DarthRider
12-19-2008, 12:30 PM
This morning I received this email from my nephew Justin the Aviator, about a mutual friend.
Also included is my reply.
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Guys,
I don’t know how many of you know Earl Parks, but he was a man that lived in an aircraft hanger and had avgas in his blood. I was told this morning he died last night around 10:30p.m. I don’t know any details. Please forward this info to anyone that you think might know Earl as I am sure there are thousands he has inspired over the years, I know he was an inspiration to me and will be missed. Attached is a link to a newsletter I just found that showcased his last annual fly in here in Amarillo.
http://www.wwam.org/WWAM_SDMVCC_SEP_2008_Newsletter.pdf
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Thanks Justin, I'm very sorry to hear about Earl. Especially since I was planning to stop by for a visit soon. Valuable lesson re-learned here...don't put off visiting people you care about.
Before I left Amarillo, Earl was one of our skydiving club jump pilots and parachute rigger. He re-packed all our reserve chutes on schedule, and most of us had harnesses, pack trays, reserves and other equipment built or modified by him.
He was a studied, experienced pilot which kept us safe, while cocky enough to make flying with him a lot of fun. I went along on some check flights he did in a Cessna 182 for other pilots, and he made those *very* fun & interesting.
During those days, his "day job" was a firefighter for the Amarillo Fire Dept. He kept us in stitches with fireman "stories". One was about singer Roger Miller who was an Amarillo fireman for a while. He said Miller had a strange "radar" that always told him when a fire call was coming in, giving him enough early-warning to be gone on some errand or other when the bell rang!
My best "Earl Parks" story happened well after he established his T-34 building & modification business. He said "some chicken-shit Air Force in some chicken-shit Central American country" sent one of their T-34 ""fighters" to him for maintenance & upgrades. When they looked under the pop-riveted aluminum covers over the two gun ports, they discovered two very healthy Browning 30 cal. machine guns! Big no-no, even in those pre 9-11 days!
They re-covered the gun ports to give him & his buds time enough to police-up a bunch of link-belt 30 cal. ammo, and a few old cars which were dragged out to a friends ranch.
Then they spent all one day strafing the cars and generally shooting up the area. What I would have given to be in the back seat for that!
He said even in those days, if the "FBI, CIA, FAA, CAP, Texas Rangers, sheriff, police or dog-catcher had known about that, he and his buds would not have been *in* the jail, but *under* it."
I recall he was sort of squinting & grinning when he told that story.
Godspeed, Earl Parks...you were a helluva guy.
I don't know if this T-34 was one of Earl's rebuilds or not...
http://www.warbirdalley.com/images/T34-max-01.jpg
Also included is my reply.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Guys,
I don’t know how many of you know Earl Parks, but he was a man that lived in an aircraft hanger and had avgas in his blood. I was told this morning he died last night around 10:30p.m. I don’t know any details. Please forward this info to anyone that you think might know Earl as I am sure there are thousands he has inspired over the years, I know he was an inspiration to me and will be missed. Attached is a link to a newsletter I just found that showcased his last annual fly in here in Amarillo.
http://www.wwam.org/WWAM_SDMVCC_SEP_2008_Newsletter.pdf
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Thanks Justin, I'm very sorry to hear about Earl. Especially since I was planning to stop by for a visit soon. Valuable lesson re-learned here...don't put off visiting people you care about.
Before I left Amarillo, Earl was one of our skydiving club jump pilots and parachute rigger. He re-packed all our reserve chutes on schedule, and most of us had harnesses, pack trays, reserves and other equipment built or modified by him.
He was a studied, experienced pilot which kept us safe, while cocky enough to make flying with him a lot of fun. I went along on some check flights he did in a Cessna 182 for other pilots, and he made those *very* fun & interesting.
During those days, his "day job" was a firefighter for the Amarillo Fire Dept. He kept us in stitches with fireman "stories". One was about singer Roger Miller who was an Amarillo fireman for a while. He said Miller had a strange "radar" that always told him when a fire call was coming in, giving him enough early-warning to be gone on some errand or other when the bell rang!
My best "Earl Parks" story happened well after he established his T-34 building & modification business. He said "some chicken-shit Air Force in some chicken-shit Central American country" sent one of their T-34 ""fighters" to him for maintenance & upgrades. When they looked under the pop-riveted aluminum covers over the two gun ports, they discovered two very healthy Browning 30 cal. machine guns! Big no-no, even in those pre 9-11 days!
They re-covered the gun ports to give him & his buds time enough to police-up a bunch of link-belt 30 cal. ammo, and a few old cars which were dragged out to a friends ranch.
Then they spent all one day strafing the cars and generally shooting up the area. What I would have given to be in the back seat for that!
He said even in those days, if the "FBI, CIA, FAA, CAP, Texas Rangers, sheriff, police or dog-catcher had known about that, he and his buds would not have been *in* the jail, but *under* it."
I recall he was sort of squinting & grinning when he told that story.
Godspeed, Earl Parks...you were a helluva guy.
I don't know if this T-34 was one of Earl's rebuilds or not...
http://www.warbirdalley.com/images/T34-max-01.jpg