*J. Langschwager     *J. Hooper    *J.Boyd    *R. Leppien    *G. Madison    *D. Graebner

         In late 1945 near the close of the German phase of www 2, a friend and fellow flight instructor, John Langschwager, and I formed a partnership and built Skyhaven Airport on 86 acres of farm land on N. Michigan Rd adjacent to the northern extremity of West Saginaw.
          Little did we know that someday this would be the beginning of changes that would ultimately lead to the development of Skyway Plaza, a shopping center, and the building of approximately 400 dwellings in Skyhaven subdivision.
          In 1953 we closed the aviation facility, selling, eleven aircraft to a flight school in Boise, Idaho. They made quite a picture when airborne, somewhat like a flight of geese. Rather sad, but timely, as we were heavily involved in the retailing of a sensational new product called Television......Smile !

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Capt Russell J. Purchase          J. Hooper   1944-1948

                  The aircraft pictured is a Fairchild PT-19, Army Primary Trainer, which was one of the fleet of aircraft owned by the Purchase Flying Service located at the old Saginaw Municipal Airport (now Harry Browne Airport) Saginaw, Michigan. I was privileged to have been associated with the service as a student, flight instructor and manager during the period that the owner Capt. Russell J. Purchase (deceased) served as a pilot for the U.S.AIRFORCE FERRY COMMAND ferrying military aircraft to all parts of the world.    We trained pilots in the CPT, a government program to facilitate pilot training prior to WW2, mainly to produce flight insructors and pilots for non combat duties, at a time of urgent need.

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    The aircraft pictured is a Waco UPF-7.After completion of primary instruction a cadet was graduated to a course of forty hours of advanced instruction on this sturdy 220hp bi-plane. The course consisted mainly of aerobatics and maneuvers such as chandelles, lazy eights,spin recoveries and inverted flightThis was followed by courses in cross country, radio navigation and finally several hours of instruction techniques leading to licensing as a certified flight instructor.        (Pix on right...J. Hooper, front cockpit and Student Ken Garchow )

  J. Hooper on left

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