Yes, you read that title correctly. I recently discovered photographs of my father with two other men standing before a Cessna T50 after a pheasant hunting trip. At least 12 birds are hanging from both propellers, so it was a very successful day, not including the few hanging from the center airspeed indicator! I don’t…
I wish everyone delighted holidays and safe travel during this annual festive season, and please, take time for yourself afterward to enjoy the simpler things in life. If we move too fast, we vanish and miss the holidays’ true meaning. Let us go back to when we were younger, say around elementary grades. Did you…
With the holiday season hastily approaching and little time remaining to complete our gift shopping, some of us decide to partake in the shopping mall experience for convenience. So naturally, I try to avoid the malls due to the sheer conglomerate of people hustling and bustling to complete their lists. Sure, it’s nice to have…
The loveable amphibian. This modified aircraft design opens our travel by flight, with many more options to safely land our beloved companion. For example, we can choose a traditional paved runway or feel adventurous and choose an exciting water landing! Let’s be honest. The latter is why we are so fond of the amphibian! Reading…
First, I apologize for my absence from writing anything new and for not posting on this website lately. I planned to create a new post for many days, but I needed more time. As the years progress, time speeds up, or I’m getting slower. Either way, I hope you understand. I’m working on changing my…
Do you enjoy a crossword puzzle as much as I do? I know what you’re thinking. That’s an odd question from someone I barely know other than his writings on this website. You’re right, but now you know that I like solving crossword puzzles, and maybe you’ll enjoy what I have to share. I find…
As spring rapidly approaches with the first sighting of my feathered friend, the Eastern Robin, I find myself gleaming with anticipation of the warmer weather and shed myself of the long, cold, and dreary months of winters past. And what a better way to welcome the arrival of a beautiful summer season than planning to…
Mike Steffen was Tony’s flight instructor when he learned to fly at Burgard Vocational High School in the early 1930s while attending night classes. The two developed a pretty unique relationship and remained good friends throughout my father’s aviation career. Tony graduated on February 26, 1935, after enrolling in Burgard’s three-year evening vocational aviation course….
Tony had heard that Republic was hiring for test pilots to fly their newly developed P-47 in the summer of 1942, and he knew that he couldn’t let this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity pass by. Two years have gone by since he first opened his Gardenville airport, and he felt this could be financially beneficial to expand…
From the hundreds of pictures that I have of my father, Tony, I decided to assemble a short timeline to better illustrate his life but not bore you with an extensive family photo album. I have chosen the most relevant ones starting with him as a young man until his passing in 1976. I’ve divided…
