| It was 1973 and I was 15. N6252M was hangared in Fullerton Airport in Orange County California, and still had a drab orange paint scheme. I had just finished ground school and was taking my first flying lessons at Air South. Dad (John Seeland) was thinking about giving 52M some new skin, but thought it could wait until he did a cross-country from California to New Jersey with me. What a dream that flight was. He would fly for hours and then tell me to take over while he'd catch a power nap in back. "Just stay on that heading. If you get lost, wake me up." Anyway, after that trip, the Stinson was stripped down and given the look you see today, although the wheel pants were brown then, too. Even at 15, I thought the Stinson was easy to fly. Night landings, short fields, grass strips, it gave me memories that I have and always will cherish for the rest of my life. |