Over the last 20 years or so, Harry and his wife Pat have assembled an awesome collection of just over 100 vehicles and rare engines. The collection is mostly 3 wheel vehicles, however, it includes, 2 wheel motorcycles, numerous bicycles from the 1800s, an airplane, a classic boat, a working hovercraft, a WWII radial engine, 2 tracked motorcycles by Chrysler, and much more. The current collection also includes 2 very iconic vehicles, both of which helped to kick off 2 very famous race cars.
The first iconic vehicle is a 1912 AC Delivery Trike. This is the same AC as in the AC Cobra. Before AC started making cars, they made a 3 wheeled delivery vehicle. Harry’s is one of about 4 left in the world, and it is the only known one in North America.
The second one is a very early prototype of Jim Hall’s Chaparral 2. Harry acquired this Chaparral at the end of 2024 after his good friend Larry Barker passed away suddenly. The story on how Harry became the caretaker of this historic vehicle goes back to the year 2009. And the story has a connection to Harry and his collection of 3 wheel vehicles. Click here for the full story.
How did all of this start? We need to go back to the very early 1960s for that. As a child growing up in the 1960s, Harry was around classic cars, hotrods, motorcycles, vintage boats, and airplanes/airports from a very early age. It seems that transportation history is in his blood.
Harry’s 1972 Camaro
By high school, Harry was looking forward to getting his first car. The Camaro was his choice back then. His father made him save his money and put a down payment on a 1972 Camaro. Harry’s father wanted him to establish credit at a very early age and this taught Harry the importance of good credit. By the time Harry was graduating high school, his 1972 Camaro had received some performance mods and Harry would often drive the car to Capital Speedway to drag race it. Life was good. And if owning a souped up Camaro was cool, then owning 2 Camaros would be cooler. So Harry added a 1968 Camaro convertible to his stable. Harry used some money he received for his high school graduation plus some money he saved, to have his 1972 Camaro painted with Motion Performance stripes (pictured below).
And then one day (sometime in the early 1980s), all of a sudden, Harry decided that it was time to sell both Camaros. Harry went back to riding his 1970s Power King 10 speed bicycle (which he still owns). But soon the need for speed grabbed Harry and he purchased a brand new 1983 Yamaha Virago 750 (pictured below). The speed of the Virago was nice, however, Harry still wanted to go faster, so he decided to start taking flying lessons. And shortly thereafter, he sold the Virago.
As Harry’s aviation career accelerated, he flew everything from piston powered, turbo props, and jets. Harry has logged flight time in airplanes, seaplanes, jets, gliders, ultralights, 4 engine WWII bombers, several WWII training aircraft, and even the Goodyear blimp.
Fast forward to the early 2000s, Harry and Pat settled in the countryside of Germantown Maryland. By now, Harry was getting his aviation services company (Kraemer Aviation) up and running and the income was good and he was flying some cool aircraft. So it was time to rekindle his passion for cars. His wife already owned a classic Buick Riviera, and soon they added a 1969 Ural sidecar rig, a 1975 Lomax 3 wheeler, a replica 1903 motorbike by Ridley, and a 1952 MG TD replica. Life was good with a few classic vehicles to drive. However, the collection did not have a theme and Harry likes themes and organization. So just like the decision to sell the Camaros, Harry decided to sell the Ridley, Buick, and MG TD. The theme of the collection was going to be European 3 wheel vehicles. So Harry started purchasing European 3 wheelers which included a 1912 AC Delivery Trike. But that soon changed as Harry was finding a lot of cool 3 wheelers from other parts of the world. It was then decided that the collection would be all 3 wheeled vehicles. And that is what Harry focused on for a while. The 3 wheeled theme did not last too long. Harry has a passion for antiques (of all types) as well as antique vehicles. By the 2020s, the collection still focused on 3 wheelers, but by now, the collection had evolved to include numerous 2 wheel motorcycles and bicycles. The collection does include a few vehicles that are the last known example or 1 of 2 left in the world.
Here are a few examples of some of the vehicles in the collection.
A 2005 Honda Solo. It only has 2.5 miles on it. The engine has never been run. These are very rare in the United States. This bike has never had oil or gas in it. It has never been registered with any motor vehicle administration. This bike came from the Honda Museum in Japan.
A 2005 Honda Postie. This also came from the Honda Museum. These bikes were made for the postal service in Australia and New Zealand. It has kickstands on both sides of the bike. This bike only has 1 mile on it.
An 1898 Rex Tandem bicycle. There are only two of these bikes known to exists. We have one in our collection and the other one is in the Henry Ford Museum. Ours is rideable, the one is the Henry Ford Museum is not functional.
Welcome to the Kraemer Aviation/Flymall.org Wheels & Wings Newsletter. This month we’re covering a couple of Harry’s trips. The first trip was to Port Arthur Texas to get the Chaparral and the second trip was to the Glenn H Curtiss Museum in Hammondsport NY to their WinterCycle Therapy 2025 event. For more information on places to visit in Hammondsport, we have a section in our Day Tripper pages just for Hammondsport.
History Trivia: February 3rd, 1995, at 05:22:04 UTC; Space Shuttle Discovery STS-63 was launched, making Col Eileen Marie Collins, former military instructor and test pilot, the first female pilot of a Space Shuttle. Collins later became the first female commander of a U.S. Spacecraft with Shuttle mission STS-93.
February 20, 1962: John H. Glenn becomes the first American astronaut to orbit the earth. His 4 hour 55 min 23 sec flight in the Mercury capsule, Friendship 7, completes three orbits before splashing down.
