AOPA Pilot Magazine - October 2014 - 10

LETTERS

FROM OUR AUGUST 2014 ISSUE

Tall Tale (That's True)
The rare warbirds Senior Editor Dave Hirschman found on a Texas ranch-and the story
of their owner-elicited many comments from our members.
I was a T-38 instructor pilot
at Webb Air Force Base in Big
Spring, Texas, from 1972 to 1975.
Connie Edwards' ranch was
right off the end of our runway.
Every once in a while he would
call our tower and request a flyby in his P-51 Mustang. It was
always a great sight.
Your article mentioned
he doesn't offer tours, but he
invited the whole training
wing to come to the ranch as
his guests. We saw all the airplanes, including the Bf 109s, a
couple assembled and the rest in
crates. He was a very gracious
host, and ended up spending
the evening with us telling war
stories. The special treat were
his home movies of the making of the Battle of Britain, shot
from inside the bombers as he
directed the action.
I'm sorry to hear he's going
to break up the collection, but
I am thankful for having the
opportunity to see one of the
best warbird collections around.
Jim Radabaugh
AOPA 1151198
Frankfort, Michigan

I'm sorry, your story on Connie
Edwards should have been buried. I read it twice, just to see if
I missed any hint of humanity
in the guy, but with the exception of giving a car to a friend
without making him pay for it,
I can't find any.
In his own words, he says he
doesn't care about airplanes or
pilots, and he doesn't care what
happens to his precious collection when he sells it. So he's
rich and wants to get richer,
and AOPA Pilot has to give him
10 | AOPA PILOT October 2014

Edwards was a proud father
and deservedly so. All of these
years I've wondered who was
that guy that took me for that
flight in his Albatross. Now I
know. Thanks for the spectacular article and thanks again Mr.
Edwards. I never forgot your
generosity and that wonderful
day in Dallas.

TALL
TALE
VIDEO EXTRA See
Edwards Ranch
in this online video.

Rare warbirds to depart Edwards Ranch

[ that's true ]

HANG AROUND AIRCRAFT RESTORERS and you'll inevitably hear tales of priceless historical relics hidden in
barns, buried in shrink wrap, or otherwise stuck in time
awaiting discovery.
These stories are almost always wild exaggerations or
outright ﬁction. But if you've ever heard of the cache of
iconic warbirds at Wilson Connell "Connie" Edwards'
west Texas ranch, it's absolutely real.
The irascible former movie pilot who made a fortune in the oil business has added to his vast inventory
of mostly World War II-era fighters, seaplanes, and
surplus parts for more than a half century. Now, he's
decided to sell many of them-but only on his own
nonnegotiable terms.

Rick "Vicious" Savage
AOPA 597088
El Dorado Hills, California

B Y D AV E H I R S C H M A N
PHOTOGRAPHY BY MIKE FIZER
98 | AOPA PILOT August 2014

www.aopa.org/pilot AOPA PILOT | 99

"Tell Mike Fizer wow. Simply, wow. Those Frugal Flier
'Tall Tale' photos were just wow. And not As a longtime Alaskan pilot
and Pledge user I think Dave
to leave you out, Dave Hirschman-you're Hirschman overlooked Pledge's
amazing. If I were teaching, next week would great contribution to aviation
be devoted to this text, these photos, and the safety ("P&E: Take the Pledge").
Years ago a new company pilot
breathtaking coordination of the two. Wow." saw me putting Pledge on the
Merel R. O'Rourke
AOPA 5771047
Grangeville, Idaho

space? I hope the airplanes get
While standing in front of
sold to people who care for the T-2 answering the usual
questions, an older gentleman
them. They deserve better.
Don Weber dressed in a Coast Guard flight
AOPA 404032 suit struck up a conversation
Morganville, New Jersey
with me. He introduced himself as Connie Edwards. During
In 1991 I was an instructor pilot the conversation he invited me
for the U.S. Navy and I was to fly with him in his beautitasked with the duty of teaching fully restored HU-16 Albatross
student Naval aviators how to fly painted in authentic U.S. Coast
the venerable North American Guard markings. While flyT-2 Buckeye. One weekend we ing the Albatross in front of
were dispatched to attend an thousands of airshow attendairshow in Dallas. I had no trou- ees, another Navy aircraft from
ble finding a student willing to World War II joined us in formadepart NAS Kingsville, Texas, tion. I asked Edwards who the
for an action-packed weekend pilot was and he proudly said,
in the big city.
"Why, that's Tex, my son."

front window of the Cessna 207
I was flying that day. He made
a snide comment and obviously
didn't know what Pledge could
do. After he walked away from
the airplane he was flying that
day, I went over and gave only
the right front window a Pledge
treatment, knowing we would
be encountering a lot of rain
that day.
Later that day his voice came
up on our company frequency
and asked me if I was around.
When I told him I could copy
him he called me a bad name.
Knowing full well, I asked him
what the problem was. He asked
me to guess what seat he was
flying from. Of course, I knew
the answer. He quickly learned
that Pledge was a great poor
man's Rain-X. Much cheaper,
easier to apply, and easier to
remove the smashed bugs.

http://www.aopa.org/pilot

AOPA Pilot Magazine - October 2014

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of AOPA Pilot Magazine - October 2014