Anybody seen these guys recently?

FastEddieB

FastEddieB

Touchdown! Greaser!
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Oct 14, 2013
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Lenoir City, TN/Mineral Bluff, GA
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Display name:
Fast Eddie B
I was just sorting through these old photos, and was wondering if either of these guys is still flying around...

My first plane, a 1966 (I think) Cessna 150:

40041172804_61c0826d85_z.jpg


My third plane, a 1975 (I think) Grumman Traveler:

40041174134_93ca7b88ba_z.jpg


Just curious.
 
I looked up awhile back the two C150s I flew at Osan Air Base Korea (incl my 1st solo 150) when I was stationed there. Both had crashed with fatalities and destroyed, one of them in Japan, forget where the other crashed but other there in that area, maybe Japan too.
 
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The 150H is in Madisonville, Tn, and the registration for the AA-5 was canceled in 1988.
 
Cool. I’ll check that out! I fly by that airport all the time. I guess I should have checked the FAA database first.

Last I checked, my second plane was also right nearby me in Jasper, GA, but being restored. 1976 Citabria 7ECA N53983.I should check out its current status.
 
This 1969 150J was one of the Nike Flying Club's airplanes I used to fly when I was on Kwajalein in 1971 and 1972. When the army went to an all turboprop fleet using Jet A fuel, the club shut down because the army was no longer bringing in avgas. The airplane was deregistered in 2013, so it had a nice run, especially with the salt air corrosive environment we had on Kwaj.

1972%20stan%20and%20nike%20flying%20club%20c-150%205x7_zpse7b4eoax.jpg
 
Stan Cooper said:
This 1969 150J was one of the Nike Flying Club's airplanes I used to fly when I was on Kwajalein in 1971 and 1972. When the army went to an all turboprop fleet using Jet A fuel, the club shut down because the army was no longer bringing in avgas. The airplane was deregistered in 2013, so it had a nice run, especially with the salt air corrosive environment we had on Kwaj.

1972%20stan%20and%20nike%20flying%20club%20c-150%205x7_zpse7b4eoax.jpg
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Wow. My dad fought on that island in WWII as a Marine.
 
According to the NTSB, the Grumman ended up in a tree:
"THE PLT STATED THAT HE MADE A NORMAL TAKEOFF WITH 2200 RPM, BUT SHORTLY AFTER ROTATION, THE RPM STARTED TO DECREASE & THE ACFT LOST ALTITUDE & LANDED IN THE TOP OF A LARGE OAK TREE. AN INVESTIGATION REVEALED THAT THE CARBURETOR INLET FINGER SCREEN HAD A 75% BLOCKAGE OF UNCURED FUEL TANK SEALANT RESULTING IN A RESTRICTED FUEL FLOW & SUBSEQUENT LOSS OF POWER."
 
Stan Cooper said:
This 1969 150J was one of the Nike Flying Club's airplanes I used to fly when I was on Kwajalein in 1971 and 1972. When the army went to an all turboprop fleet using Jet A fuel, the club shut down because the army was no longer bringing in avgas. The airplane was deregistered in 2013, so it had a nice run, especially with the salt air corrosive environment we had on Kwaj.
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I have been to Kwajalein exactly once. Well twice, actually. But it was part of my Guam rout qualifying flying. It is a pretty long way from anywhere. Where did you fly it to? You have to cover a lot of water to get to the next island.

I learned to fly in that airplane’s sister ship 61199 in 1977.
 
Greg Bockelman said:
I have been to Kwajalein exactly once. Well twice, actually. But it was part of my Guam rout qualifying flying. It is a pretty long way from anywhere. Where did you fly it to? You have to cover a lot of water to get to the next island.

I learned to fly in that airplane’s sister ship 61199 in 1977.
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Greg, it was mostly local flights taking off and landing at Bucholz (PKWA), but occasionally to Roi-Namur (PKRO) at the northeast corner of the atoll for a little variety.
 
Wow. I didn’t know that airport was up there. Wasn’t anything a 737 could use anyway.
 
It was my first “airline” job. 19 pax from Manhattan Kansas to Kansas City. Some of the most fun flying I have done. Giant J-3 Cub. Very honest airplane.
 
