Michael McCafferty - USA Tour Daily Flight Log

Four vintage open-cockpit biplanes left Southern California in the Spring of 1996. Just two days out, the Stearman crashed in a fierce crosswind. It was completely demolished.

Only one biplane, my Waco YMF-5, would make the entire trip from California to Maine, and return.

This is the story of that extraordinary 57-day adventure, as told in a series of daily e-mails to friends from stops along the way.

USA Tour Daily Flight Log

Day	Date	Place	Click Title to Read Story
1	5/27/96	Las Vegas, NV	Getting Out of Town
2	5/28/96	Page, AZ	Treacherous Crosswind
3	5/29/96	Durango, CO	Fly! You sonofabitch, FLY!
4	5/30/96	Spanish Peaks, CO	Deciding NOT to Fly
5	5/31/96	Longmont, CO	Going Solo
6	6/01/96	Yankton, SD	Flying Low
7	6/02/96	Yankton, SD	Biplane Pilots Do Laundry?
8	6/03/96	Yankton, SD	Sheep Butt on a Stick
9	6/04/96	Rock Falls, IL	Attack at Dawn
10	6/05/96	Lansing, MI	The Waco comes home to the factory.
11	6/06/96	Lansing, MI	It's a Duesey!
12	6/07/96	Lansing, MI	A Lesson of Life
13	6/08/96	Lansing, MI	Flying with the world's best Waco pilot
14	6/09/96	Lansing, MI	White Castle "Sliders"
15	6/10/96	Lansing, MI	Sunshine at Last!
16	6/11/96	Lansing, MI	Is this a flying adventure, or a weather watch?
17	6/12/96	Lansing, MI	The way to make a small fortune in aviation
18	6/13/96	Mackinac Island, MI	Free at last!
19	6/14/96	Mackinac Island, MI	Mackinaw Island: Two days is one too many!
20	6/15/96	Port Huron, MI	The most beautiful flying of all
21	6/16/96	Niagara Falls, NY	Let there be Grass!
22	6/17/96	Thousand Islands, NY	If you don't know where you're going....
23	6/18/96	Greenville, ME	The Road Kill Cafe, and other misadventures
24	6/19/96	Greenville, ME	Time to Spare? Go by Air!
25	6/20/96	Bar Harbor, ME	The Maine Coastline: Fog and Lobster
26	6/21/96	Bar Harbor, ME	Fog, Rain, Cold. Forecast: More of the same.
27	6/22/96	Bar Harbor, ME	Waiting
28	6/23/96	Bar Harbor, ME	Carnivores 2, Crustaceans 0
29	6/24/96	Kennebunk, ME	Escape from Bar Harbor
30	6/25/96	Mansfield, MA	World Class Custom Harleys
31	6/26/96	Mansfield, MA	Lester Campbell, National Treasure
32	6/27/96	Martha's Vineyard, MA	Low Passes and Tall Tales
33	6/28/96	Chester, CT	Art Goes Around!
34	6/29/96	Sea Girt, NJ	The Lady
35	6/30/96	Sea Girt, NJ	No Les No More
36	07/01/96	Philadelphia, PA	Coming Home
37	07/02/96	Philadelphia, PA	Philly Phood
38	07/03/96	Philadelphia, PA	Thanks for the company
39	07/04/96	Easton, MD	The Eastern Shore of Maryland
40	07/05/96	Easton, MD	Low, Slow, and In Formation Over the Water
41	07/06/96	College Park, MD	Too much Fun!
42	07/07/96	Manteo, NC	Flying behind the veil
43	07/08/96	Smithfield, NC	First Flight: Pilot's Mecca
44	07/09/96	Greenville, SC	True Friends
45	07/10/96	Galatin, TN	A Perfect Day of Flying
46	07/11/96	Cairo, IL	Mikie Attacks!
47	07/12/96	Cairo, IL	Art Goes Under the Bridge
48	07/14/96	Branson, MO	Hey, Mom! You ain't gonna believe this!
49	07/15/96	Branson, MO	Heading for home
50	07/16/96	Liberal, KS	Flying as transportation
51	07/17/96	Liberal, KS	Duster Pilots
52	07/18/96	Liberal, KS	Liberal Winds
53	07/19/96	Tucumcari, NM	Demons in the Mind, and in the Wind
54	07/20/96	Albuquerque, NM	Lucky Mikie, the Test Pilot
55	07/21/96	Albuquerque, NM	It's not fixed, but we have a plan
56	07/22/96	Winslow, AZ	The mountain came to Mohammed, the crater came to Mikie
57	07/23/96	Carlsbad, CA	Home At Last!

Michael McCafferty Home Page

USA Biplane Tour

USA Tour Daily Flight Log