Biplane Lands on Wawasee

BILL PIPP sent in an interesting story and great photos taken by his wife, Terry. His friend, Jerry Rea, flew from Battle Creek, Mich., into Lake Wawasee for his birthday party Friday, Aug. 17. As you can see, the biplane was literally on the lake.Bill noted, “It was his first time landing a plane on Wawasee but made quite an entrance to Jerry’s Natti Crow beach party. Party goers assisted in parking the plane in front of Pier 266 and tying it to the two piers and a tree in the front yard to secure it for the night.”The other photo shows him departing Saturday morning. “At the north end of the lake you could see the I20 Sailboat racers with their spinnakers up in the background. There were quite a few curious onlookers, which delayed the take off a little.“In short order the plane was off the water, circled around Johnson’s Bay and headed down to the south end of Natti Crow Beach for a final fly-by just above the piers and then back to Battle Creek,” Bill explained.Bill included some information on the plane’s manufacturer, ironically enough named Waco. The Waco Aircraft Company was an aircraft manufacturer located in Troy, Ohio. Between 1920 and 1947, the company produced a wide range of civilian biplanes. Cruzin’ hopes you read Bill Pipp’s profile by Phoebe Muthart in last week’s The Mail-Journal.