Sky King Goes to Oshkosh

My husband, Bill Fergusson, was an Accidental Stunt Pilot – as I found out from his sister, Kay, over dinner one evening at the old family homeplace in Hendersonville, Tennessee.

Bill W. Fergusson II - Sky King Songbird pilot

It was back in the late Fifties, and Bill was working for Cessna Aircraft Company in Wichita, Kansas. As National Sales Manager for their new twin, the Cessna 310, Bill was constantly traveling, demonstrating their new airplane to potential customers all over the country. Nabisco, the sponsor of the popular TV series Sky King, approached Cessna about providing a new airplane for the series. The T-50 (the Bamboo Bomber) had been retired due to serious wear and tear in the main spar of the wing, and moves were afoot to begin filming a new series of episodes. Cessna jumped at the idea as a great way to promote their new twin, and agreed to provide the airplane at no cost for several weeks of filming.

Bill delivered a sparkling new Cessna 310B demonstrator to the filming site at Apple Valley, California. The stunt pilot next on the assignment list for the job was only a single engine pilot, so Bill was instructed to stay long enough to check the guy out for a twin engine rating, and then return to Wichita.
“He’s doing great,” Bill reported back to his boss, Frank Martin, “but I can’t sign him off. The insurance company would never approve it.”

“What do you mean?” his boss exploded.

“The flying involves landing on roads and dry lake beds, flying under bridges, and landing with both engines shut down. He’s just not up to that sort of flying yet. Maybe they can provide another pilot.”

The McGowan Brothers were already breathing down Martin’s neck, anxious to begin filming. Everyone’s blood pressure was rising.

“Well you stay and do the flying yourself,” Martin snapped, and slammed down the phone.

Bill soon discovered it was some of the most fun flying he had ever done since his military days. For two weeks his job was to be Kirby Grant, aka Sky King, wearing a big cowboy hat for close up shots behind the wheel of the airplane, and doing an intensive program of adventurous flying while the production company made up a film library of every imaginable sequence they needed for the upcoming series.

Fast forward to July 2011. The Fergusson clan is planning a trip to Oshkosh Airshow in Wisconsin – the first time for several members in the party of 8 (both friends & family). It was time for the world at large to learn more about the man who really did the flying for Sky King. So we made up special t-shirts featuring a picture of Bill with the Songbird, the Cessna 310 that became world famous, and what fun we had wearing them at the airshow and telling Bill’s story.




Son Dave Fergusson (L), widow Dayle Fergusson,
 brother Don Fergusson (R)

What a stroke of good fortune to find a Cessna 310D at Oshkosh, beautifully restored and actually claiming to be the third Songbird in the TV series Sky King. We had the natural backdrop for our photographic memento!

The "Real Sky King" crew with Songbird III
 (L to R - rear) Bari & Jamie Deaver, Stan & Callita Eason, Don Fergusson,
(L to R - front) Dave Fergusson, Dayle Fergusson, Barbara Fergusson.

Oshkosh AirVenture 2011 was an amazing affair. Picture the world’s largest airshow, where almost 14,000 airplanes had flown in, ranging from tiny ultralights to the Blue Angels’ F/A-18 fighter jets.

A sea of airplanes cover acres and acres of grass at Wittman Field, many with tents pitched under their wings. Whole sections of homebuilts, Warbirds, antique airplanes, ultralights & rotocraft, aerobatic planes, and even a special seaplane base, stretch in every direction.

B-25J Lady Luck

If one only had enough time, you could explore thousands of exhibitors, large exhibition halls, a Theatre in the Woods, the permanent AirVenture Museum, workshops, forums, kids’ activities, and author’s corners.



North American T-6 Advanced WWII Trainer



I was keen to buy the book The Barnstormer and the Lady – the story of Beechcraft founders Walter and Olive Ann Beech.



Dayle with Walter and Olive Ann's daughter, Mary Lynn Oliver,
and grandaughter Jennifer

In the early days of aviation in America, Wichita, Kansas was the home of several big aircraft manufacturers, including Cessna and Beechcraft. Bill had told me stories about the infamous Olive Ann, reknowned for her imperious demeanor and the colored flag displayed on her office door which gave fair warning whether it was safe to approach. If black, enter at one’s own risk! It was a thrill to personally meet Walter and Olive Ann’s daughter, Mary Lynn, and their grandaughter Jennifer, when Dave & I were strolling past the exhibits.

