Missouri Aviation Historical Society

8/3/2019 Missouri Aviation Historical Society

1/10


2/10

MAC RED 53, I SHOW YOU 40 MILES NW, WHAT TYPE OF APPROACH WOULDYOU LIKE? I was listening to 128.10 Mhz , St. Louis approach, as I usually do, whilebulking my fuel truck at SUS. It brought back memories of hearing similar conversationson the radio, while watching planes take off and land at Lambert back in the 90s.Sometimes, I am fortunate enough to enjoy my own private airshow, by a new F/A-18Super Hornet being tested out over Pike County where we live with our nine dogs. It isalways a thrill to see a U.S. military jet overhead, especially one that is built right here in

our own backyard, in the great state of Missouri. Every time we get to service a Hornetthat stops in for a gas n go, I am proud of the fact, that every single one, was built righthere in St. Louis. It goes without saying, that there is a lot of history being generated,with each plane, from the time it starts down the production line, entering squadronservice, missions flown, and ultimately going to the bone yard. It is such a specialmoment, when we discover a stash of squadron photos, or a flight manual, especially if itis from a specific airframe, because it brings us closer to all the wonderful people whowere associated with that particular airplane. I think one of the greatest things that wecan do as an organization, is to not only research and document all of the wonderfulhistory that is out there, but more importantly, share it with the public. Many of thepeople that visit an air museum, or attend an airshow, most likely have someone in theirfamily, who was either a pilot, or a

crewmember on a plane, or knewsomeone that worked at the plant. Ifwe can provide a pathway that theycan enter into, either to simplyreminisce, or to help someone along,that may be writing a book, or a highschool student learning about theearly days of the space program, thenthat will become one of our greatestachievements as a historical society,and one that we can all be very proudof.

I hope all of you had a great summerand were able to take in at least oneairshow or fly-in. With the Reno AirRaces just finishing up, and the daysgetting cooler, we will dedicate thisissue of Signal Charlie as our annualSwimsuit edition. I hope you enjoythe cover, as well as some nifty noseart photos! I would like to extend ahearty welcome to all of our new


3/10

Missouri Aviation HistoricalSociety members and hopethat we provide you with apositive experience, and thatyou will help spread the wordabout our group.As most of you are now aware,we have moved our meetinglocation to Clayton. A big

THANK YOU! to Alan Hoffman,for providing the conferenceroom and hospitality for allof us at 190 Carondelet Plaza.I would like to also shout out abig THANKS! to both Dave andBill Doherty, and all of the finefolks of EAA Chapter 32, forhosting our two previousmeetings in both April and June. We sincerely appreciate all of their support, and lookforward to our two groups working together on future projects! Our August meeting wasone of the best yet, with 14 members and guests in attendance. The evenings doublefeature began with Fred Roos, PHD, who recently retired from Boeing, and is nowteaching at Washington University, giving an excellent presentation on one of Missourisearly aviation entrepreneurs, Tom Benoist. Tying in perfectly with Freds talk, RandyMcGuire, PHD and archivist at St. Louis University, let us in on the efforts of the DuluthAviation Institutes efforts to construct a replica of a Benoist Type XIV flying boat, for acentennial celebration of The Lark of Duluth in 2013. Both presentations were veryengaging, and I personally learned a lot. The replica is fairly well along in itsconstruction, and looks great! To see photos of the plane, and find out more about thisexciting project, please visit their website at www.duluthaviationinstitute.org I want tothank both Fred and Randy, for sharing their time and expertise with us, for a veryenjoyable evening.

