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Do
you remember the first time you held the hand of that person that
was so special to you? Do you remember that first stolen kiss? do you
remember that first date with that special someone? If so, then you
probably remember other special "firsts" that occurred in
your life.
One of the "firsts" that
is vivid in my memory is my first airplane ride I have always had an
interest in the airplane and when we were youngsters growing up in
Pompano there were occasions when the so called
"Barnstormers" would descend upon Pompano and give the
Townspeople a chance to get a close look at and a ride in an airplane.
Upon arriving in the skies over
Pompano, the pilot of the plane that would give rides would circle
over the Town a dozen times or more, maybe do a loop or two, a couple
of barrel rolls and then land in the field of red-tops, sand spurs,
and rabbit tobacco that lay between what is now N.E. 8th St. on the
South. N.E. 5th Ave, where Blount's Quarters was located on the East.
N.E.3rd Ave on the West. And North of where N.E. 10th St. Where the
city plant nursery and City garage is now located.
This field was referred to as
"The Airport" and little did the townspeople know that when
World War 11 broke out the pineapple field immediately N.E. of this
site would become a "Bonified Airport" built for and used
by the U.S. Navy in the training of Carrier Pilots.
By the time the plane landed, there
was usually a large number of people at the "Airport" and
the pilot would put up a small sign giving the price of a ride in his
plane and he would stay around for several days until interest waned
and then he would fly on to other pastures.
My first airplane ride did not take
place at this time and place in my life but at a later date and from
another "Airport", which was a rock road that went West
from Old Dixie Highway at what is now the entrance to John Knox
Village off Old Dixie Highway and went all the way to the Seaboard
Railroad tracks and was known as "Airport Road".
There were two Stone monuments on
each side of the entrance to this rock road which was built and
platted as a subdivision with sidewalks and some streets during the
real estate 'Boom' of the twenties.
Crop dusters used this rock road as
a landing strip and several other people parked planes there as well.
Robert Mitchell and myself walked
down there one day and we asked a pilot if he gave rides and if he
did, how much? He told us he would give us a ride for two dollars, so
we told him we would be back.
We hunted up milk bottles sold them
and several days later we were back at the "airport" and
told the pilot we were ready for a ride in his airplane.
First off we hit a snag, the pilot
wanted the money in advance and when we produced the two dollars he
said he needed two dollars from each of us. We had apparently
misunderstood him and thought the two dollars was for a ride for both
of us. The pilot thought for a minute and then said that he would
take both of us at one time for the two dollars but the plane was a
two seater and one of us would have to sit in the other ones lap,
which was agreeable to us.
The pilot picked-up a five gallon
can, put it in his car and said he would be back. He returned and
then proceeded to climb-up on the wing and poured gas from the can
into the plane. He then produced a tire pump and it was then we
noticed both tires on the plane which had weeds growing around them,
were flat. We helped pump-up the tires and the next step was to start
the plane.
The pilot put me in the rear seat
showed me the brakes and told me to stand down hard on them, pull the
control stick into my stomach and not to move or do anything when the
plane started.
The pilot set the mixture, set the
throttle, and told me that this plane was 'hot' all the time and when
he got hold of the propeller to spin it then he would yell 'contact'
and for me to answer with the same word. The plane eventually started
and the pilot gave us one set of helmets and goggles. As this was an
open cock-pit plane he said someone would have to do without them. I
opted to do without as Robert was sitting in my lap and I could not
see a whole lot anyway. We pulled out of the grass and onto the rock
road and began our take-off run to the West and after what seemed an
eternity we lifted off the ground began a climbing turn to the North
and East, and here we were, Robert and me free of the earth for the
first time ever. We slowly climbed until the few cars we could see
were like toys, we angled across Pompano and headed East towards the
Lighthouse and it seemed as if everything was moving under us in
slow-motion. After passing over the lighthouse we turned South over
the Ocean and flew down the beach to the Casino, turned West and
headed back to Airport Road. We flew over the Seaboard tracks made a
banking turn and landed headed East on the rock road.
Pilots always landed and took-off
on this strip in any direction to save as much time on the ground as
possible. When we parked the plane on the grass and got out we
noticed that one of the tires we had pumped up was nearly flat.
Also the pilot told us the reason
he brought us back so quick was we were just about out of gas.
Didn't matter to Me and Robert, the
trip was worth everything it had cost us. This was just the beginning
of my flying as I later made a deal with the owner of the Crop
Dusters and for every five airplanes I washed, I would get an
airplane ride.
This arrangement worked out fine,
until the owner (J.L. Schroder) moved his operation up to Delray and
they left owing me a ride, which I never collected.
The days of the open-cockpit,
fabric covered bi-plane with the "Barnstorming Pilots" has
all but vanished and if you were one of the lucky ones that received
your first plane ride in one of these planes during this period of
time, then you have something that other people can never have and
you can be proud of and you can be proud of. |