It seems I am constantly walking in Bill’s footsteps, shadowing the intriguing life he lived all over the globe, meeting people and connections from his illustrious past. He mentioned their names so casually, modest about his experiences, simply enjoying telling the stories. So many reasons I loved him so much.


Warbirds open the daily airshow at Oshkosh AirVenture 2011



The Aeroshell Aerobatic Team

Our first two days at Oshkosh were blessed with perfect temperatures in the mid-eighties. During the spectacular airshows each day, aerobatic planes trailed white plumes across midnight blue skies. Flights of Warbirds thundered overhead, the deep throated roar of their radial engines reverberating across our conscious memories.



Flying the knife edge down the runway




 

The Liberty Parachute Team dropped in to the strains of patriotic music

The camaraderie among pilots is like nothing experienced elsewhere. An inherent politeness and courtesy not found at other public gatherings. At every turn, someone was willing to share a story about a past flying connection or experience.



Saucy Burt Rutan design Long-EZs bask in the sun



Every stranger became a friend. The passion of thousands who had made the trek from all corners of the world had merged, and become the heartbeat of Oshkosh.







Gene Soucy with Wingwalker partner Teresa Stokes






Prototype Gweduck Amphibian

One afternoon, while looking for a shady spot to view the airshow, I was even offered fresh, ripe cherries and a chair under the wing of a prototype amphibious flying boat. This gracious group of guys from Seattle were displaying their prototype Gweduck, now being offered for sale in kit form. Its development had taken 19 years, and began with the ambition to build a flying boat without the problems of the Grumman Widgeon. It will be interesting to track their success.

Our house in Oshkosh

Rather than camping at the airfield, we rented a beautiful home in the town of Oshkosh, a more comfortable option in spite of the vicious little virus that ran its course through 7 out of 8 of us with violent vomiting and diarrhea like one of Pharoah’s plagues. Not quite the bonding experience we had anticipated!

Dave with the 1956 Aerocar - it still flies today!

Son Dave was thrilled when we found the strangest of flying contraptions that was surprisingly familiar to him.
The 1956 Aerocar N102D on display, one of only five ever built, and the only airworthy Aerocar in existence today, was once owned by TV personality Bob Cummings. When Dave was working for Gunnell Aviation at Santa Monica in the early Sixties, Bob flew in from Palm Springs one day, and wanted his car delivered to his home in the Hollywood Hills. After the wings were removed and stowed in a hangar, Dave was given the job of driving the wingless Aerocar to Bob Cummings’ home. Not many people could chalk up that experience!

Sam Johnson (Johnson Wax Co.) owned this Nomad N-22B
on Wipline floats

At Wipaire’s display tent I hopefully stopped to see if Bob Wiplinger was there. I first met Wippy in Australia – my first “date” with Bill, back in 1978, when he invited me to interview Bob as they prepared to announce the breaking news of the Australian Government Aircraft Factories (GAF) Nomad twin turboprop receiving North American certification on floats. The N-22B was being equipped with Wipline floats, and I had first shot at the breaking story for Australia’s premier aviation magazine. It was a marker moment in my career. Regretfully, at Oshkosh 2011 I would miss Wippy by a day.


1929 Waco Taperwing


We couldn’t resist a walk through the antique aircraft on our last day, wishing we could stay longer. The line up of gleaming metal and taut skin on the restored airplanes from yesteryear almost brought tears to our eyes. The early history of aviation kept alive by passionate aviators. Dave and I both relived recollections from Bill’s early days. “Paw loved the Waco. It was one of his favorite airplanes.” The Stearman – the early WWII trainer, that Bill flew when based at Selma, Alabama, was beautiful in its original colors of blue and yellow.

Tents pitched under the wings, the simplicity of life, the essence of freedom.



Pilot camping beside 1953 Tripacer

 
It’s hard to describe the pulse that throbs in every lover of flight when surrounded by these amazing flying machines. Antoine de Saint-Exupery expressed the flight of the soul of a man thus…

…The wind of the Spirit, blown from the stars, enters the sand of the physical body and life begins anew. In our very essence we are all Wind, Sand, and Stars.