Encounters

Charles Miller made his last flight in C-FFAM on September 18th of 1980.  In the aircraft's journey log, he dutifully recorded that the biplane flew true to its type.  Then, he hangared it for the winter.



Dad working on Toronto's 33 Harbour Square in 1979 or 1980.  The Royal York Hotel can be seen in the background. (Family Collection)

My father had rapidly turned aviation into an obsession.  Flying - and his work - became twin passions that fed off one another.  The testosterone-fueled, expletive-laced, grime, dust and grit-choked concrete landscape of a construction site contrasted in every way with the hour-long vacation afforded one by a romp through pristine powder white clouds and cobalt skies.  So, while he continued to fly out of Collingwood, my dad made a habit of dropping into local airports "just for the hell of it."

Just three of dozens of membership cards accumulated during three decades of flying.  (Family Collection)

One of these airfields would have been Brampton - where FAM was based under Miller's ownership. 

A biplane pilot will tell you there's just something special about having two wings.  They'll also tell you a biplane glides about as well as a grand piano...and that it will happily humble a pilot with lazy feet.  Yet, there's something else...and in a single-seat biplane, it's a secret shared only between airplane and aviator.

By the summer of 1980, Dad had made up his mind that he was going to buy Miller's biplane.  While he had some tailwheel experience, he had never flown a biplane.  To complicate matters, FAM's short couple and rigid gear made it somewhat challenging to handle during take off and landing.

On July 19th of 1980, in the middle of working on his float rating, Dad called on Canadian Aerobatic Champion and Pitts Special expert Gerry Younger.  They did two flights in Pitts S2-A C-GQSI.  The goal was to work on take offs and landings but they couldn't resist having a little fun either.

It was a story my dad loved to tell.

"Show me a steep turn," Gerry had asked.

My dad happily rolled to 60 degrees of bank and swept into a left-hand steep turn. 

After a few seconds, Gerry called from the back seat.

"I have control." 

The wings rolled to 90 degrees of bank and both men were pressed into their seats.

"Look at the left wingtip," said Gerry. 

The wing was pinned to a set of crossing roads cutting through the countryside below.  The landscape rotated smoothly, like a pin-wheel, around QSI's red wingtips.

"That's a steep turn."

The experience with Younger emboldened my father.  His next call would be to Ernst Muller.

Gerry Younger's business card - found among my dad's things.  Ernst Muller's address and phone number was written on the back.  (Family Collection)
 

After some prodding, Muller remembered the conversation almost 32 years before.  He recalled that my dad told him he had spent time with Gerry Younger to get ready for the Miniplane.  He asked Muller several questions about the airplane and then asked him to fly it to Collingwood.  Muller told me he politely declined because he was concerned about liability issues. 

The undated Aircraft Bill of Sale for C-FFAM.  It transferred ownership from Miller to my dad.  (Family Collection)

 

In April of 1981, my father purchased C-FFAM from Charles Miller for $8,000. Collingwood's chief pilot, Ken Richardson, flew the Miniplane from Brampton to Collingwood on April 16th, 1981. An Aviation Mechanic inspected it the same day.

FAM would sit idle at Collingwood for nearly 2 months.  My Dad spent the time tinkering with his new toy. My dad had changed the throttle from the left side to the right and installed a different tailwheel assembly to improve visibility over the nose.  Years later, I would find a letter detailing a step-by-step process to repair, dope and paint fabric.  All of these minor tweaks must have driven him batty.  I know he wanted to fly it more than anything else.  His training, however, dictated a cautious approach.

So, plane and pilot waited patiently for the right moment.