Aviation Heros

flyersfan31

flyersfan31

Touchdown! Greaser!
Joined
Mar 31, 2006
Messages
14,269
Display Name
Display name:
Freiburgfan31
Aviation is a relatively young field. The first generation of pioneers -- the Wrights, Curtiss, Martin, Beech, etc are gone. There are still many who worked with them, call them second generation, who are still around but aging fast. Slowly the personal links to the early days of flying are slipping away. Even the Mercury/Gemini/Apollo astronauts are in their 70's or 80's, and the space program is a relative newcomer.

The passing of Bill Kershner got me to thinking. I had just reread an article he wrote in the Nov AOPA Pilot about the making of the Piper Colt when I learned of his death. He was involved in the development meetings for the Colt with Mr. Piper. I thought that was a pretty neat experience - a "2nd generation" link to an aviation pioneer. It would have been interesting to talk to Mr. Kershner about his experiences and hear his stories.

I've never had such an opportunity, but I was wondering if anyone on the board had met any notable personalities from the history books of aviation. Stories, anyone?
 
I've had no such good fortune, but there's still folks like Burt Rutan, Dick VanGrunsven, or Tom Poberezney.
 
At AirVenture last Summer, I got to meet Chuck Yeager.
 
There are certainly heros out there such as Rutan but I will submit the following whom I have actually met

1) Daniel Avrey - Former Israeli ambassador to the US and former head of the IDF who was a fighter pilot involved in dog fights over Syria and orchastrated the raid on the Osirak Nuke Reactor in Iraq. Which was a major aviation feat if you have studied it.

2) My wife's uncle Burton Scheafer who at 19 flew C-47s over the hump in WWII .

perhaps these guys can't be called aviation pioneers but they are aviation heros in my book.
 
Well, we've invited Catherine Cavagnaro to Gaston's this year, and she's the one who's been flying with him for quite a while and will be taking over his school. Hopefully, she'll be able to join us, though I suspect she may be a little busier than she had expected. I just reiterated our onvitation and offered our condolences to her.
 
at the SSA convention last year Matt and I got to talk to a lot of our modern day soaring heroes. Notable was Gordon Boettger who flew his Kestrel sailplane over 2000 kilometers in the Sierra Nevada wave in 2005. Thats the longest flight ever in the Northern Hemisphere and only a few hundred km short of the World Record! Many of the other "wave maestros" from out west are our heroes. Also Jim Hard, who has flown the equivalent of around the world, 25000 kilometers, in his Schweizer 1-26, in the last 10 years. A 1-26 is definitely not a high performance glider in any respect, something like 23:1 best glide ratio. He knows how to make it go and has done flights of over 400 miles in it!
 
Buzz Aldrin at a book signing in IIRC 1988.

I love the little people behind the curtain that no one ever suspects: I was doing the half penny tour of a teeny stone sided embroidery shop with a waterwheel on the side in New England somewhere and one of the older ladies had a signed picture of Neil Armstrong all geared up during one of the suit checkouts. I asked her about it since it was out of place for the building and was an unusual picture. Her casual answer: "He's a nice man. See those EVA boots he's wearing? I made them." Me: :eek:

I can't remember her name but I met one of the original 99's in upstate NY in 1982. She used to fly Jenny's and wing walk. (Parachutes? Safety ropes? What are those? Just hold on and don't let go or you'll fall) She was fairly old at the time but you could see in her eyes and from her conversations that she was as sharp as the best that are 1/4th her age. Her secret: "Learn 3 new things every day."

Oh. I can't forget...The Infamous Diana Richards. (I probably should have put her first on the list so she doesn't abandon me in the bucket of the front end loader or lock me in her barn fixing chainsaws for all eternity) ;)
 
I spent the day with Al Bean driving him around, picking his brain, and having lunch with him when he visited my company. He was speaking later in the day and I volunteered to be his host. At one point, prior to his speech, I took him into our museum to show him the Apollo display. My company had made a lot of gear for that program.

There was a little display talking about a transponder that was used in an ALSAP. Behind it was a life size picture of an astronaut on the moon carry some piece of equipment. I mention to Capt. Bean that I did not know what the ALSAP was. He responded that he did, described, and then said that the picture was of the ALSAP and that was HIM carrying it on the moon. That was a pretty cool moment.

He gave me his home address at one point and told me to write if I had any question about stuff that he could answer and he gave me a picture of himself signing it "Great to Drive in your BMW, not as fast as a rocket, all the best"
 
tonycondon said:
Scott-That is AWESOME!
Click to expand...

