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Propliner Hunting in Wyoming by Paul Filmer
The Last Great Herd: South Big Horn Airport, Greybull – September 26-27, 2006
After the auction in August 2007 that saw most of the Hawkins and Powers (H&P) Aviation inventory go under the hammer, I thought it would be prudent of me to visit the company’s Greybull, Wyoming headquarters before most of the aircraft were scrapped.
I drove during the day from Colorado to arrive in Greybull by late afternoon. Seeing the aircraft lined up on the airfield, I thought it might be nice to try to get some overall shots. A quick look at the map showed that there should be a dirt road on the west side of the airfield – yes there was, and it was elevated, so I took a look-see.
After a while I came to the end of where a normal 4x4 vehicle could go without getting stuck, and I was left with a short hike down and up one final hill to see the whole airfield laid out in front of me.
On the way back I got a bit cocky and drove a little too fast, thinking that the road was dry, until I sunk down in a rut and splattered the whole car with gooey mud. Luckily I recovered and all was well.
I spoke to the owner of the motel I was staying in about the impact that Hawkins and Powers have had on the local economy since the closure. She stated that luckily the town hadn’t been hit too badly, as an ethanol plant was starting up and was employing at least 66 people.
Greybull is a very small town, and there are glimpses of old or failed businesses around like the overgrown cattle market, a few factory buildings and now the H&P facility at the airport. H&P were definitely part of the community, even sponsoring the local school.
The next day I arrived at the airfield for my pre-arranged meeting with museum curator Ralph Reiner. The Museum of Flight and Aerial Firefighting was originally founded by Gary Harman, Duane Powers and Bob Hawkins back in 1987 and was then based in their front office. The museum now operates out of a little log hut , originally built in 1902 as the post office for the town of Coburn, around 2 miles to the north of Greybull. It was moved to its present location in 1988. Ralph runs the free museum with his wife Lorraine, and they are both keen to show any visitors the aircraft on the ramps. They even allow people to go inside the planes.
Ralph is 83 and is one of those people you could listen to all day. He has flown so many aircraft you lose track, and he has certainly flown most of the flyable aircraft on the airfield. He also test-flew aircraft for Hawkins and Powers and more recently for Great American who took over H&P’s assets.
His favorite aircraft to fly is the C-97, especially the one that still sat on the ramp – the only airworthy C-97 on the field. This aircraft has been bought by Clay Lacy, and the plan is to cut out the retardant tanks and retrofit the belly from one of the many other C-97s sitting in the field. After this has been completed the tanks will be fitted to the donor aircraft and presented to the museum.
Even while I was there, on a very windy day (photos were difficult to take because of the wind), there was a steady stream of visitors lured to the museum by the aircraft parked on the field at the airport entrance. Although Greybull is literally in the middle of nowhere, it’s on a major traffic route to Yellowstone National Park, and there is a convenient rest-stop at the entrance to the airport itself. In fact, the museum has acquired the lease from the airport authority for the land at the back of the rest area, so the task of snagging visitors will eventually become even easier.
If anyone is visiting this neck of the woods, please drop in and say hello to Ralph and his wife, who will be only too pleased to show you around. (The museum is closed on Tuesdays and Thursdays and during the winter). Ralph is very passionate about his aircraft and would like to see as many of them as possible escape the scrap merchants. Let’s hope his enthusiasm rubs off!
Since this visit some aircraft have been able to escape the scrappers by flying out under their own power:
The C-82 was flown to the Hagerstown Aviation Museum, MD.
The L-18 was flown to FL.
The C-119 and A-26 were flown together to Glendale Municipal, AZ to form part of a new museum called the Lauridsen Aviation Museum operated by Hans Lauridsen.
One of the C130s was flown to Coolidge, AZ for International Air Response.
Then it was off on a scenic drive across the mountains to my next stop.
Sheridan's forgotten Martins - 27 September 2006
At the remote northern reaches of Sheridan County Airport are two very rare Martin 4-0-4 aircraft with a very sad history. Originally they were part of a group of four aircraft to be converted to sprayers and based at Buffalo Municipal, thirty-odd miles south of Sheridan.
In 1986, one of the aircraft attempted to take off from Buffalo, WY with 600 gallons of pesticide on board. Unable to complete its take-off roll on the 4500 foot runway, the aircraft hit a 12 foot dirt bank, rolled onto its back and caught fire. All on board were killed. It was later determined by accident investigators that the aircraft was overloaded by 6592 lbs.
The owner, whose son was among the fatalities, was so upset by the accident that the aircraft were parked at Sheridan and left. In 2001 one of the three remaining aircraft was eventually flown out after lengthy repairs and tests, leaving the two seen in the photos.
The aircraft have been worked on sporadically up until about two years ago. As you can see, one has no propellers and is sitting low on its undercarriage while the second looks, at first glance, to be in pretty reasonable condition.
Thanks to Airport manager John Stopka.
PV-2 Harpoons at Buffalo Municipal Airport – September 27, 2006
Like the Martins at Sheridan , the four PV-2 Harpoon aircraft parked at Buffalo have a sad history. Once operated by husband and wife John and Connie Hirth, as Hirth Air Tankers, these aircraft were operated on short-term firefighting contracts and for aerial spaying.
John was killed in a firefighting accident in 1997, while flying one of their PV-2’s in Pennsylvania. Connie Hirth put the aircraft up for sale and in 2005 all four remaining aircraft were sold, even though they still remain at the airfield.
Connie now works for the Association of Air Tanker Pilots campaigning for better rights and benefits for air tanker crews and their families. Because the pilots fly for independent contractors, the government refuses to consider them eligible for Public Safety Officers’ Benefits (PSOB), and because of the nature of their work, the pilots find it nearly impossible to obtain any kind of life insurance.
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