Air Cam Photo Gallery:

Chelton reigns supreme in this cam.  Simple & elegant solution to everything, including planning your next dinner.

And what's better than one Chelton?  How about one for the rear passenger?  I guess you could watch movies if you got bored.

Randy & Lynn sent these pictures of their baby under construction and flying.  Brings back memories, yes it does.

Skinning the center section after installing the tanks.

Let's see, will this really hold gas?  Randy building his fuel tanks.

Wow.  Finally done and ready for a first flight.

Assembling the ribs in the center section.  They have to be tough enough to support a 5 gallon gas tank (as we siphon auto fuel in).

Great panel.  Editor's note: check out how panels have progressed, starting at the bottom of this page.  What an improvement in 8 years.

A trial fit on the bird.  Randy's brother-in-law John, helping fit the center section.

"It climbed so quickly that it was out of range of my camera . . . "  First flight performed by Richard Johnson in 2005.

#61 was started in 1997.  After a few moves, changes, it was completed and flown first in 2005.

On the ramp, #61 ready to boogie.

Richard Johnson's new Air Cam that he built and Gary Nelson's amphib float installation.

Don Fraser's old Air Cam with new amphib floats that Gary Nelson installed.  It is green/white. 

Great swooping air cam float shot.  Like a pelican coming in to roost.

This Air Cam took 5 years to build by Claudius Klimpt and it's #100. 

Jim Econome and Bill Helvey pose next to Jim's Cam.  Jim is based in Livermore.  A much different experience from  his Cherokee 6, he says.

Lefty does a trial fit for Jim's cargo area cover.  A cool addition.

This is Barry Fait's "Cowboy Cam,' so dubbed by Lefty.  It has two 914 with in-flight adjustable IVO props. It does 95 mph at below 5,000 rpm, so it may hit some records speeds.

A recent photo by Lefty, taken out of Miss Liberty.  Excellent photo, Lefty!  Thanks for submitting this.

Barry is based in Chino and in Steamboat Srpings, CO.  And, he's the latest member to join CACA, (California Air Cam Association).

I like this headlight treatment in the nose.  Almost needs a bra to go out in public.

The full perspective on Barry's latest arrival.

Barry Fait and his "Cowboy Cam."  Snazzy paint job.

Richard Fowlkes with Air Cam #88 -- the "Shamu Cam"

Here's James Freeman's proud creation (left and right).

The following seven pictures document the inspection and work leading up to the first flight of Dr. Pratt's Air Cam.   What a cool paint job.

"Did you bolt these engines to the wings, or are they just resting on there?"

I'm sure you've seen this many timesbefore:  the Idaho Coast Guard insignia.

Chelton Flight display in the center with Grand Rapids Tech instruments for each engine

Howard and Avery Pratt's Idaho Coast Guard plane.  Makes sense, right?

This was a large cannon that hit the windscreen dead on, and both my self and my son in the chest. It made a big bang sound and broke the middle screw holding the wind screen and shoved it down on to the compass. I came out with a large bruise on my arm and chest. (Steve Hardie, OR)

In the hot weather up here I took up the sport of flying through irrigation sprinklers. The ones in a row are great but the water cannons can be a little to much. We were flying under the arch of the water cannons and everything was ok, that was until I came in hot and high.

Correct even down to the smallest details.  Can you imagine George W riding in an Air Cam?   Bruce Willams says, "Since our last name is Williams the "Dubya" on the side screen even works."

"Air Force .01 is based at the Spruce Creek Fly In in Daytona Beach Florida. The plane is really an attention getter. People do a double take, look closer and usually burst out laughing" says owner Bruce Williams' plane.

Bruce's better half, ready to pick up George on the White House front lawn.  Who needs a helicopter??

Another view of Jack's very clean Cam, just before its test flight.  There's nothing like taking off and landing in the grass with a Cam.

This is Jack Woodul's Air Cam that just flew recently.  The plane will be going to Arlington, TX. as it's permanent base.    Mr.  Woodul also plans to fly it at his other place in Taos, New Mexico during the summer months,  then on to points unknown. 

Lefty & Sal have been working on the new Murphy float adaptation to John Boswell's Air Cam.   Each float weighs 120 lbs each.  Floats are excellent quality, from Murphy.  See Leza for current pricing.

Here's a shot of the latest Air Cam Amphib creation, taking to the skies.  Now who wouldn't want to be flying one of these in Alaska, fishing off of the pontoons?

Lefty & Sal had to install the hydraulic pump and gear handle along the right side of the front sea

Lefty says, "I made a couple of rudder stops that I'm trying out on the Parrot Cam.   I use a small plastic block to absorb the impact of the rudder horn."

Lefty says, "We ran the engines on the new three seat "Parrot Cam" float plane that will be giving "free rides" in Key West.   They buy a boat ride out to the floating dock for a 'free' ride in the Air Cam."

Parrot Cam, built for driving cruise ship passengers around.

Parrot Cam rear view

How cool is this?  Two passengers and an Air Cam on floats.  What's next, an amphib?

