In 1981, Stephen Houseknecht first flew in a B17G “Flying Fortress” with the Confederate Air Force’s Texas Raiders. Prior to this, all of his B17 photographs were constructed by using 1/48th scale models – photographed and re-photographed in the studio to give the illusion of real B17s in “imagined” situations. In the early and mid-eighties, Stephen flew with the Texas Raiders. At this time, flying was by special invitation only - the organizations operating the a/c did not/could not sell rides. Paid flights began in the mid-nineties with FAA approval.
Stephen flew in a B17 909 during the Geneseo air show in 1986. That same year, Geneseo purchased a B17 (Fuddy Duddy) which represented a B17 from the 447 BG (H). Stephen’s father flew with this bomber group as part of the 8th Air Force, and was seriously wounded by flak over Germany in 1944. In 1987, Stephen accumulated six and a half hours of B17 flight time and took a ten-day barnstormer tour through Long Island, Eastern PA, and from the Jersey shore to Cape May. The experience with this B17 went beyond flights and photographs, he was a volunteer mechanic and in the process of qualifying as a B17 crew chief when the organization relocated to Elmira, NY. He flew additional B17 flights with the Texas Raiders (Yankee Lady and Sentimental Journey).
In 2002, he flew on a B25 Mitchell during a Genesee County Bicentennial Parade flyover in Leroy, NY that was arranged during the annual air show to honor Batavia native Capt. Edward York, a pilot (carrier launched) on the 1942 Doolittle Tokyo Raid. Last year, Stephen was fortunate to experience an hour and ten minutes as lead navigator on a flight of eight Stearman PT 17 biplanes, and flew a couple of times on a Cessna UC 78 Bobcat and in a Beech C45 light transport. He is looking forward to a three-day flight in a C47 (DC-3) for a New Hampshire air show in August, 2005.
Stephen Houseknecht received his MFA degree from the SUNY at Buffalo,1980 and is currently an adjunct professor at Buffalo State College. He was awarded four New York State Council on the Arts decentralization grants and a New York State Local Initiative Grant (Natural Heritage Trust) to organize, archive and exhibit his family’s historical collection. His most recent decentralization grant (2002) was titled Printing Glass Plate Negative Collection, Phase One. The family photograph projects incorporate over 100 years of history. Stephen’s exhibitions of his personal work include the Albright-Knox Art Gallery, Burchfield–Penney Regional Arts Center, and Buffalo Artist Studio, Buffalo NY; the New York State Museum, Albany, NY; the Schwein Memorial Art Center, Auburn, NY; the Museum of the Hudson Highlands, Cornwall-On-Hudson, NY; and the Erie Art Museum, Erie, PA.