Reunited With Old Friends

Transcription

1 Reunited With Old Friends 1 8 O C TO B E R

2 Memories of a PT-23 by Jim Busha JIM KOEPNICK As you stroll past rows of warbirds at fly-ins like Oshkosh, Chino, Duxford, and Lakeland, you are sure to notice the small information card hanging from the propeller of each plane. Most of the info printed on it is technical data, such as speed and weight, along with a sentence or two about when the airplane was built, where it may have served during wartime, and how much it cost to restore. Although these placards remind us to look all you want, but please don t touch, we sometimes fail to realize that standing before us, deep inside the bowels of each and every airplane, lives a rich history and a unique story. Unfortunately, detailed pilot information has either been destroyed, forgotten, or lost. In many cases, the men that flew the planes when they were brand new have long since gone west, so most firsthand accounts are long gone. By comparison, it is relatively easy to obtain the military and civilian history of a particular airplane through a variety of sources. How much history has already been lost due to the rapid loss of surviving World War II veterans? Although the airplanes soldier on and pay tribute to their former fliers, the hallowed cockpits where these young men sat during this country s great time of need are nearly all that is left to remind us that no matter their size, from trainer to bomber, they all served an important purpose for the war effort. But what if, by chance, the actual pilots and airplanes were still around to tell their tales to all who would listen? Well, you re in luck because it actually happened at EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2009, when EAA Founder Paul Poberezny was reunited with one of his former mounts. Follow along on a history lesson of sorts as a Fairchild PT-23 and the pilots who flew it, both in the military and in civilian life, share their experiences from World War II and beyond

3 Fairchild PT-23-FA Construction No. T U.S. Army Serial No I was manufactured by the Fairchild Aircraft Company of Hagerstown, Maryland, in August of Although the company had built many PT-19s for the Army since 1940, there was concern that they would run out of the Ranger engines that powered them. It was decided to start using the 220-hp Continental R radial engines on the same fuselage as the PT-19. With a new engine came a new designation, and I was fortunate enough to be the first PT-23 produced by Fairchild. Actually, Fairchild made only one more PT- 23 after me and then farmed out production to Aeronca, St. Louis Aircraft Corp., and Howard Aircraft Corp. All told there were more than 1,000 of us built during the war. In October of 1942 I was delivered to the Army Air Corps and assigned to a contract flying school at Thompson-Robbins Field in Helena, Arkansas. I could go on telling you old flying war stories about my time in Arkansas as part of a cadre of other airplanes at Helena Aero Tech; I was not only teaching kids to fly, but doing my part for the war effort as well. Or, how when the war ended I was sold as surplus to twin brothers whom I could never tell apart, but they sure treated me with respect and admiration. They moved me to North Carolina and put me to work teaching a new set of students how to fly until one fool student didn t follow the rule about landing me only at certified airports. Both my wings were torn off in a farmer s field by this hot shot trying to impress his girlfriend with his piloting skills! I thought my flying days were over for sure, as I was pushed into the back of the hangar and slowly sold for parts while the rest of me rotted away. In the late 1980s and early 1990s, I was given a second chance by a group of older gentlemen and eventually returned to my former glory looking just like I did when I flew in the Army Air Corps. I could go on and on, but I m just an old airplane living out my golden years in Pennsylvania, and I tend to forget things as I age. I think it s best that I let the boys who took care of me during my career tell you the rest of my story. Paul H. Poberezny EAA Founder Primary Flight Instructor Helena Aero Tech, Thompson- Robbins Field: Kings of the Cockpit Although they may never actually fire a gun against the enemy, the instructors at a primary flying school are dealing a more damaging blow to the Axis than a squadron of Fortresses. Nearly every man at the controls of a combat plane owes a great part of his ability to fly to his primary flight instructor. The average primary flight instructor has been carefully selected by the United States Army Air Forces to teach the fundamentals of flying to cadets. Quote from the 44-G and 44-H aviation cadets class book, March I was still in my early 20s back in 1943 when I began teaching cadets how to fly at Helena Aero Tech in Helena, Arkansas. By the time I arrived at Helena, I had about 145 hours of civilian flight time, and most of that was in a 1928 American Eagle I owned before the war. It was powered by a World War I OX-5 engine. I received additional hours of military flight time after I had joined the service in When I arrived in Helena I went through a short eight- to nine-hour instructor course and considered myself an amateur. Flying these primary trainers like the PT-19 and PT-23, along with the PT-17 Stearman, was not a challenge for me because of all the time I had in a 220-hp Waco, the American Eagle, and a Waco glider I used to fly. For whatever reason, flying came natural for me, but it wasn t for everybody. I can still remember my last checkride. I was in the rear cockpit of a PT-23 as we were approaching to land, and I looked to my right and saw another cadet in a PT-23 land right on top of another PT-23 as the propeller went through the rear cockpit. Needless to say, I already knew the outcome for the occupant before we landed. Eventually I was given five cadets to teach how to fly, and one of the most challenging aspects for me was using the long rubber Gosport tube to communicate with the students. Yelling through a tube was new to me. Some instructors taught from the rear seat, but I chose to sit in the front. It was great visibility for me but limited for the student. But it was the best way to prepare them for the much bigger trainers and fighters that lay ahead in their flight training as they had to learn to judge their heights from the ground. I would watch them in the rearview mirror as they came in to land and caught more than one of them looking at the back of my head. A couple of times I reached down and took out the fire extinguisher, turned around, and held it in front of them like I was going to clunk them on the head with it while we were still high enough in the air. They quickly learned to look out of both sides of the PT-23 when they came in to land! When I became a flight instructor I was forewarned that some of the cadets might have prior civilian flight experience and to make sure that we taught them the Army way of flying an airplane. Well, I for one could not tell the difference Paul Revisits an Old Friend O C TO B E R

