Kermit's enthusiasm for aviation is boundless. I watch his videos all the time...Thanks Kermit from a Brit in España

Greetings from Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic in the heart of the Caribbean. Beautiful plane indeed. I wonder how many of them remain in existence. This plane is familiar to me as my grandfather Sgt. Julio Ernesto Tejeda Matos was the co-pilot and mechanic of one of them, being the pilot Maj. Frank Feliz Miranda in their participation in a good will flight performed in 1937, named as (in Spanish) “Vuelo Pan-americano Pro-Faro a Colon” (In English, it would be Something like: “Pan American flight pro Columbus Lighthouse”) with the intention of collecting funds among the countries of America, with the purpose of building a lighthouse based in Santo Domingo, the capital city of Dominican Republic to honor the memory of Christopher Columbus and the commemoration of the 445th anniversary of the discovery of America by Columbus. Four airplanes participated in this flight, three Stinson Reliant from Cuba and one CW-19R from Dominican Republic. The Cuban planes were named as the caravels used by Columbus: Santa Maria: Pilot: Antonio Menéndez Peláez, leader of the Cuban squad. Menéndez Pelaez was a significant figure in the Cuban group, since in the year before the flight, he flew alone over the Atlantic Ocean, from the province of Camagüey, Cuba, to Seville, Spain. Departed on January 12, 1936 and arrived on February 14, 1936. Assistant: Mechanic Manuel Naranjo. La Niña: Pilot: Lieutenant Feliciano Risetch Amat Mechanic: Roberto Medina. La Pinta: Pilot: Lieutenant Alfredo Jiménez Alum Mechanic: Pedro Castillo. They were accompanied by the journalist Frank de Lugo Viñas as a reporter of the flight. The Dominican Plane (The CW-19R) was named as “Colón” (This means “Columbus” in Spanish) to honor Christopher Columbus. Crew: Avión Colón: Pilot: Major Frank A. Féliz Miranda, flight leader. Assistant: Technical Sergeant and Mechanic Julio Ernesto Tejeda Matos. The flight departed from Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic on the 12th/November/1937 at 9:00 am. The following countries were visited: Puerto Rico, Venezuela, Trinidad, Dutch Guyana, Brazil, Uruguay, Argentina, Chile, Bolivia, Peru, Bogota Colombia. The tragedy: On December 29, they left from Bogotá Colombia to Panama. A few minutes after takeoff, the three Cuban aircraft crashed near Cali Colombia, in the department of El Valle, about 12 kilometers from their starting point, setting fire to the planes and burning their occupants. The information obtained at that time shows that the Cuban planes took the direction of the Cali river, upwards, finding themselves, in a short time, encased in its basin and trapped in bad weather. Since the aircrafts were overloaded, they could not gain enough height, hence crashing and their crew perishing. As Julio Ernesto Tejeda Matos (my grandfather) informed me when he was living, both he and Frank Feliz had their reserves about the route to take in Cali, given the weather reports received from the area and its characteristics already described above. So, from the beginning of their flight, the crew of the Colón decided to gain altitude, which in the end prevented them from running with the same fate as the Cuban crew. An important aspect to mention and that undoubtedly helped the crew of the Colón plane was its technical characteristics, quite modern for its time, and that it had a more powerful engine than the Cuban airplanes. The Colón plane, which was coming further back and higher than the Cubans, could not realize what happened to the Cuban planes. In the conversations I had with Julio Ernesto Tejeda Matos, he told me that there were times when, to get to Panama, they had to follow the coastline, since they faced moments of bad weather that threatened to disorient them. Thanks to Divine Providence on the one hand and Frank's expertise, Ernesto Tejeda Matos mentioned, they were able to save themselves. The Colón arrives in Panama at 2:30 p.m. As narrated by Julio Ernesto Tejeda Matos, both Frank Feliz and him, thought that the Cubans would have already arrived in Panama in advance. It is then that they find out about the fate of the Cuban planes and their crews. The CW-19R is currently preserved in static display in the Dominican Republic Air Force (FARD) museum in San Isidro air base in Santo Domingo. The Columbus Lighthouse was finally completed in 1992 by the Dominican Government of that time. Of all the participants in the Pan-American Flight, he was the only one who got to see the lighthouse built for which they risked their lives on that famous flight and which cost the high price of the lives of the crew of the Cuban planes. When he had the opportunity to see the Columbus Lighthouse, he praised the impressiveness of the work and said he thanked God for allowing him to see that monument embodied. "I felt a great emotion in the depths of my heart when they took me to the Colón Lighthouse, because I never thought I would see that work finished," said Julio Ernesto Tejeda Matos. On the night of April 14, 1993, when Ernesto Tejeda Matos left for the presence of the Lord, the undersigned was by his side in his bed at the Ramón De Lara Hospital of the San Isidro Air Base. I remember that that night the Columbus Lighthouse was lit, as if illuminating the departure of the final flight of this pioneer of our aviation. He was 85 years old. He was the first aviation mechanic of the Dominican Republic and the founder of the Aviation Maintenance Squadron of the Dominican Air Force. I am improving my English, so please excuse any mistake I might have had during this transcription. Regards.

