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klwerner(at)comcast.net
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 Posted: Fri Apr 21, 2006 4:21 pm Post subject: Eustace Bowhay |
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To Eustace: May you rest in Peace and fly on forever
[Ed. This news hurts. The text below appears in this site's Safety section and was written several months back. Eustace was kind enough to host RVTalk #17. He passed away on Tuesday, apparently of complications from a stroke. The RV community has lost one of its giants and our hearts go out to the Bowhay family and friends. By Doug Reeves of www.vansairforce.com]
This is for those of you that have never met him, but it is also for the one's that did have the priviledge . . . .
"For RV pilots and builders who have never had the opportunity to meet Eustace Bowhay, here=92s a little background.
Eustace is one of the few people around who=92ve accumulated over 20,000 hours of flying time without ever having a military or airline career. He spans aviation from before WW2 to the present day. His first flight, as a boy of 10 or 11, was in a Gypsy Moth over his native Saskatchewan.
It=92s a great story...Eustace and his mother lived on a farm outside of town, and every weekend the weather permitted they=92d go into the city for supplies and a bit of recreation. He would spend part of his Saturday morning at piano lessons. Nothing in this world was going to make a pianist out of Eustace, but he went to please his mother and because she gave him a quarter so he could go to the movies after his lesson.
Eustace soon discovered that the airport on the edge of town was far more interesting to him than any movie, so after his lesson he=92d go down and hang on the fence until it was time to go, just hoping to see an airplane fly. He=92d time it carefully so he could run back to town and meet his mother at the theatre...he knew she=92d never approve of something so dangerous as flying!
After a few weeks of this, one of the local pilots on the other side of the fence motioned him over to a hangar and opened the back door. Completely awestruck, Eustace stepped through the door and into what was to become his world for a lifetime.
In the hangar was a brand new Staggerwing, painted royal blue. Out in front, a pilot who needed to warm the oil in his Moth invited Eustace to occupy the front cockpit. Stricken to silence by his good fortune, Eustace pulled on a leather helmet and goggles and held on as the upright Gypsy engine rattled the Moth into the air. They flew out over the prairie and over Eustace=92s home. When they returned, Eustace realized he was late meeting his mother and dashed into town, maintaining a minimum altitude of about six inches the whole way. Without comment, he climbed into the car and home they went.
At the dinner table that evening, his uncle casually mentioned that an airplane had circled the farm several times earlier in the day. Did Eustace know anything about that? Oh, no, Eustace said. He=92d been at piano lessons and the movies the whole day. Everyone at the table broke into laughter. When his mother handed him a mirror he saw why: the Gypsy had been spraying a fine mist back over the fuselage for the entire flight and the oily outline of the helmet and goggles was clearly printed on his face. He looked like a surprised raccoon.
When Eustace tells this story, the memories of that day - more than seventy years ago now - are printed on his face as plainly as the outline of those goggles. He still remembers the smell of the paint and dope on the Staggerwing and the exhilaration of banking and seeing his home between the flying wires of the Moth.
After that came flying and more flying. Eustace instructed thousands of students in the RCAF, some of whom died in combat just weeks later - he=92s never fully accepted that waste and a bit of grief is with him still. After the war he instructed thousands more, as well as flying Navions and Aeronca Champs and God knows what else away from the factories and back to Canada.
Supported by his wife Nora, he formed his own company, providing charter air service all over the Canada and the Northern Territories. He flew and flew; in Aztec, in Cessnas, in Beavers and Otters. He acquired a P-51 from the Canadian government and flew it all over the country keeping an eye on his operations. He owned and flew a DC-3 for many years. He=92s got 9000+ hours of water operation...1000 hours of it in a Grumman Goose. He=92s landed parts of a bulldozer on the edge of the Arctic Ocean in a Beech 18, helped weld the machine back together and build a landing strip and watched the bulldozer leave, intact, in the hold of a Hercules that flew into the strip to retrieve it.
And all the while, one of his primary concerns was keeping other pilots safe. He preached, cajoled, and extolled safe flying at every opportunity, bringing his vast experience to bear and distilling it to benefit the newest of pilots. We will never know just how many pilots are alive (and airplanes unbroken) because Eustace had a word with them, planting some seed of care and awareness that allowed them to avoid danger.
