Greetings
to All!
We will return to Willow
Springs and Ron White's hangar for this month's meeting.
It will be on our usual second Saturday of the month, but
this time it will start at 8:00 AM. since the person
providing the entertainment for the meeting will not be
in Willow Springs. Instead, he will be in Poplar Bluff,
where he will perform aerobatics at the Poplar Bluff Air
Show. By now, you have probably figured out that this is
our own Clint Allen, who will fly "Matilda" the
Ozarks Special Citabria, thrilling us with his trademark
precise and beautifully-executed maneuvers. The plan is
to have the usual excellent breakfast prepared by chef
Ron White and helpers, followed by our business meeting.
Then we will go on to Poplar Bluff (POF). You should have
enough time to get there by car or, if you are flying in,
plan on being there before 11:00 AM because sometime soon
thereafter the field will be closed to incoming air
traffic.
The
April Meeting
Last month's meeting was in
Gainesville at the Riverfront Café. It was a sort of
"going back to our roots" occasion. Attendance
was very good, and I was glad to see that Bill and Margie
Harris were able to attend. Bill is one of the Chapter's
founding members. After the meeting the dauntless John
Zook, our Chapter Secretary, took us across the street to
the airport and showed us the new home of his
Taylorcraft, the "Songbird." A new hangar with
multiple bays and storage facilities has been built at
the airport and now offers local aircraft owners the
opportunity to rent space. In all, we had a very nice
meeting and everyone left with the feeling that they were
glad they came. After initially being a very dreary
morning weather wise, it later turned into a beautiful
spring day.
Two Bios: Jim & Millie
Tausworthe
We asked Jim and Millie Tausworthe to provide us
with their "bios" this month so you
will be more fully acquainted with them before
you come to visit Taus River Ranch, their home
northwest of Houston, Missouri. They each
graciously responded with their stories. Through
them, I am again reminded of what great people
the members of Chapter 1218 are. As we have seen
in other bios, physical limitations, age, or
whatever else comes into our lives, the members
of Chapter 1218 overcome them. Jim's story, in
particular, is another example of that. The
accompanying pictures of Jim and Millie are
really special, too. |
A Love
Story: Jim and Millie Tausworthe |
Jim
Tausworthe
|
"I
guess I was born in about the most irascible
place in the whole United States, in a small
desolate town of three hundred people,
approximately one hundred and twenty-five miles
southwest of San Antonio, Texas. Forty miles from
the Mexican border. Boy! Nothing but sand,
cactus, sage, mesquite, rattlesnakes, and
vinegaroones…but it had a runway! It was put
there by a World War I aviator who had hopes and
dreams that never got fulfilled. But mine did. I
took my first plane ride off it when I was five
years old when a barnstormer came through
offering rides for fifty cents. And later when
Army Instructors Pilots would bring biplanes down
in flights of three from Randolph Field in San
Antonio, I was that six year old towheaded kid
whom they had to run off so that they could get
their business and briefings done to send their
students on to the next legs of their journeys.
I'd always hide in a ditch, then when they all
got cranked up, I'd stand behind them and let
them blow the wind and sand in my face with their
prop blasts, my eyes all squinched up and
grinning like hell.
"At the war's end, it was my turn. Or so I
thought, anyway. When I volunteered, I found out
that there was a staggering backlog of pilots and
no new applications were being taken. I grabbed
for the next best thing, and it turned out to be
a blessing. I went to A&E School in Keesler
Field, Biloxi, Mississippi, then on to B-25
specialist school after that. Orders shortly sent
me to Japan for Occupation Duty, by way of
Honolulu, Midway, Okinawa, Iwo Jima and to Clark
Field in The Philippines.
"From there I went to Nagoya, Japan, Fifth
Air Force Headquarters and was assigned to the
38th Bomb Group, 405th Bomb Squadron. No B-25's.
Just Douglas A-26's. Hot Dawgs! Soon I was on an
air crew and flying almost every day. Mostly
reconnaissance stuff over the shipping lanes in
the sea of Japan and in the last days over some
of the key ports of both lower and northernmost
Korea. Other fun days included gunnery practice
with strafing runs and bombing runs over a small
island just off the coast of Japan called Omura.
"When my hitch was up, I knew what I wanted
to do with my life. I went home, attended Spartan
School of Aeronautics in Tulsa and got my
A&P, my Commercial and my Flight Instructors
licenses. I was ready for this wild world of high
pay, travel and adventure! But something got in
the way. The Korean war broke out. I was recalled
for a year. I was ecstatic! I could get back to
my old outfit and collide with the world again!
My mom was frantic.
"But that wasn't to be either. No one year
recallees were being sent overseas. Instead, I
was sent to Ellington Field in Houston, Texas, to
serve in a B-25 outfit to train Radar Navigators.
I immediately got on flying status again and was
soon blasting big holes through the Great Texas
skies. But once a month I went into the orderly
room and asked if the overseas order had been
changed. I still had buddies in the 405th and
they kept me advised. I wanted to be with them.
