Want to buy or sell something? Check the classifieds
  • The Fedora Lounge is supported in part by commission earning affiliate links sitewide. Please support us by using them. You may learn more here.

1970's Flying Club Photos

Atticus Finch

Call Me a Cab
Messages
2,717
Location
Coastal North Carolina, USA
Jackie and I are in the slow process of transforming my parents' home into a place for us to one day retire. Everytime we go there, we discover something that jerks me out of today, and makes me a kid again...at least for a short while. Friday, we were cleaning out a cabinet, and she found a shoebox of old family photos. Among them were some photos that I took of my Dad's flying club.

Dad's hobby was flight instruction. He taught for free, and many of the folks he taught to fly were his friends. He owned an old hanger at the edge of Beaufort Airport and rented space to his friends...who I called the members of his his "flying club". I guess they were, in a very informal way.

In those days, Beaufort Airport was an underused, uncontrolled airfield that had been deeded by the USMC to Beaufort after WWII. There was very little regulation and we flew where and how we wanted with oversight from no one. Looking back, it my have been the very last days of the golden age of civilian aviation.

These photos were taken on a cold February or March day in 1977. I believe that I took most of them.


This is Lane. He was an officer in the Coast Guard and was one of Dad's best friends. I think his G-1 was issued to him by the USCG and he probably shouldn't have been wearing it out of uniform. But he did. Often.
Picture106-1.jpg


This is Darlene. She graduated from high school with me and was married to her high school sweetheart who was fixing up this little Cessna 140. It was turned out to be a beautiful little plane. We all like really liked Darlene and Robert. Especially Darlene.
Picture102-1.jpg


This stern looking guy is my father...and Darlene. Of course.
Picture114.jpg


This is my father flying his 1956 Cessna 172 over Shackleford Banks. I took this photo from my plane as he flew by me.
Picture112.jpg


I'm pretty sure I took this photo too, but I can't remember who it is. Harkers' Island is in the background.
Picture110.jpg


This long-haired kid is me, standing beside my 1943 J-3. I soloed in this plane. Dad helped me buy it so that I could learn to fly in a taildragger...as had he during WWII. He believed that pilots should learn to fly in the minimum amount of airplane possible. That way, the future pilot learned to actually fly and not "drive" a plane. Damn, I miss him and his good sense.
Picture111.jpg


AF
 

dhermann1

I'll Lock Up
Messages
9,154
Location
Da Bronx, NY, USA
One of the nicest new threads I've seen in a long time. Brought a little tear to my eye.
Back in the 70's and 80's I was a sort of active member of the Experimental Aircraft Assn. I got the magazine, went to events, etc. But flying is not an easy hobby in New York City, and so the whole chapter fizzled out. But I got to see a lot of neat old airplanes and hang out with some nice aviation people.
Thanks for sharing!
 

Atticus Finch

Call Me a Cab
Messages
2,717
Location
Coastal North Carolina, USA
I had forgotten about posting this. I was surprised to read that I took the photos in 1977. It doesn't make much difference to the sprit of the thread, but I think I actually took them a bit earlier. In 1977 I was a junior at UNC and had moved to Chapel Hill. I think I was still living at home when I took these pictures...in maybe 1974. I'm guessing my Mom or someone finally developed the roll of film in early 1977.

AF
 

hatguy1

One Too Many
Messages
1,145
Location
Da Pairee of da prairee
Those photos do bring back memories of flying 150's and 172's in the '70's. Avgas was under $1 a gallon!
It was a fairly affordable hobby back then.

Yeah. It's ridiculously expensive anymore. I hung it up well before 9/11/01. Can't imagine paying for fuel, charts, medicals, proficiency expenses blahblahblah nowadays.
 

Stearmen

I'll Lock Up
Messages
7,202
Join the club! I did not realize how spoiled I was when some one else was footing the bill. I was looking at vintage biplanes last year, Stearmans, WACOs and the like, they were really cheap. Then I priced the hanger, insurance, fuel, oil, well, long story short, I don't own one!
 

Forum statistics

Threads
107,023
Messages
3,026,584
Members
52,528
Latest member
Zonko
Top