He joined the RV ranks in the 1990s by building C-HAY, a 180 hp RV-6 which he flew on wheels, floats and amphibious floats. In the RV community he found many low time pilots venturing into the world of relatively high performance and became their mentor. At the factory, Van=92s people learned to listen carefully to the tall, white haired, slightly deaf Canadian fellow with the suspenders. There was a little "eh?" and a little "oot" in his speech, as well as a whole lot of humanity, wisdom and humor.
Eustace and Nora have been to many of Van=92s Homecomings and many RV pilots have met and talked with them. If you=92ve ever had a chance to sit and talk with them, you=92ll have realized that you were in the presence of truly fine people
Now recovering from a stroke in his hometown of Salmon Arm, British Columbia, Eustace is still pursuing his passion for helping pilots fly safely and skillfully. It is our incredibly good fortune that he's part of the RV world and that modern technology allows us to essentially sit around the campfire and listen to him pass on knowledge gained over a career that has spanned 70% of powered aviation.
Don=92t miss the chance - there aren=92t many like him. Heck, there aren=92t any like him. Eustace is one of a kind."
Arrangements (from a Ken Hoshowski email fwd'd to me)
Just to let you know that the service gathering for Eustace will be this Saturday at 1:30 at Fischer's Funeral Services, 4060 1st. Ave S.W.
Salmon Arm.
Toll free phone 1-888-816-1117 This is going to be a tea only, a celebration of life service will be held at a later date in Eustace's home town in Alberta.
Eustace's wife's name is Nora and the home address is
#6-350 Hudson St.
N.W, Salmon Arm B.C., V1E1P4,
phone 250 832-3273.
That is about all I can tell (you) for now.
Ken Hoshowski
RV6 C-FKEH
Salmon Arm B.C.
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emrath(at)comcast.net
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| Posted: Sat Apr 22, 2006 5:24 am Post subject: Eustace Bowhay |
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Konrad, thanks for posting this. Eustace and I never met but we have
corresponded via Email and he was very patient and helpful with my
questions, even supplying me a much needed part for my FI system. May he
rest in Peace and his family be consoled. I'm sorry I cannot be at his
service to pay my respects!
Do not archive
Marty, Brentwood TN
Time: 05:21:15 PM PST US
From: "Konrad L. Werner" <klwerner(at)comcast.net>
Subject: Re: Eustace Bowhay
To Eustace: May you rest in Peace and fly on forever
[Ed. This news hurts. The text below appears in this site's Safety section
and was written several months back. Eustace was kind enough to host RVTalk
#17. He passed away on Tuesday, apparently of complications from a stroke.
The RV community has lost one of its giants and our hearts go out to the
Bowhay family and friends. By Doug Reeves of www.vansairforce.com]
This is for those of you that have never met him, but it is also for the
one's
that did have the priviledge . . . .
"For RV pilots and builders who have never had the opportunity to meet
Eustace
Bowhay, here=92s a little background.
Eustace is one of the few people around who=92ve accumulated over 20,000
hours
of flying time without ever having a military or airline career. He spans
aviation
from before WW2 to the present day. His first flight, as a boy of 10 or 11,
was in a Gypsy Moth over his native Saskatchewan.
It=92s a great story...Eustace and his mother lived on a farm outside of
town,
and every weekend the weather permitted they=92d go into the city for
supplies
and a bit of recreation. He would spend part of his Saturday morning at
piano
lessons. Nothing in this world was going to make a pianist out of Eustace,
but
he went to please his mother and because she gave him a quarter so he could
go to the movies after his lesson.
Eustace soon discovered that the airport on the edge of town was far more
interesting
to him than any movie, so after his lesson he=92d go down and hang on the
fence until it was time to go, just hoping to see an airplane fly. He=92d
time
it carefully so he could run back to town and meet his mother at the
theatre...he
knew she=92d never approve of something so dangerous as flying!
After a few weeks of this, one of the local pilots on the other side of the
fence
motioned him over to a hangar and opened the back door. Completely
awestruck,
Eustace stepped through the door and into what was to become his world for
a lifetime.
In the hangar was a brand new Staggerwing, painted royal blue. Out in front,
a
pilot who needed to warm the oil in his Moth invited Eustace to occupy the
front
cockpit. Stricken to silence by his good fortune, Eustace pulled on a
leather
helmet and goggles and held on as the upright Gypsy engine rattled the Moth
into the air. They flew out over the prairie and over Eustace=92s home. When
they returned, Eustace realized he was late meeting his mother and dashed
into
town, maintaining a minimum altitude of about six inches the whole way.
