Limited edition artistamp (above) was also created to commemorate
The Olathe Poste joining the ranks of the Local Post Collector's Society. This stamp is
the only one to date which 'flys' under The Olathe Poste banner to bear the word
"Local" on the stamp.
The caption below the cachet on the
First Day Cover reads:
"The Olathe Poste Commemorates Airplanes, Pilots, & Stamps that
are Inverted, Perverted, or otherwise fondled lovingly..." |
|
Aviate
Inverted... Much of my life during the 1980's was spent in the cockpits of
airplanes. I lovingly refer to this period in my life as my "barnstorming days."
Besides aviation being a lifelong love of my life, the allure of being free as a bird,
and all that, flying was a way for me to pre-pay favors to others. Favors I hoped I would never
have to need in return. Specifically, I was a search and rescue pilot with the New Mexico
Wing of the Civil Air Patrol, and Air Mission Coordinator for the New Mexico State Police.
With enough certifications from the U.S. Coastgaurd, NMSP, and the CAP to choke a horse.
 But
during my barnstorming days of the 1980s, I also owned a Smith Mini-plane DSA-1. It along
with some old war birds owned by the Confederate Air Force, of which I was also a member
of, saw the seat of my pants strapped down firmly on the seats of many fun aircraft. The
FAA, I must admit, knew my telephone number by heart and called on a regular basis to
chastise me for doing something too close to the ground, crowds of bystanders, or
something, while being upside-down or in some other unusual attitude (pilot talk). The FAA
considers anything beyond 60 degrees of a nose-up attitude, down, or in a steep bank
aerobatic. Well, I owned an aerobatic airplane, flew aerobatics at airshows in the
Southwest, obviously had to practice aerobatics to stay proficient at it, and, well...
So anyway, one day I decided that I needed to document this segment of my life. Using
what every good pilot always keeps onboard for emergency repairs, I duct-taped a camera
onto a wing strut of my Smith, ran a remote shutter release, and went up into the wild
blue yonder to take a few self-portraits. |
| Although my "Aviate
Inverted" artistamp was created and issued on the 13th of December, 2004, a close
predecessor to it was issued in 2002 (Air Mail Art above), from one of
the self-portraits
that resulted from that photographic sortie in 1983. Topical artistamp collectors will
be happy to know that besides a few sheets of both stamps, approximately 20 Aviate
Inverted FDC's are still available. A second cover envelope, using the inverted
self-portrait image in B&W for the cachet is more prevalent - with or without an
accompanying "Aviate Inverted" stamp. This second cover envelope, will normally
bear the matching Air Mail Art artistamp, tinted overall in bright orange, to match the
actual paint job on my old Smith, N8NE.
More photos of the Smith here »
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