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My son Ken Stoltzfus Jr., and his son Colby and I took in the Wentworth Aircraft auction in Minneapolis on May 13-15, 2011. We were booked to fly home the evening of the 16th, so we had quite a bit of time to burn. We ran down to Anoka County to see what we could see and were pleasantly surprised.

This trip was very special to me because it was the last such three-generation event before Ken Jr.'s passing on July 19, following emergency surgery for brain tumors. I have such good memories of driving and walking around looking at these aircraft with my son Ken and grandson Colby.

I'll show the general photos first, and then series for each of the following;

Beech 18 N3111, 1953 D-18S cn A-964. Never military, and the same owner since 1981. Looks like a clean bird but it's going to need some attention soon. It has the Beechcraft cargo door, which used the original, rounded top and bottom and front-hinged passenger door, with a lift out cargo door behind it. Note the single piece cowl flaps and gear doors, but otherwise it's about as stock as you can get. There's some older photos here and it looks like its been given some attention since then.

Percival Pembroke N510RP, N702JM. 1954 P55, This one was hard to track down but I finally got it - - I think. This source identifies it as CN PAC/66/29; Line No. PAC/K66/B4009; and SN RM-9. It went to the Belgian Air Force in 1954 as BAF89 and I believe the call sign OT-ZAI; to Air America Inc. as N51964 in 1978; 1978 Honduran registered as HR-ITA; 1987 registered as N702JM; 1988 registered as N510RP; 2005 registered as N702JM. It still shows N510RP.

Old hangar. Now this goes back in time! I couldn't resist it.

Their web site says: "The American Wings Air Museum main display facility at the north end of Anoka County Airport has had to close due to the sale of the facility. While many of the artifacts and aircraft displays have had to be placed in storage, we are still displaying many of our aircraft and other items at our Annex facility at the south end of the airport." Here are some of the aircraft we saw.

Cessna 310 N597AR, 1958 Cessna 310B cn 35693. I don't believe it has military history. Photo 2

Grumman OV-1B Mohawk N134RV, OV-1B cn 90B Army 64-14262, converted to RV-1 (advanced ELINT reconnaissance). It looks very complete. More info and photos here.

Grumman OV-1 Mohawk N2036P, reportedly a former Penn State weather research aircraft but I haven't been able to connect that registration with this aircraft in any of my databases, or online. This one has lots of people guessing! Any help out there?

OV-1 Mohawk Association
All Grumman Mohawks in Joe Baugher's database (Scroll down)
American Wings Air Museum Mohawks from Baugher, with my notes, a PDF

Grumman S2F-1 Tracker N8114Z, BuNo 136540, cn G-449. It is very complete except for the props. My twin Karl and I owned the first civilian S2F (from Lakehurst NAS, NJ), and I personally drilled out all of the Highshear rivets to get the centersection off so we could truck it home. That's not a recreational experience!

Sikorsky UH-34D 147174, cn 58-1115, built as HUS-1 Seahorse, redesignated UH-34D in 1962. Note the folding rotor blades for shipboard operation. The engine is a Wright R-1820 similar to those in the Grumman S2F.

The Golden Wings Flying Museum caught us totally off guard. We were just nosing around the airport and saw this big hangar with a door open, so we peeked in. The sight was breathtaking! A gentleman was working on an airplane in the hangar and we asked if we could look around and take photos.

This is the kind of place where you feel like you should talk softly out of reverence for the collection. They are not only machines made of metal and fabric - - they represent the innovation, skill and courage of men and women of the past who contributed so much to aviation as we know it today.

The lighting in the hangar was a challenge, and the aircraft are parked pretty close together, but I did my best and I'm thankful for the opportunity. Enjoy!

Aeronca C-3 N15295, 1936 cn 623 with it's Aeronca 2-cylinder, 113-cubic inch, 36-hp engine. I wonder why it has been called a flying bathtub? LOL The Aeronca insignia, and more info.

Alliance Aircraft Argo N2M, 1929 cn 108. One of only 20 built. Photo 2, and more info.

Arrow Sport M N18764, 1938 cn 105, with Menasco PIRATE C4 D4, inverted 4-cylinder, 125-hp engine.

Buhl CA-3E N8451, 1929 cn 57, with a Packard diesel aircraft engine. Fantastic history/info here.

Cunningham Hall PT-6F N444, 1938 cn 381. Look at all the lines here! This is the freighter version of the PT-6. It was built with a Wright R-975 but now has the P&W R-985. More info here.

Fairchild FC-2-W2 M13934, 1928 cn 531. It wouldn't win a beauty contest but it probably made up for it as a workhorse. It would have been built with the 400-hp P&W Wasp but now has the 450-hp R-985 as used in Twin Beechs, BT-13s, Beavers and lots of Stearmans. You can learn more here, including photos that show the wings in the folded position.