Parrot Cam on the step, about to leap skyward.

Another sharp looking Air Cam on floats, at the factory in Sebring.

Steve and Wally's Key West "Parrot Cam" took to the air today with Richard Johnson doing the initial flight

Leaping Lizards!  This thing pops off the water like it was on wheels!

Up close and personal.  Looks like great fun.

Ralph Stewart's panel.  Ralph says, "Infinity Stick has the flaps, trim, PTT, strobes and landing light on it."  Very fighter like.

Ralph's completed plane. 

"I probably took the longest that anyone took to build her.... " says John Weiler, from Midland, Texas. 

Weiler says "I am planning to upgrade from the 582 engines to the 912S's as soon as feasible.  She performs well enough, but I'd like to have a little more speed and carrying capacity."

Robert Meyers classic looking Air Cam.  Like many new Cams, Robert chose to paint his wings rather than rely on the fabric colors.

I like this 3D effect of the spiral down the side of the Meyer Cam.  Understated elegance. 

Jack and Harley Harkness from Sebring, FL, bring you . . . . Tiger Cam.  This has to be one of the most outrageous, happening paint jobs on an existing Air Cam. 

Where did they find this painter?  Release the tiger before he does more damage to the airplane. 

They tell me that if you get close enough to the nose of Tiger Cam that you can hear it breathing.

Ingenious wheel pants.  Check out the detail here.  This took a lot of imagination and even more talent to execute it correctly.

How about an instrument panel that is painted to match the Tiger Cam theme.  May I suggest a control stick that looks like a tiger's tail?  (sorry for that)

Clean engine installation, including aluminum spinners and coated exhaust system.  Super sano from the brothers Harkness.

From Ralph Stewart, who finally made the move to the airport. Picture is the hull painted, ready to leave the farm.

A recent trip by David Root.  Cool shot near Breckenridge, Colorado.

David took this shot somewhere north of Glenwood Springs

Neil Perks flew his three seat Air Cam all the way to Tortola, BVI, at 50 feet.  He had floats!

From David Root:  Near Taryall Res, NW of COS

Here's some photos of the latest cargo door mod, available from Leza Air Cam.   

Detail of how the doors work on the new cargo area enclosure.

This is the plane that Don Weitz built for Bill Bennett, the owner of the Sahara Hotel in Las Vegas

A most cool fitting, to seal the cargo area.  

Like discovering an artifact from the ark, Russ Solvig and friends take a first look at Air Cam #1, which just returned to Florida after serving as the National Geographic camera platform (where it all started).

Russ and friends, figuring out how to restore Air Cam #1 effectively.

This tells it all: wooden floor boards, a tubular frame and an outer aluminum skin.  We've come a long way, baby!

It's easy to see the family resemblance to our planes, in this shot.

The following five photos were submitted by Ron Lowery.  Here is his Cloud Chaser in a rare moment,  on the ground.

MtnVista: Smoky Mtns in Tennessee. Part of Autumn trip to NY 11/08/01

Corning, NY. This was made on his 8 day trip to NY state. 33 hours of flying Cloud Chaser. A+ Photo.

Scottsboro:     Tennessee River running south into Alabama at Scottsboro

Bob Fait's says, "This is what I did after talking to Phil. Hopefully, the picture comes across and tells the whole story."  We're talking reinforcement!
 

What Fait did to close off the baggage area.  He was concerned about things falling back into the tail

This picture shows where he installed solid rivets on the Vertical Stab.  Fait found the material in this location exceeded the grip range for the Avex rivets specified, so he went to solid rivets.

Bob shows us the correct way to wire up the elevator turnbuckle.

A shot of the Mexi-Cam that lives south of the border.

"Here's a shot of the new nose job on "Miss Liberty".   She was hopping rides all day yesterday at our EAA Young Eagles day at Sebring Airport" says Lefty

A lucky kid gets a ride in Miss LIberty at the Sebring airport.

The set-up for an IMAX movie, called Australia, a Land beyond Time.  They finished up  including the plane in the film so should be interesting.  

What the Australian crew looked like, ready to go. No problem on aft C.G. here!

And all this time, we thought our baggage area was in the rear of the plane.

The right side of the rear cabin opens upwards as a door

Although this looks like the plane was "re-arranged" after a mishap, I believe it was intentional.  Any clues out there?

It was set up to fly from the back seat for filming and they made the instrument panel moveable from front to rear.

The business end of the Imax camera mount.

The nose was made to fit around the offset camera, and shaped so it could film

These angles are shown in No
38. The camera mount plate, 5/8 steel, is mounted on vibration isolators

Any guesses what this does?

We riveted .063 angles (with nutplates attached) along each side of the front centre bearers and this became the attachment point for the mount. 

The aileron response was not effective enough to hold the ship as steady as required and the pilot believed the wing twist was effecting this. (Adding a third strut) seemed to be the easiest way to stiffen it up and the result was a dramatic
improvement.

Guy's degree.  More fun than graduating from college.  Right Guy?