4 PHOTOS COURTESY PAUL POBEREZNY between flying an Army PT-23 or flying my own American Eagle back in high school because it was all the same to me. I have to say that the only difference was that the Army had specific procedures we had to instill in each cadet. But back in civilian life the only procedures I followed were that I tried to make Above and Left: EAA founder Paul Poberezny as a young instructor. PT-23 Specifications Wingspan: 36 feet Length: 25 feet 11 inches Height: 10 feet Empty weight: 2,045 pounds Gross weight: 2,800 pounds Takeoff speed: mph Best climb speed: 80 mph Best glide speed: 80 mph Stall speed: 61 mph Rate of climb: 870 feet per minute Max speed: 128 mph Service ceiling: 13,500 feet Cruise speed: 103 mph Fuel capacity: 49 gallons, 45 gallons usable Original cost: $9,430 Paul Poberezny speaks to a crowd at the EAA AirVenture Oshkosh sure I took off and landed into the wind! Most of my students soloed at between eight and 10 hours, and I thought the PT-23 was a great airplane to use to teach these men how to fly. The PT-23 had the same 220-hp engine as a PT-17 Stearman did, but the -23 had much wider gear, and it didn t have the tendency to ground loop like the PT-17 did. The PT-23 was also a good aerobatic platform as I showed my students how to do an English bunt. I would K E E P E M F LY I N G! 2 1