Finally, on the sixth month the order had been
rescinded. Anyone who had more than six months of
duty left could be processed for overseas. By
then, I only had five and a half months left.
That cut me out. But I guess it all worked out
for the best. Less than three months later, I
lost control of my right foot and all feeling in
it. Along with it, I developed double vision. Big
'uh, oh' time! Final diagnosis…M.S. Multiple
Sclerosis! A devious disease that eats the
insulation off your nerves, short circuiting
everything. But not so devious either because
there are remissionary periods when nothing at
all is wrong. I had lotsa those.
"But because of my M.S. I had misgivings
about going into aviation full time. I needed a
steady paycheck when it struck, so I went to work
for a major oil company and got to fly right seat
in their Lockheed Lodestars on weekends when they
needed me. When they didn't, I spent all my time
at the local airports either instructing or
building airplanes. I joined E.A.A in 1966 with
an E.A.A. number of 30768. The first airplane I
built was a Cassutt racer. Shortly thereafter my
M.S. struck again. Both legs this time.
Reluctantly I sold the thing. Six months later I
was again in remission and wished I hadn't sold
it. I learned a good lesson. The next airplane I
built was a Baby Great Lakes. A little bitty
airplane with a sixteen foot wingspan, stressed
for nine Gs, a Continental C-85 engine stuffed
full of O200 parts, a chopped off prop that let
the engine turn thirty-two hundred RPM, climbed
at three thousand feet a minute on a cool day,
and equipped with inverted fuel, oil and a smoke.
I was in heaven. I also bought a Champ to fly
when my M.S. had things messed up. And I always
instructed, too. The Feds never knew of my
M.S....I always got my physical when I was in
remission until the very last. Then I met a
flight examiner in my aerobatic club (IAC-25). He
flew a Pitts Special and he and I always tried to
out do each other in every category that we flew.
After that, he always saw to it that even with
one of my eyes covered up because of my double
vision that I carried a valid flight
physical…until the day he finally died.
"By then I had met Millie. She lived in
Dayton, Ohio; I lived in Houston, Texas. We had
this mutual friend. When he was in Dayton, he'd
tell her about this guy in Houston that she ought
to meet. When he was in Texas, he'd tell me about
this girl in Dayton that I ought to meet. We both
declined. I had M.S. real bad. My legs again. We
both had good lives going for us. I had taken up
both art work and creative writing and had
attended the University of Houston. She loved her
work and lived within a few hours of her home and
her parents. He persisted. Finally we relented
and after a year of writing, calling and finally
meeting, were joined in a marriage that's been a
blessing for the both of us. She flew but needed
fine tuning (she says I'm a tough taskmaster). I
had the Champ and the Baby Great Lakes. When I
wasn't riding back seat behind her I was flying
just off her right wing. We went everywhere
together and it was loads of fun.
"We went on to get a Grumann Cheetah where
she got her instrument ticket and finally became
a pilot a perfectionist husband could be proud
of. We moved up here after that, built our farm
and our airstrip. During our marriage, we have
owned two Champs, a Cessna 150, the Grumman
Cheetah, a Baby Great Lakes, a Flybaby, a Junior
Ace and five ultralights.
"I still like to fly when I can, but when my
M.S. bothers me I still write. Thus far, I have a
collection of short stories and I've written
seven murder mystery novels, and two flying
novels. One an adventure about air racing and the
other an adventure story about an American pilot
in the Escadrille Lafayette. With it all, I've
somehow managed to have obtained just a little
over eight thousand hours of flying time…and
it all seems like only yesterday since my fifty
cent ride in that barnstormer's airplane back in
the very early thirties."
 |
 |
| Jim With
"Killer Bee" |
Millie With
"Plum Crazy" |
|
| Millie
Tausworthe |
"The 'flying
bug' first hit me when I was about five years old
and a crop duster made an emergency landing on
our farm near Lexington, Kentucky. From that day,
I always knew that someday I, too, would fly. I
had to wait, though, till out of high school to
begin my aviation venture. By the time I got my
private license in the early 70's, I was working
for the federal government, had transferred to
several different states, and neither time nor
money allowed me to continue flying. When I met
Jim in the early 80's, I knew that here was the
guy for me. He was thoroughly smitten by the
flying bug too and often teased that he would
never have married me had I not shared his love
of flying.
"I must admit that my flying skills were a
bit rusty (to say the least) when I first met
Jim. He had an Aeronca Champ and put me in the
front seat while he sat in the back. I suffered
many painful 'love' thumps on the noggin when I
would stray off course or did not hold my
altitude to his satisfaction. I decided that I
would train for an instrument rating and maybe,
just maybe, I could become good enough as a pilot
to make him quit 'love' thumping me on the head.
We bought a Grumman Cheetah and found an IFR
instructor. Well, four instructors later (Jim
fired the first three), I got that instrument
rating and FINALLY heard those 'three little
words' from Jim that I had been dreaming of for
so long, 'You're a pilot!'"
