Original Posted By: JKend81933(at)aol.com
Subject: Pietenpol-List: Great new Flyin' Story!>http://207.140.1.221/w3builder/piet/Sto ... html>>Many thanks to Joe Czaplicki for sending me a copy of this story,>which appeared in the June, 1940 issue of Popular Aviation. It's a>superb story about a guy who used his Pietenpol on skiis to rescue>quite a few people stranded in a blizzard.>>Dont forget to click on the small pics for a larger version.>>Enjoy!>>Richard>>>==>http://www.wrld.com/w3builder>>> INCREDIBLE, INCREDIBLE, INCREDIBLE Mike B ( Piet N687MB )________________________________________________________________________________
Pietenpol-List: Great new Flyin' Story!
Pietenpol-List: Great new Flyin' Story!
Original Posted By: Michael Brusilow
http://207.140.1.221/w3builder/piet/Sto ... .shtmlMany thanks to Joe Czaplicki for sending me a copy of this story,which appeared in the June, 1940 issue of Popular Aviation. It's asuperb story about a guy who used his Pietenpol on skiis to rescuequite a few people stranded in a blizzard.Dont forget to click on the small pics for a larger version.Enjoy!Richard==http://www.wrld.com/w3builder__________ ... __________
http://207.140.1.221/w3builder/piet/Sto ... .shtmlMany thanks to Joe Czaplicki for sending me a copy of this story,which appeared in the June, 1940 issue of Popular Aviation. It's asuperb story about a guy who used his Pietenpol on skiis to rescuequite a few people stranded in a blizzard.Dont forget to click on the small pics for a larger version.Enjoy!Richard==http://www.wrld.com/w3builder__________ ... __________
Pietenpol-List: Re: Great new Flyin' Story!
Original Posted By:> Richard DeCosta
100 below 0 in texas , was born at night ,but it was not last night lad! Doug
100 below 0 in texas , was born at night ,but it was not last night lad! Doug
Pietenpol-List: Re: Great new Flyin' Story!
Original Posted By: Richard DeCosta
-----Original Message-----
-----Original Message-----
> Great new Flyin' Story!
Original Posted By: Ken Beanlands
> > http://207.140.1.221/w3builder/piet/Sto ... Hero.shtml> > Many thanks to Joe Czaplicki for sending me a copy of this story,> which appeared in the June, 1940 issue of Popular Aviation. It's a> superb story about a guy who used his Pietenpol on skiis to rescue> quite a few people stranded in a blizzard.HOMEMADE HERO - by Richard MartinThe Noel King family almost froze to death in the blizzard-sweptreaches of the Texas panhandle and their misfortune proved to he thebedrock upon which a new aerial reputation has been founded.Harold hawk of Perryton, TX, emerged the hero of the little drama and todayhe's being touted as a candidate for Carnegie hero consideration- justbecause lie's handy with his hands and loves to fly.With a tiny homemade unlicensed plane equipped with a pair of homemadeskiis he accomplished in the span of two day s more aerial rescues anddemonstrated more new uses for the airplane than the average pilot does ina lifetime. I Hawk got on the hero trail when the Kings-Mr. and Mrs.,Loretta, two years old and Gracie Fay, seven months old were caught in oneof the swirling, biting blizzards that sweep across the Texas panhandleduring the blustery winter months. Drifts had piled higher and higher onthe highway and it wasn't long before the King automobile slid drunkenlyinto the ditch-hopelessly stuck.The temperature stood at 100 below zero and the wind was blowing a 50 mphgale as the stranded family struggled to the protection of a pipeline"booster" station over a mile down the road. The girl's arms were frozen tothe elbows and the baby's cheeks were frostbitten when they finally reachedthe shelter. A frantic telephone call to Perryton, 20 miles distant, andthe Kings' plight was explained by the station attendant, who emphasizedthe need of first aid equipment and a special milk formula for the baby. Roads were hopelessly blocked and the situation seemed desperate-until somebody in Perryton remembered Harold Hawk. Hawk is a wholesale oil dealer inPerryton-when he isn't out at his own airport tinkering with some newgadget. He has a herd of 150 cattle and, when the sub-zero weather and deepsnow settled over the ranges, it looked like Hawk was going to lose thosecattle by starvation and freezing-but he didn't. With the aid of HowardHolt and Ken Crisp, a plumber and a jeweler, Hawk had equipped his planewith a crude pair of homemade skiis -the first skiis ever placed on anairplane in the state of Texas. Once the skiis had been built andtest-flown, it was a simple task for Hawk to fly feed 20 miles to hishungry cattle.It was just as simple a task for this self-taught flyer to bringhelp to the Kings for, early the next morning, with the wind still blowingdangerously, he delivered the first aid supplies and special milk to thebooster plant. That after noon he returned and flew Mr. King, whose feetwere frozen, back to the Perryton hospital. On the second trip he bundledthe mother and two children (carrying the baby on his lap) into the planeand, 20 minutes later, they too were receiving much-needed hospitalization.The next day Hawk flew Fred Tarbox the 35 miles back to his ranch, thelatter having been stranded in