No, this is not part of the new trans-Pacific Air Cam attempt.  It's a few tanks under construction in Sebring.

A shut-off valve that one builder installed.

Ron Owen inspecting Guy Giroux's Air Cam at Topeka Airport

This is from Lefty's Father's place, the Threshing Bee, a grass strip in McClouth, Kansas.  Ron was screaming his guts out when this was taken. Lefty test-flew the Gray Gull then gave rides to several people, including his father.

Bruce Fales taking off from Threshing Bee Airport

Graham MacPherson's Afri Cam

Bruce Fales' #89, up close and personal.  He calls his plane "Gray Gull."  

And here's Bruce's panel in Gray Gull, for those of you contemplating this task.  

Here's a wider view. An incredibly cool paint job which reminds me of a Lancair (it just looks fast sitting on the tarmac)!  

Bruce submitted a photo of the factory's "Gear Bra," which strengthens the landing gear attachment points.  For those of you thinking about this add-on, check it out.

A photo from Bob Webster's trip out to Colorado.  Just another boring day of flying open cockpit in an Air Cam . . .

Melinda, Bob Webster's passenger.

Guy Giroux (Topeka Air Cam builder) worked with  Richard Johnson on his multi rating.     Richard has already helped several people get their multi ratings in his Air Cam. 

This is the new tail wheel assembly being tested at the factory.  Strong enough to support a DC-3!  Comes with new springs also.

This is Lefty's solution to replacing the landing gear reinforcements: use two engine hoists.

Don & Sue Hepler, pround owners of Air Cam #3, direct from Sebring.  Good looking!  Welcome to the Air Cam world.

The Heplers are really way out in front with this fully enclosed Air Cam.  Looks almost like a fighter jet with this wrap around canopy.

Robert Dieterich's  Cam, flying above the tree tops in northern California. 

A close up view of the Hepler's latest Air Cam addition.

Larry Mettler is up and running with Air Cam (#42) LM157!  I've seen a lot of Bonanza panels that don't compare.  Great job!

Here's some shots of Doc Hollingsworth Air Cam in Tallahassee, FL.  Nice clean panel, Doc.

Glen Rinck built the plane.  White is a great choice for an Air Cam.  

The Irish  Cam at Sun & Fun

Ralph Stewart (kit #112), from TN, posing with his freshly primed rudder.  Nice work, Ralph!

A gorgeous baby blue Cam, "Out of Africa."   The blue is supposed to blend in with the sky, so the animals won't notice it!

Ralph's big day.  This looks like the way to go: a finished fuselage, fresh from the factory.  Saves months and months of work.

Great Balls of Fire!  Jack Harness and his brother created  an outrageous paint job on this Air Cam.

David Root's Air Cam, #45.  It's based in Justin, TX near Ft.Worth.  Flown since Jan., 2000, it has almost 50 hrs. on it.

David is a commercial pilot and likes his Air Cam "day VFR simple."  That includes all removable instruments (before someone else removes them :)

Bill Helvey posing next to his bird after flying her back from Sebring.  Bob is based at Palo Alto, CA

Submitted by Bob Webster:  "It's hard to believe, but not only did the plane Mike, James and I built fly. . .  but it also landed. There were no permanent injuries. 

Phil Lockwood and the original Air Cam working on the "Ndoki" series in the National Geographic. 

Bill Leftwich was nice enough to come check out the plane and test fly it last weekend. Here he is in action.

Tony Leonard's Air Cam, which he operates out of his own private strip in Florida.  Tony has had many, many planes and says, "the Air Cam is a keeper."

John & Geri Herbert's Air Cam, tethered in Florida but possibly headed to Idaho.  

Tony's well thought out instrument panel. 

Here's some shots Lefty took of the first flight of Jacques Setton's "Chocolate Cam" on floats.   

"We loaded it with sandbags to 100 pounds over gross and it still climbs at 200 FPM on one engine.   Looks like the amphib gear will be a reality!" Lefty

A closer look at how Bob Earle solved the typical "low oil temp" problem.  These are cold blooded engines and need thermostats in our colder climes.

The parts that Bob used on his oil cooler installation.  Brought temps up from 120 degrees on the 912S's to 180 degrees.

Bob Dieterich's home- made tow bar.  This is the easiest way to get a Cam in and out of the hanger.

Bud Carlson smiling in front of N313BC, Air Cam #98, complete with nose art of his wife (50 years ago).  

Check out the long handle.  It's needed, to lift the heavy tail wheel off the ground easily.

Here are a few pictures of the rear canopy Bob Earle installed (discussed in a previous post).  It can be removed and replaced in about 15 minutes.

(I think I'll take it off on long x-countries when I don't expect to have passengers).  The bungee keeps the seat belts off the lexan and has worked out great.

Don inspects Paul DeZan's newly arrived Air Cam in Rio Vista.  Oh, to do it again!  Building was as much fun as flying.

Guy Giroux's Air Cam during construction.  An unusual view forward, without the tail.  Guy says, "the tail is just extra weight.  Who needs it?"