By Ruth Ann Ruiz
The Post Newspaper Features Editor
Finding the airplane that your granddaddy flew solo for the first time seems like searching for a needle in a haystack, especially when your granddaddy was flying that plane in 1940.
That’s just what Tommy Etheredge was able to do, and after contacting the owners who were in Montana, he waited till they were ready to sell. It took a few years, but one day the hoped-for phone call came through and Tommy was offered a chance to own a Piper J-3, 1939 Cub.
“The owners had restored it just like I would have done, it was like a gift from my grandfather,” said Tommy. Although it was like a gift, it came with a price tag and Etheredge found the financing to bring the Cub down out of the mountains and park it at Scholes International Airport in Galveston.
Using just the flight log and journals from his grandfather was how Tommy was able to track down the plane, and he learned a lot about his granddaddy. For instance, he learned his grandfather enjoyed hanging out at clubs late in the evening.
A flight instructor had written this in the logbook: “Off Day, Performance good at end of period. Student had a dance stamp marked on his right hand. He admitted having very little sleep the night before and was warned about flying under such conditions.”
The flight did start at 5:45am.
Lauren Robert Barnebey was enrolled at the University of Nebraska in Omaha at the time and was flying in the CPTP at Burnham-Miller Flying Service. When he finished college, he jumped into the military.
“As a pilot after graduating CPTP, my grandfather joined the US Army Air Corps later changed to US Army Air Corps in summer 1941, and US Air Force in 1947,” Tommy shared.
Lt. Barnebey joined the Flying Tigers during WWII and was part of the air defense of China against Japan.
Though Tommy knows his granddaddy’s history, it was because he did some digging around to learn more about his flying grandfather. His granddaddy never really spoke much about his days in the war. However, there was a room at his granddaddy’s home in the San Antonio area where Tommy remembers as a child admiring his grandfather’s medals and wings.
Now we move into Tommy’s generation which is in his early 30’s. Tommy grew up in Texas City and graduated from Texas City High School in 2009. Of course, he’s a pilot. He flies commercial planes, and he flies his 1939 Cub. He is also a private flight instructor.
“I love being paid to go up and fly and I really enjoy the flying community in Galveston County,” said Tommy. He went on to explain that most pilots are perfectionists and no matter how well they did on a flight, they are always looking for some way to improve.
“It might be as simple as the way we handled a radio call; we self-critique to grow and we believe there’s always room for improvement,” explained Tommy.
“I’m really all about the technical aspects of flying, I’m an operator of complex technology and I enjoy the challenge of getting passengers to their destinations, safely,” he added. “The joy of connecting people to their loved ones is part of why I love my job.”
Though he loves the technical aspects and serving a purpose in society, Tommy really loves being in the air and looking at the view from the cockpit windows. Any chance he can get, he is in his Cub flying with the wind blasting across his face. His favorite way of flying is with all windows open.
Tommy entered the world of flight through training at San Jacinto College with an AA degree in Aviation and Aeronautics. From there, he was qualified to fly skydivers and did so on Bolivar. One summer, he flew skydivers in Honduras and Puerto Rico. He finished a B.S. in aviation from Texas A&M.
The Cub won’t go very high in the sky, nor will it go very long without needing fuel. Mostly, Tommy flies it over Galveston. He has flown it to some of our other smaller Texas airports. This summer, his goal is to fly to New Orleans with his Cub.
1 comment
Pa would be pleased!