mlmcdonald
Airman
I'm not quite sure whether this thread fits in this topic but I think it's related so here goes. My flight instructor in the sixties (civilian) was Bill Barnes, son of the aviation legend Pancho Barnes. She raced with the likes of Amelia Earhart and Jimmy Doolittle, and in later years was the owner of the Happy Bottom Riding Club off the end of the runway of what was to become Edwards Air Force Base (if you've seen "The Right Stuff" you've heard of it, though in a grossly sanitized version.) In other words, for all intents and purposes, Bill was born in a cockpit.
He flew everything, and eventually came to own Barnes Aviation at Fox Field, just outside of Lancaster, California--where one day, I might add, to my great surprise and unending delight, I was fortunate enough to be introduced to Pancho herself. If you saw "Tora, Tora, Tora," Bill flew some of the T-6s that were made to look like Zekes, Vals, and Kates. I hadn't seen him for over 30 years when, a couple of years ago, I decided to find out what had become of him and learned online that he was killed in 1989 while flying a P-51 Mustang.
I've tried to learn more, but have not been able to find out any more than that. If anyone can help me to learn the details of what happened to my instructor and friend, I would be forever grateful.
Michael
He flew everything, and eventually came to own Barnes Aviation at Fox Field, just outside of Lancaster, California--where one day, I might add, to my great surprise and unending delight, I was fortunate enough to be introduced to Pancho herself. If you saw "Tora, Tora, Tora," Bill flew some of the T-6s that were made to look like Zekes, Vals, and Kates. I hadn't seen him for over 30 years when, a couple of years ago, I decided to find out what had become of him and learned online that he was killed in 1989 while flying a P-51 Mustang.
I've tried to learn more, but have not been able to find out any more than that. If anyone can help me to learn the details of what happened to my instructor and friend, I would be forever grateful.
Michael