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Faye Andrew, 82, died last Wednesday after a long fight with bladder cancer. Faye was a regular at our little airport, wearing his overalls and flying his remote control airplanes. We usually referred to him as "you grumpy old fart" and his reply was one the profanity filters won't allow, but it was always delivered with a little laugh. He was a hell of an RC airplane pilot.
I met Faye several years ago when I first purchased the Pitts. He walked up and started a conversation about his models and how he always wanted to fly in a Pitts. I was new to the airplane and Faye was old and slightly disabled (I would later discover he was a purple heart recipient, wounded during the Battle of the Bulge). I never attempted to take him for a Pitts ride.
As time passed and my fondness for Faye grew, he mentioned several times how I never took him in the Pitts but he sure would like to go in the Extra. One beautiful afternoon I taxied down to the maintenance hangar where he was holding court, opened the canopy, and said, "You want to go fly or are you just going to talk all day?"
It took a little effort and three of us to get him up on the wing, and even more work to get him in front seat and buckled up. Parachute? Forgetaboutit. I had no intention of pulling any g's or even turning the airplane upside down. He put the skull cap / headset on and I still laugh thinking about how silly he looked with that stupid little grin on his face as I got in.
I warned him on the ground that the controls of the Extra were sensitive and that he wouldn't want to ham-fist the airplane. Once we were in the air I warned him again and he said, "I recon I've flown better airplanes than this one. You going' to let me fly or not?" "Your airplane you old fart."
I can honestly say he was better than 90% of the pilots who flew the Extra with me. He had great touch and flew smoothly and with confidence. He rolled it then looped it, laughing the whole time. When we got back to the airport he wanted to land it. "Er, I don't think so Faye." "You don't think I can land it do ya. Let me show ya." "No, I don't think so Faye."
Over the years he's spent a few hours sitting in my hangar, eating hamburgers and drinking a beer or two. I think Diana got to meet him, Tony too maybe. He was a character.
One of the mechanics and I took a 152 and scattered his ashes over the airport today per his wife's request. About 20 of his family were there to watch and it went perfectly. Thanks Diana for your input on how to do this.
Thanks Faye for bringing us more than a few smiles out at the airport, and for your selfless service to your country. Peace.
I met Faye several years ago when I first purchased the Pitts. He walked up and started a conversation about his models and how he always wanted to fly in a Pitts. I was new to the airplane and Faye was old and slightly disabled (I would later discover he was a purple heart recipient, wounded during the Battle of the Bulge). I never attempted to take him for a Pitts ride.
As time passed and my fondness for Faye grew, he mentioned several times how I never took him in the Pitts but he sure would like to go in the Extra. One beautiful afternoon I taxied down to the maintenance hangar where he was holding court, opened the canopy, and said, "You want to go fly or are you just going to talk all day?"
It took a little effort and three of us to get him up on the wing, and even more work to get him in front seat and buckled up. Parachute? Forgetaboutit. I had no intention of pulling any g's or even turning the airplane upside down. He put the skull cap / headset on and I still laugh thinking about how silly he looked with that stupid little grin on his face as I got in.
I warned him on the ground that the controls of the Extra were sensitive and that he wouldn't want to ham-fist the airplane. Once we were in the air I warned him again and he said, "I recon I've flown better airplanes than this one. You going' to let me fly or not?" "Your airplane you old fart."
I can honestly say he was better than 90% of the pilots who flew the Extra with me. He had great touch and flew smoothly and with confidence. He rolled it then looped it, laughing the whole time. When we got back to the airport he wanted to land it. "Er, I don't think so Faye." "You don't think I can land it do ya. Let me show ya." "No, I don't think so Faye."
Over the years he's spent a few hours sitting in my hangar, eating hamburgers and drinking a beer or two. I think Diana got to meet him, Tony too maybe. He was a character.
One of the mechanics and I took a 152 and scattered his ashes over the airport today per his wife's request. About 20 of his family were there to watch and it went perfectly. Thanks Diana for your input on how to do this.
Thanks Faye for bringing us more than a few smiles out at the airport, and for your selfless service to your country. Peace.
You've done that for a lot of people over the years.