Perryton by blocked highways. Returning,Hawk noticed a car stalled in deep drifts Swinging low he sought signs oflife but found none. Still, there were no tracks leading from the car. SoHawk landed and taxied close.Inside the car he could see the huddled figure of a man. It was OscarFlowers, Ochiltree County attorney, whose hands and feet were badly frozen.He had been forced to sit all night in the heaterless car with thethermometer hovering around the five-below mark. Again Hawk bundled acold-stiffened passenger into his homemade plane and the Perry-ton hospitalsoon had another patient.Ray Houston, a young Perryton resident, had been caught by the blizzard atan outlying ranch house. He was safe enough, but his mother became worriedabout him. So once more Hawk cranked up his plane, this time to bring a ladhome so his mother could stop worrying.During lulls in this rescue work and everyday trips to feed his cattle,Hawk dabbled a bit at mail carrying. He gathered up the mail at thePerryton post office then flew a route of his own choosing, droppingletters to snowbound ranchers after attracting their attention by zoominglow over the ranch houses.These are the highlights of a brief span of heroism that has brought HaroldHawk nationwide newspaper attention. But without the background of the man,they don't assume their real significance.In 1934 he built his plane, a Pietenpol, powering it with a Model "A" Fordengine. It took him a year and a half to complete the job, but even then hehad a long way to go -there wasn't anybody to teach him to fly.So Harold did the next best thing- he taught himself to fly. For 35 hourshe taxied the little two-passenger, open cockpit job around his pasture,some-times lifting it a foot or so off the ground. Then one day a forgottenfence loomed suddenly ahead-and a flyer was born. Since that firstunwitting solo flight, Hawk has rolled up over 900 hours in the air and hassoloed 18 students on the same plane. But the thing that brings a glow ofpride to his eyes are those homemade skiis. They're made of two oak planks,four feet long and six inches wide. The curved tips are metal which wasbent into shape and bolted to the wooden runners. To keep the skiis inposition during flight and still provide the necessary "give" for landings,Hawk and his co-workers used two screen-door springs, attached to the bracewires.Neither Holt, Hawk nor Crisp had ever seen an airplane ski before they setabout building this pair-but so far these skiis have made about 200take-offs and landings in 75 hours of flying-and they haven't missed yet.The Pietenpol cost Hawk $500 and many hours to build. The four-cylinderengine is not converted in any way and cooling is secured by half of aregular Ford radiator mounted in the cowling behind the engine. The planecruises at 100 mph and gets automobile gasoline mileage.What does Hawk think of all this effort to make him a hero? Well, he"allows it's kinda nice to know that people are interested enough to drive200 miles to see him and his plane," but he thinks he got his greatest kickwhen the doctor said the two-year old girl wasn't going to lose use of herarms be-cause they were frozen. END. Back to Flying Stories. ------------------------------------------------------------------------Web site by Richard DeCosta. This site is not affiliated with the Pietenpolfamily. Please stop by my main home page also. > > Dont forget to click on the small pics for a larger version.> > Enjoy!> > Richard> > > > ==> http://www.wrld.com/w3builder> > > ________________________________________________________________________________
> > http://207.140.1.221/w3builder/piet/Sto ... Hero.shtml> > Many thanks to Joe Czaplicki for sending me a copy of this story,> which appeared in the June, 1940 issue of Popular Aviation. It's a> superb story about a guy who used his Pietenpol on skiis to rescue> quite a few people stranded in a blizzard.HOMEMADE HERO - by Richard MartinThe Noel King family almost froze to death in the blizzard-sweptreaches of the Texas panhandle and their misfortune proved to he thebedrock upon which a new aerial reputation has been founded.Harold hawk of Perryton, TX, emerged the hero of the little drama and todayhe's being touted as a candidate for Carnegie hero consideration- justbecause lie's handy with his hands and loves to fly.With a tiny homemade unlicensed plane equipped with a pair of homemadeskiis he accomplished in the span of two day s more aerial rescues anddemonstrated more new uses for the airplane than the average pilot does ina lifetime. I Hawk got on the hero trail when the Kings-Mr. and Mrs.,Loretta, two years old and Gracie Fay, seven months old were caught in oneof the swirling, biting blizzards that sweep across the Texas panhandleduring the blustery winter months. Drifts had piled higher and higher onthe highway and it wasn't long before the King automobile slid drunkenlyinto the ditch-hopelessly stuck.The temperature stood at 100 below zero and the wind was blowing a 50 mphgale as the stranded family struggled to the protection of a pipeline"booster" station over a mile down the road. The girl's arms were frozen tothe elbows and the baby's cheeks were