I did my tailwheel endorsement through a gentleman that flies warbird and biplane tours in KCRQ CA and we became close after doing some flying together in his 170. Turns out because of his extremely vast tailwheel and antique experience a wealthy gentleman wanted to sell his pristine stearman but was out of state so he put him in charge as the guy who would show it and ferry it if need be. Part of the deal was that he had to also fly it reguarly to keep it in top shape.

Moral of the story, by making friends with him he and I would reguarly take the stearman out and put it through its paces doing touch and gos and low passes and your basic loops, barrel rolls and spins. I ended up with around 15 hours of stearman time through that.

My inlaws live in a grass strip aviation community in central NH, most of the people who live there are current or retired airline pilots with a passion for aviation. Most of those pilots own very cool planes such as the new standard, dehaviland beaver and a few cessna 195s. By shaking hands, meeting and greeting I have had a chance to get up in quite a few because no one likes to fly alone.

In closing, they say it is all about who you know to get a job around here, well the same applies for what you want to fly. You want to fly a radial...hang around people who fly them, talk to them be there friend (you will be anyway because they are all typically great people) and the chances come. Before you know it you will know most anyone within a 100 mile radius who owns one of the belching beast and get some good stick time in them.

The DC-3 type will be my guilty pleasure when I make some more cash and I will get it before the plane is extinct.