About Wilma
Wilma is the oldest commercial aircraft operating in the USA & perhaps the world! She was originally built in 1927 and then completely rebuilt in 1987. Wilma will be celebrating her 81st birthday July 12th of this year!
Is it safe?
Absolutely! Biplanes are world renowned as the
most stable and well built
machines ever. Wilma is fully
inspected before and after every flight. Capt. Hal is also a commercially rated
pilot who has been flying since 1952!
Wilma is a 1927 Waco GXE...She was built in Akron Ohio by the Weaver Aircraft
Co. , hence the name Waco...She was originally built with the sportsman pilot in
mind but found a large market in the schools of aviation
& passenger rides...During Prohibition in the 1920's, Wilma 
was used by
legendary gangster Al Capone's rumrunners to
transport whiskey from Canada to the U.S.
Amelia Erhardt was said to have trained on the same model WACO as Wilma.
During the 2nd world war, Wilma was
used in the Army Air Corps. as a primary trainer for aviation cadets. Following the
war she was fitted out with a 220 hp Continental engine & used for crop dusting. In 1980 she was found in a barn in Wisconsin. & then began a 7 year rebuilding effort
which culminated in the Wilma of today.. This past winter Wilma received major
overhauls to her electrical system & radios as well as many other minor
changes...She is in better shape now than in any other time of her life...
Wilma Specifications?
Year built: 1927Serial Number (C/N): 781
Aircraft Type: Fixed wing single engine
Number of Seats: 3
Number of Engines: 1
Engine Type: Reciprocating
Engine Manufacturer and Model: Cont Motor W670 SERIES
Weaver Aircraft Company of Ohio (WACO)
was an aircraft company located in
Troy, Ohio, USA. Between 1919 and 1946, the company produced a wide range of
civilian biplanes.
WACO's history started in 1919 when businessmen Clayton J. Brukner and Elwood
Junkin met barnstorming pilots Charley Meyers and George Weaver. Although their
initial floatplane design was a failure, they went on to found the WACO company
in 1920 and established themselves as producers of reliable, rugged planes that
were popular with traveling businessmen, postal services and explorers,
especially after the company switched to producing closed-cabin biplanes after
1924.
During World War 2, WACO produced large numbers of gliders for the RAF and US
Air Force for airborne operations, especially during the Normandy Invasion and
Operation Market Garden. The CG-4 Hadrian was the most numerous version
produced.
The WACO company ceased operations in 1946, having suffered the fate of a number
of general aviation companies when an anticipated boom in aviation following
World War II failed to develop.[1] The WACO Classic Aircraft company began in
1986 building its WACO Classic YMF, an upgraded version based on WACO's type
certificated design.
In America, WACO (referring to the aircraft) is usually pronounced "wah-co" (the
first syllable pronounced as in "water"), not "way-co" like Waco, Texas.