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Flymall April 2023 Wheels & Wings Newsletter

Written on April 28, 2023 at 8:46 am, by hkraemer

Welcome to the Kraemer Aviation/Flymall.org Wheels & Wings Newsletter. This month our theme is “V-8 Powered”. For May 2023, our theme will be tracked vehicles.

You can view past newsletters here.

Earlier this month, Kraemer Aviation hosted their annual Easter dinner. The weather was perfect. Sunny skies and warm temperatures. Click here for pictures.

On April 22, the Flymall team was treated to a private tour of the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center including a stop by the restoration hangar. We learned about the museum’s Martin B-26B Marauder named Flak Bait. Click here for a story on her and the museum’s work on preserving her and her fabric panels. Here’s a nice picture of the restoration hangar highlighting some of the museum’s current projects. Click here for more pictures of the tour. Click here for more pictures of the restoration hangar.

Interested in living at an airport? Visit our Aviation Real Estate page here. You can view price data for airport property in our Market Watch section of the Flymall. Here is the data for all airport property. You can refine the search by “state” simply by searching for the desired state under “Model”. Our new and improved real estate section of the Flymall allows you to submit what you are looking for in terms of an airport and you can also submit information about your airport that you are trying to sell. Check it out here by clicking on the Real Estate tab.

Want to have your business highlighted on the Flymall??? We offer inexpensive rates to have your business featured on our Wheels & Wings page. Contact us for more info.

History Trivia: The first known V8 engine was the Antoinette engine, designed by Léon Levavasseur, which was first built in 1904. The Antoinette was built in France for use in speedboat racing and, later, airplanes.

In 1905, the first V8 engine used in a road-going car was the Rolls-Royce V-8 built in the United Kingdom. This model was initially produced with a 3.5 L (214 cu in) V8 engine, however only three cars were produced before Rolls-Royce reverted to using straight-six engines.

In 1906, Glenn Curtiss built a V-8 powered motorcycle. The Curtiss V-8 motorcycle was a 269 cu in V8 engine-powered motorcycle. With Glenn Curtiss at the controls it set an unofficial land speed record of 136.36 miles per hour on January 24, 1907. The air-cooled F-head engine was developed for use in dirigibles.

Who really made the first V-8 engine? Here’s an interesting story that says that Dale Gentry and Martin Lewis invented the first V-8 engine. Here is the same story as a pdf.

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.

Achievements & Special Recognition: E.J. Potter and his V-8 powered motorcycles deserves some special recognition, in fact, in 1973 the Guinness Book of World Records awarded E.J. Potter’s V8 Dragbike “Widowmaker 7” the coveted title of “World’s Fastest Motorcycle”. The idea of building a V-8 motorcycle came to him at the young age of 16. He was drawing a Harley-Davidson V-twin motorcycle in class one day when he began wondering if he could build a bike with a V-8 engine. Well, if you can dream it, you can build it! Click here for a Hemmings.com article on these awesome bikes.

Instructors, what to highlight your students first solo or other achievement here? Just send us a short write-up and a picture or two and we’ll post it here for you. Click here for our contact info.

Aviation/Aviators in the news: A Ford Trimotor will be at the Frederick Airport June 15 to June 18 this summer. Rides are available as well as time in the co-pilot seat. Click here for more information. The Ford Trimotor (also called the “Tri-Motor”, and nicknamed the “Tin Goose”) is an American three-engined transport aircraft. Production started in 1925 by the companies of Henry Ford and ended on June 7, 1933, after 199 had been made. It was designed for the civil aviation market, but also saw service with military units.

The aviation section of the Flymall is full of aviation news, training info, and much more for the aviator.

Earlier this month, Kelly passed her initial flight instructor checkride with Harry. This is one of the longest checkrides a pilot will ever take. Just the ground portion is about 7 hours long. Harry said that she did an excellent job and that she will make a great instructor.

Kelly started flying in 2018 in Cincinnati where she received her PPL. She got exposed to the wonderful world of aviation while working as an engineer at GE Aviation designing jet engine components. After flying with a coworker in a Piper Cub one day after work, she loved the feeling of being able to pick herself up from the “real world” down below and go anywhere she wanted to, idealistically. She was also looking for a new challenge for herself, and learning to fly was the perfect goal!

After moving to DC, Kelly received her instrument rating in 2021, hoping this would enable her to fly farther and safer without having to cancel so many flights due to low ceilings. She continued on to her Commercial certificate, figuring it was a way to keep improving her piloting skills, but quickly started to see aviation as more than just a hobby. She then went right into CFI training, eager to begin exercising her certificate to share her passion for aviation with others.

The 1917 Liberty L-8— an aircraft engine is unique in that it has a V-angle of 45° (see picture below). Read more about these rare engine below under “Prototypes”.

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. We have several nice aircraft in our inventory. Check them out here.

LS7 – P51. Just a couple of numbers and letters, correct? Together they mean a LS7 powered P51 Mustang. Click here for a MotorTrend story on this awesome bird.

The company, Robinson V8 Power in Ontario Canada offers V8 conversions for the Seabee. A very cool conversion for a classic seaplane. The Republic RC-3 Seabee was designed by Percival Hopkins “Spence” Spencer. An aviation pioneer, he built his first hang glider in April 1911 at the age of 17 from plans he found in a Popular Mechanics magazine.

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.

The Laytonsville Cruise In Award Night is the third Friday of the month from May to October.

May 19 2023 is the official opening night for the Laytonsville Cruise In. Kraemer Aviation is sponsoring free ice cream for the drivers and one guest. Free dash plaques sponsored by Kraemer Aviation.

Here is what we have for awards this year:
Debbie Grasso’s Choice Award
Flymall Choice Award
Mel Short Best Original Vehicle
TFR Choice Award
Best Of Show for the “Themed vehicle” – Debbie Roberts, MD/VA/DC/DE real estate expert
Judges Choice – Frederick Flight Center
Second Place (numerous) – Atco Tire of Laytonsville – Just Riding Along Bicycle Shop
First Place (numerous) – Dr. Bobby Mozafari / Integrated Sport, Spine & Rehab
Nina’s Choice
Best Classic by Blue Skies Aviation
Best Paint – Washington International Flight Academy
Best Engine – Maryland Auto Service
Best Sports Car – Great American Landscapes
Best Classic by Randy McPhillips / Trust Partners Insurance
Best Wheels – Alloy Wheel Repair Specialists / Joe Dale
Best Muscle Car – Black and White Kitchen and Bath
Best Custom – Andrew Hyman-BlazeCut Fire Suppression System
Best Corvette – Orthodyne Laboratories
Best Import – UPS Store Milestone
Best British Vehicle – DC Metro Aviation Services
Best German Vehicle – Café Sophie

Judging will start at 6:30 PM. Vehicles must be registered BEFORE 6:30 PM.

Below is the schedule for the Laytonsville Cruise In award nights:
May 19 2023 – American Muscle Cars – Best Of Show Award for American Muscle
June 16 2023 – Motorcycle night – Best Of Show Award for a motorcycle
July 21 2023 – Race cars – Best Of Show Award for a race car
August 18 2023 – Corvette night – Best Of Show Award for a Corvette
September 15 2022 – Imports – Best Of Show Award for Imports
October 20 2023 – British Cars – Best Of Show Award for a British Car

The Flymall team attended the annual Gas & Steam Engine and Tractor Show at the Agricultural History Farm Park in Derwood Maryland. The number of tractors and engines on display was very low as compared to other years. Usually there will be at least 2 dozen vintage/antique tractors on display and this there there were only about 9. Click here for more pictures from the event.

When you’re talking about V-8 engines and how good they are, wouldn’t a V-16 be twice as much better? Here is a Duesenberg 3,393 Cubic-Inch V16.

Here’s a view of a Harry A. Miller DOHC V-16 that is simply artwork.

Did you know that General Motors made a V12? They made one from 1961 to 1965. Know as the twin Six. It was basically 2 V-6 engines stuck together end to end. Click here for an interesting story on this very cool engine on Hagerty.com.

