History lessons come from books, teachers and, every now and then, from touching a piece of ancient history. In 2002, I flew in a piece of history—a World War II, open-cockpit, Stearman biplane that was slow, noisy and absolutely beautiful.
(Before I get too carried away, let me admit that I have never been checked out in a Stearman so flew that day with a CFI.)
This particular Stearman was a bit of history in and of itself. During World War II, it was based in Tuskegee, AL, where it was used to train a group of people you just might have heard of—the famed group of black pilots known as the Tuskegee Airmen.
Several of the Tuskegee Airmen were still around when I worked for Montgomery Aviation. One of them, “Chief†Anderson, came by frequently and was later inducted into the Alabama Aviation Hall of Fame. Years later, I served on a planning committee for the Hall-of-Fame induction ceremony, and one of our inductees that year was General Benjamin O. Davis, Jr. General Davis was also a Tuskegee Airman, a graduate of West Point, and one more fine looking fellow even more than 50 years later. I helped write his introduction and was proud to play that small role in his induction.
Tuskegee and Alabama can be proud of the Tuskegee and the Tuskegee Airmen.
And I am proud to have flown in that Stearman.
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