Admit it. Even if you fly Boeing 777s or Airbus 380s for a living, haven’t you always wanted to climb into the rear pit of an open-cockpit biplane and launch for near horizons? When you attend an air show, don’t you feel a twinge of envy for that guy flying by in a ’30s vintage biplane’s back seat, black leather skull cap confirming his superiority to everything else in the sky, white scarf flowing in the breeze as he rumbles past at a leisurely 100 knots?

If you’re watching what looks to be a marvelously restored Waco buzz the field, be aware it could be a 2015 model.

How could that be? It’s true the original Wacos are antiques from the 1930s, but starting in 1985, a group of biplane fanatics in Michigan decided to resurrect the type and build updated versions of the then half-century-old classics. The plan was to stick to the already certified configuration of the original airplane to avoid reinventing the wing, and suffering the financial pains and endless delays associated with FAA recertification.

Modern-Day Barnstormer
The modern Waco YMF-5D is a charismatic execution of the original premise, still constructed the same way it has been produced sporadically for 80 years. The major difference is that today’s Waco is light years ahead of the old airplane in materials.

Today, you can order a new Waco biplane with all systems and materials upgraded in every way. Waco Classic Aircraft in Battle Creek, Mich., will paint your new Waco in your choice of scheme and colors, lavish leather in the interior, fit the panel with Garmin glass and install practically anything else your credit line will bear.

So far, Waco Classic Aircraft has produced something like 140 YMF-5Ds, most with a 275 hp Jacobs R755 seven-cylinder radial engine. The newest airplanes, introduced in 2010, are blessed with a 300 hp version of the same round powerplant, and they’re nicknamed the Super.

It’s a dramatic oversimplification to consider the modern Waco as merely an updated renovation of the 1935 model, however. Despite the physical resemblance, this isn’t your great-great grandfather’s Waco. From spinner to tailwheel, the 2015 model incorporates a cumulative 300 improvements that make it a very different airplane, though the basic type certificate remains the same.

Out on the nose, the current prop is a composite MT design, an option to the standard Sensenich wood propeller that many pilots still favor. The MT is a German-made elliptical tip design, a fixed-pitch tractor made of composite material. It’s slightly heavier and more efficient than the wooden blades. The new MT prop features the same diameter—92 inches—but with a 60-inch pitch rather than the previous blades’ 68-inch camber. The result is allegedly better cruise AND improved climb, a seeming contradiction in terms. An all-metal, constant-speed, 93-inch diameter Hamilton-Standard 2B20 is an option, as is fuel injection.

The engine remains the original Jacobs R755 seven-cylinder radial, though it has been upgraded to an A2M configuration, boosting horsepower from 275 to 300 (at 2,200 rpm). These days, the STC for all things Jacobs is owned by Air Repair Inc. of Cleveland, Miss. Air Repair produces a variety of overhauled round mills—Jacobs, Continental and Lycoming—for a number of pre- and post-World War II airplanes. Air Repair still maintains the Waco engine and recently completed a top-to-bottom update on the Jacobs 755.

TBO on the newest Jacobs is 1,400 hours, compared to 600 hours on the original mill—a tribute to the fact that the new engine incorporates much more than a few improved metal pieces. Air Repair looked at all components, and modernized and improved everything that made sense without generating excessive production incorporation costs. The Jacobs mill that was once regarded as the “Shaky Jake,” now moves and breathes with the synchronicity of hot butter—its seven cylinders providing almost glass-smooth power.

More horsepower wasn’t the only improvement in the move from the 5C to the 5D. Out in front of the firewall, in addition to the new prop, Waco has installed an improved oil cooler, upgraded magnetos and battery capacity, and added an Airwolf oil filter system. The new Waco also includes a 28-volt electrical system.

The quartet of Clark Y airfoils installed behind the Jacobs engine is essentially the same as the originals, only different. The top wing spans 30 feet, whereas the bottom wing measures only 27 feet across. They’re all constructed of Sitka spruce—the best possible material for aircraft construction.