One way to get more horsepower from your V-8, was to give it more fuel. You could add a 4 barrel carburetor or maybe two 4 barrel carburetors. One idea that never quite caught on was the five 2 barrel carburetors setup. These intake manifolds were usually modified from a factory 2 barrel setup. The way they worked was the stock center carburetor would provide good idle characteristics and decent low-speed drivability, while the four outboard carbs provided the high-speed breathing and fuel capacity. Each two barrel outboard carburetor was ideally located right on top of an intake port pair for good air/fuel distribution.

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 ideals and interesting places to visit. Check it out here.

Want to set some records in the snow. Here’s the perfect vehicle for it. This is an Arctic Cat snowmobile called “Death Wish Freak Show”. The custom snowmobile is powered by a 5.3 L LSx V8 (Vortec 5300) from a Silverado truck with a turbocharger running 8 psi of boost. Behind the engine sits a Powerglide two-speed transmission. The snowmobile went 137.6 mph at a drag race event in Wisconsin.

Barn Finds/Hangar Finds: Need an appraisal on your barn find? Visit our Appraisal Page for information on our appraisals. This month we have a “sidewalk find (s)”. A local bicycle shop had a few used bicycles sitting outside and Harry noticed them. There were 2 Flandria 10 speed bicycles. The owner of the shop knows Harry and came out and told Harry that he could have them for free. He went on to say that someone dropped them off there and they are not bikes that he would sell. So free is a very good price. Flandria bicycles are made in Belgium. So these 2 bikes are the first vehicles in the collection from Belgium.

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.

If you’re restoring a fabric aircraft, Ira Walker of Walker Aviation is your resource. Visit his page on the Flymall by clicking here.

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.

Earlier this month, Gil Levi passed his private pilot checkride with Harry. What makes this checkride so special is that his daughter, Nir Levi was his flight instructor. Harry did 3 of Nir’s checkrides, her commercial, CFI, and CFII. Gil’s brother Ziv, owns the flight school that Nir teaches at. Gil has been flying for a long time. He holds a light sport equivalent pilot certificate in Israel. Gil actually got Nir into flying 9 years ago. He prepared her for her enrollment in a flight school in Israel.

Weather in the news: On April 5th, we had a storm system that stretched from Mexico all the way up into Canada.

We hope to have the new 3-Wheelers.com site up by the end of May. Look for many new features and some cool 3-Wheelers.com products.

Above we mentioned E.J. Potter and his V-8 powered motorcycles. He also built a jet powered trike that went nearly 200 mph.

Want a reproduction vintage 3 wheeler. Walker Aviation can scratch built from pictures or drawings. Visit his page on the Flymall.

Want your own V-8 trike or V-8 powered motorcycle? Boss Hoss Cycles, an American motorcycle manufacturer, founded by Monte Warne in 1990, has some awesome bikes.

Prototypes: The Liberty L-8 (also known as the Packard 1A-1100) was a prototype of the Liberty L-12 engine designed by Jesse Vincent and Elbert Hall. Fifteen L-8 prototypes were manufactured by several companies including Buick, Ford, Lincoln, Marmon, and Packard in 1917. The first of those built now resides in the National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C., while fifteenth L-8 (the only running example) powers Liberty the Second housed by the Conneaut Lake Historical Society in Conneaut Lake, PA. Another L-8 is stored at the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force in Dayton, OH.

The Czechoslovakian automaker, Tatra built a streamlined, rear-engine, V-8-powered car in 1937. It was a three litre V-8 that competed in endurance racing. It was air-cooled and featured hemispherical combustion chambers. Power output was 75 hp, which rivalled the contemporary Ford Flathead V-8. The Czechoslovakian automaker thought it had a winning formula with the design and continued producing a version of the V-8 throughout 1975. The final iteration produced 166 hp—more than a Chevrolet Corvette of the same period.

Did you know that Honda built a V-8 motorcycle? The Honda NR750. In the early 1990s, Grand Prix racing was dominated by two-stroke engines, but Honda wanted to put a four-stroke on the grid. Specifically, a four-stroke V-8 packed into a motorcycle frame. The catch? The rulebook stipulated just four combustion chambers. So Honda went the unconventional route and blended the eight cylinders together to create four oval cylinders. That makes an engine with a bore x stroke measurement that requires three numbers. The 101.2-mm x 50.6-mm x 42-mm bore and stroke made for a final displacement of 748 cc. Each of the oval pistons is supported by two connecting rods.

Nautical Notes: The Flymall team had their classic Walker Bay 8 out on Little Seneca Lake for the first time this year on April 13 2023. The weather was perfect for a day on the lake. Click here for a video montage from the day. Click here for more pictures.

Here’s a one-off 1975 Fiat 850 Amphicar. She’s powered by a Fiat 900cc four-cylinder coupled to a four-speed transmission while on land, however, the aquatic propulsion comes from a Berkley jet engine attached to the crank of the Fiat engine via a clutch drive mechanism. Click here for an interesting story (on AutoBlog.com) on this one-off vehicle.

Riding The Rails: Here’s a cool straight 8 cylinder engine designed for trains. This EMD® 710 Series engine is available in 8, 12, 16, and 20 cylinder configurations with continuous power ratings from 2,000 to 5,000 horsepower. These engines are made by Progress Rail, a Caterpillar company.

Enjoy this YouTube video of a CAT V-8 powered road train.

Native American Indian Transportation: Did you know? Racecar driver Cory Witherill, who is a member of the Navajo tribe, was born in California in 1971 and has remained a resident of that state. In 2001, he made motorsports history when he became the first full-blooded Native American to compete in the Indianapolis 500 (also known as the Indy 500) annual automobile race. Cory has raced in the Indy Racing League, Infiniti Pro Series, Indy Lights, and ARCA series.

Here is Cory with his No. 16 car.

Animals in the headlines: While not a V-8, here’s something from a bygone era. A 1915 Ford Model T dog catcher truck. From the days when men would drive around in these trucks looking for stray dogs. Some form of animal control has existed in the United States as early as the 18th century.

We close this newsletter with these words: Look for opportunities to make people feel important.

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Flymall March 2023 Wheels & Wings Newsletter

Written on April 1, 2023 at 6:56 pm, by hkraemer

Welcome to the Kraemer Aviation/Flymall.org Wheels & Wings Newsletter. This month our theme is “Treasure Hunters and their vehicles”.

You can view past newsletters here.

Want to have your business highlighted on the Flymall??? We offer inexpensive rates to have your business featured on our Wheels & Wings page. Contact us for more info.

History Trivia: Is there Nazi Treasure in Lake Toplitz? Legend has it that the Nazis dumped billions of dollars worth of stolen gold into the waters of Lake Toplitz. Lake Toplitz is an isolated lake located in the heart of a lush forest in the Alps. The gold is said to be valued at about 5.6 billion US dollars. Over the years, scuba divers have explored the lake and some currency has been found, although no sign of the gold yet.

Here’s a picture of Lake Toplitz. Click on the image for a larger view.

The Titanic was a very different type of treasure waiting to be found. Robert Duane Ballard, an American oceanographer and marine geologist whose pioneering use of deep-diving submersibles laid the foundations for deep-sea archaeology. He is best known for discovering the wreck of the Titanic in 1985. The Titanic sank in April of 1912 and was not found until 1985.

Argo was the system of television cameras and sonars that helped find the Titanic. Argo was named by Titanic expedition leader Robert Ballard for the mythical Greek vessel that carried Jason on his quest for the Golden Fleece.

Achievements & Special Recognition: Four years ago this month (March), Harry was at the FAA campus in Oklahoma City for his initial Designated Pilot Examiner training class. He was actually selected over a year earlier, however the government shutdown of 2018-2019 closed the FAA. A DPE is part of a very élite group of highly qualified flight instructors. As of February 2022, there were 942 DPEs. At any given time, there are usually less than 1000 DPEs world wide.

Aviation/Aviators in the news: The Lost Squadron. Glacier Girl was part of the Lost Squadron. Glacier Girl is a Lockheed P-38F Lightning, World War II fighter plane that was restored to flying condition after being buried beneath the Greenland ice sheet for over 50 years. On 15 July 1942, due to poor weather and limited visibility, six P-38 fighters of 94th Fighter Squadron/1st FG and two B-17 bombers of a bombardment squadron were forced to return to Greenland enroute to the British Isles during Operation Bolero and made emergency landings on the ice field. All the crew members were subsequently rescued, but Glacier Girl, along with the unit’s five other fighters and the two B-17s, were eventually buried under 268 feet (82 m) of snow and ice that built up over the ensuing decades. The excavation of Glacier Girl was documented in an episode of The History Channel’s Mega Movers series, titled “Extreme Aircraft Recovery”. This is an incredible story. If you ever get a chance to see her fly, you’ll enjoy it. Pat Epps and Richard Taylor were the two original treasure hunters that set out to find the Lost Squadron, and they did, however they ran out of money and could not retrieve the plane from under the ice.

