HANDS ON
Looking Back
History seems to repeat
BY PAUL H. POBEREZNY
LOOKING BACK IS A common enough statement, but how does one
capture the historical significance of something one reads? Maybe
that only happens if the subject pertains to one’s self or many others
of similar interest. To me, life was always aviation and its people.
I was 14 years of age, going on 15—almost a grown-up—and
model airplanes occupied me along with drawing airplane plans
and reading airplane
magazines. Never did I
dream I would have a life
so immersed in all of aviation and its people.
Over the years I’ve
collected quite a library
of aviation materials,
and from time to time
I remember particular
comments I’ve read. This
one comes from the
January 1935 issue of Popular Aviation—I have all the bound
volumes here in my office—from the column, “An Airy Chat
One of the letters received back in January 1935 is a good
reminder of how fortunate we are and what your organization
and its members have accomplished.
Never did I dream
I would have a life
so immersed in
all of aviation and
its people.
“We have a fine letter from Charles H. Dix,
Box 16, Council Hill, Oklahoma, who encloses a
newspaper clipping concerning the war now
being waged on amateurs in Ohio. Because James
Lee, 33, builder and pilot of a homemade plane
was killed when his ship went into a spin and
crashed, the state authorities of Ohio are taking
steps to entirely suppress amateur aviation in that
state. However, we note that they do not undertake the job of grounding commercial airplaners
who have a longer roll of crashes and death than
the amateurs. Here is what Mr. Dix has to say:
“It is nothing less than a rotten shame
that such laws concerning aviation have been
passed in our states. The worst part of it is that
most of our supposed honorable congressmen
are just a bunch of … who have never been on
an airport, let alone being up in a plane. As in
many other industries, they are influenced by
the big money men of aviation to keep the little
man down and out. Most of them know no
more about aviation than the layman.
“With all the talk about a New Deal, I think
it is about time for a new deal for the amateur
in aviation. The Army Air Corps kicks out
more of its recruits than it accepts because
they are not 100 percent perfect. Look at the
cost of a good flying course and the cost of a
manufactured airplane. Many cannot meet
this expense, and what do they do? They
become corset salesmen and do their flying in a
Model ‘T’ Ford.
“Many talk about the freedom everyone
enjoys in the good old U.S. A., but possibly they
have never heard of amateur aviation. We all
know how much liberty the amateur enjoys.
“This letter sets forth the ideas of most
of us, Mr. Dix, but unfortunately we can do
nothing about it. All sorts of associations have
been formed to combat the evil but oppressive
aviation laws continue to grow more oppressive
in spite of the protests.”