Without
comment, he climbed into the car and home they went.
At the dinner table that evening, his uncle casually mentioned that an
airplane
had circled the farm several times earlier in the day. Did Eustace know
anything
about that? Oh, no, Eustace said. He=92d been at piano lessons and the
movies
the whole day. Everyone at the table broke into laughter. When his mother
handed him a mirror he saw why: the Gypsy had been spraying a fine mist back
over
the fuselage for the entire flight and the oily outline of the helmet and
goggles was clearly printed on his face. He looked like a surprised raccoon.
When Eustace tells this story, the memories of that day - more than seventy
years
ago now - are printed on his face as plainly as the outline of those
goggles.
He still remembers the smell of the paint and dope on the Staggerwing and
the
exhilaration of banking and seeing his home between the flying wires of the
Moth.
After that came flying and more flying. Eustace instructed thousands of
students
in the RCAF, some of whom died in combat just weeks later - he=92s never
fully
accepted that waste and a bit of grief is with him still. After the war he
instructed thousands more, as well as flying Navions and Aeronca Champs and
God
knows what else away from the factories and back to Canada.
Supported by his wife Nora, he formed his own company, providing charter air
service
all over the Canada and the Northern Territories. He flew and flew; in
Aztec,
in Cessnas, in Beavers and Otters. He acquired a P-51 from the Canadian
government and flew it all over the country keeping an eye on his
operations.
He owned and flew a DC-3 for many years. He=92s got 9000+ hours of water
operation...1000
hours of it in a Grumman Goose. He=92s landed parts of a bulldozer
on the edge of the Arctic Ocean in a Beech 18, helped weld the machine back
together
and build a landing strip and watched the bulldozer leave, intact, in
the hold of a Hercules that flew into the strip to retrieve it.
And all the while, one of his primary concerns was keeping other pilots
safe. He
preached, cajoled, and extolled safe flying at every opportunity, bringing
his
vast experience to bear and distilling it to benefit the newest of pilots.
We will never know just how many pilots are alive (and airplanes unbroken)
because
Eustace had a word with them, planting some seed of care and awareness that
allowed them to avoid danger.
He joined the RV ranks in the 1990s by building C-HAY, a 180 hp RV-6 which
he flew
on wheels, floats and amphibious floats. In the RV community he found many
low time pilots venturing into the world of relatively high performance and
became
their mentor. At the factory, Van=92s people learned to listen carefully
to the tall, white haired, slightly deaf Canadian fellow with the
suspenders.
There was a little "eh?" and a little "oot" in his speech, as well as a
whole
lot of humanity, wisdom and humor.
Eustace and Nora have been to many of Van=92s Homecomings and many RV pilots
have
met and talked with them. If you=92ve ever had a chance to sit and talk with
them, you=92ll have realized that you were in the presence of truly fine
people
Now recovering from a stroke in his hometown of Salmon Arm, British
Columbia, Eustace
is still pursuing his passion for helping pilots fly safely and skillfully.
It is our incredibly good fortune that he's part of the RV world and that
modern technology allows us to essentially sit around the campfire and
listen
to him pass on knowledge gained over a career that has spanned 70% of
powered
aviation.
Don=92t miss the chance - there aren=92t many like him. Heck, there aren=92t
any
like him. Eustace is one of a kind."
Arrangements (from a Ken Hoshowski email fwd'd to me)
Just to let you know that the service gathering for Eustace will be this
Saturday
at 1:30 at Fischer's Funeral Services, 4060 1st. Ave S.W.
Salmon Arm.
Toll free phone 1-888-816-1117 This is going to be a tea only, a celebration
of
life service will be held at a later date in Eustace's home town in Alberta.
Eustace's wife's name is Nora and the home address is
#6-350 Hudson St.
N.W, Salmon Arm B.C., V1E1P4,
phone 250 832-3273.
That is about all I can tell (you) for now.
Ken Hoshowski
RV6 C-FKEH
Salmon Arm B.C.
| | - The Matronics RV-List Email Forum - | | | Use the List Feature Navigator to browse the many List utilities available such as the Email Subscriptions page, Archive Search & Download, 7-Day Browse, Chat, FAQ, Photoshare, and much more:
http://www.matronics.com/Navigator?RV-List |
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