The Missouri AviationHistorical Society,recently gained someexcellent publicity at theScott Air Force BaseAirpower Over TheMidwest Airshow, heldthe weekend of Sep11/12. I want to thankJeremy Cox, of theGreater St. Louis Air andSpace Museum, foroffering to share theirbooth space at the show.I also want to thank MarkNankivil, and those who

manned the booth, handing out MAHS Flyers and newsletters! I also want to thankCarmelo Turdo, who gave our Society a plug in the World Airshow News. We sureappreciate the support Carmelo, and we hope you can make it to our next meeting.If you want a one stop shop, to find out what is going on in aviation, in or anywherenear St. Louis, or the bi-state region, please visit www.aeroexperience.blogspot.comAnother excellent website is www.stlaviationcalendar.com This is John Henkes site,and is a very useful place to go, to find out about upcoming meetings and events
http://www.duluthaviationinstitute.org/http://www.duluthaviationinstitute.org/http://www.aeroexperience.blogspot.com/http://www.aeroexperience.blogspot.com/http://www.stlaviationcalendar.com/http://www.stlaviationcalendar.com/http://www.stlaviationcalendar.com/http://www.aeroexperience.blogspot.com/http://www.duluthaviationinstitute.org/


4/10

throughout the St. Louis area, and theMidwest. Thanks so much John forplacing our August meeting on yourcalendar, and we sure enjoyed visitingand talking with you that night.

Fast forwarding into October, thereare several significant events takingplace that I want everyone to be

aware of. The American HeroesAirshow will be holding their inauguralSt. Louis event, on Saturday, Oct 09th,at Spirit of St. Louis airport inChesterfield, MO. This will be aunique experience, in that it is ahelicopter only airshow, featuringstatic displays of military, lawenforcement, and civilian rotary wingaircraft. There will also be a replica ofthe Vietnam wall on display, alongwith a naturalization ceremony fornew citizens who are currently servingin the U.S. armed forces. For moreinformation, please visit their site atwww.heroes-airshow.com The first annual Midwest forum of the American Society ofAviation Artists, will be held at the Greater St. Louis Air and Space Museum, on Oct16/17. For more information, please see the museums newsletter atwww.airandspacemuseum.org/newsletter.pdf You can also visit the ASAA site atwww.asaa-avart.org/index.php

The next meeting of the Missouri Aviation Historical Society, will be on Wednesday, Oct13th, at 7 PM, and will focus on the wonderful Lockheed P-38 Lightning. Recently, therewere 6 P-38s in attendance at the California Capitol Airshow, in Sacramento, CA! Wewill be showing a video featuring color footage from WWII. This presentation ties in withmy research of Verl Jett, a pilot from Missouri, who was an ace with 7 kills. An airworthyP-38, based inHouston now wearsthe markings of oneof Verls mounts, asThoughts ofMidnight. Thats itfor the gouge thistime, lets all pleasekeep member BobBurgess, and hiswife Doris, in ourprayers, as they areboth being treated inprivate health carefacilities. Take care.

Very Respectfully,Dan OHara
http://www.heroes-airshow.com/http://www.heroes-airshow.com/http://www.airandspacemuseum.org/newsletter.pdfhttp://www.airandspacemuseum.org/newsletter.pdfhttp://www.asaa-avart.org/index.phphttp://www.asaa-avart.org/index.phphttp://www.asaa-avart.org/index.phphttp://www.airandspacemuseum.org/newsletter.pdfhttp://www.heroes-airshow.com/


5/10

Storytelling Passion - Mike Burke

Storytelling. Whether youre presenting an oral history, a written history or producing anillustration of a historical event, you are telling a story of the historical event. Ive touchedon this idea already and my original intent for this article was to explore the importanceof point of view in the telling. Ive set that idea aside (again) so that I can explore theneed to tell stories. If you are reading this, you already have at least an interest inMissouris aviation history so I can skip the part about interest and discuss those whoseinterest in history has led them to - driven them to - want to share that interest and keep

the memory of the events alive for the next generation and those that follow. Whatsdriving them is passion.

Weve all known those people. Those who own a complete Revolutionary War Uniform,or a Civil War Uniform or a WWII flightsuit and flight gear and make the effort to get toschools, to civic groups, to anybody who would listen, and discuss - tell - all that theyhave become enamored with in that history. Weve all read the works of those who aredriven to record their knowledge of history in the written word and weve seen the workdone by those whove been driven to create visual presentations of historical and currentevents.

This is beyond the freelance writer who takes an assignment to write about CharlesLindbergh then moves on to write a piece about World Cup Soccer. This is beyond theillustrator who does a cover for a Jimmy Doolittle biography then does all five covers fora western series. This is about those who either let their passions drive their careers orthose who let their passions dominate their non-working lives.