Wood is lighter than aluminum, and it really does grow on trees. Sitka spruce is noted for its high strength-to-weight ratio, long, consistent grain and generally superlative quality. Its application to aircraft goes all the way back to the Wright Flyer that used Sitka spruce as the predominant construction material. Examine a set of Waco wings before covering, and you’ll be amazed by the exceptional workmanship—one characteristic that hasn’t changed since the 1930s.

In combination with the fabric cover, the YMF-5D is a highly labor-intensive airplane. It’s constructed totally by hand and requires something like 5,000 labor hours to complete—the majority of that time spent on the woodwork and fabric covering.

About that fabric cover on the Waco: It’s still Dacron, lovingly swathed in multiple coats of dope—a plasticized lacquer that tightens and stiffens the fabric as it dries—then covered in PPG Aerospace Polyurethane paint, rendering it airtight, waterproof and incredibly strong. Today’s fabric is an upgraded aircraft-grade Dacron/polyester composite known as Ceconite—far stronger and more durable than the original material. For hangared aircraft, the new cover has an estimated life of 50 years. (Bellanca Aircraft also used Ceconite to cover its wood-winged Viking 300 models right up to the close of production in 1992. Back in the 1980s, Ed Lamb, the West Coast regional sales manager, used to carry around a polished steel ball bearing slightly smaller than a baseball and weighing several pounds. When someone argued that fabric covering is less durable than sheet metal, Lamb would get out the heavy steel ball, hand it to the sales prospect and ask what would happen if he slammed it into the side of an all-metal Piper/Cessna/Beech/Mooney/ Commander. The answer was obvious. There would be a huge dent and a comparable repair bill. Lamb would then rear back and throw the bearing hard against the aft fuselage of his Viking 300 demonstrator. Of course, the bearing would bounce off the taut fabric harmlessly, leaving no dent and no sign of damage. The Waco’s covering is built and cured to the same exacting standards.)

The fuselage on a Waco is constructed of German 4130 steel tubing rather than the milled steel used on the 1930s airplane. It’s almost a roll-cage structure, more appropriate to a NASCAR stock racer. Collectively, the strong tubing and tough wood wings result in G-limits of +5.2 and -2.1.

New-generation Wacos are approved for two passengers in a wide compartment up front and a pilot in the large cockpit in back. Waco widened the forward door to allow easier access to the front pit. It’s possible to fly from the front seat, but only in dual mode. The forward pilot has little more than stick, rudder, throttle, mixture and trim.

The instrument panels in both pits have been widened and redesigned, though the front cockpit usually is fitted with little more than an altimeter, airspeed indicator and a wet compass. If you’re giving rides, the forward cockpit is surprisingly wind free. A standard couple in the front seat should be modestly comfortable. If you’re flying solo cross-country, you can remove the forward windshield, strap your bags in up front, cover the forward pit and fly away.

The aft cockpit can accommodate pretty much anything you can imagine in any other general aviation airplane, and it’s a roomy enclosure for people, as well. Company CEO Peter Bowers explained that starting in the early ’90s with serial number 40, they stretched the airplane six inches, and all that extra room went into the aft cockpit.

Bowers also commented that there’s still more room for adjustment in the rear pit. Waco can move the stick and the seat, and they can even lower the floor slightly, if necessary. “We can accommodate practically everyone,” said Bowers. “This is, after all, a custom-built airplane.”

The customizing extends to the panel, as well. If you prefer round gauges, Waco will provide, but the airplane is approved for a full panel of Garmin glass, and that’s what most buyers choose. The YMF-5D is IFR certified, and it’s legal for installation of XM Weather.

A full-color JPI EDM 930 engine analyzer is standard in back to help the pilot keep track of fuel, CHT, EGT, oil temperature and pressure, and about a dozen other operating parameters.

Waco long ago abandoned those atrocious heel brakes that everyone hated. All the newer Wacos have been converted to hydraulic toe brakes, designed to help facilitate asymmetrical braking on the way to the run-up area.

Finally, back on the tail, a jackscrew controls elevator trim, resetting the entire horizontal tail, rather than merely moving a tab. The tailwheel on the new Waco was converted from nonsteerable to steerable, and raised three inches to reduce the deck angle and improve over-the-nose visibility. A banner-tow hook is also available.

