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A perfect day to fly
By Steve Dunn/Gate City Managing Editor
Picture-perfect weather served as a welcome backdrop to the third and final day of the 17th annual L-Bird Convention outside of Keokuk Saturday.
Held at Keokuk Municipal Airport-Lindner Field, the fly-in drew pilots from as far away as Australia and a curious crowd of spectators as formations of World War II and Korean War-vintage aircraft circled the airport in a cloudless, bright blue sky.
Pilots such as Bill Ross of Meridian, Miss., and Ken Rapier of Chicago provided links to aviation history as well.
Ross's relatives, Fred and Al Key, set the world record for staying aloft in an airplane in 1935, a mark that stood until spacecraft started orbiting the earth. The Keys stayed aloft in a Curtis-Robbins monoplane called “Ole Miss” for 27 days, or 653 hours and 34 minutes.
Aided by an air-to-air refueling system, the Keys flew an estimated 52,320 miles or twice the distance around the earth while averaging a speed of 80 miles per hour.
They used about 6,000 gallons of gas and 300 gallons of oil in the sustained flight, which still stands as a record for conventional aircraft.
They landed at the Meridian airport on July 1, 1935, with a crowd of 30,000 to 40,000 people on hand. The Meridian airport was renamed Key Field in their honor.
Both of the Keys served in World War II and contributed to the design of the B-17 Flying Fortress bomber.
With more than 7,000 hours of flight under his own belt, Ross started flying in 1955 as a high school student.
“I have always loved flying,” he said. “My relatives (the Keys) ran the Meridian airport at the time.”
Ross and three others formed the Joint Liaison Formation Coalition (JLFC) about 15 years ago so that liaison pilots could qualify to fly in waivered airspace.
“During World War II liaison aircraft were the most feared (aircraft) by enemy ground troops because they were the eyes and ears of the U.S. artillery, and they operated off mud fields, dirt roads and unimproved runways,” Ross said.
During the the Korean War, L-17s were used for the same purpose as well as to take wounded soldiers off the battlefield and fly supplies and ammunition to the front lines. Fifty-caliber machine guns were installed on some of the L-17s, according to Ross.
He also has served as a formation instructor for about 15 years.
“We have clinics all over the U.S. where we teach people (how to fly in formations), and we don't charge,” he said.
“Formation flying requires a high degree of discipline because you are sitting a few feet from another plane and it's extremely unforgiving, but it actually makes you a better pilot,” he added.
Normally, a pilot can safely get within 12 to 15 feet of another plane while flying in formation. Hand signals are used to communicate with other pilots in the formation.
Ross and his wife own a 212-acre flying community in Meridian with about 15 people and airplanes. They came to the L-Bird Convention in an Air Stream trailer and planned to head to the Oshkosh Air Show in Oshkosh, Wis., on Sunday. The latter event draws 10,000 planes and 50,000 campers, according to Ross.
Rapier and three other African-American pilots from the New Generation Chapter of the Tuskegee Airman are tying to keep the memory of the Tuskegee Airman alive. The famous African American flying group flew P51 fighters and escorted bombers during World War II. There were 996 graduates of the 332nd Fighter Group, and 66 Tuskegee Airman died in combat, according to Rapier.
“They (the Tuskegee Airman) got the Congressional Gold Medal this year,” Rapier said. “They never lost a bomber to enemy aircraft that they flew escort for.”
Rapier's cousin, Gordon Rapier of Columbia, Md., was a member of the Tuskegee Airmen.
Formation flying was used during World War II to get planes from one point to another as quickly as possible, Ken Rapier said. There also was safety in numbers when planes flew in formation.
A pilot for 34 years, Rapier learned to fly as a civilian at Midway Airport in Chicago. While he has attended five L-Bird Conventions, his cohort, Keith Renfroe, was at the Keokuk fly-in for the first time to qualify for formation flying. Other members of the Chicago Tuskegee Airmen's group at the L-Bird Convention were Victor Croswell and Marvin Robertson.
Held at Keokuk Municipal Airport-Lindner Field, the fly-in drew pilots from as far away as Australia and a curious crowd of spectators as formations of World War II and Korean War-vintage aircraft circled the airport in a cloudless, bright blue sky.
Pilots such as Bill Ross of Meridian, Miss., and Ken Rapier of Chicago provided links to aviation history as well.
Ross's relatives, Fred and Al Key, set the world record for staying aloft in an airplane in 1935, a mark that stood until spacecraft started orbiting the earth. The Keys stayed aloft in a Curtis-Robbins monoplane called “Ole Miss” for 27 days, or 653 hours and 34 minutes.
Aided by an air-to-air refueling system, the Keys flew an estimated 52,320 miles or twice the distance around the earth while averaging a speed of 80 miles per hour.
They used about 6,000 gallons of gas and 300 gallons of oil in the sustained flight, which still stands as a record for conventional aircraft.
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Both of the Keys served in World War II and contributed to the design of the B-17 Flying Fortress bomber.
With more than 7,000 hours of flight under his own belt, Ross started flying in 1955 as a high school student.
“I have always loved flying,” he said. “My relatives (the Keys) ran the Meridian airport at the time.”
Ross and three others formed the Joint Liaison Formation Coalition (JLFC) about 15 years ago so that liaison pilots could qualify to fly in waivered airspace.
“During World War II liaison aircraft were the most feared (aircraft) by enemy ground troops because they were the eyes and ears of the U.S. artillery, and they operated off mud fields, dirt roads and unimproved runways,” Ross said.
During the the Korean War, L-17s were used for the same purpose as well as to take wounded soldiers off the battlefield and fly supplies and ammunition to the front lines. Fifty-caliber machine guns were installed on some of the L-17s, according to Ross.
He also has served as a formation instructor for about 15 years.
“We have clinics all over the U.S. where we teach people (how to fly in formations), and we don't charge,” he said.
“Formation flying requires a high degree of discipline because you are sitting a few feet from another plane and it's extremely unforgiving, but it actually makes you a better pilot,” he added.
Normally, a pilot can safely get within 12 to 15 feet of another plane while flying in formation. Hand signals are used to communicate with other pilots in the formation.
Ross and his wife own a 212-acre flying community in Meridian with about 15 people and airplanes. They came to the L-Bird Convention in an Air Stream trailer and planned to head to the Oshkosh Air Show in Oshkosh, Wis., on Sunday. The latter event draws 10,000 planes and 50,000 campers, according to Ross.
Rapier and three other African-American pilots from the New Generation Chapter of the Tuskegee Airman are tying to keep the memory of the Tuskegee Airman alive. The famous African American flying group flew P51 fighters and escorted bombers during World War II. There were 996 graduates of the 332nd Fighter Group, and 66 Tuskegee Airman died in combat, according to Rapier.
“They (the Tuskegee Airman) got the Congressional Gold Medal this year,” Rapier said. “They never lost a bomber to enemy aircraft that they flew escort for.”
Rapier's cousin, Gordon Rapier of Columbia, Md., was a member of the Tuskegee Airmen.
Formation flying was used during World War II to get planes from one point to another as quickly as possible, Ken Rapier said. There also was safety in numbers when planes flew in formation.
A pilot for 34 years, Rapier learned to fly as a civilian at Midway Airport in Chicago. While he has attended five L-Bird Conventions, his cohort, Keith Renfroe, was at the Keokuk fly-in for the first time to qualify for formation flying. Other members of the Chicago Tuskegee Airmen's group at the L-Bird Convention were Victor Croswell and Marvin Robertson.
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