It was. Especially all the one on one time I got. When he did make his talk to all people he started in on flying and technology and told people that "I know some of you are pilots, like Scott Migaldi back there". The whole tech orgainzation turned around and looked at me. For weeks afterwards people were asking me how I knew Al Bean, it was great. A lot of nerd envy!
 
yea and now you have some more! I did get to shake hands with Frank Borman at last SSA convention, and got his autograph, I guess thats my claim to fame, a far cry from yours though!
 
I share some genes with Jimmy Doolittle. As a kid I used to get asked if I was related to him. And I never quite understood the importance. It wasn't until later that I began to appreciate his pivotal role in WWII. And that would have been enough. But when I started flight training last year and learned about his role in the development of aviation (e.g. instrument flight, etc), I was once again amazed.
 
Got to meet Bob Johnson once, He shot down 28 German fighters in WW2 Clarence Page, who was a strong supporter of aviation in OK. My next door neighbor, who at 19, was serving on an escort carrier in the Pacific, (He also introduced me to his good friend who served as a tail and waist gunner in B-25's
Also Yeager, when he was flying a Cheyenne 400 for Piper
Hoover in his Sabreliner and Aero-Commander
I had an unfair advantage, as I worked as a line guy for years and was right there to greet many people as they opened the doors to the planes:D
 
tonycondon said:
Scott-That is AWESOME!
Click to expand...

It makes up for my Chuck Yeager Story


Upon being assigned to the Air Force Weapons Lab in 1985 I found out that Chuck Yeager was to be the featured speaker at a dinning-in. This is just post the whole "Right Stuff" time frame and I was very excited. I was the jr. guy in my work department and did not socially know anyone yet, it was my first week there. I asked for tickets but they were all gone. But then my bosses secretary told me she had one ticket for sale at the lab commanders table. So I bought it.

For this event I had to buy a formal mess uniform. I had put this off for several years even though it was mandatory. So off I ran to the uniform store to get it and have all the junk, i.e. medals, rank etc. set up.

That night in my fancy uniform that I spent over $600 on (about 25% of a months pay BTW) I looked forward to a rough night of socializing with the lab commander, his vice commander, and other senior officers. I made the best of it, mostly by keeping my mouth shut and listening a lot.

Dinning-ins have some rich traditions and I will not bore you with the procedures that must be followed, but by the time of the Gen. Yeager appearance approached I had survived unscathed. That is when I made some small talk to the lab commander. I said how excited I was to be hearing the Gen Yeager, yadda yadda yadda.

The Col. looked at me and asked me if I had heard the news? "No" I replied, "what news?" I was then informed that due to WX Gen Yeager could not make it to Albuquerque and that LT. Gen Something, commander of Air Force Logistics Command would be our speaker.

Needless to say getting to hear a talk about supply chain management is not what I had signed up for. I could not just leave as I was sitting by the "boss" too. It was an excruciating event.

Years later a young friend of mine that I taught scuba too who happened to be training to be a pilot had a nice Gen. Yeager experience, the little bum.

Bad enough my friend's HS graduation present was a twin so that he could build up dual hours as he commuted to school at SIU. But then he gets to grab some DC3 time up in Oshkosh. In the right seat was Chuck Yeager. So he has two hours of DC3 time signed off by Chuck Yeager. I am very jealous!!
 
Scott - the ultimate BOHICA! That's a tear-jerker!
 
I am casually acquainted with Emily Howell Warner. Enough she knows my name. Shared a table with her a time or two at events. Quite a lady. She had it tough, I'm surprised she didn't give up. Without Google how many recognize her name?
 
Last edited:
I have spent a day flying The Candy Bomber Gail S. Halvorson around the backcountry of Id. in my old 182. See new post on this board. Bob It is in the Cool Places to Fly section.
 
tonycondon said:
yea and now you have some more! I did get to shake hands with Frank Borman at last SSA convention, and got his autograph, I guess thats my claim to fame, a far cry from yours though!
Click to expand...

He is a nice guy Tony, he is always hanging out at the airport here. I have un-successfully been trying to get him to go flying with me. First in the P51 to no avail. He has since sold all of his warbirds, now I am just trying to get him to fly with me in anything. Maybe someday:dunno:
 
I've got a copy of "Baa Baa Black Sheep" that I had autographed by Pappy Boyington back around 1980.

A family friend who is active at our local warbird museum was a "guest of the emperor" after his TBF (he was the radioman/gunner) was shot down early in the war.
 
I met a guy, forget his name, back in the late 80's that did 25 missions as PIC in a B-17 over Europe in WWII. I asked him if he ever flew an airplane after that. He responded that was enough flying for him. That's always kind of bothered me.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top