The aviation section of the Flymall is full of aviation news, training info, and much more for the aviator.

Earlier in March, the Flymall team attended their annual FAASTeam training at the historic College Park Airport.

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. We currently have a Piper Archer, Cessna 152, Beech Sierra, and a 172 XP for sale. Check them out by clicking here.

Imagine being a treasure hunter and flying to a spot to look for sunken treasure and instead of chartering a boat and submarine once you get there, your plane is your submarine. The United States Navy had project to develop such a vehicle. The Convair Submersible Seaplane (or “Subplane”) was a United States Navy project to produce a seaplane which could travel underwater as well as fly.

When we think about treasure, we often think about gold and gold mines. In our collection, we have a 1901 Miner’s Bicycle Teeter Railway Cycle, that was actually used in a gold mine. Click here for more information on this rare vehicle.

Barn Finds/Hangar Finds: Need an appraisal on your barn find? Visit our Appraisal Page for information on our appraisals.

Here we have not a barn find, but a gold mine find. The Davis Motor Mine Cart. This was found in an abandoned Gold Mine in Northern California in the late 1970s. This Davis Motor Mine Cart is a home built creation using most of a 1926 Harley Davidson 21c.i. B-Model motorcycle. The machine also features a Ford Model-A transmission with electric start!

Not all treasure has the same value to everyone. For some treasures, it only has value to perhaps one person. During the 1960s, Harry enjoyed traveling a lot with his father, Ed Kraemer. Ed was a truck driver and loved being on the open road. In the 1950s and 1960s, your motel key was on a little plastic key chain with the name of the motel and the room number on it. Ed collected these. He probably had several hundred or more. Sadly, Ed passed away when Harry was only 23 years old. Harry moved away and his childhood home was sold and Harry thought Ed’s key chain collection was lost forever. The last time Harry saw the collection was in 1970s. As Harry’s aviation career “took off”, whenever Harry stayed in a motel, he kept the decorative key chain just as Ed did. Harry always had hopes that somehow he could be reunited with his father’s motel key chain collection and merge the two together. In the year 2021, Harry’s childhood home was sold and the new owner found the collection and thought that it should be given to Harry. A few phone calls and a meeting later, Harry was reunited with this lost treasure. Click on the image for a larger view.

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.

If you’re restoring a fabric aircraft, Ira Walker of Walker Aviation is your resource. Visit his page on the Flymall by clicking here.

Weather in the news: March of 2023 brought us numerous large storms systems.

March 3 storm system.

On March 14 we had our first major Nor’easter of the year.

The March 14 storm brought high winds to the Mid-Atlantic region. Click on the image below for a larger view.

And on March 25, we had another large storm system moving across the country.

Kraemer Aviation recently purchased the popular 3 wheeler site 3-Wheelers.com. Look for some major updates/improvements coming sometime in 2023. We will have a new A to Z list and viewers will be able to submit vehicles/information to be added to the list. We also plan to have a online “For Sale” section where users can post vehicles, parts, and services for sale.

The Honda ATC90 makes a nice offroad vehicle for the amateur treasure hunter. The ATC90 can go most anywhere. Honda acquired the trademark on the term—the ATC90 (All Terrain Cycle), it was designed purely for recreational use. Clearly influenced by earlier ATVs, it featured large balloon tires instead of a mechanical suspension. Click here for information on the ATC90 in our collection.

Want a reproduction vintage 3 wheeler. Walker Aviation can scratch built from pictures or drawings. Visit his page on the Flymall.

Prototypes: We have the ultimate offroad treasure hunting vehicle. In the 1950s, LeTourneau Inc. developed several overland trains, essentially oversized semi-trailer trucks that could travel over almost any terrain. Their intention was to be able to handle logistics needs without being dependent on local road or rail systems, allowing them to operate in back-country areas. The US Army had three experimental units built, the largest reaching almost 600 feet long, which holds the record for the longest off-road vehicle. Road trains are in use in certain roles today, but the US Army examples and a few derivatives appear to be the only off-road examples built. Pictured here is the TC-497 Overland Train, Mk II. These were a fully equipped RV complete with bedrooms, kitchen, and bath. Fully self contained and could travel just about anywhere on land.

Nautical Notes: Roger Miklos was a flamboyant and well known treasure hunter. Mr. Miklos became renowned as a leading treasure hunter after a string of high-profile discoveries. One of his most impressive finds was the ship, Atocha that was lost in 1622. Atocha was carrying tens of millions of dollars worth of treasure. Mr. Miklos claimed to have located a famous German U-boat packed with gold. After Mr. Miklos passed away, his documents were handed over to diver and explorer Mike Fletcher. Mike picked up where Miklos left off. To date, there has been no word if the U-boat has been located.

One of the most famous treasure ships/pirate ships was Blackbeard’s ship Queen Anne’s Revenge. In May 1718, Blackbeard ran the ship aground at Topsail Inlet, now known as Beaufort Inlet in North Carolina. After the grounding, her crew and supplies were transferred to smaller ships. In 1996, Intersal Inc., a private firm, discovered the remains of a vessel that was later determined to be Queen Anne’s Revenge, which was added to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places.

Riding The Rails: The mysteries of the Amber Room and the Nazi train (Wałbrzych gold train). The Amber Room was constructed in the 18th century in Prussia, the room was dismantled and eventually disappeared during World War II. Before its loss, it was considered an “Eighth Wonder of the World”. As recently as 2015, it was reported that a lost Nazi train could have parts of the Amber Room.

Native American Indian Transportation: Superstition mountains is a range of mountains in Arizona. The legend of the Lost Dutchman’s Gold Mine centers around the Superstition Mountains. According to the legend, a German immigrant named Jacob Waltz discovered a mother lode of gold in the Superstition Wilderness and revealed its location on his deathbed in Phoenix in 1891 to Julia Thomas, a boarding-house owner who had taken care of him for many years. Several mines have been claimed to be the actual mine that Waltz discovered, but none of those claims have been verified. Native American Indians were rumored to know where the gold was, however they kept a good distance from the mountains because some believed that the hole leading down to hell, is located in the Superstition Mountains.

The gold rush of 1848 brought more devastation to native North American Indians. North American Indians were a big part of the gold rush of 1848, either as slaves, paid workers, or providing a rest stop and food to the voyagers on their way to California. Maidu and Miwok Indians knew exactly where to look for gold, although they had ignored it for centuries. The Indians were said to be very successful in finding gold.

Animals in the headlines: Here is a Native American with his pet wolf. Unlike the many fearsome myths created about wolves by settlers, Native Americans maintained a close and respectful relationship with wolves and had domesticated them to become pets and working animals for hunting and carrying packs.

We have started to move our turtles to their outside habitats for the summer. The first one out this year was our common snapping turtle. Kraemer Aviation sponsors/supports a not-for-profit turtle rescue. This snapping turtle is one of about 20 turtles in our turtle sanctuary. This turtle is about 20 years old.

We close this newsletter with these words: Commit yourself to quality!

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Flymall February 2023 Wheels & Wings Newsletter

Written on March 2, 2023 at 9:33 am, by hkraemer

Welcome to the Kraemer Aviation/Flymall.org Wheels & Wings Newsletter

This month, the theme is German engineering. Next month (March 2023), our theme is “Treasure Hunters and their vehicles”.

You can view past newsletters here.

You can sign up for our newsletter at Flymall.org. The sign-up box is in the upper right corner of our webpages.

Want to have your business highlighted on the Flymall??? We offer inexpensive rates to have your business featured on our Wheels & Wings page. Contact us for more info.