@KermitWeeks444

3 жыл бұрын

Awesome! Thanks for the great information and story.

Can't imagine what those 22 negative comments were about except jealousy or maybe sad because they weren't riding behind Kermit.

What a sweetheart, I'm not sure that canopy would be wide enough for my smile!

@BoB4jjjjs

5 жыл бұрын

My head might not fit in anyway let alone my smile, plus I am to far away. But good luck.

I giggle when Kermit says he got a "good deal" on something. Does that mean it cost only 10 bucks, or only 10 million? Who knows? LOL .... Kermit's the best. A real ambassador for aviation.

Very similar to the Nakajima Ki-27 design. Great to see these rare aircraft in flight and not sitting in a museum.

Love the sound of Radial engines

Looks, sounds & flies real nice! On a related note: My mom was a final inspector at CW on the SB2C1 Hell Diver. Specifically gun turret & retracts. She was very proud of her contribution to the country! Around 2005 (ish) the last flying Hell Diver (SB2C variant 5) was flown into Columbus, Ohio and my sister and I took mom out to see it. Some other guys who had been involved with the Hell Diver at CW showed up and they all had a nice chat! All were in their 80's. Got some great pics of mom next to the Hell Diver too. Have to add that my son took me to FoF about 7 years ago and you flew a P51. Man that supercharged engine was sweet! It was a great day and I've been following you ever since.

@KermitWeeks444

5 жыл бұрын

Very cool. Thanks for sharing, and visiting FoF.

@the1realanalogman

5 жыл бұрын

Kermit Weeks Hangar Thank you so much for taking time to read and reply to my comment! It really means a lot to me!

Very nice plane. Exceptional chassis cladding!

I love that era! Art deco. Those spats remind me of racers such as the GeeBee and those airplanes Howard Hughes flew. That old yellow restored Aeronca at Oshkosh last year had a nice set of spats on her.

@silverpairaducks

2 жыл бұрын

Nah cab Calloway

@dyer2cycle

2 жыл бұрын

..yes, it is a very beautifully styled airplane!...now, if someone could just build a CW-21 fighter version of it... :)

Kermit!! You greased the landings in this video!! Nice flying!

Holy cow! What an insanely lovely airplane. Thank you for sharing. Somehow there is a lot of romance in the transitional planes of the 1930s - look at how many designs remain useful ... at the same time their beauty defines their time. I join Mr. Troyer is wishing your Connie would fly again.

Thanks for saving this one! While all airplanes are cool for various reasons, this one speaks to me. Not sure what it is, it just does. Wish I was closer to see her in person.

Mr. Weeks sir...Brent from Michigan...AGAIN...WOW what a plane ! Beautiful..But that Lockheed constellation kept catching my eye, that bird is SEXY SITTING STILL! I love what you do, preserving aviation history while living my dream. Keep up your excellent work sir.

I'm glad that you are keeping these planes alive and where they should be in the sky.

Kermits Weeks is a hero.

4 R-1820's up top,in front of the drop deck? I drive a tractor trailer with a boom,but don't deliver anything nearly as interesting. Been to FoF twice in the 1990's . Thanks for all your work,and sharing your passion with the rest of us.

But it doesn’t matter what get to make noise their all fun to watch and hear.

What a beautiful aircraft!

Fabulous, just fabulous. Love the Curtiss.

What a great sounding engine! The wing looks like a DC-3.

What a BEAUTY!!! Thanks Kermi

Looks like a winner deal was made in Kermit's favor. This is a beauty

That is a beautiful sounding engine. Keep giving us more of your wonderful videos, Kermit. Thank you.