Flying The Biplane
I caught up with the Waco crew at the Oshkosh 2014 EAA AirVenture and arranged with Bowers to take a refresher hop in the new 2015 Super Waco YMF-5D. Demo pilot Bob Wagner was along to make certain I didn’t break anything.

If you’re like me—and I know I am—flying an updated 1930s Waco biplane is a privilege right up there with driving an F-15 through the Mach. It may not be quite as big a thrill guiding a Waco low and slow, but it’s a cross between what Disneyland used to call an E-coupon ride and a very exciting nap.

The airplane is analogous to a flying panda bear, gentle and forgiving to a fault, on the ground and in the sky. Taxiing the big Waco isn’t much of a challenge, though it could become more exciting in a strong crosswind. The circular Jacobs engine limits visibility straight ahead, so S-turns are mandatory to see what you’re about to hit. Still, pedal pressures aren’t heavy, and it’s a fairly easy task to snake your way down the taxiway to the run-up area.

When it’s time to take the runway, standard procedure is to line up on the centerline and pour on all 300 hp. Crosswinds don’t demand any major steering concessions, and you can usually control any deviations with minor taps on the rudder pedals. More normal takeoffs allow you to raise the tail in the first 100 feet of runway and lift off in a more traditional wheel attitude. A standard Waco takeoff from sea level usually demands no more than 700 feet of runway.

With modern materials, Waco Classic Aircraft still constructs the Waco YMF-5D the same way it has over the last 80 years.

Once you’re off the ground, you pitch for about 90 mph and let the big Jacobs pull you uphill at 800 fpm or better. The Waco feels solid and stable in flight, and you get the idea it would be an excellent formation machine.

It is. I’ve flown three air-to-air photo missions in a YMF-5D, and while the controls aren’t especially light, the airplane snuggles comfortably into position and stays there with a minimum of fuss. The Waco is a little like a T-6 in that regard. It may look large and heavy on the ground, but once in the air, the airplane’s personality becomes a ton and a half of fun. Typical of its original generation, the Waco does manifest considerable adverse yaw, however, so you’ll need to lead every maneuver with rudder to keep the ball inside its cage.

Just don’t plan on being in a hurry. The Waco’s drag signature is so high with wings, guy wires, struts, cabanes and wheels hanging out all over the place that cruise speed, even with the big engine, is modest—exactly as it should be. If you need the extra punch for climb or short-field performance, however, the big Jacobs may be worth the expense.

Max cruise under ideal conditions is about 120 mph. Normal fuel limit is 48 gallons, and typical burn is 14-15 gph, so you have about 2.5-3.0 hours’ endurance, worth 300-350 statute miles between fuel stops. The optional 72-gallon tanks extend that to an easy four hours, and most pilots agree that’s long enough to sit in any open-cockpit airplane, no matter how romantic and glamorous you may think it is. The extra tanks can push range out to 500 sm.

In akro mode, the YMF-5D manifests all the composure of a Packard roadster with wings. Roll rate and pitch response are gentlemanly, though the airplane does have an aileron on each wing—four in all. This makes the Waco a standard loop and roll machine with an occasional hammerhead stall thrown in for good measure. For a garden-variety aileron roll, you dive to 120, pitch to 20-30 degrees above the horizon and unload the wing to improve the roll rate; then, deflect the stick to either stop and watch the horizon rotate.

Full stick deflection roll rate is probably about 60 degrees/second, so a full horizontal aileron roll requires six to seven seconds. As the name implies, barrel rolls are gentle rotations that demand little more than 1.3-1.5 Gs. The Waco is also approved for spins.

The magic speed for practically any aerobatic maneuver is the aforementioned 120 mph, though you might want slightly more to prolong the vertical up line for
a hammerhead.

Landings don’t present any special challenges. Most pilots already proficient in taildraggers will make the transition in a few hours. Even pilots with no tailwheel time shouldn’t need to work hard during transitions from sky to ground. Bowers says 25 hours of dual are included with the purchase price, but most buyers need less than 15 hours to become comfortable in the airplane.

Base price on the 2014 Waco Super YMF-5D is $479,250 (2015 prices weren’t available at press time), but as we mentioned earlier, the airplane is ultimately customizable, so the option list is long.

