9-15-2020 8:48pm

Merge Wright: The American Aero Club

Rick Amburgey Neighbor

My wife and I married in 1967 and the first thing I wanted to do was obtain a pilots license. Back in the 60’s you could do the hours needed from start to finish about 40 to 60 for around $500. I signed up with Frank McGrath at the McGrath Flying school at Willow Run Airport and started.

We lived in Trenton, Michigan one of Detroit’s downriver burbs. To get to Willow Run I had to drive by Detroit International Airport which I dearly loved. Four lanes of traffic going 40mph except me. I was watching the big jets landing just 40 feet above me as they approached touchdown. And I never wanted to miss one. Fifteen minutes later I was at flight school and doing my pre flight inspection with my instructor who was two years younger. Me 23, he 21 but he had several thousand hours so I figured he knew his stuff and he did and we got along great.

After about 10 hours over several weeks we met for our next lesson on Saturday afternoon. Stop. You should be watching the Ohio State game a few friends told me. Heck, at that time I didn’t even know that Ohio State had a football team. Saturday was landing practices. We did about five, greased all of them perfectly right on the center line. Didn’t even feel the landing.

Instructor said that’s it for today let’s head back to the terminal. As I’m pulling up he says let me out here. I said, "Where do you want me to park it?” He told me quickly it’s all yours go practice some maneuvers I’ll see you later. I had not soloed yet. I would be all alone no instructor to catch my mistakes if I made any. Yes, a bit frightened for sure. I call ground control they give me permission to taxi to 5 Left immediately. On the way I’m thinking there’ll be incoming traffic so I won’t be able to take off right away more time to think. I do my run up everything checks out good, call the tower and they give me an immediate take off clearance.

I turned on to the runway and was airborne in no time. I flew out to our practice area about ten miles SW of the airport and practiced several maneuvers for 30 minutes called the tower and got approval to approach and land on the same runway. Greased it on again, taxied in and went down the hall to McGrath patting myself on the back. I knew how to fly and….land. With Michigan weather and my occupation interrupting me frequently it took about another eight months before I obtained my license.

Flying solo without an instructor was $12 an hour, with was $18. When our daughter was born on October 23, I was with my wife at the hospital then rented a plane to fly to Defiance to see our son Sean who was staying with my wife’s parents. Twenty five minute flight, one and a half hours by car. Came back the next morning and was back at the hospital. Frank only charged me for an hour where normally you have a minimum of two hours on overnights. But my trip was special he said. OK, so aviation was in my blood, I had to do more. Wrote a short column in the Detroit News about flying and coming out to our meeting in three weeks. Pilots and people interested in aviation.

The cost was $2 a person and I promised a great learning experience for everyone. I had formed the American Aero Club. I had two great speakers and lots of things we had planned in the immediate future that I wanted to share. Over 100 showed up for our first meeting and we were rotating. (That’s pilot talk for taking off, leaving the runway) We had meetings every month with great speakers airline, military, stunt pilots,unique aircraft builders and pilots, movies, women pilots with great stories and more. We didn’t have google back then, it took a lot of work to locate so many wonderful people.

We did breakfast fly ins around the state in the good weather of summer. One of our fun on the ground events was a two bus trip for 100 from our regular meeting place in Lincoln Park to Delta Airlines at Detroit International. It was early 1971 and they had the first 747 in Detroit and we were going to tour it (both decks) then back to the hotel for lunch and entertainment. Let me add that it was an awesome experience at the time for all 100 of us. The ladies that provided the fun after a great meal were former Playboy Bunnies that were now full time flight instructors and entertainers singing great songs about aviation many hilarious that they created. It was a great Sunday morning 9 till 1 and the cost per person for everything was $10. I’m guessing today we’d need to charge $50 to $75 each and wear masks.

The Big Mac Bridge that was built to connect the upper and lower peninsulas was a great achievement but there was no way I would ever consider driving across it. So Lucy and I decided to fly to Mackinaw Island to get a good view of the bridge from above and land on the island and we did one beautiful summer day. It was a wonderful and amazing experience and the weather was perfect both ways. Loved the bridge from above but still not interested in driving across it. Drive some where for lunch? We’d fly somewhere for lunch. Ah the good old days.

In 1971, a good friend and former stunt pilot bought a plane over the phone. It was a Citabria stunt plane and it was at an airport south of Cleveland. He asked me to fly it to Grosse Ile airport for him. A friend of his would fly me down to get it. Sure! I had never flown a tail dragger, all the planes I had flown were tricycle front landing gears. I had a student aircraft mechanic with me to assist if needed. Our take off was kind of crazy as we wiggled down the runway trying to get off the ground a few seconds more and we were in the air no more wiggling. We headed north to the Lake Erie shoreline and followed it back to Grosse Ile which was situated where Lake Erie and the Detroit River make love. It was dark but a full moon so visibility was excellent. I didn’t turn on the landing lights because people might see my wiggly landing. I tried my best to keep that tail wheel straight but I ended up with a couple of minor wiggles. No big deal we were speeding down the runway at 35 mph, then 25, then 10, all was good. My friend Red Barnhill took me up the next day and we did about 10, takeoffs and landings till I got it perfect. Aviation, it was in my dreams as a child and still is today. I might add brother Frank received his license two years before me. We both wrote articles in the McGrath Flying School monthly newsletter, our column was entitled Wright Side Up with the Wright Brothers. It was a hit, full of fun, humor and much more.

Received approval for a straight in on runway 27 so I’ll say goodbye for now. See you next week.

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