Earlier this month:

History Trivia: What is the history on letting a rodent forecast the weather? It derives from the Pennsylvania Dutch superstition that if a groundhog emerges from its burrows on this day and sees its shadow due to clear weather, it will retreat to its den and winter will go on for six more weeks; if it does not see its shadow because of cloudiness, spring will arrive early. The Pennsylvania Dutch were immigrants from German-speaking areas of Europe. The Germans had a tradition of marking Candlemas (February 2) as “Badger Day” (Dachstag), on which if a badger emerging from its den encountered a sunny day, thereby casting a shadow, it presaged four more weeks of winter. The Pennsylvanians maintained the same tradition as the Germans on Groundhog Day, except that winter’s spell would be prolonged for six weeks instead of four. For the Pennsylvania Dutch, the badger became the dox, which in Deitsch referred to “groundhog”

We cannot talk about German engineering without mentioning Wernher von Braun. Von Braun is widely seen as the “father of space travel”, the “father of rocket science” or the “father of the American lunar program”. In Germany he invented the famous V-2 rocket. He got the Americans to the moon and back. Near the end of WWII, von Braun and his team were making plans to surrender to the Americans, which they eventually did. Von Braun actually became NASA’s first director in 1960 and held that position until 1970. We could do an entire post on von Braun, however his Wikipedia page has a lot of good reading.

Achievements & Special Recognition: The spy gondola, spy basket, observation car or sub-cloud car (German: Spähgondel or Spähkorb) is a crewed vessel that an airship hiding in cloud cover could lower several hundred meters to a point below the clouds in order to inconspicuously observe the ground and help navigate the airship. They were used almost exclusively by the Germans in the First World War on their military airships. The Imperial War Museum in London exhibits a Zeppelin observation car that was found near Colchester after the Zeppelin air raid on the night of the September 2–3, 1916. It is believed to have been carried by the LZ 90 and was being deployed uncrewed when the winch accidentally ran out of control. The brave observer that was lowered down in one of these deserves some special recognition.

We can’t write about the spy gondola without something about the ship that carried it. Ferdinand Adolf Heinrich August Graf von Zeppelin or Count Ferdinand von Zeppelin as he was known. Von Zeppelin was the inventor of the Zeppelin rigid airships. In 1863, Zeppelin took leave (from the German military) to act as an observer for the Union’s Army of the Potomac in the American Civil War. Ferdinand von Zeppelin served as an official observer with the Union Army during the American Civil War. During the Peninsular Campaign, he visited the balloon camp of Thaddeus S. C. Lowe shortly after Lowe’s services were terminated by the Army. Von Zeppelin then travelled to St. Paul, MN where the German-born former Army balloonist John Steiner offered tethered flights. His first ascent in a balloon, made at Saint Paul, Minnesota during this visit, is said to have been the inspiration of his later interest in aeronautics. His ideas for large airships were first expressed in a diary entry dated March 25 1874. After his resignation from the army in 1891 at age 52, Zeppelin devoted his full attention to airships. His first airship was designated the Zeppelin LZ1. On 2 July 1900, Zeppelin made the first flight with the LZ1 over Lake Constance near Friedrichshafen in southern Germany. Click here for more reading on von Zeppelin. See below (under Native American Indian Transportation) for more on his travels in the United States.

Have you ever flown a blimp or ridden in one? Here’s Harry in the cockpit of the Goodyear blimp about to takeoff from Martin State Airport getting his first Lighter Than Air hours in his logbook.

Here is a drawing of a Union Army observation balloon that would have been similar to the type that von Zeppelin rode in. Click on the image for a larger view.

Aviation/Aviators in the news: The Etrich Taube, was a pre-World War I monoplane aircraft. It was the first military aeroplane to be mass-produced in Germany. The Taube was very popular prior to the First World War, and it was also used by the air forces of Italy and Austria-Hungary. On November 1st 1911, Giulio Gavotti, an Italian aviator, dropped the world’s first aerial bomb from his Taube monoplane over the Ain Zara oasis in Libya. The Taube was designed in 1909 by Igo Etrich of Austria-Hungary, and first flew in 1910. It was licensed for serial production by Lohner-Werke in Austria and by Edmund Rumpler in Germany

The aviation section of the Flymall is full of aviation news, training info, and much more for the aviator.

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. Coming in April 2023, we will have a low airframe time, and very low engine time, 1975 Beech Sierra for sale.

Café Sophie at the Montgomery County Airpark was all decked out for Valentines Day this year. They had a special menu just for the occasion.

New for Season 14 – Dash Plaques (see the picture below) will be given away on the “Opening Night” which is May 19 2023. May 19 2023 is also the first award night of the season. We hope to see you there.

Also for the season at the Laytonsville Cruise In, we will be offering some very cool “gear” for sale. One item will be these very cool looking coffee cups.

Here’s an unusual engine. A BMW 6 cylinder 2/stroke special made by Rudi Rupp.

Barn Finds/Hangar Finds: Need an appraisal on your barn find? Visit our Appraisal Page for information on our appraisals. We have a barn find for sale. She’s a 1969 Jaguar E-Type or XKE as they are known in England. Click here for more details on this one owner car.

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.

February 11 2023, the Flymall team was at the Timonium Motorcycle Show. This is one of the largest motorcycle shows in the area. Click here for more pictures. Just about every motorcycle manufacturer was there displaying the best they have to offer, everything from motorcycles, jet skis, and off-road 4 wheelers like the one below.

The Flymall team was also at the Timonium RV show this year. We’re looking for a new RV to be our mobile classroom and office. Here’s some information on our Mobile Training Unit we developed in early 2005.

If you’re restoring a fabric aircraft, Ira Walker of Walker Aviation is your resource. Visit his page on the Flymall by clicking here.

Earlier this month, Kelly passed her commercial pilot checkride. Her maneuvers were text book perfect. Her steep spiral and go-around maneuvers were outstanding, the best Harry has seen in a while. Kelly has already started her CFI training. She plans to be teaching by early May this year. We wish her the best in her aviation career.

Weather in the news: On Saturday, February 4, the Mount Washington Observatory at the peak of the Northeast’s highest mountain, famous for its extreme weather conditions, recorded an actual temperature of minus 47 (minus 44 C), tying an observatory record set in 1934 and a wind gust of 127 mph. It also set a record for the coldest wind chill ever recorded at minus 108 degrees.

In the same month that we are setting records for cold temperatures, on February 23 2023, we set a record high temperature of 81 degrees in the Washington DC area. This is a record high that stood for nearly 150 years.

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. We are also the new owners of the very popular site 3-Wheelers.com. Look for a major revamping of the site early this year.

Three wheel vehicles became popular in many European countries because they were taxed as a motorcycle. You still had the enclosed security of a 4 wheel car, however, it was taxed as a motorcycle. Once such vehicle made in Germany was the Fuldamobil. Fuldamobil is the name of a series of small cars produced by Elektromaschinenbau Fulda GmbH of Fulda, Germany, and Nordwestdeutscher Fahrzeugbau (NWF) of Wilhelmshaven between 1950 and 1969. The car’s original design was conceived by Norbert Stevenson, a freelance journalist who had worked for the Rhein-Zeitung newspaper. As with many others involved in the field of automotive design, Stevenson had little in the way of formal qualifications in this area, although he had completed one term of mechanical engineering at the Technische Hochschule Berlin. His design concept was for a very simple three-wheeled car with room for two people inside, it would have two wheels at the front for stability, and be driven by a small engine at the rear.

Want a reproduction vintage 3 wheeler. Walker Aviation can scratch built from pictures or drawings. Visit his page on the Flymall.

The Messerschmitt KR200, or Kabinenroller (Cabin Scooter), is a three-wheeled bubble car designed by the aircraft engineer Fritz Fend and produced in the factory of the German aircraft manufacturer Messerschmitt from 1955 until 1964. After WWII, Messerschmitt, was temporarily not allowed to manufacture aircraft, so they had turned their resources to making other products. In 1952, Fend approached Messerschmitt with the idea of manufacturing small motor vehicles. These were based on his Fend Flitzer invalid carriage.

The Fend Flitzer was a three-wheeled invalid carriage designed and built by Fritz Fend. The Flitzer established many of the basic concepts on which Fend’s later Messerschmitt Kabinenroller microcars were developed.

