[JYO] The Flying Farmer's last show - 10/28/07

The Flying Farmer's last show

Thomas F. Norton

10/5/2007 

On Oct. 28, Charlie  Kulp will fly his amazing aerobatic comedy routine one 
last time. 

The  much-admired air show pilot, known on both sides of the Atlantic as the 
Flying  Farmer, says he will hang up his battered straw hat and overalls after 
 performing his grand finale at the Flying Circus Aerodrome near Warrenton,  
Virginia.

Kulp's career has spanned many aspects of aviation. In 1941,  when he was 16, 
he soloed at Woodrum Field near Roanoke, Virginia. During World  War II he 
and his brother, Harry, were naval aviation mechanics. He has managed  airports 
around Virginia, too, but is most widely known as a restorer of  historic 
airplanes (some of his restorations can be seen in the National Air and  Space 
Museum and in the Virginia Aviation Museum), as a skilled mechanic and, of  
course, as a famous air show pilot.

Kulp's mastery of flying his beloved  J-3 Cub has sharpened over the years, 
he says, although when this writer first  saw him perform his Flying Farmer 
act, shortly after World War II, his skill was  phenomenal. Other pilots 
stopped 
what they were doing, even then, to watch Kulp  fly, and still are doing so 
six decades later.

By the way, Kulp turned 82  this summer.

Charlie Kulp may be responsible for bringing more youngsters  into aviation 
than anyone around, particularly in his native Virginia. He has  been a flight 
instructor for more than 50 years. He was a founding member of the  Flying 
Circus Aerodrome in 1969, where he has continued to maintain and fly a  
collection of World War I and barnstorming aircraft to this day, for the Flying 
 Circus 
is still in operation and a popular attraction. He was inducted into the  
Virginia Aviation Hall of Fame in 1997. Retired United Airlines captain and  
current Flying Circus President John King commented that "Charlie Kulp is the  
epitome of barnstorming pilots."

Retired American Airlines captain and  aviation historian Ken Hyde, himself a 
builder of incredibly accurate replicas  of Wright brothers airplanes, says 
he was lucky enough to have been one of  Kulp's students.

"I'll be forever grateful for the opportunity to have  been an apprentice 
mechanic and taught to fly by Charlie Kulp," he said. "There  are many of us 
who 
owe our aviation careers to Charlie's patience and his gift  for teaching. I 
hope no one will miss the opportunity to see him fly his last  performance at 
the Flying Circus on Oct. 28."

As the Virginia Aviation  Hall of Fame put it upon Kulp's induction, "(He) is 
widely admired for his  quiet, gentle personality and his appeal to the 
hundreds of youngsters he has  introduced to aviation."

For more information, call Bob Bollinger at  540-347-1909.




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