgotten.

You will see these planes close up in the video below.

The PV2 Harpoon was a WWII patrol bomber that was used for anti-shipping operations, primarily in the Aleutian Islands. Currently, there are only three airworthy Harpoons in the world. 

These two planes never made it to see combat. They were built just as the war was ending. Not much is known about where they were sent after that. All that is known is that they made their way around the United States doing various jobs until they eventually arrived in Wyoming.

#39, which you see above, on the right, was fitted to dump water for fire suppression. The other served some role in agriculture. That is about all that is known about these old sisters.

Somehow, the Vintage Aviation Museum found out about these abandoned planes and made an offer to buy them. Some folks might wonder why anyone would want any airplane that had been sitting out in the elements of Wyoming for 20 years. But machines that were built to take a beating in war have what it takes to survive the worst that Wyoming has to throw at it.

I called the museum and learned that one might stay in Wyoming, continuing as a fire suppressor, and the other will be restored to its old glory, nose-art and all.

VIDEO OF OUR CLOSE-UP LOOK IS BELOW.

To do this, the museum needs a little help. Funds need to be raised. Sponsorships are available. Visit the museum website to find out more.

NOTE FROM Sean O'Brien - Vintage Aviation Museum: The Harpoon, known as tanker 39 was a former fire bomber. Once returned to flight, she, along with the other Harpoons, will be leaving Wyoming.  The Harpoon, known as tanker 39, will likely remain in her fire bomber markings as a tribute to all of those who have and still do fight forest and wildland fires. She has not flown as a fire bomber in many years, and her days of flying as a fire bomber are over. She will not return to fire bombing duty.

The new owners of these planes and the Johnson County Airport were good enough to allow me and a couple of friends to get close to shoot pictures and take video. I sent many pictures, not seen here, to the Vintage Aviation Museum to give them a closer look at what sort of repairs they are looking at.