The Timonium Motorcycle Show is one of the largest motorcycle shows on the east coast. We usually attend this annual event and will often have a motorcycle or two on display. Click here for a YouTube video montage of some of the three wheelers at the Timonium Motorcycle Show, February 11 2023. Our 1912 AC Delivery Trike did win a Best of Show and Best in our class at this event several years ago.

Prototypes: A well know fact is that prior to and during WWII, the Germans were very much into tank development. What is not well know is that they also experimented with driverless tanks (self propelled). They actually produced a few and evaluated them. Most were “anti-tank” vehicles, based on half-track chassis. They tested a few, however they were never fully developed. One such prototype made was a vehicle called the 3.7 cm Selbstfahrlafette L/70 (pictured below).

There’s an episode on Hogan’s Heroes (Season 2 Episode 9: Tanks For The Memory) where they had a radio controlled tank and Hogan and his crew hijacked it. Here’s a picture from that episode. Did you know??? The actors who played the four major German roles—Werner Klemperer (Klink), John Banner (Schultz), Leon Askin (General Burkhalter), and Howard Caine (Major Hochstetter)—were all Jewish. In fact, Klemperer, Banner, and Askin had all fled the Nazis during World War II.

Nautical Notes: The German were very much into U-boats during WWII. And many of their U-boat commanders became legends. One such legend was Otto Kretschmer (pictured here). Otto Kretschmer, a German U-boat commander and WWII Ace. Otto was in command of U99, a Type 7 U-boat. Donald MacIntyre – A British destroyer captain from the beginning of the war almost to its end, captaining the destroyers Walker and Hesperus and the smaller Bickerton, as well as leading the famous Group 5 anti-submarine group, McIntyre established himself as one of the greats. He captured the number one German U-boat ace Otto Kretschmer (whose Zeiss binoculars he took and used for the rest of the war); in the same battle, he directed the attack that killed the second-scoring ace Joachim Schepke. Later in the war, his ship was torpedoed; before that he nursed a bent-nosed destroyer back to port after ramming a U-boat. The Zeiss binoculars were very special to Otto. They were presented by the high command to only the very élite U-boat commanders. To Otto, they were a part of his image.

Many do not know that the Germans actually invaded the coastal waters on the east coast of the United States during WWII. This attack was known as Operation Drumbeat. Reinhard Hardegen, the commander of the German U-boat 123, launched the first strike of Operation Drumbeat. Operation Drumbeat’s primary targets were merchant ships off of the coast of the United States. The Germans sank more ships in US coastal zones in one year, than nearly the rest of the war in all the oceans of the word combined.

The Germans used a number of different innovative torpedoes during WWII. One was especially designed as a specialized anti-convoy weapon, the FaT and LuT torpedo could be programmed to run in a straight line for a given distance, then if it did not hit a target, the torpedo then turned to the right or left (as pre-set) and began a zigzag search pattern until it struck a target or ran out of fuel. LuT was a more sophisticated version of the FaT, with more variable patterns, but was only used operationally towards the end of the war.

Riding The Rails: One of the high speed trains currently operating in Germany is the The ICE (InterCity Express). This is a high-speed train that connects all major cities in Germany. With speeds up to 186 MPH, this is one of the fastest ways to travel between cities such as Berlin, Hamburg and Cologne.

During WWII, Germany built some awesome trains. The best-known and the most produced German war locomotive, was the Kriegslokomotive.

Native American Indian Transportation: What’s the history on snow goggles?

Thousands of years ago, Inuit and Yupik people of Alaska and northern Canada carved narrow slits into ivory, antler and wood to create snow goggles. This diminished exposure to direct and reflected ultraviolet rays thereby reducing eye strain and preventing snow blindness.

While in the United States, von Zeppelin travelled to the Upper Midwest with a party that probably included two Russians. Led by Native American (probably Ojibwe) guides, they canoed and portaged (Portage or portaging is the practice of carrying water craft or cargo over land, either around an obstacle in a river, or between two bodies of water) from the western end of Lake Superior up the St. Louis River and across to Crow Wing, Minnesota, on the Upper Mississippi River.

Animals in the headlines: One of the most famous German shepherds is Rin-Tin-Yin. Saved by an American soldier serving in Germany during World War I, he was trained to act in film. Soon, he had made a name for himself, appearing in 27 Hollywood films. He was considered one of the elite stars in Hollywood during his day.

We close this newsletter with these words: We close this newsletter with one of Harry’s favorite quotes from John Lennon: “When I was 5 years old, my mother always told me that happiness was the key to life. When I went to school, they asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up. I wrote down ‘happy’. They told me I didn’t understand the assignment, and I told them they didn’t understand life.”

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Flymall January 2023 Wheels & Wings Newsletter

Written on February 1, 2023 at 9:19 am, by hkraemer

Welcome to the Kraemer Aviation/Flymall.org Wheels & Wings Newsletter.

This month is all about “Amphibious” vehicles.

You can view past newsletters here.

Want to have your business highlighted on the Flymall??? We offer inexpensive rates to have your business featured on our Wheels & Wings page. Contact us for more info.

History Trivia: Did you know??? The dashboard is a board on the front of a horse carriage meant to keep mud from kicking up on the passengers when the horse dashes. And over time it came to mean the front part of anything, as even a computer interface is sometimes called a dashboard. The first known use of the term (hyphenated as dash-board, and applied to sleighs) dates from 1847.

In the early 1900s, gasoline powered vehicles were still relatively new. A lot of manufacturers were conducting trips to show how reliable their vehicles were. On January 31st 1913, a Henderson motorcycle completed an ocean to ocean trip across the United States. The three riders had left Atlantic City, NJ on September, 20 1912 to promote the Henderson motorcycle and ended up in Los Angeles on January 31st. The motorcycle and Baxter wicker sidecar were said to have withstood the months long mostly off-road trip excellently.

Achievements & Special Recognition: WaterCar – Manufacturer of World’s Fastest Amphibious get our special recognition this month. They build some awesome amphibious vehicles. Checkout their site for more information.

Aviation/Aviators in the news: The NBAA’s International Operators Conference will be held February 13 to 15 in Austin Texas. This year they’re celebrating 50 years for the conference. If you’re a global operator of a biz jet, this is the conference to attend. Lot’s of good information to be shared.

The aviation section of the Flymall is full of aviation news, training info, and much more for the aviator.

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.

We have a one owner 1969 Jaguar E-Type (XKE) for sale. We just has the car professionally detailed and it looks great. This is a true classic that will be a hit at any car show this summer. Click here for more information.

1932 Amphibious bike ‘Cyclomer’. The design which has received the most coverage is “Saidullah’s Bicycle.” The Cyclomer launched in Paris in 1932 was the world’s first amphibious bicycle. A HYBRID among vehicles, an amphibian bicycle that can travel on land or water, was demonstrated by its French inventor at a Paris exposition. Its wheels are hollow, bulbous floats that, with-the aid of four smaller globes on outriggers, sustain it in the water. All of the floats revolve freely like wheels, resulting in a minimum of drag. When the rider pedals across the water, fins on the rear wheel serve as paddles to drive the machine forward. For a ride on dry land, the outriggers supporting the outer floats may be folded up clear of the ground. Proof that the floats would be sufficiently buoyant to support the rider was given when the inventor navigated his device, without difficulty, across a large swimming pool. The Cyclomer uses a simple tricycle frame to support three floaters which provide both the flotation and thrust. The wings on the powered wheels propel the vehicle in a similar way to a paddle wheel.

If you have been to a few car shows, we’re sure that you have seen a few Volkswagens. Here’s a Volkswagen that saw action in WWII that you probably have not seen at a car show. The Volkswagen Schwimmwagen. This is a four-wheel drive amphibious vehicle, used by the German ground forces during WWII. It is the go anywhere VW. Volkswagen Schwimmwagens used the engine and mechanicals of the VW Type 86 four-wheel drive prototype of the Kübelwagen and the Type 87 four-wheel drive ‘Kübel/Beetle’ Command Car, which in turn were based on the platform of the civilian Volkswagen Beetle. Schwimmwagens were produced by the Volkswagen factory at Fallersleben /Stadt des KdF-Wagens and Porsche’s facilities in Stuttgart; with the bodies or hulls produced by Ambi Budd in Berlin. 15,584 Type 166 Schwimmwagen were produced from 1941 through 1944; 14,276 at Fallersleben and 1,308 by Porsche; the VW 166 is the most-produced amphibious car in history. Only 189 are known by the Schwimmwagen Registry to remain today, and only 13 have survived without restoration work. Click on the image for a larger view.

