You’ve probably noticed this antique bi-plane flying above town from time to time but may not know that its owner and pilot is Jacksonville resident Mike Burrill, Jr. Mike, who serves on the Britt Festivals Board of Directors, (among others) took to the skies to provide Britt Orchestra Maestro Teddy Abrams a bird’s-eye tour and view of the Rogue Valley. In this shot, you’ll notice Teddy got a unique chance to see the Britt Pavilion, unlike any other.
Mike’s plane is a 1942 Boeing “Stearman” Biplane that was restored from parts by his grandfather Eugene F. Burrill in the late 1970’s. Mike says, “I remember seeing the fuselage under construction in his garage in Prospect, Oregon when I was 8-years-old. Both he and my father gave me flight instruction in it starting when I was around 13-years-old.” Although Mike’s grandfather passed-away in 2009, Mike continued the family tradition and has made upgrades to it since, but notes, “it is still the aircraft my grandfather built!”
