Farmer's Sideline Job Requires Death-Defying Maneuvers

Farmer s Sideline Job Requires Death-Defying Maneuvers SPECIALTY/SERVICES Erik Edgren might be the only farmer in America whose side occupation is entertaining air show visitors with airplane aerobatics “I started flying when I was 6 sitting on my dad’s lap ” Edgren says “I was ready to solo when I was 8 riding in a custom-made seat with control extensions so I could fly the plane myself ” In the ensuing 35 years Edgren has flown more than 150 makes and models of airplanes He’s worked as a flight instructor as a corporate pilot he’s trained pilots for a combat school and entertained thousands of people with carefully calculated rolls loops and smoke swirls Since 1997 he’s also been a fulltime Iowa farmer “I grew up on a farm and had absolutely no interest in that occupation as a youngster ” Edgren says “My dad was a farmer and a pilot but flying was my passion I really looked up to Dick Willetts an Iowa flying legend who had his own show I rode with him when I was 13 and was hooked ” After graduating from high school Edgren briefly attended college then concentrated on flying He bought an old Cessna 310 rebuilt the motor with a friend and earned flight ratings He taught flying in the Midwest and later was a co-pilot on a corporate Learjet in Michigan In 1996 he returned to Iowa to take over the family farm Edgren says the decision to return was easy “I gave up earning potential for quality of life The divorce rate among airline pilots is staggering I always wanted a family and there’s no better place to have a family than on a farm ” He met his wife Stephanie in 1997 and they now live with their son John on the farm that’s been a part of their extended family since before the Homestead Act “Farming is my job and family legacy and I really enjoy it but flying is my passion ” says Edgren who logs more than 100 hrs a year most of them in the seat of his brilliant red 1939 Taylorcraft fixed wing airplane It’s such a striking and memorable plane that a model airplane company sells a replica He participates in air shows around the Midwest each summer as a character called “Hobie Washburn” a slightly unsteady performer who wears a tropical shirt carries a large margarita glass and wears a beach-comber hat “People really don’t know what to think when they see me crawl into the plane and they’re even more concerned when I perform an unusual takeoff sometimes on one wheel with a wing almost touching the ground ” says Edgren with a laugh “My show is part humor and part acrobatics and it’s all planned out ” Edgren has his surface level waiver so he can perform inverted maneuvers at ground level which is a crowd-pleasing act He builds a sequence of maneuvers into each show with some gaining speed and energy and others losing energy like a mid-air stall in the midst of a plume of white smoke Edgren’s Taylorcraft airplane which has 30-ft wings weighs just 830 lbs and carries only 24 gal of fuel It’s capable of flying two people but in his show setup he sits in the center steering with a stick rather than a wheel The small 85 hp engine can push the plane to speeds of 125 mph and up to 160 mph in dives which is more than enough to thrill airshow crowds Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Erik Edgren Airshows 2716 Queens Ave Oskaloosa Iowa 52577 ph 641 660-5338; www erikedgrenairshows com

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