14
Escarpment Magaz ine
fal l
2011
Steve Esplen
lives to fly. Like Icarus, if Steve could sprout wings and soar like an eagle I’m sure
he would jump at the chance. Since that won’t happen any time soon, he has to settle for the next
best thing… flying airplanes. Steve spends most of his time at his hanger at YOS (the Owen Sound
Billy Bishop Regional Airport) or somewhere above it.
The first time I met Steve, he suggested we take his three small planes out of the hanger so I could
take some photos of them. But once they were lined up in the sun, he said, “It’s too nice a day to be
on the ground, let’s go flying!” So after checking the plane over and giving me instructions on the
flight plan, we taxied down the runway in his beautiful black, open cockpit biplane registered as
‘November-One-Seven-Two-Juliette’ or as Steve affectionately calls it “Julie”.
Steve’s planes are all kit-built and designed to perform aerobatic maneuvers. The tiny, Vans RV3 is
a single wing craft and only has room for a pilot while its big sister the RV4 can seat one lightweight
passenger plus the pilot. According to Steve, both are exceptional flyers in their own right, but the
biplane “Julie” seems to hold a special place in his heart. It is classed experimental and seats two
in tandem. It sports an open cockpit and in my mind is reminiscent of the barnstormers of old. Steve
explained that the advantage of the open cockpit (especially for novice flyers like myself) is the
feeling of openness and fresh air as opposed to the claustrophobia one can experience in a small,
enclosed cockpit. The disadvantage is that it can get cold in the open air, hence Steve handed me
a jacket and long pants even on this warm sunny day. He also strapped on a parachute…
“What was that you said about being perfectly safe, Steve?”
FEATURE
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out of the blue