BuilderDan
Active Member
Good Morning Group!! Got introduced to this group by a member of another forum I frequent and a discussion on a thread there. I'm not a pilot, or have done any full scale home built projects, but have been interested in it since I used to sneak peaks at the Air Progress magazines and such that my older brother used to buy when we were kids. I mostly build and fly model airplanes, everything from little rubber powered parlor mites I fly in my living room to large control line stunt models and competition in the Expert class, with a lot of R/C sailplane, helicopter and other free flight model competition along the way. If it flies in model form, I have probably done it. I also collect kits , books and magazines, including a lot of full scale publications. This is one area that I think I can help with providing copies of articles, photos and such. I have a big collection of older Sport Aviation that I can share, and 50, 60s Flying and Air Progress, Air Trails and Popular Aviation. I have always been interested in homebuilding, just have never been in the right situation to actually build something. Vintage dirt bikes is another interest that consumes time, money and space, so i scratch the home building itch just by visiting local airports and seeing what people are up to. I am a welder/fabricator by trade and recently retired from a a career in industrial maintenance, so tools and working with my head and my hands at the same time are something I can offer. I'm still figuring out this retirement thing, and have some gimpy knees to attend to, with the first surgery scheduled for May, but as I rehab from that, if there are any St. Louis area members based here, i wouldn't mind meeting up and seeing what you are building. I live near Creve Coure Airport (Dauster Flying Field) and am familiar with all the other small airports here.
My interest in aviation got started at an early age. I was born and raised in a house right under the approach to runway 24 at Lambert Field and it was about a mile and a half from the runway thresh hold. My Dad was an electrician by trade and he knew a lot of the owners of the old FBOs that were lined up at the north western corner of the airport and did a lot of work for them, and I would tag along some times on a Sunday morning while he worked. My Dad's brother, my Uncle Bob McEntee, was service manager and an instructor at the old Brayton Flying Service there for many years. He was a transport rated pilot and licensed FAA instructor and examiner and eventually moved on to fly with corporate RCA, then American Airlines, and in 1960 was hired by the Kennedy Family for JFK's campaign and was first officer on the Caroline. He flew JFK into the St. Louis area in the fall of 1960, and he invited the families out to view the airplane, and at 5 years old, I got to sit in his seat in the cock pit!! That will tend to influence you a bit! Been attending airshows since then when I could get anyone to take me, and continued through till today. I've been a volunteer at Oshkosh at the EAA KidVenture venue at he AirVenture convention for 16 or 17 years working with kids flying small control line models.. So this is all how I managed to stay involved in aviation in my own small way. I still live within smelling distance of Lambert, but it has really changed over the years. Nothing flies over my house that doesn't get checked out!! Boeing produces fighters here now in a new facility instead of McDonnell-Douglas, and I get to hear and see them test fly on occasion. I'm going to take a stab here at posting a photo just to see if I can do that, and I hope to hear from anyone that may be living in the St. Louis area. Have a great day, and thanks for letting me in!!
Type at you later,
Dan McEntee
PS: That's my Uncle Bob in the cockpit window of "The Caroline."
My interest in aviation got started at an early age. I was born and raised in a house right under the approach to runway 24 at Lambert Field and it was about a mile and a half from the runway thresh hold. My Dad was an electrician by trade and he knew a lot of the owners of the old FBOs that were lined up at the north western corner of the airport and did a lot of work for them, and I would tag along some times on a Sunday morning while he worked. My Dad's brother, my Uncle Bob McEntee, was service manager and an instructor at the old Brayton Flying Service there for many years. He was a transport rated pilot and licensed FAA instructor and examiner and eventually moved on to fly with corporate RCA, then American Airlines, and in 1960 was hired by the Kennedy Family for JFK's campaign and was first officer on the Caroline. He flew JFK into the St. Louis area in the fall of 1960, and he invited the families out to view the airplane, and at 5 years old, I got to sit in his seat in the cock pit!! That will tend to influence you a bit! Been attending airshows since then when I could get anyone to take me, and continued through till today. I've been a volunteer at Oshkosh at the EAA KidVenture venue at he AirVenture convention for 16 or 17 years working with kids flying small control line models.. So this is all how I managed to stay involved in aviation in my own small way. I still live within smelling distance of Lambert, but it has really changed over the years. Nothing flies over my house that doesn't get checked out!! Boeing produces fighters here now in a new facility instead of McDonnell-Douglas, and I get to hear and see them test fly on occasion. I'm going to take a stab here at posting a photo just to see if I can do that, and I hope to hear from anyone that may be living in the St. Louis area. Have a great day, and thanks for letting me in!!
Type at you later,
Dan McEntee
PS: That's my Uncle Bob in the cockpit window of "The Caroline."
