of an airplane and to be that near heaven. It must be a feeling man has had ever since he began to fly. That day, I did not ever want to come down.
Getting low on gas, I had to. I put her in a bank to the left and down we went. We buzzed the airport forty feet off the ground. I pulled her up and rolled her over on her back, flew past the airport and rolled her over again. I set her down on the ground as easy as a bird landing on a wire.
Uncle Bob, Aunt Helen and my folks with my brothers were there to greet me. All the men at the airport came to congratulate me, too. They all made out as if I had done something a young boy had never done before. I was a big hero for one day. It was a great day for me, I want-a tell ya.
My Uncle Bob was the first to congratulate me. He said, “Tommy boy that was as good as any old timer could do. You’re going to make one hell-of an airman.” No one could have been happier than me that day. To have Uncle Bob praise me made me proud as a peacock. The folks and my brothers all had good things to say to me. I was never more pleased with myself in my whole life, It was a great day for me. I hate repeating myself, but it was a great day in my life. Little did I know flying would be my whole life and everything I got was from my flying including my beautiful wife Allie?
That winter, I worked my rear off to get myself out of high school. In May, I graduated, now I was on my own. The summer of 1935 I spent in Uncle Bob’s office, I was bored to tears, I hated office work. Uncle Bob was one smart guy, he could see I wasn’t cut out for his kind of work. He told me, “I have just purchased a four place new airplane. Tommy boy, I want you to be its pilot. I plan to start a charter business with it as soon as you have a few hours flying it.”
Wow, was I a happy guy of eighteen. Me, a charter pilot? “When do I start?”
“Just as soon as the plane gets here, it should be delivered anytime now.”
Yep, the plane came. On a Sunday afternoon, I took Uncle Bob and Aunt Helen for a two hour ride. Uncle Bob had to take the controls and see what his new plane could do. He looked back at Aunt Helen, told her to hang on and put the plane thru a few paces. That man could fly the pants off a brass monkey. I loved every minute of it. Aunt Helen, before he was finished, looked a little pale and threw up all over the both of us, I think he overdid it a little.
This new plane was a Stinson Reliant. The company had only been making this plane for one year, it could carry four passengers and the pilot, it will fly around one hundred and forty miles an hour. Also, it had a range of four hundred miles. I couldn’t have been more pleased with the whole operation Uncle Bob had planned.
On the ground, we got Aunt Helen sitting in the car, She needed a drink of water. She really looked pale around the gills. I thought to myself, Uncle Bob was going to catch heck when she came around.
I spent the rest of that afternoon cleaning the spit up out-a the plane. The smell was hard to get out, but I finally did with a lot of elbow grease, soap and water.
The whole crew at the airport had to look the plane over. All the guys were impressed with her looks, it made me feel good to be a part of the operation.
Before Uncle Bob left that day, he gave me some advice about flying in general. “Tommy boy,” he said, “Always keep her nose up on the horizon, watch the altimeter and pay attention to the fuel gauge. Never fly when you’re tired, it isn’t worth having an accident. Take some time to get rested.” Several times his advice saved my neck, he also told me to take a hop over to El Paso to get a little cross country experience. I had never been more than twenty or thirty miles from the airport.
I got my brother Frank to go. We flew over the next Saturday and came home Sunday. I followed Highway US 80 all the way, I loved flying this airplane. I even let Frank take the controls a time or two, I thought he might have gotten hooked, he didn’t. He told me he preferred to stay on the ground.
The next week I got my first charter. Doc Hanson, his wife and their two little girls booked to go to San Diego for a two week vacation. The Doc sat next to me, his wife and girls in the back. The plane handled alright, I just had a little trouble getting the feel of all the weight. It took a few hours and I set that bird down like it was a baby buggy at the airport in San Diego. The Doc’s wife had never flown before. When she got out, she leaned over and gave me a kiss on the cheek. She told me, “Tommy, I’ll never be afraid to fly again. You are a great pilot.” She made me feel like I was somebody. The Doc told me to pick them up in two weeks.
I asked a man standing on a stepladder working on a plane’s engine, near the hanger, “Can I tie down my plane for the night?”
“Sure.” He showed me where. I finished tie-n down and returned to where the fellow was working on a plane. I started to ask him questions about the airport. He said he was an airplane mechanic and worked for the owner, a man called {Smiling Jack}.
I was asking questions about the hangar buildings and some of the aircraft, when I saw this gorgeous female dressed in a white shirt, tan boot pants and brown riding boots come thru the big open door. This redheaded beauty stood looking our way. I asked the mechanic who she was. “She’s the boss’s daughter, Allie. You want-a meet her?” I didn’t know what to say. He did for me. He called, “Allie, this boy here wants ta meet ya.”
Even at that distance, I could see she was smiling. As she strolled toward us, I could see this beauty was blue eyed with big dimples in her rosy red cheeks. She had wonderful full kissable lips, I fell head over heels in love with this walking goddess.
As she approached us, she said in a musical voice, “I’m Allie.” She presented her right hand for me to shake.
I took her hand in my right, pulled her close to me. With my left hand on her upper arm, I said, “Am I ever glad to meet you, you’re one good looking young lady.”
I thought that mechanic was gonna fall off his ladder. We both heard him say softly, “This kid is smooth.” Then he said in a loud voice, “This boy is the charter pilot who just flew in, in the Red Stinson over there.” He was pointing at my plane.
She looked at me and said with question in her musical voice, “You’re kind-a young to be a charter pilot.”
I told her, “I been flying for two years and I’m good at it.” I never bragged before in my life, somehow I just had to impress this beautiful girl.
She told me very curtly, “I’m a pilot, too, and I’ve been flying a couple of years.” She grabbed me by the arm and said, “Come on, I want you to meet my daddy.” I told her I was hungry and had to find a place to sleep. She pulled me right along and said, “I’ll see to your needs.” How lucky could a guy be to meet this girl?
We entered the hangar and walked over to an office inside the building. There standing in the door way talking with a couple of men was a handsome man who looked to be forty years old. He had graying temples, reddish brown hair, a firm ruddy face and a big friendly smile. He stood six feet tall maybe two hundred pounds.
Allie broke right into their conversation and said, “Daddy, I want you to meet….” She stopped and asked, “What did you say your name was?”
“Tom.”
“Daddy, I want you to meet Tom, he’s a charter pilot.”
I put out my hand to him. He took it and said, “I’m Smiling Jack. How ya do-n?”
I looked at him, then at Allie and said, “I’m do-n great.”
He
