90 y/o vet takes his WWII plane up

90-year-old vet takes his WWII plane up for fly
Saturday, Mar. 21, 2009
By Lewis Griswold / The Fresno Bee

Ray Melikian of Visalia walked into the Vintage Aircraft Co. hangar at Sonoma Valley Airport and gazed at the restored Curtiss P-40 Warbird. Stenciled on the side was his name: Lt. Ray Melikian.

Now 90, he flew that very same plane in World War II.

"It was immaculate. Nothing was different," Melikian said. But he couldn't help but think, "It can't be the same airplane. It was large sitting there. It didn't seem that big to me then."

Pilot Ray Melikian of Visalia in the Curtiss P-40 Warbird he flew in World War II.
The plane had been found in an Australian airplane graveyard.


Melikian stepped into the cockpit and flew the plane -- one of 25 P-40s still in existence -- to the wild cheers of about 125 family, friends and aircraft enthusiasts.

The flight took place a week ago today.

"When Ray took off, there were tears in people's eyes," said family friend Bud Erickson of Visalia.

Ann Spear of Visalia, Melikian's daughter, said relatives who hadn't seen each other in 20 years made it a point to be there. Some are old enough to remember articles in The Bee about her father, who flew 238 missions in the South Pacific, strafing airports and barges, and is credited with three kills.

"He's a true American hero," said Sheryl Carlucci of Sonoma, who works at the airport where the plane was restored.

Chris Prevost, owner of Vintage Aircraft Co., bought the hulk of the P-40 fuselage for $151,000 from a company in New Zealand. The wreckage had been found in an airplane graveyard in Australia, and frankly, Prevost said, "it was mostly a mess of parts."

Working practically nonstop for eight years, he restored it to mint condition. The serial number was traced to an Army Air Corps pilot by the name of Melikian. Several years ago, Prevost telephoned him in Visalia and promised a free ride someday.

They met for the first time last Sunday, and Melikian and Prevost hit it off.

"I've got $600,000 tied up in this plane," Prevost said.

"You want me to fly that and wreck it?" Melikian asked.

"No, I'll fly it with you," Prevost said.

The plane has two sets of controls and they took turns. Melikian said they spent about an hour in the air, flying over San Francisco Bay and the former Hamilton Air Field where he trained. It's a subdivision now. The weather was gorgeous, with puffy clouds.

Coming back to the airport, they flew in low for the crowd -- the 12-cylinder P-40 has an unforgettable roar -- then took off at a steep angle and did a roll.

"It was nothing but grins and giggles," Prevost said later. "He's definitely the gentleman's gentleman. He's so upbeat. It's a living airplane and he's a very-much-alive pilot. It's always exciting to connect the dots in history."

Melikian, a Biola farm boy, is lucky to be alive.

In 1941, his Air Corps fighter group was sent to the South Pacific on separate convoys. He was in the second convoy, which stopped in Pearl Harbor on Dec. 4, just days before the Japanese attack, then left for Manila to rendezvous with the others. But before the second convoy could get there, Japan attacked Manila and the pilots in the first convoy were captured. Only a few survived. Melikian's convoy was diverted to Darwin, Australia.

In 1942, Melikian was ordered to fly to Melbourne and get on an aircraft carrier bound for Indonesia. But his plane malfunctioned, and he had to manually put down the landing gear. He was told to get the plane fixed and return to his squadron -- and not get on the carrier. The carrier left port, was attacked en route and sank. Only two survived.

Another time, a fellow pilot borrowed his plane for a mission and never returned. In 1969, it was found in the jungles of New Guinea with a skeleton in it. The name Melikian was still visible on the side of the plane.

But he's still alive, and flying.

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