Shady Doings

The high-wing-versus-low-wing argument will rage as long as we have airplanes. (Only to be beaten by the biplane builders who say they have both.) I’m fairly agnostic. The qualities of the airplane are more important to me than the placement of the wing. But there’s something about the value of a high-wing airplane as shelter.

After flying in with the GlaStar and Sportsman group (with a Glasair and even a Thorpe T-18 along for the ride), I’d been parked in a prime space, just north of the brown arch leading to the flight line. As such, it was a good place to see the afternoon airshows, and every day I managed to make a few moments to trek out there to see what’s up. And every day I found showgoers relaxing beneath Charlie Echo’s wings. I had a few really interesting conversations there, too, and found myself remembering the scene every time I climbed a ladder during refueling. Four times, at that.