| Eric
Presten was born in 1963 and raised in Fremont, California. His earliest
exposure to sport aviation came in 1972, during a visit with his
grandparents in Vancouver, Washington. There, at the Evergreen Airport,
he attended his first airshow!
Some years later, at an Antique Airplane Association Fly-in in
Blakesburg, Iowa, Eric met the late Gordon Bourland. As a result, Eric
spent a summer in Fort Worth, Texas, so Mr. Bourland could teach him to
fly, from a grass strip, in a 1946 Aeronca 7AC Champion. Obtaining his
private license for single-engine airplanes while stilla teenager,
Eric then went on to earn a Bachelor of Science Degree in Aviation
Technology from Central Missouri State University. Since, then, he as
acquired his Single and Multi-Engine Instrument Commercial Land Ratings,
Single-Engine Commercial and Part 135 seaplane qualifications, and is
also a licensed Airframe and Powerplant Mechanic with an Inspection
Authorization.
In doing research for this book, the author has attended several hundred
fly-ins and airshows. He has toured countless museums and
aviation-related displays and has visited airports in all fifty states,
the District of Columbia, England, Australia, New Zealand, and Canada.
He has taken over 40 thousand aviation photographs and has personally
flown in over 750 aircraft, consisting of 273 different types! These
range from Parachutes and ultralights to single-place gliders and
aerobatic airplanes... and from helicopters and gyroplanes to
multi-engine seaplanes and jut-type warbirds. He has soloed over 100
types of primarily vintage aircraft, has been involved in several
aviation-related motion picture projects, is a past president of the
Schellville, California, Chapter of the Antique Airplane Association,
and he is also a Quiet Birdman (QB).
To date, Mr. Presten has owned over a dozen different aircraft. He
has restored a 1941 Erco 415-C Ercoupe, completed the restoration of the
last surviving 1931 Salmson--powered Russel Light Monoplane (2001 Merced
Grand Champion Antique), and his 1949 Piper PA-16 Clipper on amphibious
floats (an EAA Oshkosh 2002 award winner). He is also the current owner
and operator of a 1946, short nose, open cockpit Schweizer 2-22 Glider
(S/N-8).
Erick and his wife, Deborah (also a land and sea rated private pilot),
and their sons Curtis and Benjamin, reside in Sonoma, California.
Other book by Eric Presten include:
The Aviator's Timeless
Choice (1986)
The Classic Taildragger
Buyer's Guide (1994)
Vintage Flyers
(1996)
Vintage Flyers Guidebook
(2000)
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