Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

Stearman Flips Over at Montgomery Field

Former naval aviator Bill Wachtler of Solana Beach is an engineer with multiple patents to his name. He still flies a Stearman biplane, the kind of two-seater used for training at North Island before and during World War II. After the war, the remaining models were sold off for crop dusters and many subsequently became gussied-up collector’s items. Top speed is a pokey 135 miles per hour, cruising speed about 96 mph, but it is a fickle old bird, requiring the close attention of the pilot, who must be a “stick and rudder” flier, hopefully at the top of his or her game.

Sponsored
Sponsored

Luck was not on Wachtler’s side on Thursday, October 13, when the 82-year-old touched down at Montgomery Field. “On roll out I went to turn off [the runway],” Wachtler wrote in an accident report filed with the National Transportation Safety Board in November. “The right brake locked. Applied left brake to prevent swerve off runway. Plane pitched forward on to its back.” Fortunately, Wachtler and his passenger, cousin Paul Wachtler, walked away from the incident: “Released restraining belts, plane was upside down. Lowered to ground and climbed out.” Moral of the story? “Don’t try to turn off runway before having slowed down adequately.”

Interviewed last week, Wachtler said the airplane is still under repair at Montgomery Field, but he expects to fly it again as soon as he gets an in-flight checkout by a Federal Aviation Administration inspector. No more solos, though; the government will require him to have a certified pilot in the second seat on every outing. His motto: “Enjoy every day you have.”

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

20 Best Online Casinos USA For Real Money (2024 List)

USA Online Casinos: Top 20 Online Casino Sites of 2024

Former naval aviator Bill Wachtler of Solana Beach is an engineer with multiple patents to his name. He still flies a Stearman biplane, the kind of two-seater used for training at North Island before and during World War II. After the war, the remaining models were sold off for crop dusters and many subsequently became gussied-up collector’s items. Top speed is a pokey 135 miles per hour, cruising speed about 96 mph, but it is a fickle old bird, requiring the close attention of the pilot, who must be a “stick and rudder” flier, hopefully at the top of his or her game.

Sponsored
Sponsored

Luck was not on Wachtler’s side on Thursday, October 13, when the 82-year-old touched down at Montgomery Field. “On roll out I went to turn off [the runway],” Wachtler wrote in an accident report filed with the National Transportation Safety Board in November. “The right brake locked. Applied left brake to prevent swerve off runway. Plane pitched forward on to its back.” Fortunately, Wachtler and his passenger, cousin Paul Wachtler, walked away from the incident: “Released restraining belts, plane was upside down. Lowered to ground and climbed out.” Moral of the story? “Don’t try to turn off runway before having slowed down adequately.”

Interviewed last week, Wachtler said the airplane is still under repair at Montgomery Field, but he expects to fly it again as soon as he gets an in-flight checkout by a Federal Aviation Administration inspector. No more solos, though; the government will require him to have a certified pilot in the second seat on every outing. His motto: “Enjoy every day you have.”

Comments
Sponsored
Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Reader 1st place writing contest winner gets kudos

2nd place winner not so much
Next Article

Making Love to Goats, Rachmaninoff, and Elgar

Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.