I kinda spilled the beans in Thump's memoriam thread, but here goes.
I'm a mostly retired operating engineer with a Commercial Multi inst SES SEL Instructor that has a lot of dust on it. I may never grab the yoke in anger again, but it's like a bike. I could ride again.
I have always had a keen interest in the war, as it was instrumental in forming our families. We had two dads, both Bobs from the 4th Marines who met up and met our mother in Klamath Falls OR after the war. They rehabbed together there.
When the base commander asked for volunteers to live out at the stables, two hands shot up and that was how it all started.
The commander had a soft spot for horses and they had a great time shacking up, raiding the kitchen for supplies and generally being left to their own devices.
One of my neighbors growing up was Richard Farnsworth. He was a two mission successful glider pilot and he gave me my first airplane rides and planted the bug.
Not THE Richard Farnsworth glider pilot/ actor, a different Richard Farnsworth. The war was like that.
Excerpt from his obituary:
"YAKIMA - Richard Gail Farnsworth passed away quietly March 23, 2005 after anextended bout with cancer.He leaves his wife of 62 years, Evelyn; a son, Rick of Vancouver, WA; two daughters,Virginia Skordal of Bellevue and Marilyn Dille of Seattle; four sisters: Alice Brown ofOmak, Betty Erickson, of Mount Vernon, Jean Copple of Sultan, WA and DorothyThompson of Wenatchee, WA, and seven grandchildren. He was preceded in death byhis parents, Charles Wilson Farnsworth and Lucille Driffield Farnsworth and a sister,Mildred Rew.Richard was active in reunions of his World War II glider squadron and an avidmotorcyclist and private pilot. He graduated with honors in Music Education andpursued graduate studies at Washington State College, and taught music at Selah HighSchool for a number of years. He then operated a business in Selah for more than 30years retiring in 1988. Richard piloted a combat invasion glider in WWII and participated in the Normandy invasion, the invasion into Holland, Operation Market Garden, and the invasion across the Rhine River into Germany in March of 1945."
I post this because his group of guys are fading away fast, and at one point asked about any photos of him. I had none and looking back, I had wished I had spent more time with him.
My first flight was in a Stinson 108-3 at about 9.
Then he got a dead sexy Comanche 250.
We took off out of Yakima and his first maneuver was to roll it up on the right, and slap the rudder a couple of times to " Check the door latch" with my body. He was a kind man but a bit of a joker.
I spotted a brush fire up north of Ellensburg and he left the throttle in, and we orbited it and investigated it and called it in to YKM tower.
My time is split between a whole slew of singles and mostly an early straight tail 310, hence the moniker.
Out in front of the FBO in Sheboygan Wisconsin.
I've been across the US and up to AK on my nickel a few times. A few times it was ferry flights for others. I did banner tow operations out of Renton for several seasons.
I'm a mostly retired operating engineer with a Commercial Multi inst SES SEL Instructor that has a lot of dust on it. I may never grab the yoke in anger again, but it's like a bike. I could ride again.
I have always had a keen interest in the war, as it was instrumental in forming our families. We had two dads, both Bobs from the 4th Marines who met up and met our mother in Klamath Falls OR after the war. They rehabbed together there.
When the base commander asked for volunteers to live out at the stables, two hands shot up and that was how it all started.
The commander had a soft spot for horses and they had a great time shacking up, raiding the kitchen for supplies and generally being left to their own devices.
One of my neighbors growing up was Richard Farnsworth. He was a two mission successful glider pilot and he gave me my first airplane rides and planted the bug.
Not THE Richard Farnsworth glider pilot/ actor, a different Richard Farnsworth. The war was like that.
Excerpt from his obituary:
"YAKIMA - Richard Gail Farnsworth passed away quietly March 23, 2005 after anextended bout with cancer.He leaves his wife of 62 years, Evelyn; a son, Rick of Vancouver, WA; two daughters,Virginia Skordal of Bellevue and Marilyn Dille of Seattle; four sisters: Alice Brown ofOmak, Betty Erickson, of Mount Vernon, Jean Copple of Sultan, WA and DorothyThompson of Wenatchee, WA, and seven grandchildren. He was preceded in death byhis parents, Charles Wilson Farnsworth and Lucille Driffield Farnsworth and a sister,Mildred Rew.Richard was active in reunions of his World War II glider squadron and an avidmotorcyclist and private pilot. He graduated with honors in Music Education andpursued graduate studies at Washington State College, and taught music at Selah HighSchool for a number of years. He then operated a business in Selah for more than 30years retiring in 1988. Richard piloted a combat invasion glider in WWII and participated in the Normandy invasion, the invasion into Holland, Operation Market Garden, and the invasion across the Rhine River into Germany in March of 1945."
I post this because his group of guys are fading away fast, and at one point asked about any photos of him. I had none and looking back, I had wished I had spent more time with him.
My first flight was in a Stinson 108-3 at about 9.
Then he got a dead sexy Comanche 250.
We took off out of Yakima and his first maneuver was to roll it up on the right, and slap the rudder a couple of times to " Check the door latch" with my body. He was a kind man but a bit of a joker.
I spotted a brush fire up north of Ellensburg and he left the throttle in, and we orbited it and investigated it and called it in to YKM tower.
My time is split between a whole slew of singles and mostly an early straight tail 310, hence the moniker.
Out in front of the FBO in Sheboygan Wisconsin.
I've been across the US and up to AK on my nickel a few times. A few times it was ferry flights for others. I did banner tow operations out of Renton for several seasons.
