From Warbirds To Unicycle Racing

Story And Photos
By Roger Cain

The 20th annual Pacific Coast Dream Machines Show at California’s Half Moon Bay Airport brought in 20,000 fans of mechanized equipment for a one-day show April 25 and there was some pretty weird machinery.

The airport is located on the scenic shores of the Pacific, 20 miles south of San Francisco, and was swarmed by more than 2000 vintage, classic, custom, and exotic vehicles. There were cars, trucks, motorcycles, tractors, airplanes, and just about anything else that could run on fuel, steam, manpower, or the sun.

There are no prizes or awards to be won, so the atmosphere at the show is relaxed and low-key. This event allows people the chance to show off their beloved hobbies, and meet others who share their enthusiasm, or are just plain curious.

The Pacific Coast Dream Machines show is sponsored by and benefits the Coastside Adult Day Health Center for the elderly and disabled. Each year this event raises an average of around $50,000 for the center.

Weather started out a bit hazy in the morning and some false weather reports kept some aircraft away, but the main show ramp was packed with aircraft as usual. Front and center was Steve Hiller’s 1945 Douglas DC-3 wearing the colors of and representing the Hiller Aviation Museum in San Carlos.

Another large plane on the ramp was a research de Havilland DHC-6 Twin Otter with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), with a display on pilot awareness while flying along the coastline and near marine sanctuaries.

Getting past the big DC-3 brought folks to a couple of rows of fighter and racing aircraft, with Tiger “Bill” Destefani’s P-51 racer “Strega” receiving lots of attention. Parked next to it were the racing P-51 “Ridge Runner,” flown by Dan Martin; Stu Eberhardt’s “Merlin’s Magic,” and Terry Tarditi’s non-racing P-51D “Comfortably Numb,” all regular supporters of this event.

Eddie Andreini had his two Yak-9U’s on display along with Ken Carlomagno’s Pratt and Whitney powered Yak-11. Jason Somes brought up the Commemorative Air Force SoCal Wing’s Grumman F8F-2 Bearcat from Camarillo, along with their yellow SNJ Texan. There were also several T-28 Trojans and SNJ’s on the ramp along with PT-17 Boeing/Stearman trainers, and Paul Whitaker’s recently restored L-19 Bird Dog wearing Marine Corps markings.

The lone military heavy on the ramp was Mike Pupich’s North American B-25N “Heavenly Body” from Van Nuys, which had an endless line of visitors.

Notable non-warbird included a yellow Waco UPF-7, Ed Sweeney’s flyable 1956 Taylor Aerocar, and a beautiful red Cessna 195. Mixed in with the many Van’s RV aircraft were a nicely finished Spencer Aircar amphibian, a Lake LA-4 and Dan Card’s Czech Aircraft Works Mermaid seaplane. A unique type of its own was Jean-Pierre Harrison’s red Air and Space Model 18A gyrocopter.

On the south end of the field is where all the non-aviation exhibits are displayed, which included an operational M551 Sheridan light tank from the Military Vehicle Technology Foundation, a 1946 Willys on a Wagner-trac system from the 1960’s, steam engines and land speed record holding vehicles, and rows and rows of show cars, trucks and motorcycles. The lone boating representative was a West German built 1964 Amphi-car.

Several times during the day FMX freestyle motocross exhibitions were put on by several brave young riders, jumping from ramp to ramp, holding onto their bikes by their finger tips and surviving back flip landings. In between a Monster truck that was selling energetic rides on the field, were an even wilder exhibition called “unicycle racing.”

These older bikers had motorcycles that had their front wheels removed and metal skids mounted in their place with the handlebars mounted over the back wheel area, where the driver leaned over and held on for dear life in a short bumpy barely-in-control drag race across the grass.

Ever wonder who thinks these things up?

Although the show doesn’t close until 4:00 p.m., aircraft started departing regularly around 1:00 p.m. and the warbirds took to the air shortly after that, with Steve Hinton Jr, flying a number of high speed passes in Strega. This was followed by formations of the previously mentioned fighter aircraft, joined by Wayne Watts in a T-28 Trojan and Chuck Wahl pulling up the tail in his mint SNJ-5.

Eager to fly, enthusiasts lined up all day for aircraft rides which were provided by Mike Carpentiero with his 1930 New Standard, Bob Berwick and his 1926 Travel Air 4000, the CAF’s SNJ Texan, Taigh Ramey and his Beech C-45H, and a pair of Robinson helicopters.

And despite the millions of dollars in antique, vintage and warbird that was flitting about, you could still hear people say, “did you see that guy being dragged behind the bike with no front wheel?”