Nearly every Waco buyer purchases the 25-gallon aux tanks, and the Garmin G500 is another popular option. Add a Sandel EHSI, an S-TEC 55X autopilot and a few other common accessories, and an utterly blissed-out Waco will run just north of $575,000 out the door.

Bowers owns the company, so you might expect him to be a strong proponent of the type, but Waco buyers are a peculiar breed of pilots who don’t care much for the normal parameters used to judge airplanes. “The Waco is not transportation; it’s flying” says Bowers. “It’s an aircraft a lot of people lust after because it’s an incredibly sexy machine. It’s not the kind of flying you get today in so many other types of airplanes where [aviation] is a more sterile experience.

“Flying the Waco is completely different,” Bowers continues. “You’re down so low that you can see (and smell) the cows, you can smell the fresh-cut fields, the whiff of the oil coming off the engine, [enjoy] the wind blowing your hair—it’s just a magical experience.”

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To stare out at the world from either seat in a Waco is to wonder where we’ve been and where we’re going. At first, it seems a confusing mélange: struts and brace wires and fairings and wings and wind and sky everywhere.

This is definitely old-school flying: a throwback to an easier time when skies were uncongested and life was less complicated. In those days, most airplanes had one round engine; fixed, conventional gear; and little more than needle, ball and airspeed on the panel. Most often, the sky above or the earth below (assuming you weren’t inverted) was separated from the aviator by nothing but air. Open cockpits, goggles and leather helmets were the rule rather than the exception, though with an eye to the future, Waco was also building a few cabin biplanes.

It’s true, from a distance, the 2010 Waco YMF-5D doesn’t look all that different from the old Waco UPF-7 of the ’30s, and that’s deliberate rather than accidental. Waco Classic Aircraft of Battle Creek, Mich., wanted to preserve the classic, art-deco lines of the original airplane, and to that end, you can be forgiven if you regard a new Waco as an incredibly well-built replica.

Under the skin, however, you’ll find a myriad of improvements, something like 300 in all. After all, despite appearances, the 2010 Waco is a new machine, from spinner to tailwheel. Just as in the 1930s, each Waco is built entirely by hand, involving some 5,000 hours of labor. The fuselage is now constructed of 4130 steel tubing rather than the milled steel used in the 1930s. The Clark Y wing is still meticulously glued together with Sitka spruce, the original material, and the airplane is fabric covered, both highly labor-intensive pursuits.

It’s a design true to the original concept of the Waco UPF. A team of fanatical engineers and craftsmen set about producing a modernized, authentic replica of the antique biplane in 1986, and since then, Waco Classic has produced some 120 examples.

If you deal in averages, that’s only five airplanes a year, a rate that would bankrupt other companies, but Waco is a very small manufacturer, not looking to sell in vol-ume. In fact, the very scarcity of the type unquestionably contributes to its novelty value on the ramp and in the sky. Waco owner Peter Bowers purchased the company in 2008, and he hopes to eventually sustain production at eight airplanes a year.

The modern panel includes a JPI EDM-930 engine analyzer, Garmin G600, Garmin GNS 430 and an L-3 Trilogy standby instrument.

Waco’s sister company in Battle Creek, Centennial Air Service, may be able to pick up the slack if demand diminishes. The hope is that the renovation business might be able to absorb any reasonable slowdown and provide a buffer against layoffs.

The engine remains the original Jacobs R-755 seven-cylinder radial, though it has been upgraded to an A2M configuration, boosting horsepower from 275 to 300 (at 2,200 rpm). The prop is now a German MT, elliptical-tip design, a fixed-pitch tractor made of wood rather than MT’s more conventional composite material, and it’s lighter and more efficient than the Sensenich it replaces. The new prop features the same diameter—92 inches—but with a 60-inch pitch rather than the previous blades’ 68-inch camber. The result is better cruise and improved climb, a seeming contradiction in terms. An all-metal, constant-speed, 93-inch-diameter Hamilton Standard 2B20 is an option.