I owned a share in AA5 serial number #585 and it was a '74. I'm guessing #541 was a 1973.
 
FastEddieB said:
I was just sorting through these old photos, and was wondering if either of these guys is still flying around...

My first plane, a 1966 (I think) Cessna 150:

40041172804_61c0826d85_z.jpg
Click to expand...

Yeah that's a 150H, 1968 model year, though apparently built late in calendar year 1967. Brings back a lot of memories; I got my PPL in one just like it (N22639) when it was brand new. Three weeks later my dad got his PPL in sister 150H N22589.


My third plane, a 1975 (I think) Grumman Traveler:

40041174134_93ca7b88ba_z.jpg


Just curious.
Click to expand...

That Traveler has the 1974 model year paint scheme. The '72 and '73 had a shorter rear window, and the '75 had the Cheetah/Tiger-style cowl.
 
Twotters! About 1600 hours flying them in the late 70’s and early 80’s in Texas. Never realized how much fun we were having back then. Still treasure my 1000 hour tie tac from DeHavilland.

Found the Champ I took my first lessons in here in the Austin TX area. Need to go and see it. The 150 I got my private in (N22325) is up in the Minneapolis area.
 
My first airplane moved to Oregon, but now lives in Tennessee. My second airplane is still right where I left it in Georgia.
 
I went through my logbook on a similar search, and was surprised how many of the airplanes I've flown have been exported to other countries.

My dad's old C-150E, and a favorite rented Turbo Arrow, are in Canada. A C-150G in Mexico, a C-152 in Brazil, a C-172P in Colombia, a C-172RG in Argentina, a Cherokee 140 in Russia, another Turbo Arrow in Japan, a Saratoga in Australia, a Warrior II in New Zealand.

Then there's this C-150G in which I instructed at Long Beach CA in 1971. Here it is in England in the late 1970s ...

Screen Shot 2018-03-12 at 7.09.47 AM.png

... and now it's stuffed and mounted at the entrance to a defunct airport restaurant in Belgium:

Screen Shot 2018-03-12 at 7.10.29 AM.png
 
Greg Bockelman said:
It was my first “airline” job. 19 pax from Manhattan Kansas to Kansas City.
Click to expand...

Sounds sorta like Capital Air Service... I had a CFI buddy that flew there around '86-ish. After they shut down I flew an old Cap Air C-402A (728CA) to a paint shop in Mena... it was a wee bit tired and rough!
 
My old airline, ASA started with them. Old Southern Airways routes, think the first route was KATL to KCSG & KMCN.

5515238_orig.jpg
 
jbDC9 said:
Sounds sorta like Capital Air Service... I had a CFI buddy that flew there around '86-ish. After they shut down I flew an old Cap Air C-402A (728CA) to a paint shop in Mena... it was a wee bit tired and rough!
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Ok, who was the buddy? That is exactly when I was there.

That was where I got enough twin time and turbine time in those Twin Otters to interview with United, which ultimately led to me getting hired there. But I had to go through another airline first.
 
Craig said:
The 150H is in Madisonville, Tn, and the registration for the AA-5 was canceled in 1988.
Click to expand...

A week or so ago I flew into Monroe County Airport in Madisonville, TN, and got to meet the new owner of my old C150 and his girlfriend.

41882701052_db40acc213_z.jpg


Nice young man, working on his Private.

Had not seen the plane since I left it at College Park, MD with a toasted engine in 1975. None the worse for wear after 40+ years. The drooped wingtips are new, and the radios were recently updated. He had just recently painted the spinner.

Quite a coincidence that I literally overfly my old bird’s new home on a regular basis.
 
FastEddieB said:
I was just sorting through these old photos, and was wondering if either of these guys is still flying around...

My first plane, a 1966 (I think) Cessna 150:

40041172804_61c0826d85_z.jpg


My third plane, a 1975 (I think) Grumman Traveler:

40041174134_93ca7b88ba_z.jpg


Just curious.
Click to expand...
Your 150 was a 1968 model year, mine was N6906S, my first airplane,
 
MD11Pilot said:
Twotters! About 1600 hours flying them in the late 70’s and early 80’s in Texas. Never realized how much fun we were having back then.
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Flying for Rio back then? Rio is the only airline I’ve ever seen that could crash an airplane while it was on jacks partially in the hangar.
 
