All started in the airplane of Frank De Meyer’s father. While Frank was not yet big enough to touch the rudder pedals with his feet, he learned to play the yoke around with skill. His real aviation adventure was airborne taking flying lessons in the late eighties.
Making trips all over Europe with his young family he needed to get his instrument rating. The only course available at that time was a combined instrument rating and professional pilot license, including an acrobatic examination. This experience of feeling the sky upside down, twirling and spinning, lead to his passion for the famous Stampe Vertongen biplanes. In 2005 Frank converted to the great feeling of mastering Tailwheels!
It was love at first sight with SV4 OO-KAT. The red aircraft with the remarkable nose art made its appearance at a lot of meetings and fly-ins. This is actually how we met each other for the first time. Frank is one of the few pilots who attended ALL editions of the Tailwheel Meet… and it is needless to say that he also wears the 369 Sqn colors with pride.
In 2011 Frank showed up for the first time in some real heavy metal tailwheel… the iconic Harvard T6. From that moment on, things went very fast. In 2013 he became owner of the red SV4 and in that same year he founded ‘Feel The Sky’. The purpose of this organization is bringing the sensation of flying old-open-cockpit-biplanes to the public. In 2014 the fleet was extended with another SV4 (OO-SVT) and ever since Frank and Maxim are a well-known duo in the vintage aviation scenery.
It was clear to us that Frank’s efforts to keep vintage aviation alive are largely sufficient to grant this year’s patronship to him… and his team!