Did you know that the very first Corvette logo had an American flag and a checkered flag on it? However, due to restrictions on usage of the American flag on commercial products, Chevy removed the American flag.
February 26, 1952: North American test pilot George Smith becomes the first person to survive a supersonic ejection. During a test flight the controls of a production F-100A Super Sabre, the controls lock and the plane enters a near vertical dive. At an altitude of 6000 ft at Mach 1.05 (675 mph), Smith ejects. He experiences a peak 64 g from wind-drag deceleration and spends .29 sec above 20 g. Smith immediate lost consciousness and his chute deploys but with 1/3 of its panels ripped. Gravely injured he lands in the Pacific where a fishing boat finds him. Smith recovers after a long convalescence and returns to testing high performance aircraft.
If you enjoy history we have a new aviation history fact each day at the bottom of our webpages. Some days there may be more than one, just refresh the page. And if you like Beatles history, checkout our Events Calendar and select the Beatles category. This is a work in progress, we’re building the most comprehensive calendar of important dates in Beatle history. For those that like to stick with current news, we have an aviation news ticker on our home page. This is updated daily to show the current aviation news.
Air show season is always just around the corner. Want to travel to air shows in your own aircraft? Visit our used aircraft page on the Flymall to view our inventory.
Car/Motorcycle Show News: The Laytonsville Cruise In is the place to be on a Friday night in Montgomery County. The Laytonsville Cruise In was started by Harry in 2010. It has become one of the most popular cruise ins in the area. You can follow Harry on Facebook for daily updates during the many shows and events he attends.
Our Events Calendar has the most current info regarding local and national car shows, air shows, and more. With nearly 30 categories, there is something for everyone. The Day Tripper section of the Flymall has dozens of day trip ideas and interesting places to visit. Check it out here. Our Day Tripper section now has different categories to choose from to make it easier to find events that interest you.
The Finger Lakes Beer Company is always a nice stop on the way back to the motel. They serve locally brewed beer and have live music.
Here is the legendary Curtiss V-8 motorcycle. This is a replica on display at the Glenn Curtiss Museum.
Have you ever seen a 1911 Marvel motorcycle? The Glenn Curtiss Museum has 2 on display. Do you know the connection between Glenn Curtiss and Marvel Motorcycles? Click here to find out.
Barn Finds/Hangar Finds: Need an appraisal on your barn find? Visit our Appraisal Page for information on our appraisals.
Visit our online store to search for hard to find car parts, aircraft parts, and much more. You can pay online in our secure store, just click on the Store button on our home page.
Visit the Test Drive section of the Flymall for reviews on automobiles, aircraft, motorcycles, and more. Read about it before you buy it. You can also research price info on a wide variety of vehicles, collectibles, and more in the Market Watch section of the Flymall.
CFI / DPE Notes: Visit Harry’s Practical Test page for information on his checkrides. You will also find useful information there to help you prepare for your checkride. You can also visit Harry’s Lesson Plan section of the Flymall for other flight training information. Visit our Flight Training page for information on our aviation training classes.
Weather in the news: On February 6, the Mid-Atlantic had a snow and ice storm that disrupted travel.
On February 11, we had the first of several storm systems move through for this week.
Three Wheel Association (TWA) & 3-Wheelers.com: Harry started the Three Wheel Association in 2013 to promote/support the industry of three wheel vehicles of all types. Visit the Three Wheel Association page on the Flymall for more info on the association.
Want a reproduction vintage 3 wheeler. Walker Aviation can scratch build from pictures or drawings. Visit his page on the Flymall.
Prototypes: Here’s a Glenn Curtiss built Hercules V-Twin Racer on display at the Glenn Curtiss Museum. On May 30 1903 Curtiss debuts his Hercules 5 HP V-Twin. He reached a top speed of 35 MPH. This marked the first V-Twin configuration in the U.S. Other manufacturers were making “multi-engine” twins that were used in tandem racers.
Nautical Notes: The Finger Lakes region is rich with boating history and the Finger Lakes Boating Museum has it all gathered into one place. This is always an enjoyable place to visit and on Friday February 21, Harry spent a few hours in the museum enjoying the engines and boats. Click here for pictures from this visit.
And now for the story on the Chaparral. Here’s how Harry became the caretaker of this historic race car. It all started while Harry was driving through the town of Laytonsville Maryland and he spotted a unique 3 wheeler sitting outside a repair shop called Erdle Automotive. Being the 3 wheeler enthusiast that he is, Harry stopped and started asking the shop owner about the 3 wheel car and who owned it. Click here for the full story. Fast forward to the year 2024, Larry passed away and left the 3 wheeler and the Chaparral to Harry in his will. As Harry tried to make arrangements with the museum to get the Chaparral, there was a lot of confusion as to who actually owned the car. And after a few months of emails with the Director (Tom) of the Museum of the Gulf Coast, Tom had decided that yes, Harry does indeed own the Chaparral. So, Harry left for Port Arthur on Sunday January 26 2025 to meet the transport company and bring the Chaparral home to Maryland. The trip to Port Arthur went very smoothly. Click here for the full story. The date was Tuesday, January 28 2025. The Chaparral was loaded and on it’s way to Maryland with Jay Ferraro of Ferraro Auto Transport. Houston we have a problem. Harry’s return trip to Maryland did not go too well. The return trip was just problem after problem. Click here for the full story.
The Chaparral was stored at the Montgomery County Airpark for a few weeks while Harry rearranged vehicles at his house to make room for the Chaparral. She now sits in the Harry’s garage with good company.
We close this newsletter with these words: And in the end, the love you take, is equal to the love you make!!! Words by Paul McCartney.