Greg Bockelman said:
Ok, who was the buddy? That is exactly when I was there.

That was where I got enough twin time and turbine time in those Twin Otters to interview with United, which ultimately led to me getting hired there. But I had to go through another airline first.
Click to expand...

Oops, missed this; PM sent.
 
My first airplane is still flying, in TN. Pretty cool given that I first flew in 1991. The other planes I really learned to fly in are both crumpled wrecks - one from running out of gas in IFR at 4am after 5.3 hours of flight (pilot lived!) and the other from a loss of directional control on a 38' wide runway in high crosswinds. It used to be 40', but the edges have crumbled over the years.

Lesson? Don't fly a plane I trained in?
 
The first plane in my logbook is two doors down from the one I'll be flying Young Eagles in this afternoon. I know both the old owner and the current owner.

The second plane in my logbook is no longer registered, at least the N number isn't. I have no idea what happened to it.

The third plane in my logbook is still active and it the one I'll be flying this afternoon, nearly 18 years after the first entry. It's been repainted (on the outside), had new avionics and is on at least its third engine. I passed both my PP and IR rides in this plane. N75898 is a great 180 hp Penn Yan conversion C-172N.

The old C-150M that the club used to have, and that I have 4.1 hours in, is in Texas. Still flying.

Next comes a C-182P. Flew it dual for the first time the day before my PP ride. The club still has it and I love that plane. A nice, comfortable cross country cruising machine. Updated avionics in it since 2001, too.

The Arrow the club had is listed as based in California now. The club sold it a couple years ago.

And so it goes...

Interestingly enough, there is only one plane in my log that doesn't show up at all in the FAA database, and another that shows that it has been sold, but no further information. Not bad.
 
Zeldman: They had a Dash 7 on jacks for a gear test. The a/c didn't fit in their hangar, so it was nosed in, with the tail about 3' from the front of the area above the door. Some dingus managed to knock the nose jacks out from under it while the nose gear was up. The nose hit the ground and the tail was driven into the front face of the hangar. They had only had it back a short time from when the catering truck hit it when this happened.

One of my instructors that was flying for them at the time, had the newest of their 1900's on a trip. Just outside of DFW airport, they got hit by hail pretty bad...the leading edges looked like someone had taken a ball pein to them and both props had to be pulled and sent back to Dowty for inspection/replacement. I think he said that a/c had only 28 hours on it at that point. It carried the nicname "Dimples" after that...
 
All three of my previous airplanes are still flying. Enjoyed them all.
 
Two Cessna 150s I flew out of the Aero Club at Kadena. One is now in Australia and the other is in Arkansas.
 
Craig said:
Zeldman: They had a Dash 7 on jacks for a gear test. The a/c didn't fit in their hangar, so it was nosed in, with the tail about 3' from the front of the area above the door. Some dingus managed to knock the nose jacks out from under it while the nose gear was up. The nose hit the ground and the tail was driven into the front face of the hangar. They had only had it back a short time from when the catering truck hit it when this happened.

One of my instructors that was flying for them at the time, had the newest of their 1900's on a trip. Just outside of DFW airport, they got hit by hail pretty bad...the leading edges looked like someone had taken a ball pein to them and both props had to be pulled and sent back to Dowty for inspection/replacement. I think he said that a/c had only 28 hours on it at that point. It carried the nicname "Dimples" after that...
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Yikes...... Well, at least they can say no one was injured.... except for the people that got a good butt chewin'...

Dimples....:rofl:
 
The Grumman-American Cheetah I sold in 2003 lives in San Diego now. I had a business trip there a couple of summers ago. I looked up the current owner and we met for dinner at Casa Machado at KMYF. After dinner we took the airplane up and, brave soul, he even let me land it. What fun!

Screen Shot 2018-05-07 at 2.31.07 PM.png
 
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