AVIATOR pOinls - American Bonanza Society
AVIATOR pOinls - American Bonanza Society
AVIATOR pOinls - American Bonanza Society
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MY FAVORITE CHILDHOOD MEMORIES ARE<br />
ABOUT THE TIMES MY PARENTS WOULD<br />
DRIVE US TO THE THEN-NEW HOUSTON<br />
INTERCONTINENTAL AIRPORT. We would<br />
pork the cor at the end of the runway or<br />
position ourselves on top of the porking<br />
garage to watch the great airliners roor off<br />
to wherever in the world they were going to<br />
or coming from.<br />
An exciting memory in my growing<br />
romance with aviation come when our family<br />
toured the Kennedy Space Center and<br />
culminated by watching Apollo 17 blast off.<br />
the only night launch for any of the Apollo<br />
missions! The memory of that Saturn rocket<br />
liffing off and turning the night into day as it<br />
rode a huge column of flame into space<br />
Layton and Henry Curd fly N437D as often as possible for business and pleosure.<br />
was a memory I will never forget. The light, Owning one with my father was a natural<br />
smoke and noise from our vantage point decision since we both liked <strong>Bonanza</strong>s.<br />
several miles away was truly amazing. Combining our resources we found one<br />
When I was about 12, my parents built that was perfect for both of us. The ideo of<br />
a house at a private residential airportexactly<br />
the right environment to expand my the family become on added bonus.<br />
shoring expenses and keeping the plane in<br />
flying interests, which included building The first plane we looked at was at<br />
plastic models to flying RIC model planes. another local airport and had everything we<br />
Dod and I flew the models together, puffing wonted in a <strong>Bonanza</strong>, Dod and I mode on<br />
them through maneuvers that his Cessna offer on 4370 and it come home with us.<br />
172 could not do.<br />
This 1956 G model had been very well<br />
On my 15th birthday, Dad gave me a upgraded with on 10-470, IFR-equipped<br />
logbook and I started flying lessons. I soloed with a full King stock and S-Tec 60-2, and<br />
on my16th birthday, and I have been flying oxygen. For more than eight yeors now<br />
ever since.<br />
4370 has been flown as offen as possible<br />
Mer college and starting my career, I for business and pleasure.<br />
was determined to own an airplane. I always loved living on the airport and<br />
I could not imagine any other place I would<br />
rather call my home. Since my porents live<br />
on one side of the runway serving the residential<br />
airport and also owned land on the<br />
other side, I bought my acreage from my<br />
parents and built a home for my own family.<br />
So now two generations of our family live<br />
at the airport. We have seen a small country<br />
airport develop into a very aviation-oriented<br />
community with a fantastic runway<br />
allowing our family to get up and fly whenever<br />
and wherever we wont to go.<br />
My father became Dry Creek Airport's<br />
'official" caretaker offer he retired a few<br />
yeors ago. A common sight is to see him<br />
mowing the runway's Bermuda gross,<br />
climbing the tower to put a light in the rotating<br />
beacon or managing the fuel co-op. His<br />
new role allows him to enjoy visiting with<br />
those who now shore our lives on this liffle<br />
slice of heaven. (www.TS07.org)<br />
~ Dod and I toke as many trips together as<br />
.. possible. It's a wonderful payback for all the<br />
~<br />
~ trips he gave me-like the one to Oshkosh<br />
::;<br />
~<br />
where I realized there ore so many people like<br />
us who love airplanes and the special free-<br />
Page 11008<br />
www.bonanza.org<br />
ABS October 2008
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