Here’s a 1966 Dolphin, a Russian amphibious car. There was no information online regarding this vehicle other than this picture.

We found an amphibious bus that is used in Scotland.

The last of the air-cooled Sportsters. 2022 was the last year for this iconic bike. Harley Davidson discontinued the air cooled Sportster. The 2023 model is a liquid-cooled bike with a new name.

Earlier this month, the Flymall team attended the first winter luncheon for our local car club. Bruno was our guest speaker. He spoke about his shop and some of the work that he does on classic and custom cars.

We were also at the first bike night of 2023 at the local Harley Davidson dealer. The 2023 models are on the showroom floor. Click here for more pictures.

An annual event in the area is the Howard County Motorcycle Swap meet. This is held indoors in a heated building at the Howard County Fairgrounds. This year the show was very well attended. It seems people are getting over Covid and are ready to move on. Click here for more pictures from the event.

Barn Finds/Hangar Finds: Need an appraisal on your barn find? Visit our Appraisal Page for information on our appraisals.

Here’s something. 1988 KSM Prototype Monotrack Tracked All Terrain Vehicle. This unusual vehicle is believed to be a one-off all-terrain vehicle built by KSM Innovations of Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. It is powered by a Honda ATC125 engine that is connected to a one piece track drive system. KSM was working with Honda to develop the vehicle, but Honda pulled out due to design flaws. Click here for a YouTube video of it in action. Tracked motorcycles are more common place that you would think. The Hamyak mono-track ATV is one that is relatively new. During WWII, the Kettenkrad was a successful tracked vehicle. They were built by NSU for the German military between 1939 and 1944..

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.

If you’re restoring a fabric aircraft, Ira Walker of Walker Aviation is your resource. Visit his page on the Flymall by clicking here.

On January 30, Bryan passed his CFII checkride with Harry. He did an excellent job. He was very well prepared for the test. We wish him much success in his aviation career. He did the checkride in a plane that Harry sold new back when he was the aircraft sales manager for Frederick Aviation.

Weather in the news: January 12 storm system.

January 25, 2023 brought us another large storm system. Here are a few pictures of it as it progressed.

Here’s a cool pedal power three wheeler we found online. It looks very simple, perhaps these were built from plans offered in a magazine.

Want a reproduction vintage 3 wheeler. Walker Aviation can scratch built from pictures or drawings. Visit his page on the Flymall.

Prototypes: On December 1 2022, Textron delivered the first prototype of the 6×6 Cottonmouth wheeled amphibious reconnaissance vehicle to the U.S. Marine Corps. This is one of two designs competing to become the Corps’ next Advanced Reconnaissance Vehicle or ARV. Variants of the winning ARV are slated to succeed the service’s four-decade-old Light Armored Vehicle, or LAV, family of vehicles. This looks very cool to us.

Nautical Notes: The Tupolev A-3 Aerosledge. An amphibious vehcile, designed to transport passengers and light freight in remote areas of the Soviet Union. It uses a single pusher propeller mounted behind the enclosed cabin to propel the craft over snow or water. Year-round transportation of mail, passengers, and light freight has always been a problem in remote areas of Siberia and Eastern Europe. Many communities are surrounded by deep snow, hummock ice, marshes that remain unfrozen, and natural waterways choked by weeds. The constantly changing conditions faced by these communities required the development of a vehicle capable of traveling over a widely varied surface at high speeds in order to deliver mail and supplies, as well to transport passengers, and provide emergency medical relief and evacuation to hospitals. To satisfy these requirements, the Tupolev Design Bureau developed an amphibious aerosledge with the appearance of a speedboat, powered by a single radial engine.

The Manta5 HYDROFOILER XE-1, is basically a hybrid bicycle and hydrofoil. They’re cool but pricey. At just under $9,000 USD, its a toy for the rich.

If you’re into ice fishing, we found the perfect vehicle for you. Meet the WilCraft. It’s an amphibious vehicle with an enclosure that is designed for ice fishing. Very cool!

This cool 3 wheel boat (that can also be driven on the road) was posted on 3-wheelers.com Facebook page. This is a Reliant frame and drivetrain with the speedboat mounted on top. Click on each picture for a larger view.

Riding The Rails: Our theme this month is amphibious vehicles and this section is dedicated to trains. So it makes sense that we have an amphibious train here and we did find one. This amphibious train is designed so that a railroad can convert any of its engines and cars to be able to float and be used in the water. We’re not sure if there are any actual applications of one in use. The installation consists of a water intake on the front of each unit, a propeller for propulsion in the water on the back of each unit, a rudder for steering on the back of each unit, and many inflatable airbags. Emergency airbags will be installed on top, in case the train begins to sink.

We did find a Russian train that was amphibious and may have been in use at one time. Click on the images below for a larger view.

Here’s a different type of “amphibious” train. Here’s a car that drives on the road and is also equipped with rail wheels to be driven on train tracks. This is a 1956 Pontiac Hy-Rail.

Native American Indian Transportation: Many native American Indians used dog sleds for transportation. Although dog sledding may have existed before, the oldest archeological evidence of this mode of transportation has been dated to around 1,000 A.D.

We did find an interesting video of an amphibious sled being pulled by reindeer. Click here for the video on Facebook.

Animals in the headlines: Here’s a dog powered “vehicle” we found online. We could not find any details on it, just the picture. In theory, it should work! Its like a giant hamster wheel.

We close this newsletter with these words: Live your life, take chances. Because, right now is the oldest you’ve ever been and the youngest you will be ever again.

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Twas The Night Before Christmas – grieving mothers

Written on December 26, 2022 at 5:20 pm, by hkraemer

“It was the night before Christmas and Santa was busy making his rounds, he was light on his feet making sure he didn’t make a sound.
But he took notice that some homes didn’t have that Christmas Glee.so he decided to stop because he thought that just can’t be.
He crept in a mommy’s bedroom and stopped dead in his steps, as he saw a little angel hugging his mom as she slept
The little angel looked up and cried ” oh Santa you are finally here!! I’ve been waiting for you to help me let Mommy know I am near”.
Santa picked up the wee angel and asked him ” What can I do? I’m just a simple toy maker I can’t make your mommy’s dreams come true”.
So the two of them sat and they sat for a while until the tiny angel jumped up and screamed with a smile, .”let’s leave her a sign a beautiful sign from above, let her know it’s from me sent from heaven with love”!!!
So Santa dug and he dug deep, in that big glorious bag that was filled with lots of treats .
He pulled out a beautiful white feather that look like it was made out of snow. And he thought such a beautiful sign that only a grieving mother would know.
He placed it on her nightstand and kissed the angel on his head. Then placed him next to his mom as she slumbered in bed.
I think I’ll stay here with Mommy and visit her in her dreams tonight, she misses me dearly and needs to know I’m all right.
Santa made his way to his sled, and wiped a tear from his eye. He fell to his knees and managed to cry.
Merry Christmas to all the grieving mothers across this big land. And let it be known your angels are with you holding your hands….”

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Twas the night before Christmas – Special

Written on December 26, 2022 at 5:09 pm, by hkraemer

Twas the night before Christmas and all God asked for me to do was make things right.
I didn’t need to hang the stockings by the chimney with care, because God wanted something different from me this year.
Usually after Christmas Eve dinner, I would be nestled in my bed as visions of sugarplums danced in my head.
But just before I was getting ready for dinner, I heard such a clatter.
In a wink of an eye and a twist of my head not sure what God wanted from me. He went straight to work…
Not saying a word, I watched with love. As He started to perform miracles right before my very eyes.
And in that moment, I knew that if I continued to follow His word of peace and love that I would have nothing to dread.
For I knew without a doubt that I did the inner work.
And right before He left, I heard Him whisper…
“You are all things you deserve to be because you did the inner work. I want you to have the Merriest Christmas of them all. For I saw all the times you were really hurting but still chose to believe as you walked blindly in faith. This year, it’s not about the money. It’s about the love in your heart.”

