i'm writing a book - right here!

[AAC Cadet Leader]

[AAC Cadet Leader]

Mom's Log
Day 55 continued...
Martha stayed the night at the FBO in an apartment called Hartley Folstad Stearman Flight Center. [Well, not quite – I slept on the cement floor in a sleeping bag in Hartley Folstad’s Stearman hangar.] He teaches pilots to fly Stearmans and solo in them. One of Hartley’s pilots will fly Martha to Lane Leonard’s airfield at Cable [Airport].


Day 56
Friday, July 22
California
Bill Steinbeck flew Martha in a Stearman to Lane Leonard’s at Cable Airport. He has a most complete collection (3’ thick all around [the inside of] his hangar of all kinds of aviation memorabilia. They spent 3-4 hours with him and had lunch together at the airport restaurant. Martha met him at Bartlesville.

Bill Steinbeck and M then flew to Riverside and called the Baileys, they did not answer. At Riverside they went to the Blue Max Bar at the airport and had [Happy Hour] hors d’ouvres.

Flew back to Chino and [in the early evening] Martha was introduced to Elmer Ward, originally from Lakewood, Ohio, West High School (1921 age). He flew Martha in his P-51 over a lake and did loops – rolls and Cuban 8’s. They came back at sunset. The control tower asked Elmer to go back into a [the] pattern and give the people on the ground a show. He and Martha flew 340 mph down the runway.



Martha gave Elmer a wing pin. He had not heard of this before. [I gave each of my pilots one of my AAC wing pins, but Mr. Ward was most gracious and respectful in his acceptance of my small gift.]

M slept at the hangar apartment again [actually, on the hangar floor again].

David Waterman came over in his most beautiful Stinson 108 (1946) and took Martha to dinner at a B’Bque in Chino.

The people were celebrating the newly-restored P-38 Lightning that had not flown in 28 years. This was a big event. P-38 Pilot was Steve Hinton - from Cleve?

Day 57
Saturday, July 23
California
Dave Pyeatt and Joe Sand took Martha to Dave’s from Chino. [In the late afternoon, I flew from Chino to Torrance Airport with David Waterman in his Stinson. Dave and Joe came to Torrance and took me to dinner.]

[AAC Cadet Leader]

Mom's Log
Day 58
Sunday, July 24
California
Swam at Channing Clark’s apartment last night at Burbank—owner of a rare 1936 Fleetwings Seabird, Stainless Steel (one wing - one engine). He is 71 years old. Today he flew Martha from Torrance to Santa Paula? [Close, it was from Torrance to Whiteman Airpark in Pacoima.]

Met Judith Runyon of Sherman Oaks, Chapter San Fernando 99's and Chris Maurer her friend. They all had dinner with Channing at the Tavern On The Green at the Glen Oaks Golf Course. Judith called Cassey and Mal Stratford - M met them at Santa Ynez.

M is going back to Torrance on Monday with Mal Stratford.

Day 59
Monday, July 25
California
M called from Whiteman Airpark, San Fernando just north of Burbank. Flew in the Fleetwings Seabird through the mountains with Channing and Mal Stratford. Reporter, Gary Johansen interviewed them from “The Newhall Signal” in Newhall, California.

Martha stayed at a Best Western.

[During the Fleetwings Seabird flights, Channing had me crank the retractable wheels up after take-off and crank them back down again before landing. In most planes, raising and lowering the gear is done with the flip of a switch, but in this odd bird it was lengthy task of considerable effort, taking thirty-some arduous turns of a crank to wind and un-wind the steel cable connected to the wheel struts. On the second and third flights, Channing also had me do the take-offs. I felt a real sense of accomplishment.]

[AAC Cadet Leader]

Clark and His Ark

The funniest man and the most unusual aeroplane I ever met were Channing Clark and his 1936 Fleetwings Seabird.

The people at the Hawthorne, California airshow approached with mystified looks on their faces when they spotted the plane—it was truly something to see—something to gaze upon. The shimmering all-stainless steel ship seemed to magnetize their palms and knuckles to its nose and outboard floats. They came one by one to stroke and knock on it. And Channing Clark, its proud owner allowed them the pleasure—said they couldn't hurt the airplane, he worried more that the airplane might hurt them.

I was given the privileged seating of a nautical lawn chair beneath the wing of the ship, nearby the galvanized anchor that Channing had lowered onto the asphalt after he shut the engine down. From my shaded spot I observed a number of onlookers during the show change their location with respect to the odd silver bird and study or photograph it from several angles and I took notes of their questions to Channing, which repeated throughout the day in a series:

"What is it?"

"How old is it?"

"What's it made of—Reynolds Wrap?"