frostbitten when they finally reachedthe shelter. A frantic telephone call to Perryton, 20 miles distant, andthe Kings' plight was explained by the station attendant, who emphasizedthe need of first aid equipment and a special milk formula for the baby. Roads were hopelessly blocked and the situation seemed desperate-until somebody in Perryton remembered Harold Hawk. Hawk is a wholesale oil dealer inPerryton-when he isn't out at his own airport tinkering with some newgadget. He has a herd of 150 cattle and, when the sub-zero weather and deepsnow settled over the ranges, it looked like Hawk was going to lose thosecattle by starvation and freezing-but he didn't. With the aid of HowardHolt and Ken Crisp, a plumber and a jeweler, Hawk had equipped his planewith a crude pair of homemade skiis -the first skiis ever placed on anairplane in the state of Texas. Once the skiis had been built andtest-flown, it was a simple task for Hawk to fly feed 20 miles to hishungry cattle.It was just as simple a task for this self-taught flyer to bringhelp to the Kings for, early the next morning, with the wind still blowingdangerously, he delivered the first aid supplies and special milk to thebooster plant. That after noon he returned and flew Mr. King, whose feetwere frozen, back to the Perryton hospital. On the second trip he bundledthe mother and two children (carrying the baby on his lap) into the planeand, 20 minutes later, they too were receiving much-needed hospitalization.The next day Hawk flew Fred Tarbox the 35 miles back to his ranch, thelatter having been stranded in Perryton by blocked highways. Returning,Hawk noticed a car stalled in deep drifts Swinging low he sought signs oflife but found none. Still, there were no tracks leading from the car. SoHawk landed and taxied close.Inside the car he could see the huddled figure of a man. It was OscarFlowers, Ochiltree County attorney, whose hands and feet were badly frozen.He had been forced to sit all night in the heaterless car with thethermometer hovering around the five-below mark. Again Hawk bundled acold-stiffened passenger into his homemade plane and the Perry-ton hospitalsoon had another patient.Ray Houston, a young Perryton resident, had been caught by the blizzard atan outlying ranch house. He was safe enough, but his mother became worriedabout him. So once more Hawk cranked up his plane, this time to bring a ladhome so his mother could stop worrying.During lulls in this rescue work and everyday trips to feed his cattle,Hawk dabbled a bit at mail carrying. He gathered up the mail at thePerryton post office then flew a route of his own choosing, droppingletters to snowbound ranchers after attracting their attention by zoominglow over the ranch houses.These are the highlights of a brief span of heroism that has brought HaroldHawk nationwide newspaper attention. But without the background of the man,they don't assume their real significance.In 1934 he built his plane, a Pietenpol, powering it with a Model "A" Fordengine. It took him a year and a half to complete the job, but even then hehad a long way to go -there wasn't anybody to teach him to fly.So Harold did the next best thing- he taught himself to fly. For 35 hourshe taxied the little two-passenger, open cockpit job around his pasture,some-times lifting it a foot or so off the ground. Then one day a forgottenfence loomed suddenly ahead-and a flyer was born. Since that firstunwitting solo flight, Hawk has rolled up over 900 hours in the air and hassoloed 18 students on the same plane. But the thing that brings a glow ofpride to his eyes are those homemade skiis. They're made of two oak planks,four feet long and six inches wide. The curved tips are metal which wasbent into shape and bolted to the wooden runners. To keep the skiis inposition during flight and still provide the necessary "give" for landings,Hawk and his co-workers used two screen-door springs, attached to the bracewires.Neither Holt, Hawk nor Crisp had ever seen an airplane ski before they setabout building this pair-but so far these skiis have made about 200take-offs and landings in 75 hours of flying-and they haven't missed yet.The Pietenpol cost Hawk $500 and many hours to build. The four-cylinderengine is not converted in any way and cooling is secured by half of aregular Ford radiator mounted in the cowling behind the engine. The planecruises at 100 mph and gets automobile gasoline mileage.What does Hawk think of all this effort to make him a hero? Well, he"allows it's kinda nice to know that people are interested enough to drive200 miles to see him and his plane," but he thinks he got his greatest kickwhen the doctor said the two-year old girl wasn't going to lose use of herarms be-cause they were frozen. END. Back to Flying Stories. ------------------------------------------------------------------------Web site by Richard DeCosta. This site is not affiliated with the Pietenpolfamily. Please stop by my main home page also. > > Dont forget to click on the small pics for a larger version.> > Enjoy!> > Richard> > > > ==> http://www.wrld.com/w3builder> > > ________________________________________________________________________________