5 pull the PT-23 up into the verge of a stall and then pull forward on the stick doing a half outside loop. Another maneuver I used to perform in the PT-23, especially if I knew a cadet had stayed up a little too late the night before, was to climb to 9,000 feet and spin down, making eight to 10 turns on the way down. Just to make sure he was awake, we would climb back up and do it all over again! I had my own share of misadventures while flying the PT-23, and at least two of them were my own doing. One time I was out with a student, and I told him to land at one of the outlying stage fields. I hopped out of the PT-23 and told him to shoot a couple of landings and then climb up to 2,000 feet and do some aerobatics. BONNIE KRATZ As I stood on the ground with a fellow instructor, watching my student climb up to altitude, I watched in horror as he began to do his first roll. I looked at the guy next to me and said, I think I m in big trouble now! He looked at me kind of funny and said, What do you mean? All I could do was yell, My parachute s still in the front seat! Soon afterwards, my parachute tumbled out of the PT-23 and fell to earth in a field. I got chewed out for that. Another time I was out by myself in the PT-23, and I couldn t resist the temptation of all those levees that were built up next to the Mississippi River. I eased the power back on the PT-23 and rolled my wheels along the levee tops, having a grand old time. I was really enjoying myself and failed to realize that one of the Army check pilots saw me having non-army regulation fun. Needless to say, I really got chewed out for that one! As a flight instructor I learned how to fly by watching the mistakes made by others, and I would pass that information on to my students. It was a wonderful feeling for me to see my students become qualified in the PT-23, pass their checkride, and progress to the next level. Standing in front of one of the PT-23s at Oshkosh during this year s convention and sharing some of my experience with it brought back a lot of wonderful memories for me. Most importantly it was remembering all the wonderful people who have touched my 88 years of life. To me the PT-23 was a real nice airplane, and I find myself missing it from time to time. It would be nice to roll those big smooth wheels along those Arkansas levees one last time and not get chewed out for it! Howard Miller First Civilian Owner of PT-23 Serial No. T My twin brother, Harold, and I joined the Army Air Corps in 1943 at 17 years old, but by the time we got called up as cadets the war had ended before we could finish the program. Eventually we both decided to continue on with aviation and Harold Miller, Miller brothers hangar. Howard Miller, 1946 PHOTOS COURTESY HOWARD MILLER 2 2 O C TO B E R

6 The Miller twins, Harold and Howard, in the PT-23. JIM KOEPNICK enrolled in the Spartan School of Aeronautics in Oklahoma. After class, Harold and I would take flying lessons from fellow students who had instructor ratings. Sometime in 1946 we got wind that they were selling war surplus trainers at Thompson-Robbins Airport in Helena, Arkansas. Although Harold and I had not even soloed yet, we decided to drive to the air base with a fellow student to take a look at these trainers. Harold and I had saved $600 dollars between us, and when we got to Helena we saw row after row of PT-23s in various conditions. Some were brand new with very little time on them, while others looked downright war-weary. We couldn t afford the brand new ones that were fetching $1,500 dollars apiece, so we settled our sights on the cheapest one, and thankfully it even had a new engine with only seven hours total time on it. When we looked at the fabric on the fuselage, we kind of got worried because it was almost PHOTOS COURTESY HOWARD MILLER see-through. The rudder and elevators had good fabric on it, though, and Harold and I talked about doing a re-cover by ourselves. They wouldn t let us do a test flight; it was strictly look, buy, and fly away. After we paid the lofty sum of $382 dollars we became the proud owners of a Fairchild PT-23. I drove the car back to Oklahoma while Harold flew back. Once back at school, we recovered our airplane with a fresh coat of Grade A cotton and eight coats of dope for a cost of $125. We had spent about $500 total, owned a new airplane with some money left over. 2 4 O C TO B E R