Can't beat the sound of a radial- league all its own

I just love the sound of a vintage piston engine....goosebumps everytime

Ma, I Love the sound of that engine!!

I never saw a better pilot - perfect starts, perfect landings!

@6Sally5

5 жыл бұрын

Thomas Kunze Agreed...It’s insulting that an earlier commenter actually was advising Kermit how to better fly this airplane!

Thank you Mr. Weeks for showing us the Curtiss Wright CW-19R. I very much enjoyed seeing this aircraft airborne once again and definitely liked the tests you conducted on this test flight. It would be pleasing to see this aircraft flying again and I hope you will show us that and the work being done on the aircraft in the meanwhile.

engine has a wonderful sound

That looked like some enthusiastic lively flying. Great to see.

Wow, that is one beautiful plane. I have never seen one fly. Amazing! Thank you!

always great Kermit..love how you explain everything...and share a plane not many have seen much less heard of..from an old Navy man BRAVO ZULU..continued success.Bob

What a beautiful little aeroplane and it sounds great. As much as I love the V-12's I still favor the sound of the radials. We have a very nice Beech 18 that flys over every weekday and the sound of the R-985's is instantly recognizable.

Sure is a great looking airplane that flies beautifully,the trousered undercarriage looks novel,above all the roar of that radial engine sounds really good, I am sure the prop and undercarriage issues will be fixed soon. A very worthy and rare machine for Fantasy of Flight.

Very nice aircraft buddy..... you are the man in that plane... sweet landings..great.

Very Cool. Thank you Sir Weeks!!

That's such a cool plane! I love the wheel fairings.

Like the whole line of St.Louis birds - starting from CW-19 and down to CW-22 Falcon. Wish someone would undertake to re-build the CW-21B Interceptor - to static condition, at least )) Doubt though that the factory drawings of this nice warbird have survived in the wild.

Amazing sound and a wonderful looking airplane. Cool machine.

So cool watching you fly those old war birds, really dig those low passes on the field and greasing those taildragger landings...awesome!

Awesome, sounds so sweet.

Very Nice, very fun! Great that you take some people up. Aviation is such a wonderful addiction. Thanks for sharing and Regards from Alaska!

Mr. Weeks. I want to say, thank you, for making these videos. I have been laid up in the hospital here at Palo Alto VA Hospital recovering from a surgery to correct scaring from a burn I recieved in Afghanistan. I love aviation and watching these videos really lifts my spirits. I would give anything to fly with you in any of your aircraft. If you need someone to polish or clean your airplanes, I would consider it an honor. If you dont mind a broke down infantry medic?

@KermitWeeks444

4 жыл бұрын

Thank you! So sorry for your injury. Hope you have a full recovery soon. And thanks for your service!

@JayStClair-mh5wv

4 жыл бұрын

@@KermitWeeks444 It was my honor! When I get out of here, Im gonna book a flight to Orlando and come out to Fantasy of Flight. Stay safe from the hurricane and keep us posted.

Amazing sound!

Wow amazing. Gorgeous!

Another awesome video Kermit!

I was ignorant of the existence of this aircraft type until viewing this video. Thank you for the enlightenment Mr Weeks.

SWEEEEEEEET!!!!! Those are some of the best low passes I've seen. That type of arc, diving in and climbing out, is just a lot sexier than a straight pass with a bank at the end Kermit, do you still drop that low as you pass the hangar, nowdays? And that "might be you" at the end really hurt my feelings. If I had ANY thought I could actually end up in that gorgeous little ride, I would be at the main gate of FoF with a party hat on. And, since I only live about 40 minutes away, I would be there early. ;)

Best sounding engine ever!! Awesome video - awesome airplane - thanks, Kermit

Lovely little aircraft and nice flight video.

Beautiful airplane! Thanks!

Love the low passes... oh... and that radial sound...

Very cool plane.

KERMIT you have the best of the best,.. An airport, Flying aircraft, aircraft to be restored, aircraft that have ebeen restored, people that restore aircraft and restored aircraft for people to just look at........ looks like GREAT weather TOO..... cool....... hope to see ya in person at Osh. '19

What a beauty!

Thank you, Kermit for the video of another extremely beautiful looking and sounding airplane. That is one of the most beautiful looking designs I've ever seen.

Beautiful aircraft!!

Flying that bad boy around like it's an air racer. From my favorite era. Nice!

That is a very sporty looking little guy. Sounds great and seems quick.

