April 2005-
My partner, Bob May and I are among the luckiest people on earth, we get to fly what is arguably the most fun-to-fly airplane ever built, a 1944 Piper J3 Cub. We are joined in this delightful activity by a group of like-minded flying enthusiasts who share in the ownership of the Cub.
Among this group of friends is an active corporate pilot who flies a Citation X, an aircraft salesman who owns and operates his own jet sales business, a furniture salesman, a former corporate pilot who is now a telecommunications specialist, a small businessman who owns and flies a Cessna 140 in addition to the Cub, and a professional photographer.
The reasons each of these individuals joined together are different, but all share a common theme: the joy of flying a Piper Cub. Bob has been my neighbor and friend for over 15 years. He is a former Navy pilot who received his initial pilot training in a Navy SNJ and is retired from TWA. I fly a corporate Dassault Falcon 50EX for a living. We both share a passion for flying and were looking for a way to get back to the basics of stick and rudder flying.
For years I have been interested in the time share concept. It just seemed like a cost effective method to get away to an exotic location without all the associated costs of full ownership, but for a variety of reasons I never got around to buying one. It always seemed to be the wrong locale, the wrong time, or the wrong price.
My time share interest and research over the years caused me to notice an advertisement about time sharing a vintage airplane! What a concept! I immediately requested more information and what I learned started us on our journey to share in a part of aviation history.
A young couple who operates and lives on a grass strip in Indiana put together a unique program. They proposed to sell franchises to operate a fractional operation using vintage airplanes with the emphasis on Piper Cubs. They chose the Cub because of its gentle flying characteristics, its universal appeal, and its recognition factor; it seems that every pilot is familiar with the Piper Cub.
Bob and I set up a meeting with them that resulted in being awarded a Time Pieces franchise based at Creve Coeur Airport in Maryland Heights, Mo. We purchased a beautiful 1944 Piper J-3 with a C-85-12 engine and set about finding pilots who shared our passion.
David Allan is a telecommunications specialist who grew up and worked in Texas. He and his son-in-law co-own a J-3 Cub based at San Marcos. When David was transferred to the St. Louis area, his son-in-law objected to his moving their Cub. Being the good dad that he is, David left it in Texas.
He soon realized that not having a Cub to fly was unacceptable. David said, “When I moved to the St. Louis area, one of the first things I did was to visit the local airports and get acquainted with aviation in the area. When I found Creve Coeur airport I thought I had died and gone to heaven. This is one of the most interesting airports I have ever seen, home to all kinds of old and unique airplanes. Just walking around it is a lesson in aviation history.”
When David learned there was a Cub to share at Creve Coeur Airport, he was the first to sign up and is the most active share owner, flying several times a week after work and on weekends. “Flying the Cub is a sheer joy. Going out on a nice warm evening with the door open and the wind in your face is the ultimate in flying fun. The Cub is such a forgiving airplane, it is probably the best flight trainer ever built.”
Bill Darnell, a professional photographer, shares David’s enthusiasm for flying the Cub. Bill formerly owned and flew a Quicksilver ultralight and had been without a plane for several months while trying to find the right aircraft. He jumped at the share concept.
By the time this goes to press he will have completed the Time Pieces checkout which all the share owners must complete before soloing in the Cub. In Bill’s case the checkout won’t take long as his ultralight experience transfers well to the Cub.
Time Pieces is developing a standardized tailwheel transition and CFI certification program to be formatted as a FITS (FAA/Industry Training Standards) program. The program’s goal is to develop a set of nationally recognized standards for tailwheel instruction, endorsements, and CFI credentialing, as well as currency requirements and recurrent training. The program will be a collaborative effort between Time Pieces, Purdue University, FAA and insurers. The inspiration for the program was the shortage of qualified tailwheel instructors to check out the share owners.
Ron and Derek Benda are the two instructors currently qualified to do the Cub checkouts at Creve Coeur. David Potter is a former U.S. Air Force KC-135 pilot who worked as a salesman for Falcon Jet Corp., was sales manager for Sabreliner Corp. and now has his own successful aircraft sales organization.
Although an experienced pilot, he had never flown a taildragger. At this writing, he is finishing up his tailwheel checkout with Derek in the Cub and will receive his tailwheel endorsement and biennial flight review upon completion. When asked what prompted him to want to share a Cub, he replied,” I’ve flown jets most of my career, but the most enjoyable flying I have done was VFR in an O-2 (Air Force Cessna Skymaster).
I flew 800 hours in the O-2 in the mid 1970s in Vietnam and I remember how enjoyable the VFR flying was. When I learned of the share program in a Cub, it sounded like such a good deal I signed up. Flying the Cub is probably the most fun I’ve ever had in an airplane. I can’t wait to take my grandson up for a flight. I have some friends that I want to take up also.”
It is common, on a nice evening, to find several pilots sitting at our hangar. The hangar faces the main runway at Creve Coeur Airport which provides a great position to watch the interesting airplanes come and go.
Creve Coeur Airport is the home of scores of antique airplanes including Pipers, Wacos, Stearmans, Fairchilds, and it even has a 1929 Zenith—the only one in existence.
There is normally some good-natured banter going on among the guys as they enjoy each other’s company. As an example, Bill Austin, who owns and flies a Cessna 140 in addition to the Cub, arrived at the hangar with a cut on the bridge of his nose from an accident at work. He was asked, tongue in cheek, if it was a result of his required hand-propping checkout.
The conversation takes on an almost reverent quality when the topic turns to flying the Cub. The Cub’s great landing characteristics, short takeoff performance, and straight forward handling are never ending subjects of discussion.
Even though the Cub is a very simple airplane, having 10 different pilots flying it puts lots of hours on it and requires ongoing maintenance to keep it in top shape. We are fortunate to have an extremely competent mechanic to keep up with all the scheduled and unscheduled maintenance.
Butch Nebeker, who owns and operates Butch’s Vintage Airplane and Custom Motorcycle Emporium at Creve Coeur Airport, is not only a master craftsman when it comes to aircraft maintenance, but he also builds, from scratch, pristine custom motorcycles and takes care of a stable of unique and antique autos.
Butch is also an interesting guy who grew up in old Mexico, served in combat in Vietnam, and lived for several years, as he puts it, “off the grid” in Northern California. His efforts are invaluable in keeping our 50-year-old airplane safely flying.
Although our group did not know each other before entering the Time Pieces program, our shared passion for fun flying in a Piper Cub has brought us together in a way few other activities could. Bob and I feel very fortunate to be a part of this unique group of people.
Ron Dillard is a former U.S. Army helicopter pilot. He is a CFI, Multi-Engine and Instrument with an ATP rating in Aircraft Multi-Engine Land and Rotorcraft-Helicopter with Commercial privileges in Airplane Single-Engine Land and Sea. He has more than 13,000 hours of flight time and has flown more than 120 different aircraft. He was taught to fly by his father, a U S Army Air Corps instructor. He and Bob May can be reached at their website, www.IFlyTimePieces.com.