"We built a house with hangar attached at a
small airport near Houston, Texas where the
Japanese Zeros of the Confederate Air Force were
then based. Several astronauts and air show
pilots also kept their private planes at the
airport and we could see our own private little
air show just about every weekend. But since our
marriage began, we had always dreamed of owning
our own little airstrip somewhere. We found it
just outside of Houston, Missouri in 1990. I got
a transfer from the U. S. Attorney's Office in
Houston, Texas to the Fort Wood JAG Office where
I worked as a paralegal in Trial Defense. Jim was
already retired and I also was able to retire in
1992.
"Never did we realize that building our own
private little aviation haven in the middle of a
wilderness would be so much work, but before long
we both became quite adept at chainsawing and
bush hogging. I seemed to get a new chain saw for
every birthday, and even got my own personal old
Ford tractor for Christmas. After about five
years, I decided that enough of my life had been
devoted to such hard physical work. I went back
to school and got a Masters in Religion with an
emphasis in Christian counseling. I am now
working on a Ph.D. in Professional Counseling at
Liberty Baptist University in Virginia. Jim is
wonderfully supportive in my endeavor and
faithfully goes to Virginia with me six weeks a
year. He does say, however, that he does not want
me to return to work, but as long as he can call
me Dr. Bum I can attend school as long as I want.
As I write this at the end of February, about 40
hours a week of my time is spent as a volunteer
doing taxes for senior citizens and disabled
individuals.
"The twenty plus years that Jim and I have
been married have been absolutely extraordinary.
We have enjoyed many, many hours of flying
together and he even built me my own personal
ultralight which I dubbed 'PLUM CRAZY.' God has
truly blessed me with the most wonderful of
husbands!"
|
On
Saturday, June 1, you are all invited there for a
picnic with barbecue gathering that marks the
beginning of summer outdoor activities and
celebrates being American. They've held this
event for several years now and it is one of the
nicest you'll be able to attend this year.
Friendly people, good food, a great Missouri sky,
and a beautiful landscape beside the Big Piney
River made last year's meeting a fond memory for
me. This can all be had again thanks to Jim and
Millie's generous hospitality. There will be
transportation available until 11:00 AM for those
who fly into Houston Memorial Airport (M48), so
please plan to arrive before that time so we can
begin eating by noon. Jim also has an ultralight
landing strip which is marked on your sectional.
It is best suited for ultralights — not the
"bigger" airplanes. Millie sent more
information to help you:
"Go
approximately 3 miles north of Houston on
Highway 63 and turn left on Highway E.
Follow Highway E until it dead ends, then
take a left onto a dirt road (Sand
Shoals). Follow this road about one city
block and take the first Y to the right,
Taus River Lane, another dirt road.
Please close your eyes as you pass two
dumpy crud-filled yards and follow the
road up some hills and around some curves
until you come to our nearest neighbors'
house. By then you'll probably think
you're lost, but press on by driving
right through their yard and keep on
going for another ¾ mile. (If, however,
by this time you have come to the river
and a low water bridge, stop, go back and
start all over again.) If you have not
come to a river and a low water bridge,
keep going till you come to the river, a
house, a couple of hangars, and a white
fence. You are now NOT lost but have
finally arrived at the right place!
"If you like to fish, bring your
rods and reels. We have about ¾ mile of
river front and it has some very good
fishing holes. For those of you who like
boating, we also have two canoes that you
are welcome to use.
"Our runway is 1600 feet long,
running north and south with 700-foot
clear zones. We would recommend that you
drive in first and look it over before
flying in.
"It would be nice if you would bring
a covered dish or dessert and some
chairs. Meat and drinks will be
furnished. We look forward to seeing you
all on June 1st at Taus River."
Jim and Millie (573-674-2107) |
 |
 |
|
What Is It?
 |
a) The
recently discovered wings of a Vickers Vimmey?
b) The wings of a Curtiss NC Flying Boat
recovered during a deep sea diving expedition in
the Atlantic?
c) A secret research project by Howard Hughes?
d) None of the above. |
The answer, of course, is "none of the
above." You are looking at progress on wing sections
of Bill Ghan's Wright Flyer replica lined up to give an
idea of the size of the project. With the help of Doc
Openshaw, Bob Brantley, my wife Sue and myself under
Bill's direction — and fortified by Margaret Ghan's
wonderful cookies — we've gained great momentum in
the construction of the Wright Flyer. We are also getting
a better feel for the enormous undertaking that the
Wright Brothers engaged in. You too are invited to help
and learn. Come and join us on Wednesday afternoons for
some work, learning and lots of fun.
Our Little Bee-Buddy
Buzz Thunderbee is glad to
see the return of warm weather, but at first he forgot
about how quickly the air can become unstable. Let's hope
it won't affect this year's honey supply!
| Buzz Thunderbee by Squawk |
 |
See
you at the Chapter meeting, Fred Kalhoefer
|