These days, the STC for all things Jacobs is owned by Air Repair Inc. of Cleveland, Miss. Air Repair produces a variety of overhauled round mills—Jacobs, Continental and Lycoming—for a number of pre- and post-WWII airplanes. Air Repair still maintains the Waco engine and recently completed a top-to-bottom update on the Shaky Jake.

TBO on the Jacobs R-755-A2 is 1,400 hours, a tribute to the fact that the new engine incorporates much more than a few improved metal pieces. Overhaul interval on the original engine back in the ’30s was more like 1,000 hours. Air Repair looked at all components and modernized and improved everything that made sense without excessive production incorporation costs.

More horsepower wasn’t the only improvement in the move from the 5C to the 5D. Out in front of the firewall, in addition to the new prop, there’s upgraded battery capacity, an improved oil cooler, upgraded magnetos and an Air Wolf oil filter system.

On the panel, Waco installed a JPI EDM-930 color engine analyzer that offers an electronic readout of all engine instruments in a single digital gauge. The company also installs a Garmin G600 system, a WAAS-enabled Garmin GNS 430, a Garmin GPSMAP 696 and an L-3 Trilogy standby instrument that displays attitude, altitude and airspeed. The panel itself has been redesigned with improved vibration dampeners. Digital avionics are especially popular on the Waco, not only because of their more efficient, modern presentation but also because digital avionics aren’t susceptible to tumbling from aerobatics.

There’s an improved landing-gear design; LED landing, taxi and position lights; and a new circuit-breaker panel and location. Plus front cockpit brakes are now standard, and there are about 20 other improvements we don’t have space to list. The modern Waco may look pretty much the same as the antique model, but as mentioned above, there are literally hundreds of improvements under the skin.

The radial Jacobs R-755 is upgraded to provide 300 hp on takeoff.

What went before and still remains, however, makes the Waco YMF-5D perhaps the most unusual new aircraft on the market. From a distance, most pilots who didn’t come of age in the 1930s probably couldn’t tell the difference between a YMF-5D and one of the older open-cockpit Waco biplanes.

Today’s modern Waco is a three-seater, with an extra-wide bench seat up front and a single bucket in back. Wacos were popular barnstorming airplanes in those early years, and they continue to serve that market today. (In fact, as this article goes to press, Waco has announced a dedicated Barnstormer Edition, a more basic model intended specifically for hopping passengers in the front pit. One operator in Sedona, Ariz., uses a pair of bright-red YMF-5Cs for sightseeing flights around the red rock canyons of central Arizona.)

Climbing into the back pit of a Waco is exactly that, a climb, though not a long one. You step up and over the sidewall, lowering yourself into a world of luxurious leather. The front pit, sometimes referred to as the “money pit” by those who barnstorm their Wacos, has a door on the left side, a partial concession to the proximity of the top wing. Or perhaps it was intended to accommodate someone in a dress. Either cockpit is a comfortable enclosure, more than adequate to accommodate even big folks.

The sticks are conventional joysticks with polished wood hand grips, a nice touch of luxury somehow only appropriate to an airplane in this class. “This class,” incidentally, starts at $395,000 for the basic VFR airplane, transitions to $423,245 for an IFR Waco and can escalate to as much $495,000 if your credit line can bear the strain.

Engine start with the big, seven-cylinder radial is more satisfying than with the standard horizontally opposed powerplants. There’s that reassuring chug-a-put when the engine catches, then a series of puffs of smoke and bangs as all the cylinders vote on whether to run, and finally a smooth idle as everything settles down. The airplane comes off the blocks with minimum power, and the steerable tailwheel keeps the tail behind the pilot at all times.

I launched out of Florida’s Plant City Airport with Waco’s Bob Wagner in the back pit. Wagner is an air show pilot with thousands of hours in type, including carrying a wingwalker. He did most of the flight-test work on the D model, so if anyone should know the airplane, Bob would be the one.

Make no mistake, the Waco is one big biplane, especially in contrast to the Pitts or Great Lakes. Wagner and I were flying on the wing of a Skyhawk for Jim Lawrence’s camera, and the Waco dwarfed the little Cessna. Conversely, the YMF-5D’s easy formation manners made it a simple task to keep the airplane somewhere near where Lawrence needed it for air-to-air photos.