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Twas the night before Christmas Realtor Style

Written on December 26, 2022 at 5:06 pm, by hkraemer

‘Twas the night before Christmas when all through the house, only Realtors were stirring. And, of course, a mouse.
The contracts were hung by the chimney with care, in hopes that the closings soon would be there.
The buyers were nestled all snug in their beds, while visions of homeownership danced in their heads.
Mama in her kerchief and I in my cap were settling our brains for a long winter nap.
When out of my cell phone there arose such a clatter, I sprang from my bed to see what was the matter.
Away to my office I flew like a flash, tore open my computer and looked at the cache.
When what to my wondering eyes should appear but an email saying my closing was near.
The loan was closed so easy and quick, I knew in a moment it must be St. Nick.
Who else would create such joy in this game, and I whistled and shouted and called out by name.
Now, buyer! Now, seller! Now escrow and loan! On, inspector! On, broker! I let out a groan.
I spoke not a word but went straight to work. My buyers count on me. I’m not a jerk!
I filled in the blanks and gave a shout. Hot dang! We’re closing! Over and out.
Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night.

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A Confederate Night Before Christmas

Written on December 26, 2022 at 4:58 pm, by hkraemer

A Confederate Night Before Christmas
‘Twas the night before Christmas, and all through the camp. The rations were scarce, and the firewood was damp. Wet stockings were hung by the firesides with care. In hopes that by day they’d be dry enough to wear.
The soldiers were nestled all snug in their tents. While visions of Christmas feasts danced through their heads. The General in his wall tent, and I with nightcap, had just settled ourselves for a long winter’s nap.
When out on the picket line there arose such a clatter, I sprang from my cot to see what was the matter. Away to the provost I flew like a flash, grabbed pistol and leathers and officer’s sash.
When what to my wondering eyes did appear, but a miniature wagon and eight Army mules.–Queer!–And a little old driver so lively and quick. By the way that he cussed he sure wasn’t St. Nick.
More rapid than eagles his Army mules came, and he whistled and shouted and called them by name: “Now, Stonewall, now, Lee, now, Longstreet and Baylor!
On, Cleburne, on Forrest, on Barksdale and Taylor! To the top of the A-frames and the top of the tent wall, dash away, dash away, dash away all!”
As Yanks that before the wild Rebel charge fly, when they meet with an obstacle, manage to shy, so through company streets the “coursers” they flew with a wagon of goodies–and the old sutler too.
And then, in a twinkling, I heard vocal jewels: The musical hee-haws of eight Army mules. As I drew in my head and was turning around, into the tent the man came with a bound.
He was dressed all in wool from his head to his foot, and his clothes were all tarnished with mud and with soot. A bundle of canned goods he’d flung on his back, and he looked like a sutler just opening his pack. (That’s what he was, of course.)
His eyes–how they twinkled! His whiskers, how merry! His cheeks were like roses, his nose like a cherry! His droll little mouth was drawn up like a bow, and the beard on his chin was a white as the snow.
The stump of a stogie he held in his teeth, and the smoke it encircled his head like a wreath. He had a broad face and a little round belly. He’d brought vittles for us–fresh pies, cakes, and jelly.
He was chubby and plump–no diet of hardtack .And I was quite interested in the food in his backpack. A wink of his eye and a twist of his head. Soon gave me to know he had brought some soft bread.
He spoke not a word, but unloaded his treasures: Roast turkeys and hams and bottles in full measures. Then laying a finger aside of his nose, and giving a salute, to his feet he then rose.
He sprang to his wain, to his team gave a whistle, and away they all flew like the down of a thistle. And I heard him exclaim as he drove out of sight:” Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good night!”

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Twas the night before Christmas Hotel Style

Written on December 26, 2022 at 4:50 pm, by hkraemer

‘Twas the night before Christmas, and all through hotel. Not a creature was stirring except for the Kitchen staff. They are preparing for the Christmas brunch that is tomorrow after all.
The stockings were hung by Housekeeping with care, In hopes that St. Nicholas soon would be there;
The children were nestled all snug in their beds, while visions of the hotel guest danced in their heads;
And mamma in her ‘kerchief, and I in my cap, Had just settled down for a long winter’s night.
When out near Valet there arose such a clatter, Security sprang into action to see what was the matter.
The moon reflected off the new-fallen snow, gave the luster of mid-day to objects below, when, what to our wondering eyes should appear, But a miniature sleigh, and eight tiny reindeer. The driver checked in with the front desk and needed extra space to park. Santa knew exactly what to do.
So up to the hotel rooftop the coursers they flew, with the sleigh full of toys, and St. Nicholas too. A Bellman was ready to assist with his bag full of toys for the good girls and boys.
You could hear on the roof the prancing and pawing of each little hoof.
Santa wanted to stop by the hotel deli for a duck cookie or two (his favorite) and to enjoy a special cup of Hot Cocoa. You really never know who might stop by the Lobby Bar.
Our story doesn’t quite end here…
He spoke not a word, but went straight to his work, And he filled all the stockings; then turned with a jerk, And laying his finger aside of his nose, And giving a nod, up the elevator he rose;
He sprang to his sleigh, to his team gave a whistle, And away they all flew like the down of a thistle. But I heard him exclaim, ere he drove out of Memphis,
HAPPY CHRISTMAS TO ALL, AND TO ALL A GOOD-NIGHT!

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Flymall / Kraemer Aviation December 2022 Wheels & Wings Newsletter

Written on December 17, 2022 at 9:17 am, by hkraemer

Welcome to the Kraemer Aviation/Flymall.org Wheels & Wings Newsletter.

This month the theme is “Going Green”. We’re featuring eco friendly vehicles and concepts including a solar power plane that flew around the world, the first solar powered car, a solar powered train, and more. Next month our theme is amphibious vehicles.

Since it’s Christmas time, here is our collection of different versions of T’was The Night Before Christmas. If you find a version that we do not have, please share it with us in the comments section below.

You can view past newsletters here.

Two wrongs don’t make a right. But two Wrights made an airplane. December 17 1903.

On December 17th, we celebrated the anniversary of the Wright Brother’s historic first flight in 1903. On December 17, 1903 at 10:35 am, Orville and the Flyer lifted off from the starting rail and made the first manned, powered flight in the history of the world. All the years of hard work, patience, frustration, and dedication finally paid off in the form of a 12-second, 120-foot jaunt through the air. They’ve done it. Wilbur flew next and traveled 195 feet. Then Orville again at 200 feet. And finally Wilbur took the machine 852 feet in 59 seconds! The Flyer was damaged after the fourth flight of the day, so Wilbur and Orville packed up and kept their promise of being home by Christmas.

And we went from the Wright Brother’s flights to the Concord all within a lifetime.

Want to have your business highlighted on the Flymall??? We offer inexpensive rates to have your business featured on our Wheels & Wings page. Contact us for more info.

History Trivia: Did you know that on August 31, 1955, William G. Cobb of the General Motors Corp. demonstrated a 15-inch-long “Sunmobile,” the world’s first solar-powered automobile, at the General Motors Powerama auto show held in Chicago, Illinois. Cobb’s Sunmobile model had 12 selenium photoelectric cells on top of a balsa wood body. These solar cells were connected in series-parallel and converted the sun light directly into electricity, which in turn ran a small low-inertia electric motor. The motor rotated at 2000 RPM and ran on 1.5 volts. The motor’s energy in turn was transferred to the model car’s drive shaft, which then in turn transferred the energy through its rear axle by a pulley to the car’s wheels which moved the car forward. Nearly 70 years later and we are still not driving solar powered cars. In contrast, in the U.S., the first successful electric car made its debut around 1890. It was built/designed by William Morrison, a chemist who lived in Des Moines, Iowa. His six-passenger vehicle was capable of a top speed of 14 miles per hour. While it was a little more than an electrified wagon, it helped to create interest in electric vehicles. And electric vehicles have been around ever since then. And now, you can purchase a fully electric car or truck. It wasn’t until 1962 when the first solar car that a person could drive was demonstrated to the public. The International Rectifier Company converted a vintage model 1912 Baker electric car (pictured below) to run on solar energy in 1958, but they didn’t show it until 4 years later.

Achievements & Special Recognition: Earlier this month, Yarden Shalev passed his private pilot checkride with Harry. He was one of the best prepared private pilot applicants that Harry has seen in a while. He did an excellent job. He was very impressive. He is pictured here with his instructor Or and Harry. This was Or’s first sign-off or recommendation as a CFI and she is off to a great start. Both Or and Yarden are off to a great start in their aviation career.

