Chapter 180B

5/19/2008

Ch 180B The Commando Creed                          "Any place, Any time, Anywhere"                             

1969 Van Gorder farm field -Virgil, NY   Operation "Hayseed"

Although my flight time was not as extensive as Bill's, I did pilot neighbor hog farmer Pete Van Gorder's similar 1947 Stinson model 108, the civilian derivative version.  The plane was kept up in the field by the bass pond where he graded out a dirt runway. Pete let me take over the stick, aileron, elevator, rudder pedals and engine speed controls after we were airborne. A lot of people don't know I about my Air Force career, or care, but I got my first plane ride serving a year in ROTC at Syracuse. Some wont believe me thinking it's more false memories, but then how do they explain the photo in this next Chapter 180C .

Don't believe Dad flew with Pete, wasn't real keen on the idea. In fact, Pete did have a little crash into the forest on Preble Hill near Tully due to carburetor icing. Dad did go up with Uncle Gene Schmidt (video) when he flew into Cortland Airport on National Guard duty in 1959 after retiring as a Navy pilot. That was in the Army's similar successor Stinson, the L-19 Bird Dog model.