Originally published at: Vintage Aircraft Association Plans Year-Long Celebration of General Aviation’s 1946 Boom - AVweb
Vintage Aircraft Association will spotlight the “Class of ’46” during AirVenture 2026
My dad was the FBO operator at the Globe, AZ. airport (Cutter) shortly after WW2. (Ex-AT6 instructor at Willy AFB…then CAA examiner) At 4 years old I vividly remember many of those airplanes listed. One that made a big impression was the Stinson. I thought it was the most beautiful airplane I’d ever seen.
Mom also used me as ballast in the Aeronca. (She was working on her CFI and you couldn’t fly the Aeronca solo from the back seat. I did not appreciate spins unannounced.) Later we put our Cocker Spaniel in as ballast…he didn’t care about anything.
(FYI: When the CAA announced that spins were not required to get your private license…he went ballistic…saying they should not cowtow to airplane manufacturers who did not want spin requirement for the Private Pilot license. They said it was scaring away customers. He quit the CAA quickly afterwards…was ahead of his time on that issue. He never “soloed” anyone without spins…much less for the private license.
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