Here’s an innovative motorcycle company that we think deserves some special recognition. Spy Motorcycles of California has developed an electric motorcycle that looks cool and that can be charged using the sun. The bike can reach speeds of 75 MPH. No gears, no clutch, no shifting. Just simply hit the power button and twist the throttle. Their website show a price of just over $6,000.00 USD. Not bad at all.

Aviation/Aviators in the news: Would you fly in a solar powered plane? In the year 2016, Solar Impulse 2 landed in Abu Dhabi after 14 months of travel and 550 hours in the air. It flew 25,000 miles around the world including over four continents, two oceans and three seas, all without a drop of liquid fuel. The sun’s rays were the only power. The aircraft is/was capable of taking off under its own power.

The aviation section of the Flymall is full of aviation news, training info, and much more for the aviator.

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. Maybe your next airplane could be your next car as well. The company, Lilium has recently revealed that is has raised an additional $119 million in funding to develop a flying car. Actually it is a vertical takeoff, electric jet. Kraemer Aviation’s President, Harry has been following flying car technology since the mid 1960s. Our transportation museum will have an entire section dedicated to flying cars. As they all do, the Lilium jet looks very promising on their website. Click here to read more about this “flying car”.

Here’s a “green vehicle” that is out of this world. In 1971, Apollo 15 took the first car to the Moon. And since they couldn’t bring it back, they left it there. It is still there today. Who owns this car? We looked up the definition of abandoned property. This is the legal definition of abandoned property; “Abandoned property is defined as personal property left by an owner who intentionally relinquishes all rights to its control”. The law goes on to say “At common law, a person who finds abandoned property may claim it. To do so, the finder must take definite steps to show their claim. For example, a finder might claim an abandoned piece of furniture by taking it to their house, or putting a sign on it indicating their ownership”. Does this mean that if someone puts a sign on this claiming it as theirs, that they own it? Just think, what if someone did claim this car and got it back to earth, how valuable would the car be?

Long before the Nissan Leaf, back to 1973, Nissan was experimenting with electric cars. Nissan built an electric pickup truck. It actually built two models. Nissan’s earliest electric cars date back even earlier, but the first of the EV pickups to be developed was the 1973 Nissan EV4-P. It ran on a bank of lead-acid batteries stored in a compartment between the front and rear axles beneath the bed. The power output was 27 kilowatts (a Nissan Leaf’s is 80 kW). The EV4-P wasn’t fast, however it could go an impressive 188 miles on a single charge. The second truck, the EV4-H, was built upon the lessons learned from the EV4-P and employed a hybrid drivetrain. In this case, hybrid meant simply two types of batteries — high-output lead-acid batteries and high-energy-density zinc-air batteries — and a control system that optimized the balance between the two in a variety of driving conditions. With the hybrid system, the EV4-P clocked an impressive range of 308 miles on a single charge.

The Henney Kilowatt was an electric car introduced in the United States of America for 1959. The car used some body parts as made for the Renault Dauphine. An improved model was introduced in 1960 with a top speed of 60 miles an hour and a range of 60 miles. Only 47 cars were sold over the two model years, mostly to electrical utility companies. Only a few still exist.

Barn Finds/Hangar Finds: Need an appraisal on your barn find? Visit our Appraisal Page for information on our appraisals.

In this section of our newsletter, we are always looking for an interesting find or an interesting place a vehicle was found. For this month, here’s a marsh find. According to the Facebook post, this 1960 Cezeta spent 35 years in the marsh before it was finally pulled out. One of our most interesting places a motorcycle was found, was inside a wall. Click here for our post about the wall find.

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.

If you’re restoring a fabric aircraft, Ira Walker of Walker Aviation is your resource. Visit his page on the Flymall by clicking here.

Earlier this month, Eli passed his instrument checkride with Harry. He did an outstanding job. He was one of the best prepared instrument applicants that Harry has seen in a while. Eli flew to ATP standards.

Weather in the news: On December 15 we had a major storm system move through the Mid-Atlantic area. The radar image had a rainbow of colors.

Three Wheel Association (TWA): 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. Look for a newly designed website for 3-wheelers.com by early 2023. We will have an expanded A to Z list and viewers of the site will be able to send us new entries for the A to Z listings. We will also have 3-wheelers.com items for sale such as coffee cups, mouse pads, and more. Stay tuned.

Many electric vehicles are 3-wheelers. That’s most likely because 3 wheels tend to be more efficient. Here’s one by a company called Green Vehicles. It’s call the Triac. The Triac, by Green Vehicles Inc., was a two-seat three-wheeled concept car unveiled in 2010–2011. The company went out of business in 2011.

Want a reproduction vintage 3 wheeler. Walker Aviation can scratch built from pictures or drawings. Visit his page on the Flymall.

Prototypes: The aviation company, Eviation has built and flown an all electric plane earlier this year. The plane can carry nine passengers and two crew up to 15,000 feet. It has a day VFR range of 250 NM. Very cool!

1992 Fiat Cinquecento Z-ECO concept by Carrozzeria Zagato with built in bike pod. The theme of the Fiat proposal was to explore new concepts of mobility, dictated by environmental issues and by the growing restrictions on the use of cars in urban centers. Zagato proposes the concept of double mobility, with the Z-Eco it goes beyond the simple transport of people and luggage. The small car adds the possibility of having a second means of transport, to be used in areas where access to the car is prohibited. The solution is that of an electric bike that occupies the right side, ready both for use in the city and for leisure in the open spaces. The Z-Eco was Zagato’s vision of an environmentally conscious commuter vehicle of the future. It featured an odd tandem two seat layout and a removable bicycle. This would allow the driver of the vehicle to park when congestion was reached and cycle the remainder of their journey, reducing gridlock, emissions and parking shortages in city centers. What a cool idea.

Nautical Notes: Numerous companies are incorporating solar panels in sails on sailboats. The solar panels can be used to power electric drive motors or other required equipment onboard the vessel.

Sailing itself is actually solar power. Nothing is more “green” than being at sea under full sail. The sailboat probably originated in ancient Egypt. Around 4000 BC, Egyptians assembled a simple rigging system and suspended a piece of cloth in the air to pull basic log boats along rivers. These vessels were long and narrow, and their simple rigging was difficult to control.

Humans have been using various forms of boats to travel by water for longer than we have had written language. The oldest known reference to a ship was from approximately 10,000 BCE, where a carving depicted a reed rowing ship that carried twenty men. Experts believe that boats were around a lot longer than that, though so far, there has been no physical proof. Ship travel is older than any other form of transportation and has been steadily improving over the millennia. It has been determined that the first sea-worthy ships were not even built by humans but by their evolutionary predecessors, Homo Erectus, nearly 800,000 years ago. This explains how they were able to spread across the planet.

Riding The Rails: Australia has the world’s first solar powered train built by the Byron Bay Railroad Company. Byron Bay Railroad Company launched its solar train in January 2018. The company recycled a diesel locomotive which was abandoned for over 20 years into a solar-powered train. The train runs over 3km around the resort areas in Byron Bay. Solar panels have been fitted to the roof of each carriage to collect and generate solar power to charge the train’s batteries. When it is sunny, the train can run 4-5 times a day only on solar power received by the panels. In bad weather, renewable energy is charged with the help of local retail companies in order to operate the train.

Native American Indian Transportation: Long before “Going Green” was an thing, the Native American Indians were green.

Native American Indians used travois, also known as a drag sled, for carrying loads overland. It consisted of two wooden poles with a platform, basket, or netting suspended between them, attached to the back of a dog (or occasionally to a team of dogs) so that the dog could pull it along the ground. After the settlers introduced horses, the Indians were able to make larger horse drawn travois. For the horse drawn travois, they used tepee poles across the horse’s back and attach a burden platform between the poles behind the horse. This served two purposes at once, as the horses could then simultaneously carry the tepee poles and some additional baggage. Below is a travois with a basket on it.

Animals in the headlines: Meet Kome, a Golden Retriever. Kome is sporting a solar power dog jacket. The signs or lettering are made of a special type of wire to make the wire look like a neon sign. Pretty cool!