8 minute read
The Flying Pemberton Family
Like father, like son, like son
ARTICLE AND PHOTOS BY SPARKY BARNES SARGENT
trio of Stearmans landed softlyonthe late-summer grass in Blakesburg, Iowa, and taxied over •••" to the flightline in the adjoining field. When their big radial engines had falien quiet the three pilots climbed out of their respective cockpits and, with big smiles, stepped on the ground, relishing the moment. Addison Pemberton and his two sons, jay and Ryan, had just completed their first "formation" cross-country flight from their home base (Felts Field) in Spokane, Washington, to the Antique Airplane Association's (AAA) annual invitational fly-in.
That momentous flight didn't just happen, though; it was a long time in the making. You see, it started way back, when young Addison became intrigued by the airline pilots' antique airplanes at Gillespie Field in San Diego. He learned to fly as a teenager, and in the 37 years since then, he has logged 10,000 hours. In 1977, he started teaching an attractive young lady to fly; by the following year, Wendy had earned her private pilot certificate and the couple had their marriage certificate in hand. The arrival of sons jay and Ryan not only completed their family, but the boys' own interest in the antique mode of aviating serendipitously complemented that of their aviationminded parents. "jay and Ryan have grown up in an aviation environment," explains Addison, elaborating that "they learned to fly in gliders, and then as a family project, we built up a Super Cub for them to learn to fly. We've done 18 projects in 35 years, and the kids have grown up with nitrate and butyrate dope. In fact, when they were young, I would make trips from San Diego to Riverside to get dope
Ryan Pemberton flew this 275-hp Jacobs-powered Steannan, owned by a family friend, to the AAA Fly-In in Blakesburg, Iowa.
from Poly-Fiber, and they would tell their teachers that their father had to go fly and make a dope run!"
Equally proud of both of his sons, Addison felt quite comfortable with their flying skills on their long crosscountry adventure. Even as they all landed at Chamberlain, South Dakota, where the winds were gusting to 35 knots, he wasn't worried about them ground-looping-he just hoped he wouldn't. Twenty-four-yearold Jay (who has already launched a successful career and is now able to finance his own flying) soloed a glider at age 15 and has acquired nearly 2,200 hours' total time, with about 330 of that in Stearmans. He's earned the same certificates and ratings as his father-commercial for multiengine land and Single-engine seaplanes, instrument, and a flight instructor rating-with the exception of an airframe and powerplant certificate. Twenty-year-old Ryan, who soloed on his 16th birthday, has logged about 800 hours' total time, with around 260 Stearman hours. He's earned a seaplane rating and, according to his father, didn't even fly a nosewheel airplane until he had the opportunity to fly a 824 Liberator two years ago for the Collings Foundation.
Addison and Wendy Pemberton with their son Ryan and their Steannan
Speedmail.
The Pemberton's Square Tail Stearman 4DM Sr. Speedmail.
The Wendy May lifts off from Antique Airfield in Iowa.
Cross-Country Adventure
The cross-country trio comprised three very different Stearmans. Addison flew his Stearman Speed mail, Jay flew the family's 4S0-hp Stearman, and Ryan had the good fortune to fly a Stearman N2S-4 owned by Jeff Hamilton, a family friend. Ryan says he was the slowest of the threesome, explaining that "the Stearman I flew was re-engined with a 275-hp Jacobs, and I cruised at 110 mph, whereas my brother, in the 450-hp, could go up to 125 mph, and my dad, in the Speedmail, could go up to 140 mph. We stayed within a half mile of each other, and then as we'd come up to an airport, we'd tighten up and fly a nice formation with an overhead break, trying to look good."
From Spokane, they followed 1-90 all the way down to Chamberlain, where they picked up the Missouri River down to Sioux City, Iowa, and from there, on up to Blakesburg. "[ think we had 16.9 hours logged when we arrived here," shares Ryan,
SQUJlRE TJULS
Ron Rex's 1931 Western Airlines Stearman 4D heads up the lineup of Square Tails.
