AVIATION PIONEER, 96, WAS BORN READY TO FLY.Byline: DENNIS McCARTHY Dennis McCarthy may refer to:
Dale ``Andy'' Anderson breaks into an admiring grin as he runs his hand over the vintage 1946 Taylor craft airplane airplane, aeroplane, or aircraft, heavier-than-air vehicle, mechanically driven and fitted with fixed wings that support it in flight through the dynamic action of the air. . ``Get me off the ground, and let me have it,'' the local aviation pioneer says, celebrating his 96th birthday Saturday with 80 friends and family members in Jeff Weldon's hangar at Whiteman Airport Whiteman Airport (IATA: WHP, ICAO: KWHP) is located in Pacoima, California in the San Fernando Valley. No commercial airlines fly into this airport and it used exclusively for general aviation. in Pacoima. ``Whenever you're ready, Andy,'' Weldon says. ``Whenever you're ready.'' Anderson smiles and nods. He was born ready. Every pilot who flies out of Whiteman Airport knows that. They've all sat in Weldon's hangar at one time or another listening to Anderson's homespun stories. Mesmerized by them, Weldon says. The private pilots at Whiteman don't need history books to tell them about aviation's pioneers. They've got the real thing sitting right here. The kid always knew he wanted to fly, almost from the time he could walk, he says. ``I couldn't afford lessons so I went to the local airport in Pittsburgh where they had a cadet program leading into the Air Force,'' Anderson says. ``The commander sat me down and said, `Son, you're never going to fly unless you have two years of college.' Well, there was a depression on, and I couldn't afford college, either.'' But if you want something bad enough, you find a way. Anderson's way into college was to charge five guys he knew $2.50 a week each to drive them the 40 miles back and forth to school every day in his old Ford. ``With that money, and buying old, used books, I made it through college, getting a degree in teaching. I immediately went down to Wright Field in Dayton (Ohio), applied for a cadet position, and, by golly gol·ly interj. Used to express mild surprise or wonder. [Alteration of God.] golly interj an exclamation of mild surprise [originally a euphemism for , I got it.'' War was coming, and Anderson's first job in the Army Air Force was flying remote-controlled airplanes so ground gunners in training could shoot them down. ``They wanted real targets to shoot at, so they used obsolete aircraft. I was controlling them from another plane up in the air, hoping they'd hit the old planes and not mine. Then I went overseas.'' He flew 21 missions over Germany and France as a squadron commander, getting hit a few times along the way. ``I was lead pilot for the group, watching for enemy fighters, and making sure our guys had a tight bomb pattern that wasn't too spread out. My co-pilot was flying. ``Our No.3 engine was hit, and as I turned to look at it, a big piece of shrapnel shrapnel Originally, a type of projectile invented by the British artillery officer Henry Shrapnel (1761–1842), containing small spherical bullets and an explosive charge to scatter the shot and fragments of the shell casing. came flying through the cockpit and hit my earflap. ``It whipped me around and drove me between the seats with my head down. When I opened my eyes, I couldn't see. I thought, `Geez geez interj. Used to express mild surprise, delight, dissatisfaction, or annoyance. [Shortening and alteration of Jesus1.] , I'm blind.' My helmet had turned clear around my head and was covering my eyes.'' Anderson spent 25 years in the Air Force, rising to the rank of colonel. Then he spent the next 20 years making use of that college degree, teaching at San Fernando San Fernando, city, Argentina San Fernando (săn fərnăn`dō), city (1991 pop. 144,761), Buenos Aires prov., E Argentina. It is a district administrative center in the Greater Buenos Aires area. and Sepulveda junior high schools. But when you were born to fly, teaching ground school can be a little limiting. He began designing aircraft and hooked up with an old flying pal, Percy Spencer Percy Lebaron Spencer (9 July, 1894 – 8 September, 1970) was a |British]] engineer and inventor. He became known as the inventor of the microwave oven. Spencer was born in Howland, Maine. His father died in 1897, and his mother left him a short time later. , whose father had invented the Spencer Repeating Rifle The Spencer repeating rifle was a manually operated lever-action, repeating rifle fed from a tube magazine with cartridges. It was adopted by the Union Army, especially by the cavalry, during the American Civil War, but did not replace the standard issue muzzle-loading rifled used in the Civil War. Spencer was well-known in his own right as a test pilot who built and designed the Spencer Amphibian amphibian, in zoology amphibian, in zoology, cold-blooded vertebrate animal of the class Amphibia. There are three living orders of amphibians: the frogs and toads (order Anura, or Salientia), the salamanders and newts (order Urodela, or Caudata), and the Air Car in 1941 that later became known as the ``Seabee.'' Together, the men designed a four-passenger amphibian aircraft that they manufactured out of a hangar at Whiteman Airport. Anderson and Spencer, who died in 1995 at age 98, were both members of a group called The Early Birds of Aviation The Early Birds of Aviation is an organization devoted to the history of early pilots. The organization was started in 1928. Membership was limited to those who piloted a glider, gas balloon, or airplane, prior to December 17, 1916. . ``Andy's a fascinating individual and pioneer in a number of things in aviation, particularly in the design and construction of small, light aircraft,'' says Jim Greenwood Greenwood. 1 City (1990 pop. 26,265), Johnson co., central Ind.; settled 1822, inc. as a city 1960. A residential suburb of Indianapolis, Greenwood is in a retail shopping area. Manufactures include motor vehicle parts and metal products. , past president of the group. ``His flying experience encompasses just about everything in the air. When you see Andy's record, you know he was right in the middle of it.'' And now, at 96, the aviation pioneer still has the itch -- still wants to take Weldon's sweet 1946 Taylor craft up for a spin to see what that baby can do. He can't help himself. He was born to fly. dennis.mccarthy(at)dailynews.com (818) 713-3749 CAPTION(S): photo Photo: Dale ``Andy'' Anderson has spent his entire life in aviation, from flying B-17 bombers in World War II to building airplanes after the war. He was in the Air Force for 25 years, rising to the rank of colonel. Hans Gutknecht/Staff Photographer |
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