7 We finished our flight training in the PT-23, and I thought the airplane was a wonderful flier. It had nice wide gear, was very forgiving, and had big, roomy cockpits. The engine was very dependable, and all we ever had to do was add oil. Harold and I flew it back home a couple of times from Tulsa to North Carolina and after we graduated from Spartan. In December of 1946 we headed back home to North Carolina for good. We eventually built our own hangar on the family farm, and six months later we had installed underground fuel tanks and were approved by the Charlotte, North Carolina, CAA for a primary and advanced flying school. We had two Piper Cubs, a Stearman PT-17, and of course, the PT-23. Although we would check our students out in the PT-23 first before letting them fly the Stearman, they always came back to the PT-23 because they seemed to like the Fairchild best. In 1953 one of our students didn t listen very well when we told him he could only land at approved airports he wanted to give his girlfriend a ride and landed on her farm, where he ran the PT-23 through a fence and tore the wings off. Unfortunately, Harold and I didn t have time to work on it because we were beginning our careers with the airlines, so we took it apart and stored it in our barn telling one another that we would fix it someday. Harold and I progressed in our airline careers from the DC-3 through the Boeing 737. But in 1975 Harold developed a brain tumor and I went to see him every day before he died. I will never forget one of the last times we spoke. We flew a lot of good airplanes, didn t we, Howard? Harold said. I agreed with him. He laid there quietly for a few moments and then mustering up a crooked smile said, You know what the best trip we ever had together was, Howard? No, tell me, I said. It was the time both of us Paul D. Quinn flew that PT-23 from Tulsa to North Carolina and landed on our farm out there, he told me. That was the last conversation I had with him before he died. Eventually I sold parts off the PT-23 and then sold what was left to a fellow who seemed to know a lot about these airplanes. I heard he passed on, and then a group of buddies worked on it for a while, and then the next thing I knew was that a fellow named Paul Quinn owned it up in Pennsylvania. Since then we have been in contact, and I have been invited up to Paul s to fly it. I look forward to seeing my old friend; I just wish Harold could be Paul D. Quinn and Paul Poberezny at EAA AirVenture there with me. Paul D. Quinn Current Owner of Fairchild PT-23 Serial No. T What was left of my airplane was purchased in the early 1990s from Howard Miller by old-time airplane restorer Pappy Brubaker of Delaware. Pappy passed away before he could finish it, and the PT-23 project was purchased by a group of four men and moved to Smoketown Airport in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. One by one the group of four lost interest due to advancing age or by passing away, until Mel Glick, owner and operator of Smoketown Airport, became the sole owner of the PT-23. I kept my Taylorcraft L-2M at Mel s airport, so I was very familiar with the PT-23. I kept tabs on it during its restoration and was even there in August of 2000 to see its maiden flight. Because Mel was so busy running the airport, I would volunteer to dust and wash the PT-23 because I just couldn t see it in less than shiny condition. Incidentally the first time I ever laid eyes on a PT-23 was when I was a kid back in the 1950s, and I would ride my bike to the Linwood Airport in Gastonia, North Carolina, just to drool over continued on page

8 Reunited With Old Friends continued from page 25 a rotting PT-23 sitting on the ramp. I thought it was the best-looking airplane I had ever seen, and more than 50 years later I still have that same feeling. Eventually Mel not only let me fly the PT-23, but he let me become a partner with him as well. I really started doing a lot of research on my airplane and found out it was one of only two built by Fairchild and later served its military career at Thompson-Robbins Field with the line number of 164. But my research didn t stop there, as I was able to find one of the pilots who taught at Thompson- Robbins: Paul Poberezny. When I finally spoke with Paul about his instructor days, he remarked that he had never washed a student out. I told him he must have been a great instructor and he said: No, the airplane s easy to fly, and it s not that hard to teach someone who wants to learn how to fly. Other instructors would wash cadets out because if you lost a student you would have spare time on your hands. Me, I loved to fly and that s all I ever wanted to do. Besides, I had a job to do and I would find something special in every one of those pilots that was redeemable to keep them flying. Paul was right the PT-23 flies like a dream. With that big open cockpit the visibility is spectacular. It is as big as a T-6 and has that heavy feel to it, but the controls are very responsive. The hardest thing for me to get used to was when I pulled the throttle back, the PT- 23 has a tendency to glide like a brick it comes down quick! But once those nice wide mains touch the runway, it is very cushioned and sometimes it s hard to tell you even landed. One of my greatest joys is to share this wonderful aircraft with as many people as possible PHOTO COURTESY HOWARD MILLER and explain to them the role this airplane played in helping to win the war. I was extremely honored to be an invited guest standing alongside Paul Poberezny at the EAA Warbirds of America Warbirds in Review program. With the former pilot and airplane being reunited almost 65 years later, it was nothing short of history coming alive. All because of a trainer called the Fairchild PT-23. Life doesn t get much better than this! K E E P E M F LY I N G! 4 1