i'm writing a book - right here!

[SL DIII]

Hi AAC,
Glad you are working on this project! I looked through a few pages here and am really looking forward to picking up a hard copy of the bookm as soon as it is available.
Keep up the good work!
Best,
Tom P.

[AAC Cadet Leader]

hi tom,
thanks! glad you're tuning in. the thickest section of the book comes when i get to your stomping grounds in the hudson river valley at that crazy old aerodrome in red hook, new york.

[AAC Cadet Leader]

Mom’s Log
Day 79 continued
Sunday, August 14
South Dakota to Montana
At 7 p.m., Larry Larson flew into Billings Logan Field in his 1947 Piper Super Cruiser (red and beige) to pick Martha up and fly her to his own private airstrip, called “Ye Olde Molt Aerodrome” by in a tiny settlement called Molt, Montana. She stayed this night in “Larson’s Lodge,” a small, rustic cabin-guest house on their land and had a lovely evening with his family - wife, Lalonnie, two daughters and a son.

[At the dinner table, the Larson’s twelve-year old daughter told me the names of all thirty-two people that live in their little town of Molt, Montana - amazing! After dinner, the family gave me a t-shirt with their logo, “Little Bumpy Airlines” and added all of their autographs to it, including the dog’s.

Today was Scott Larson’s fifth birthday, and I felt privileged to attend his family birthday party. He entertained us outside at sunset with his new battery-operated toy airplane on a wire. This is a very happy and close-knit family. I'd been an orphaned kid, I’d wish for a family like this.

Thier “Larson’s Lodge,” is located on about forty feet away from their family home and it reminded me of the cabin described in “Walden Pond” by Henry David Thoreau. It was sparsely furnished and I wanted to move into it forever. On the back of the door hung a guest register where former guests had left their comments and thanks to the Larson’s. I added mine to the list.]

[AAC Cadet Leader]

Pipeline Flight August 14, 15, & 16, 1988.
Below is a copy of the 12th and 13th pages of the 17 page letter I wrote to Gordon Baxter upon completing my journey. These two pages tell about one of my favorite flights -the three day long tour from Molt, Montana to Pasco, Washington with my 87th aviator, Larry Larson, a pipeline pilot.

[AAC Cadet Leader]

Mom's Log
Day 80
Monday, August 15
Montana to Washington
Martha flew with Larry Larson from Ye Olde Molt Aerodrome to Edsall International (a private grass strip), in Bozeman, Montana where Wayne Edsall flew Martha in his open cockpit 1932 Fleet biplane, to Missoula, Montana.

[AAC Cadet Leader]

Day 80, August 15, 1988, 9:15 a.m. Written at 500’ altitude, in the front seat of Wayne Edsall's 1932 Fleet open-cockpit biplane, near Bozeman, Montana.

Trapped in Time

Life is but a dream they say
so we can dream it too
believing we are
trapped in time in 1932

Together we're aloft
high above the Central Plains
cross the flatlands as we race along
with speeding coal trains

Over to the Rockies
we’ll blast up a mountainside
skim the top, soar over its ridge
cruise down the other side

Breezing through the clouds and sky
we’ve never been so free
reach out into the wind
and almost touch the trees

On up the Ruby River
sneaking 'neath a bridge I know
and one more in Missoula
near the line of Idaho

We can't stay up forever
we’re almost out of gas
there’s a field on the other side
of that-there mountain pass

Keep this dream inside of you
because if you do, it’s true
It’s true that we are flying
back in 1932!

[AAC Cadet Leader]

Some office views of Pipeline Pilot, Larry Larson

[AAC Cadet Leader]

Mom's Log
Day 80 continued...

Mike Ferguson flew Martha from Missoula to Helena, Montana in his 1953 Beechcraft Bonanza. [Larry Larson flew nearby us.]






Then M flew with Larry Larson again from Helena, landing at Felts Field in Spokane, WA and later in late afternoon to Ox Meadows, in Spokane. There she flew in a 1933 Waco UIC with Jack Fowler at his Fowler’s Field NW40.

continued...

[McNarff]

Trapped in Time in 1932.....Great ! The 88th flight? Got to love it!

...I feel as though i have just gone through a time warp...a beautiful, fantastic time warp....keep up the magic!