Mel Torme and Peter Jackson are two who fall in that later category. Aviation was and istheir passion. Mel Torme was a pilot and a builder of WWI era model aircraft.Additionally, he underwrote the cost of at least one aviation modeling magazine just tobe sure that the channel remained open between the writer historians and people likehim. All this while attending to his other passion - singing. Peter Jackson, when hes notworking on movies, is steep in aviation - with his collection of aircraft and his efforts toproduce fine kits of WWI aircraft.

Then you have those who let their passion drive their careers. Keith Ferris, RobertMcCall and Shigeo Koike are three examples. They each reached a point where theywere able to let their passion become the focus of their career and they each developedtheir craft into a recognizable style. For everyone who has achieved this goal there aremany who feel the need to strive for that goal. I count myself among those many.

As I write this, I am looking for a job. Im not looking for a career at this time - I had onein Telecommunications for twenty some years. Im looking for a job that will pay the rentand the bills while I continue to improve my painting skills and while I wait for conditionsto reach a point where the people who have been admiring my work will be willing topurchase some of my work. It took a while, but Ive finally reached the point where Imconsistently producing work that I can feel good about trying to sell.

Im sure that what Im feeling is a passion because when I read or hear about an aviati onevent, prominent among my thoughts are questions of how would I paint that? Could Ishow it from a point of view that has yet to be shown? When I see an interestingskyscape my thoughts are how would I paint that? What colors would I use to paintthose clouds? When I drive out to Smart Field I think about the colors Im seeing when Ilook at the farm fields and the distant bluffs. Additionally, I think about what aircraftwould fit that setting and cloudscape. I think you get the idea. I promised myself that Idkeep this short. Time will tell if Im successful with my passion driven ambition.


6/10

Now, Id like to invite each of you to share a story. It could be about your passion foraviation or it could be about an aviation related event that made a deep impression ofyou. Ill go first with a story about an event.

It was back in the 60s and a number of the classes in my grade school took a field-tripto the Aberdeen Proving Grounds in Edgewood, Maryland for what I believe was theArmed Forces Day Celebration. I was too young to understand everything that I saw butover the years as Id learn about a different technology or device, many times Id find a

related memory from that day at Aberdeen. Among those memories is the wirelesstelephone call that could be blocked with a book or your hand - a microwavetransmission demonstration.

During the first part of the main event, the Army demonstrated some of their vehiclesand fired some of their big guns. I grew up in Dundalk which is several miles away fromAberdeen but even at that distance on many days I had heard the distant thunder ofthose guns being fired so getting to see what it was that had been making that thunderwas a treat. The Blue Angels climaxed the main event. They were still flying the F-11A(F11F) Tigers and during the course of their demonstration they flew a supersonic flyby.I can still remember the feel of it - sitting there with my hands pressed against my earsand feeling the boom pass around my body. While I have seen many other memorablethings at airshows, none has surpassed that sensation. The nearest anything came to itwas the high speed pass from behind, which I saw the Thunderbirds do on a fewoccasions, but that long rumble did not quite match that quick punch of a sonic boom. Atleast I can still see low level supersonic flybys depicted in movies from time to time.

So thats my little story. Whos next?

This small painting was done for fun. The X-32 was pitted against the X-35 in the JointStrike Fighter competition which resulted in the soon to enter service F-35. From mostviewing angles the X-32 is an ungainly bird. I wanted to show that it does have a viewingangle from which it almost looks sleek. The setting is somewhere high over Edwardswhere the Air Force portion of the evaluation took place.


7/10

This small painting was also done for fun. The X-35 was declared the winner of the JSFcompetition and the design has evolved into the F-35. I chose this angle because of theway the hump to house the fan for the VTOL portion of the evaluation limited the pilot'srearward view. From this angle the thing almost looks like a drone.

Summer Travels & Visits Mark Nankivil

With an active and inquisitive 6-1/2 year old in the house, I have a great reason (or is itan excuse?!) to travel and visits places and people. This Summer was no exception aswe took a number of tripsthroughout the Midwest andvisited a number of aviation andrailroad (my son Jacks twofavorite things) themedlocations.