Fairchild PT-19 M-62A-4 N55406, 1942 cn T42-1394. They're a contemporary of the Stearman series, and although I've flown many Stearmans I never had the opportunity to fly one of these. That wide gear certainly makes it much more docile than the Stearman! This is the open cockpit version of the Fairchild PT's, with a 175-hp, inverted 6-cylinder Ranger engine. Lots of info and history on this bird here.

Fairchild PT-23, Howard, M62C N64097, PT-23A 1943 cn 123. The PT-23 is the same airframe as the PT-19 but with a 7-cylinder, 220-hp, Continental W-670 engine. Many of the Fairchilds were actually built by others under contract, and N64097 was built by Howard, the people who are famous for the DGA series. Info/history here.

Fairchild PT-26 M-62A-3 Cornell N63568, 1943 cn T43-4499. The PT-26's had the 200-hp Ranger, an electrical system (I think) and the canopy for Canadian flight training. This is a nice one!

Fairchild PT-26 M-62A-4 N79185, 1942 cn FC180. Another beautiful PT-26. The Fairchild PT aircraft have several series of construction numbers (serial numbers) because they were built by several manufacturers, and are harder to figure out than many other. Stearmans, for example, all start with 75- and it's easy to figure out. Info/history here.

Fleetwings Seabird N16793, F401 cn 1. Rare in several ways including it being of spot welded stainless steel construction! This is the 3-passenger prototype, and the production models were 4-passenger. Built with a 285-hp L-5 Jacobs, it now has the 300-hp R-755-A2 Jake with a fixed pitch, Curtiss Reed prop.. Click here for more info.

Ford 4-AT-B N1077, 1927 cn 10. This is the smaller Ford, with three Wright R-760 engines and Hamilton Standard ground adjustable props, both as used on the Navy N3N. For more info/photos click here, and for a really detailed history, click here!

Ford 4-AT-B N9610, 1928 cn 42, with P&W R-985's and Hamilton Standard ground adjustables. The Fords have a distinctive nose and tail. This is the one that Harold Johnson looped, spun and snap-rolled years ago. For photos, Info and videos, click here.

Ford Bushmaster 2000 N7501V, 1966 cn 1, the first of two of this series built. They have the P&W R-985s and 3-blade Hartzell props. The vertical tail is very different from the old Fords. More info/photos here.

Keystone-Loening K-84 Commuter N63K, 1929 cn 305, awaiting restoration. The wings have been rebuilt and are standing up against the wall behind the Waco ASO. More info here.

Piper PA-22-150 N3764P, 1955 cn 22-3488. A very pretty short-wing Piper that is called a Pacer even though it is only marginally so. It is a PA-22 Tri-Pacer converted to a taildragger. It's a mod that has a similar effect to going from riding a tricycle, to a bicycle. Looks like an aux fuel tank under the rear seat there.

P&W R-985-SB. This is the predecessor to the "450", R-985 that most of us know. It is the old SB version with the clips over the rocker covers instead of having the studs and nuts. I remember when we had an SB in our fleet of 450-Stearman sprayers.

Stearman C3-B N6438, 1928 cn 169, with a Wright J-5, 9-cylinder radial engine. More info here.

Stearman E75 N317PT, PT-13D 75-5474 with the R-680-17, "225 Lycoming." This is a beauty, and as I recall, the sheetmetal is annodized instead of being painted.

Stinson SM-6000-B N11153, 1931 cn 5021, with three R-680 "300 Lycomings" and Hamilton Standard 2B20 counterweighted, constant speed props. My guess is that the heat ducting that you see on the front engine, is not original but is from a Beech AT-10. Lots of photos and info here.

Travel Air A-6000-A N377M, 1929 cn A6A-2003, a real workhorse built by Curtiss Wright. It now has a 425-HP P&W R-985-SB (as shown above). See more info here, and click on the photos there to see large images. The info there says it has an R-1340, but I don't believe it is.

Waco ASO 1929 N608N, 1929 cn 3070, in Texaco colors, with a Wright R760 engine. They really get off and up with that engine!

Waco CUC-1 N15233, 1935 cn 4318, a pretty cabin Waco named "Wind Harp", with a Wright R-760-E engine and Curtiss Reed prop. More info here.

Waco UKC N13897, 1934 cn 3842, a Pure Oil Waco with a W-670, "220 Continental" and Curtiss Reed prop. Check here for more info and some interior shots.

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North American T-6 N85696, 1942 AT-6D, cn 88-17477, USAF 42-85696, CR528. It's a beauty and it took the "Best T-6" award at Oshkosh in 2008. Looks like he's in for some radio work at R. C. Avionics.