Foul-Weather Flier

I have enjoyed Charlie Kulp’s performance at various airshows since 1984 (see “Mile­stones,” in the March issue). He is a great pilot and is very talented with the Piper J-3 Cub that he flies.

The enclosed photo of me with Mr. Kulp and his Cub (right) was taken on October 14, 2007, at the conclusion of the Great Georgia Air Show at Falcon Field in Peachtree City.

As a lieutenant in the Georgia State Defense Force, I have been privileged to be part of the crowd and traffic control for the pilots and their aircraft four times at Falcon Field. I have good reason to remember my first time, on September 14, 2002. I was working the tarmac and taxiway of the flight line along with one of the airport’s security guards. Just as the show was about to begin, I noticed that the sky to the southeast was quickly growing very dark. As I spent much of my youth outdoors in West Virginia, I could tell that we would be hit with a storm in the next minute or so.

I removed my poncho from my fanny pack and put it on. Just then Mr. Kulp started taking off directly into the oncoming storm. The security guard I was working with told me not to worry, as a National Weather Service center was located at the airport, and they wouldn’t let Kulp take off if we were in for a storm. Boy, was he wrong.

Just as Kulp lifted off, the storm hit with violent force. True to his reputation as a great pilot, Kulp flew straight into it at a takeoff speed less than the oncoming wind, skillfully crabbing his plane sideways. He then landed on the grass strip between the airport’s two runways. Several men ran out to help Kulp hold the Cub down. At that point I was helping another pilot keep his plane pointed into the wind. I believe it was a Lysander. He had just landed and was taxiing onto the tarmac to park when the storm hit. He grabbed the tail, keeping the plane facing into the wind, while the rest of us held onto the wings.

Later it was determined that we had been hit by a micro-burst, with winds of up to 60 mph. No one was seriously injured, but several planes were damaged by flying debris on the flight line. Most of the airshow vendors’ tents were blown down, with their wares strewn across the runways. The winds had even bent the metal poles for the vendors’ tents as though they were straws.

Needless to say, the airshow was over for that day. Everyone helped to clean up, and several of us pushed planes into hangars, in case of other sudden storms.

I am glad I got to watch Kulp and spend some time with him before he left on that last day of the October 2007 show. He told us then that his next performance in Virginia would be his last.

Daniel Lee Branham
Powder Springs, Ga.

Olds and Steichen

The January issue of Aviation History is a tour de force! I found two articles particularly absorbing: “At Home in the Blue Vault,” by Stephan Wilkinson, and the photo feature “Edward Steichen Goes to War.”

People of Robin Olds’ caliber are rare, and they certainly deserve all the respect they’ve clearly earned. Long may Robin’s memory continue to fly in the annals of aviation history.

And I found Steichen’s wartime photography fascinating. Perhaps you might even consider publishing a special issue devoted to his work.

I’ve enjoyed each and every issue of the magazine since its inception. Founding Editor Arthur Sanfelici’s style and content were always spot-on, so I was a little apprehensive when I read that he had elected to pull the pin and retire. But the January issue tells me that your new pilot-in-command has a strong affinity for the subject.

Nick Newell
Melbourne, Australia

Another Major Airlift

I was particularly intrigued by the article by Derek O’Connor, “A Flock of Flying El­ephants,” in the March issue, about the Kabul airlift of 1928. In part this may be because my daughter works in Kabul, and I would be delighted to see her airlifted out of there.

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