FAREWELL FLYOVER AIRPORT LEGEND GETS GRAND SEND-OFF.

Byline: DANA BARTHOLOMEW Staff Writer

VAN NUYS -- The skies roared Saturday as dozens of warbirds and civilian aircraft tipped their wings in honor of the ``Voice of Van Nuys Airport.''

On the ground stood Phil Aune, whose soothing voice guided millions of pilots at the world's busiest general aviation airport before he retired last month as the nation's oldest air traffic controller.

The flyover -- larger than the last of the Van Nuys air shows -- was a rare homage to a living aviator and public service official.

``It's getting better, it's getting better,'' said a clearly excited Aune, 70, waving his arms among a hundred fans along runway One Six Right outside the Airtel Plaza Hotel, host of a retirement party in his honor.

``I didn't know I was this popular. I'll have to work another 47 years.''

Pilots spoke of the tower legend who had signed on at Van Nuys Airport in 1959, among the first controllers hired by the Federal Aviation Administration.

For nearly five decades, the short man who became known as ``Papa Alpha'' was one of the few controllers to track a dozen aircraft at once -- and take no notes.

He knew every pilot. Every plane. Many a passenger. And from where each had come and to where each was headed.

He knew when to talk -- when to ask about the skiing conditions in Mammoth, say -- and when to keep silent, as pilots flared their planes for landing.

From his six-story box of glass, pilots said Aune knew how to calm the jitteriest aviators.

``When I started 30-some years ago, you could easily have 30-plus planes working the pattern at once -- many of them students -- and Phil made it all seem easy,'' said Boots -- the only name he goes by -- who led the 2 p.m. flyover in a high-wing Cessna Cardinal. ``And made you feel safe.

``It's very, very rare among pilots to do a flyby to honor somebody who hasn't `gone West.'''

A who's who of San Fernando Valley pilots and airport officials gathered at the Airtel for a six-hour bash hosted by hotel owner Jim Dunn.

Aune, who knew each pilot according to their plane, lit up at the mention of many an aircraft number. For many, his retirement June 29 marked the end of an era.

``A huge personality of the airfield just departed,'' said Dunn. ``There are great controllers up there, but I think Phil's irreplaceable.''

``One of the few controllers who could actually put the face to the voice,'' added Bruce ``Bergie'' Bergquist, chief pilot at Briles Wing & Helicopters at Van Nuys Airport. ``A rarity.''

Trios of planes flew for an hour, circling the smiling grandfather beneath a gathering cover of clouds.

Prop jobs buzzed over One Six Right. Pitts Specials let loose skywriting trails. Condor Squadron AT-6s droned like bumblebees before peeling off in a ``missing man'' maneuver.

And a World War II formation containing a P-51, A-26 and a B-25 bomber throttled up over the grandfather of FAA controllers, bomb bays opening overhead.

``That's our boy Phil. He outlasted all of 'em,'' said George Hulett, 62, of Woodland Hills, before piloting the ``Heavenly Body'' B-25J.

``More than any other controller, he could handle aircraft like nobody else could -- smoother, faster, the best airplane juggler who ever sat up in a cab.

``We're sorry as hell he's not in the tower anymore.''

dana.bartholomew(at)dailynews.com

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CAPTION(S):

2 photos

Photo:

(1) A trio of World War II-era airplanes participates in the flyover Saturday that saluted Phil Aune, who retired after 47 years as an air traffic controller at Van Nuys Airport.

(2) Phil Aune waves to pilots participating in a flyover that saluted him during his retirement party at Van Nuys Airport.

Evan Yee/Staff Photographer