Jim's Biplane Rides

06/18/2025

Today Tim Walker of Stevenson Wa flew an hour long flight with his son-in-law Greg Bertelli visiting from Stevensville Montana. Tim's sister Darcy and family(30+) purchased a gift certificate for Tim's 80th birthday in March. Tim was an US Airforce air traffic controller and Greg is a retired deputy captain from California Fire. Greg now works part time flight instructing in Montana. This was the first open cockpit flight for both. Great Spring day to fly with some strong west winds in the Gorge. We all witnessed a grass fire get started and flamed on Hamilton Island. Greg wrote afterwards: "Amazing flight! Great day with a great pilot. Grateful to be able to go with Tim."
Tim wrote: "Great flight, Nice day, Good flight, Good company."

06/16/2025

Sheila Smith of Gresham arranged a one hour flight with her husband Mark on this Father's Day. It was a nice day for flying even though it was on the cool side. We flew as high as 3700' to take in the views of the Cascade Peaks. Everyone more jackets. Sheila wrote afterwards: "Great ride! Really enjoyed it. Thank you so much. Stay blessed. :) "

06/15/2025

Happy Father's Day! For me it is a day of remembrance. I was able to spend time with my dad on his last Father's Day before he passed, the next day after I left. I miss him, he was a great dad. Hope you are able to spend the day with your dad. If not, be sure to give him a call. Have a great day! Jim

06/15/2025

Wes Kuns along with his wife Theresa, both of Gresham, flew for an hour in celebration of Wes's birthday which was late May. It was much cooler this weekend due to onshore marine flow with westerly Gorge winds up to twenty mph which made it a little bumpy flying. This kept all the smoke to the east. Instead of a morning flight they flew in the afternoon when it was warmer and sunnier. All were dressed for the cool air up at 3000' to view the Cascade Peaks. Wes wrote afterwards: "Great view of the Gorge. Thanks for flying over my house."
>I again took a lot of photos, hope you like. If you could thumbs up your favorite, I'll make it a cover shot, thanks, Jim.

06/09/2025

Today was just another beautiful day to fly. Mike Gosson from Cle Elum Washington took a half hour flight with his daughter, Tabitha Aiello, visiting from Louisiana. Mike a Harley guy, had flown in a biplane before. This was Tabitha's first and a celebration for her birthday which was yesterday. It was just a great day to fly, we went in the morning before it got to hot.. Nearly calm winds and great visibilities. A lot of interesting things going on the river today. I'll try to get this post updated. I was watching the OSU Beavers baseball team take a win tonight, now on to the College World Series in Omaha. Go Beavs!

06/08/2025

Today was just perfect for Joshua Jachem's very first airplane ride. His father Nick Martinez from Washougal has wanted this flight for two years. We flew in the morning before it got to hot. The winds were calm and the skies clear except for some haze. Multnomah county is still allowing backyard burning. Great day for photos and I took many. Joshua wrote afterwards: "Very good flight it was cool to see the dam from above " Nick wrote: "Enjoyed the ride with my son for his 13th birthday. Great weather & time with Jim & his biplane."

06/05/2025

Tuesday Rob Root of Aloha Oregon took his step dad, Dan Myners of Boise Id up for a one hour flight to the Bridge of the Gods. A slight haze over Portland become quite clear up over Bonneville Dam with the Cascade Peaks in Washington State picturesque. Rob wrote afterwards: "Amazing flight! Beautiful of the falls, Cascades, Beacon Rock, Bonneville Dam. Thank you!"
Dan wrote: "Great flight. Thanks so much for spending the time with us."
Thanks to my brother David for improving several of these photos.

06/03/2025

Today Lizzy Ducey-Hardos and Sean Rachlin took a half hour flight up to Multnomah Falls. They are on a road trip from Fortuna CA and called yesterday during a Gorge visit to arrange today's flight. Continuing their trip they plan on getting married this Friday in Glacier National Park. They wrote afterwards: " What an incredible experience! We reached out to Jim on a whim on our elopement and we are so thrilled he fit us in. It's the ONLY way to see the Columbia River Gorge. Absolutely stunning!"

06/01/2025

Today Wilma Limbeck from Cornelius Oregon surprised her husband Scott with an one hour flight in the Gorge. His birthday was Friday, when he had to work. It had been scheduled for 11am however due to a windy forecast it was moved to 9am when the skies were blue. That turned out to be fortunate as it turned to cloudiness and rain around 12 noon with low visibilities before improving. The wind turned out to be less than the forecasts also. Wilma wrote afterwards: "Thank you so much for the experience for my husband's 61st birthday. He can take that off his bucket list!"

05/31/2025

Pat Ahern from Lk Oswego arranged a flight with his granddaughter Amanda Eatherton, who is visiting from Oxford MI. It was another beautiful clear blue sky day. It was somewhat bumpy with the strong east winds in the Gorge. Amanda wrote afterwards: "Smooth takeoff and landing! So many great sights! :)"
Pat wrote: "Excellent adventure-great weather, beautiful scenery."

02/03/2025

Happy Ground Hog Day!
Today Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow which is a predication of six more weeks of winter. Biplane rides will resume in the Spring, usually mid to late April when the plane and the pilot(me), will be ready to go. It's just too cold to fly in the winter around here.
I have found Michael Snyder's YouTube channel 'Pacific Northwest Weather Watch' both entertaining and informative. He posts daily with occasional live feeds if conditions warrant. Want to know what's current or ahead with the weather? Check his channel out!
I've attached a photo I found years ago of Lieutenant Apollo Sourcek, United States Navy who in May 1929 set a FAI world record for altitude when he flew the prototype Wright XF3W-1 Apache to 39,140 feet over NAS Anacostia, Washington, DC. He was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for this achievement.

12/25/2024