The old style radial engines have such an iconic sound to them. What a neat little plane, glad it could get off the ground again. Too bad there aren't any CW-21s around.

Omg. I have got to come and see that place.

Man this is why I love this channel! That is one of the prettiest planes! It just looks fun.

Very neat little plane, looks a lot of Fun.

Those were some very nice sounding flyby's.. interesting plane!

I was able to visit FOF on 2-15 and it is a wonderful place Kermit. I was able to fly in the Stearman,This was the same plane type and area my father trained in during WW2. Great Place and I look forward to more videos. Real rides over amusement rides any day for me.

Another great ''hit'' from the magical Kermit

Nice and fun aircraft! And you can fly just about anything!

A Very Sweet Aircraft.

Sweet little plane. I'm awed by your pilot expertise describing the instrument ratings.

Oh how I love to take a flight in that, gorgeous plane

WOW! The smooth flowing lines of that 1930s era Curtis are so sexy. I bet it is a dream to fly.... especially with that round engine. :)

Such a pretty airplane. I think this just took the title of favourite Kermit machine. Throw me in the back please Kermit.

Great channel!

Love the sound of that engine.

Nothing like the sound of a ROUND ENGINE ! Glad men like yourself are still here looking after old airplanes . Any chance you could send myself some pictures of your Jeep crash truck ( C F R ) I'M from the old school . Not ARFF . THANKS again! Doug

An air show for two.. looks and sounds just right..

Love the wheel spats.

Hi Kermit! Nice airplane and thanks for sharing! The shape of the plane reminds me of the Spartan Executive and the BF 108...

Thanks for taking time it of your days to make these videos, they are appreciated by many ! 🥃 (Glass of Naked in Jamaica rum😂)

Beautiful

Would love to see your standard 3 part video on the 19. Love the wing design and other features that remind me of the Mit. Zero. Cheers, great flight!

The 'thumbs up' button isn't enough... Thank you for teaching us about your flying experience and as always, amazing video!

Certainly is lovely example of that period of aviation. Did l see a lock heed constellation in the background in some parts of the video?

Love the YJ...oh yeah and the cool plane.

So I was completely unaware of this plane until this video, but man alive, is it a pretty thing. (I have a soft spot for the CW21..or 22) they look so elegant and petite with those wings and the narrow body.

This plane has a great Art Deco look!

That is a beautiful plane.

Very nice.

Oh man you have the best job in the world that Curtis is exquisite looks like it’s doin a million miles an hour on the apron the style is sublime lucky lucky bar steward encore

Oh how i wished that ‘Connie’ would fly again!

@robertschumacher2707

5 жыл бұрын

Easily one of the most beautiful aircraft ever built.

@joetexas1546

5 жыл бұрын

Robert Yepper!

@odonovan

5 жыл бұрын

I would give some body parts to get a flight on a Connie. If it was on Kermit's Connie, that would be beyond incredible. Unfortunately, I don't think she's structurally sound enough to ever be rebuilt to flying status.

@joetexas1546

5 жыл бұрын

The Real O'Donovan yes I believe that the aircraft probably has some kind of structural issue to preclude restoration-oh well.

@Kickinpony66

5 жыл бұрын

@@odonovan How far away from Kansas City, Missouri are you? We have a Super-G :)

Aahhh! the wonderful sound of round.

that first touch down? You should have stopped right there and accepted the applause of the crowd for the smoothest landing of the century. Nice one!

what a beautiful airplane i just wish i lived closer i would work there for free ,, greeting from a cold UK

Never been a huge fan of Curtiss designs but this one is a real gem. Wonder if this was a Don Berlin design as hit has a few of his normal touches. I especially like the spatted landing gears, very art deco! Looks like a delightful plane to fly, the perfect sport plane!

@MattGlucharr

6 ай бұрын

Guess it wasn't, as St. Louis branch was more or less separated from the main Curtiss enterprise in Buffalo. All of the St. Louis lightweights were designed by a team led by Willis Wells, with George Page as the principal developer.

Wow Seems you can fly any aircraft Kermit, Fantastic!

The flap-landing gear interconnect is very interesting. Do tell!

@yamahonkawazuki

5 жыл бұрын

would love to see a martin mars detail tour of this plane as well. so much to learn on this plane you dont see on others.

love the windscreen on that one.

Pretty fast too!

Indeed, it looks like a very nice toy that I would like to have.