As with the T-6 and other big taildraggers, the tailwheel is lockable for takeoff, a hedge against overcontrolling on the ground. Gross weight is only 2,950 pounds, so full power produces reassuring pressure against the back rest. The Waco leaps into the air with either the standard 275 hp or optional 300 hp engine out front.

When unrestricted by a Skyhawk with a window open, a moderately loaded Waco manages about 750-800 fpm from sea level. Optimum cruise height of 6,500-7,500 feet comes up in 10 minutes.

Considerations of cruise speed and fuel burn pale to insignificance in the Waco, but this isn’t a one-trick pony, suitable only for hamburger flights on CAVU Sundays and holidays. Pilots WILL take them cross-country from time to time. While fun is more often the goal than speed or range, fuel capacity is 48 gallons, so the new YMF-5D offers about 2.5 hours’ endurance plus reserve at 15 gph, trucking along at 105 knots max. If you’re determined to cover longer distances, you can add a pair of 12-gallon aux tanks that can extend endurance to four hours and range to 420 nm.

It’s true the more common application of the big biplane is local cruising with perhaps a loop or roll thrown in just to keep things interesting. The Waco is easily tough enough for most basic aerobatics, but it was never designed for hard acro. Roll rate is a leisurely 50-60 degrees per second, so a full-aileron-deflection roll requires about seven seconds. Loops can be pretty much as you like them, depending upon how hard you’re willing to pull. (G-limit is 5.5.) The airplane also does a reasonable hammerhead turn to the left with full left rudder and opposite aileron to avoid rolling onto your back.

The Waco IS an open-cockpit airplane, and that might seem to present problems in winter, but Waco is way ahead of you. The company has paid special attention to the problem of heating the airplane’s two, open-air pits. The windshields do a good job of deflecting airflow away from the pilot/passengers, and heat floods up from the floors to keep everyone comfortable and warm in temperatures that might surprise you. It’s true I was flying in Florida in April, so the problem was minimal, but the heater is alleged to be phenomenal at suppressing the cold of those Battle Creek winters.

The Waco’s 51-knot stall speed makes the airplane friendly down to approach speeds of 65 or even 60 knots if you need to plunk it on and stop it short. The airplane provides so much aerodynamic warning of an impending stall, you’d have to be in a narcoleptic trance not to recognize it. Three-point touchdowns or wheel landings work equally well, and the biplane goes almost exactly where you point it on the ground with the help of that big, steerable tailwheel.

Waco’s YMF-5D is the oldest general aviation airplane design still in production. Fortunately, that doesn’t portend bad things. The model has a good safety record, and a nearly fanatical following among its owners. One of them, a prominent real estate broker in Santa Ana, Calif., once misjudged a desert crosswind, lost control on landing and put his Waco on its nose, doing substantial damage. The tough steel-tube structure kept him from harm, and as he was sitting in the airplane, hanging from his straps and waiting for the crash crew, he pulled out his cell phone, dialed the factory in Battle Creek and ordered a new one. Now, that’s dedication.

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WACO YMF-5D
Engine make/model:	Jacobs R-755-B2M
Horsepower on takeoff:	300
TBO (hrs.):	1400
Fuel type:	100/100LL
Propellor:	Fixed pitch
Landing gear type:	Conv./Fixed
Max takeoff weight (lbs.):	2950
Empty weight, std. (lbs.):	2050
Useful load, std. (lbs.):	900
Usable fuel, std. (gals./lbs.):	48/288
Payload, full std. fuel (lbs.):	612
Wingspan, upper:	30 ft.
Wingspan, lower:	26 ft. 10 in.
Overall length:	23 ft. 10 in.
Overall height:	8 ft. 6 in.
Wing area (sq. ft.):	233.5
Wing loading (lbs./sq. ft.):	12.6
Power loading (lbs./hp):	9.8
Wheel size:	6.00 x 6
Seating capacity:	3
Cabin doors:	1
Cabin height (in.):	infinite
G-limits:	+5.5/-2.2
PERFORMANCE
Max cruise speed (kts.):	105
Fuel consumption, max cruise (gph):	15
Best rate of climb, SL (fpm):	770
Takeoff roll (ft.):	500

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