June saw us taking a trip over toLawrenceville, IL for the WabashValley Soaring AssociationsVintage/Classic Glider Regatta.An annual event, it is a greatplace to see vintage and classicsailplanes both on the groundand in their element overhead.Jack even had the opportunity totake his first flight in a sailplane

an ASK-13 and his first lightplane ride with my good friend

Bill Asbell in Bills 1946Taylorcraft BC-12D. Jack lovedflying in both of them and I amrelieved that he enjoyed it!July saw us taking a trip up tothe Chicago area to see my folksand on the way north, westopped by at the PrairieAviation Museum inBloomington, IL and the ChanuteAerospace Museum in Rantoul,


8/10

IL. The Prairie Aviation Museum has F-4N Bu, No. 150444 on display in the markings ofVF-161 aboard the USS Midway.

The St. Louis tie-ins at Chanuteare F-15A-3-MC 71-0286 whichwas one of the originaldevelopment aircraft. Another isRF-4C 62-12201 which was thesecond RF-4C built. One other

McAir product is an F-101BVoodoo on display outside on theramp.

August saw Jack and I taking atrip to Kansas City with a stop inBates City, MO to visit WhiteIndustries. White Industries is ageneral aviation boneyard withquire a variety of aircraft 2400+airframes reside on the property.Seeing all these aircraft, well thebigger bits & pieces of them as itwere, made me realize we tend toignore the history that the generalaviation types, such as Cessnas,Pipers Rockwell Commanders,etc. have been part of. Jack and Iwere only able to spend a veryshort while looking around but Iplan on going back and paying theasking price for an escort and doa better job of photographing anddocumenting the numerousaircraft there.

From Bates City, we headed on into Kansas City and stopped in at the Airline HistoryMuseum to see their most recent acquisition, a Lockheed L-1011. Presently on displayminus the engines used to fly it into the airport, they are presently hunting for timeexpired engines to hang on the airframe to make it whole again. The aircraft looks inexcellent shape and I look forwardto going back when the interior isopen to the public. In the hangar,members were working diligentlyon their DC-3 which is expected tofly again. The Connie and theMartin 404 were also looking goodand it was nice to walk throughboth aircraft and see what it waslike to fly back when flying wasseen by most as a privilege oreven as an adventure, somethingthat seems to be missing for manywho go flying in this age of TSA,long lines and body & luggagescans. Something has indeedbeen lost..


9/10

The Scott AFB Airpower over theMidwest is now the only bigairshow event for the St. Louisregion and this year also was avenue for the St. Louis area NavyWeek events. With the BlueAngels in town flying their newF/A-18Cs for the first full season,it was great to see them looking

good and flying sharp in myopinion the best they have lookedin a number of seasons. I made itover on Sunday and the weatherwas spectacular with clear, blueskies, nice temps and lowhumidity. Scott has a great layoutfor the flying displays with the Sun behind the crowd line and consequently, ampleopportunities for taking decent photos of the show. The static aircraft displays were notas extensive as in years past but I can chalk that up to the economy, militarydeployments and tighter budgets for squadrons and units but all in all, it was a nicevariety of aircraft and seeing the home teams C-9s and C-40s shining in the Sun madeit well worth the visit. There were two QF-4Es from Tyndall AFB in attendance and forthose who were there on Saturday, the rare treat of seeing both of them flying together.Sunday the QF-4E was teamed up with an F-16C from the East Coast Demo Teambased at Shaw AFB. It was great to be able to catch the QF-4E taxiing back in draggingits drogue chute behind it. My son put it best while we were watching the Blue Angelsabout half way through their routine when he looked up at me and said life is good!.Yes indeed!

Stepping back in time, I wish I had moved to St. Louis a decade or more before I actuallydid so I could have visited the yearly open house held at Lambert or over on the Missouri


10/10

Air National Guard ramp. As the following two photos show, those were the days ofvariety and up close access to the aircraft. Im sure there are a number of you that wereat these events and I hope you have some photos and memories you can share aboutthose days not so long ago.

Enjoy the Day! Mark

Documents

Missouri Aviation Historical Society