Personally, I was exposed to
warbirds at a very young age.
When I was a kid, I would get to
visit my Uncle Sonny, who was a
"crop duster" in the panhandle of
Texas. I would ride in the
truck with him and watch him fly,
and sometimes get to hold the flag
to mark the rows as he sprayed.
My first memory of flying in an
airplane was sitting in his lap in
his crop duster. He put the
lap belt around both of us and put
my hand on the control stick.
Then he put his big right hand
around mine and off we flew.
Here I am, all of 8 or 9 years old,
flying at 100 miles an hour 3 feet
over the crops. We didn't
spray anything on that short flight.
He just wanted to show me what it
was like to feel the thrill of
flying. Man, was I hooked.
Uncle Sonny was also a "Colonel" in
the Confederate Air Force, a group
of warbird loving people who bought,
restored and flew warbirds starting
back in the 1960's. Sonny
never owned a warbird, but he was
such an experienced pilot that many
warbird owners asked him to fly
their planes, to air shows or for
various other reasons. I
remember Uncle Sonny saying to me
very clearly, "If you're a good boy,
some day maybe we'll get you a ride
in a T-6."
Decades later, I had the opportunity
to take my first ride in a warbird.
Years after that, I was in a
position to buy my own T-6.
Today, I am able to experience the
thrill and privilege of flying the
T-6, and sharing that warbird
experience with others.
This is why we fly warbirds.
Larry Tinker, a close friend of
mine, sent me this photo that he
took at the air show at Steven's
Point, Wisconsin in the summer of
2004. That's me on the wing.
The little girl in the cockpit is
the daughter of the man with the
beard on the right. I like to
let kids get up in the cockpit when
I can, just to see their faces light
up. I don't remember her name,
but I remember this little girl very
well. She was probably 5 or 6.
She had a very serious look as she
studied the instrument panel and
gages. She asked me if it was
hard to see and if I was ever
scared. After we talked for a
couple of moments, she paused as she
continued to scan the inside of the
airplane. Finally she said, "I
think I could do this." "You
sure can," is all I could manage to
say. Amazing how a little girl
can make a grown man cry.
Pretty cool.
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