"Does it really fly?"

"Can it land on water?"

And to each question, Channing replied with well-practiced witticisms— delivering each answer after a thoughtful pause and a throat clearing, never letting the asker realize that he'd been asked the same questions a thousand times before. After hearing his funny answers, they'd step back once again, and stare at the steel marvel holding their chins with studious amazement. As they departed his company, Channing sincerely and graciously said to them, "Thank you for your interest." Here is some of what I overheard...

Spectator: "I've never seen anything like it!"

Clark: "If I'd never seen it, I'd be rich!"


Spectator: "Is it fully amphibious?"

Clark: "Sir, I can't answer that until you tell me what semi-amphibious is."


Spectator: "Is it for sale?"

Clark: "Well, in 1936 it sold new for $20,000. Today, I'll trade it for any Malibu beachfront property that in 1936 went for $20,000."


Spectator: "You'd have to be pretty well-off to maintain this airplane!?"

Clark: "Howard Hughes once flew this airplane, so I feel I'm living like a billionaire."


There could not be a better match of a man to his plane; Channing Clark and the Fleeetwings Seabird were made for each other. Channing and his Seabird both possess a sense of dignified humor that charms people and holds them spellbound. Channing was born on January 11, 1916 and now in his seventies, he still climbs gymnastically about the top of the ship to pull through the propeller of the Jacobs 300 horsepower radial engine. From the ground, ten feet below, I watched him circumnavigate the guy wires, the sloped roof and natural voids, and grab the engine mount struts, swinging himself around them with the grace of a trapeze artist.

He has the face of a salty sea captain and wears his trademark wool nautical cap to go with the Seabird. When I asked him if I could take his picture, he dutifully posed atop the airplane by the propeller, striking a pose and a staunch look gazing to the horizon, as if out at sea. He refused my request to say cheese, with an utterance out of the side of his mouth, "I run a tight ship!" My camera clicked and I then realized that I'd just shot one of my best photographs ever.

After the long airshow day, Channing held us entranced at the dinner table with his colorful stories of his "eight-year courtship and twenty-six year marriage to the Fleetwings Seabird," as he described the relationship.

He had us in stitches with his long roll of well-rehearsed jokes, always beginning with the throat clearing, the thoughtful pause, the faraway look, then the opening line, most of which began with, "Guy walks into a bar..." After seven or eight jokes beginning this way, all Channing had to do to crack us up, was to just start the next joke with that opening line.

Other Channing Clark one-liners:

“The fog's so thick a deep breath would drown you.”

“You've buttered your bread now lie in it.”

“I'll leave a martini in the window for you.”

“With my luck, if they sawed a woman in two and gave me half, I'd get the half that eats.”

“If death was knocking at your door, I'd pull you through it.”

"Maintain airspeed!" instead of goodbye.

~

[AAC Cadet Leader]

[page of Fleetwings Seabird history to be added here]

[frankie_bondo]

That is, in point of fact, the oddest bird I've seen...I knew you had some courage to embark on your journey in the first place, but to go up in that thing........Wow!!!

[AAC Cadet Leader]

Mom's Log

Day 60
Tuesday, July 26
California to Arizona to Nebraska
Flew [from Chino, California to Winslow, Arizona] to Mc Cook, Nebraska in another P-51 Mustang belonging to ["Captain Anonymous" – you’ll see why when you read the expanded chapter] and David Waterman [who sat behind me. I sat on the floor between he and our pilot in the front seat and Fred Sebby's P-40 flew alongside [slightly ahead of us, leading us nearly the whole way from southern California to Wisconsin].



Day 61
Wednesday, July 28
Nebraska
Waterskiied most of today at Hugh Butler Lake, Nebraska with [our P-51 pilot's] friends.

Day 62
Thursday, July 28
Nebraska to Wisconsin
P-51 is leaving this morning from McCook, Nebraska for Oshkosh—should take 2 hours. Arrived at Oshkosh at 3:30 PM if took 3 hrs. A very hot ride—most uncomfortable! Called Thursday morning from Chino.

[AAC Cadet Leader]

[insert here: Expanded Chapter ~

The Things I Can't Tell You

saved for printed version of the book]

[frankie_bondo]

What a thoroughly vivid, informative, entertaining story! Thanks, Cadet Leader! Keep up the good work!...More Pics!

[Kilian]

Martha.

Phantastic shot of the QM I wonder if they would allow you to fly over her nowadays Was it already a hotel in the 80s? I had the privilege to stay for a night in one of the outer cabins in 1998.
My question to Mr Clark would have been if you were able to talk to each other whilst beeing airborne. I would imagine the engine is loud?
For sure cool pictures and the stories are getting even better.

Kilian