Greg Herrick's 1928 Varney Airlines Stearman C3-B. Ben Scott taxies his 1930 Stearman 4E.
smiling as he conveys his enthusiasm for the flight. "It was really neat for me, because this is the first time I've flown an airplane to Blakesburg. And of course, to fly on my dad's wing and have my brother on the other side, it was really special. As we were planning the arrival here, I could just see my dad starting to get all proud and he was really excited."
Speedrnail
Square Tail Stearmans were showcased during AAA's 2006 fly-in, and seven of the 18 flying Square Tails were on hand for the occasion. Of those seven, four were Speedmail Model 4s, including Addison's Stearman 4DM Sr. Speedmail. He bought it in 1989 as a $4,000 basket case and flew it in 1992 after an 8,000hour family restoration effort. "There are only nine Speedmails in existence today, seven of which fly actively. There were no drawings for any of them when we were restoring this," he recalls, "then I met Ben Scott, and through our correspondence, I reverse-engineered his Speed mail 4£ to build many parts of mine."
Addison's 1931 Speedmail has a top cruise of 150 mph and carries six hours of fuel. It was originally manufactured for American Airways; it was based in Chicago and flew to Dallas every night on the airmail run. In the early 1930s, it was also featured in the movie Bright Eyes, starring Shirley Temple. Then, in 1934 it went back to the factory and had a front seat installed so it could be flown as an instrument trainer. In 1936, it became a crop duster. Seventy years later, it's back to its original configuration and is flown frequently.
Wendy May
Although Wendydidn'taccompany the men on the cross-country journey, she was on the ground waiting to greet the trio as they touched down in Iowa. "I want to compliment my wife, who is a big part of all this," beams Addison, explaining, "Wendy has made dinner at the hangar for 25 years, the last two of which have been at our new hangar, which has an apartment with running water. The hangars of the past only had 'walking water,' as Wendy says. It's been really nice. So I have a day job, and then a night life that's produced all these great things over the years." The Pemberton's long-standing family
business is also aerospace-related; Scanivalve Corporation manufactures instrumentation for the flight-test and wind-tunnel markets.
Addison named his 450-hp Pratt & Whitney-powered Stearman (Boeing) 75 the Wendy May in honor of his wife, and the number 419 on its cowling helps him remember when her birthday is. Addison purchased it, along with three other Stearman dusters, when he graduated from college in 1976. "I finished this airplane in 1986, and it is the culmination of everything I loved in a stock military Stearman," he reflects, explaining, "it has four equal-span, servo-boosted ailerons with a counter-balanced elevator, a modified AT-6 canopy for the rear cockpit, and a tow hitch for glider or banner towing. It has a standard airworthiness certificate, which I'm very proud of-that was quite an accomplishment to get this airplane out of an experimental and into the standard category."
Wendy, having learned the art of dope and fabric along the way, is also involved in the restoration projects. And she, too, is mighty proud of her sons. "The excitement that my boys have in aviation has given them a direction, a purpose, and an awesome group of people to be around. Pilots are great folks. The boys never really had the awkward teenage years where they never had anything in common with their dad, because there were always airplanes to talk about. Aviation is such a diverse field; there are always new airplanes and new challenges," she reflects, and adds with a dazzling smile, "I feel very lucky, because normally when kids get to be 20 years old, they're off living their own life and you don't see them as much anymore-but we haven't experienced that. Jay is 24 years old and he's still with the family, and it's just very exciting for me as a mom. We do eat dinner down at the hangar, because that's where the guys want to be, and if that's where my family wants to be, that's fine by me! I would rather be down there with them than be home alone, wishing I was with my family."
As the Pembertons' fleet of airworthy vintage and antique aircraft continues to grow through their immaculate, step-by-step restorations-their current project is a 1928 Boeing B-40C transport airplane-the human element of their family is increasing, as well. Wendy and Addison will welcome an aviationminded daughter-in-law to the fold when their youngest son, Ryan, marries his fiancee, Taryn Applegate, who soloed her family's Piper J-3 Cub on her 16th birthday. No doubt there will be many more memorable occasions and aircraft restorations for the flying Pemberton family, as they look forward to exploring new horizons together. .......
