Tag Archives: Waco air museum

The Lickity Splitter

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It’s called the Lickity Splitter.

I found it in, of all places, the WACO Air Museum and Aviation Learning Center in Troy, Ohio. While that museum is dedicated mostly to the WACO airplanes made in town a century ago, they also have a few pieces related to general local history.

Note: I dug a little deeper after I wrote that line and the internet tells me the man who patented the design was a fella named Clayton Brukner who was once the head of the WACO Air Company. This rings a bell for me – I think I read it on a museum sign and then promptly forgot.

Anyway….

This is a log splitter that was produced by the Piqua Engineering Company. The sign says they started making these things in 1958 and it was basically the Cadillac of log splitters back in the day.

The Piqua Engineering Company opened in 1942 as a manufacturer of airplanes and producer of parts for the US government during the war. Postwar years led them in different directions to make neon signs, dumbwaiters, paper bailers and log splitters, among other things.

Oddly enough, there’s one for sale in an online auction. Click here if you wish to place your bid but do it soon as the auction ends on March 22, 2023. It’s in Brooklyn, Mississippi. I found one that sold a while back for $1,100.

By the way, I never thought that I would be writing about a log splitter but I found the picture from my day at the WACO museum and couldn’t resist asking the question that so often travels through my mind. What the heck is that?

Happiness Is…..

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Happiness is finding just the right angle. These two aircraft and the American flag line up as well as I could ask in this picture from the WACO Air Museum.

The small wooden plane held aloft is a reproduction of the 1919 WACO Cootie, a high wing parasol type aircraft. With its short wings and two cylinder engine, it barely flew but is an important piece of WACO history. Just two of these planes were ever manufactured and the plans have been lost to time so the man who built it did so based off of pictures.

The stunning red and white airplane in the foreground is the 1929 Goodrich Taperwing, a modern beauty and literal showpiece for this museum. It is gorgeous and it looks like it could do anything a good pilot asks it to do.

Lt. Joe Mackey and the US Army Air Corps flew this plane in the 1936 International Aerobatic Competition in Paris. It won, securing the WACO name in the world of higher performance aircraft.

Airplanes aren’t meant to be photographed in museums with their harsh light and other planes jockeying for attention in the background. They’re meant to be captured soaring high above, stretching their wings and inspiring those bound to earth to reach toward the heavens.

Yet, I was pleased with this photo and the way the Cootie perhaps smiles down on its descendants. The taperwing wouldn’t have been possible if not for the early designs of planes like the Cootie.

And, of course, modern aircraft wouldn’t be what it is today without companies like WACO. I’m grateful for the museum and for this image to help preserve memories of the day.

First 2023 Adventure Day

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Yesterday brought a break in the No Spend Challenge for a little Adventure Day. I intended to stay home and use the time to do a couple of projects, get some rest and read. But the forecast for sunshine and 41 degrees was simply too tempting to ignore.

Instead, I set off early and headed to Dayton to hike at Aullwood Audubon where I visited the trolls or the forest giants, depending on what you call them. It was 21 degrees and the weather app said it felt like fifteen but I was so happy to be in nature I did not care.

Then I hit up the Waco Air Museum in Troy.

And, I needed lunch so I found a fantastic little diner nearby. It was cramped and busy so my pictures are all awful but the food was delish and I really liked it there. I will tell you all about it soon.

And I mostly window shopped at Antiques Village but did score a couple of good deals. This is one of my favorite antique malls so I couldn’t leave town without a stroll through.

It’s funny because I was so happy at home and focusing on my January No Spend Challenge that I never felt deprived. However, this day that was heavy on experiences and light on spending was just what I needed. I felt more like myself than I have in a long time.

It was a long day but I would have stayed out longer. We are probably lucky that I didn’t continue West when I found myself on the National Road. Don’t think I didn’t contemplate running away from home to the great state of Indiana!

Along the way, I chatted with people, looked at some interesting things and even saw a mink in the wild. So check back to hear more and to see more pictures!