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Show Page C8 Thursday, August 3, 1995 The Park Record D Section C Park City resident Russ McDonald likes to see the world upside down by NATE FERGUSON Record staff writer Inside his Pitts Special biplane, taped to the instrument panel, are the ways in which Park City resident Russ McDonald has chosen to live his life. The list reads the maneuvers he likes to perform: hammerhead, vertical verti-cal roll, falling leaf. In his retirement. McDonald has anything but slowed down. He left United Airlines at the mandatory retirement age of 6() and purchased the Pitts Special after 36 years of Hying Hy-ing straight and level, "flying right side up is a mmmmmmmmmm waste of gas." McDonald said. After he left United he told other pilots: "I'm going to fly upside down for awhile." Not only does he fly an acrobatic Dipiane run a World War II P-51 P-51 Mustang. It makes sense for the most part;. McDonald was too young to fly the Mustang and missed being a combat pilot in World War II although he still entered the service. Throughout his years in aviation he maintained a philosophy that has enabled him to survive. "I always keep the ground in sight." McDonald said. Though simple, it was something some-thing he learned when he and a friend owned a Waco biplane before he bought his Pitts. When one is pulling live and one half positive Gs and blood i i" . . i rusnes ironi me i pilot's head and pools in his feet, or when one is pulling three negative Gs and the bkxxl aishes to the pilot's head and can cause his eyes to turn red. keeping a clear philosophy is anything but easy. "I have a contract to keep the cobwebs out of the Heber Valley." McDonald said. But when McDonald wants to relive the past he fires up his 12-cylinder 12-cylinder Mustang and while sucking oxygen he watches the clouds rip by "Flying right side up is a waste of gas. I'm going to fly upside down for a while. " Russ McDonald at nearly 300 miles per hour or, in other words, the economy cruise. The airplane originally (lew in the Bolivian Air Force and after it exchanged hands a few times it ended up in McDonald's at the Heber airport. air-port. Both McDonald arid the Mustang seem to be at home there where the pilots have expensive airplanes air-planes and drive beat up cars. The sound of the Mustang, permeating perme-ating from the airscoop underneath, is unique and cannot be compared to anything in nature not even tornadoes torna-does or hurricanes can compare. However, people who were at Park mmmmmmmmm City's Fourth of July parade or the Aviation Expo in Salt Lake City last month have heard the sound before when McDonald buzzed the crowd. McDonald's flying fly-ing career began tike so many other pilots of that era. on the G.I. Bill after he left the military. He learned to fly in Provo and after five other aviation dreamers two car dealers, a rancher, an oil distributor and a dentist decided to start a flying fly-ing club in Heber, McDonald became the flight instructor. At first it was crude, since the six men had to dig post holes, fill ditches, build a hangar and pull a hand grader behind a delivery deliv-ery truck on what would now be 13th West. Eventually, they had a dirt strip ' "- : ;-. --i:s-r . V : . ,y ton, V r .. r ' v ,'-,.i..:'""r" I oViX Y - - --... -- I f 14 xjf 1 H A . '.V- p JS A A "f MiLH ft" ' ' photo by Nate Ferguson Russ McDonald stands in his hangar in Heber Municipal Airport with his World War ll-era fighter plane, a P-51 Mustang. Park City Profile where students fresh out of World War II with their G.I. Bills came to learn to fly. But the success was short lived. After the G.I. Bills dried up and flying fly-ing for the Forest Service and Fish and Game wasn't exactly a big money maker, the dub dissolved. McDonald went on to fly for United and eventually he made Captain on DC-10s and flew to places like Hong Kong and Singapore. To keep his airplanes flying is a full-time job now. Since so few mechanics know how to fix World War II fighter planes he had to put the 1,800-pound 1,800-pound engine in the back of a pickup truck recently and drive it to California. At rest stops, truck drivers were shocked. "Is that a diesel?" they would ask. McDonald would smile and say it came from a World War II fighter plane. "Then what are you going to do with it?" they would press. "Going to put it in my truck," McDonald would joke. At 68 years and wearing a water skiing T-shirt. McDonald looked like a little boy standing in his hangar at the end of July. Besides being an accomplished pilot, in 1988 he won the nationals for giant slalom snow skiing in his age group in 1988 and he placed second and third in other competitions. com-petitions. As far as water skiing is concerned McDonald hasn't competed compet-ed since he retired. "I go to air shows instead," he said. His hangar is not only full of happiness hap-piness but sadness. The tractor he has been using to move his Mustang was purchased from Rick Brickert, a former for-mer Sandy resident and Delta pilot, who died at the Reno Air Races two years ago. It was ironic in a way. Though McDonald likes to compete com-pete and fly fast airplanes, air racing never interested him because he doesn't does-n't like to see old fighters cut up and modified. Yet it was exactly the theory that was behind Brickert's death. The Pond Racer he was flying was an attempt by Bob Pond to beat the old fighters rather than crashing them into '7 have a contract to keep the cobwebs cob-webs out of the Heber Valley' Russ McDonald the desert. But crashing into the desert was exactly what had happened to ' Brickert. His engines quit and after he made a forced landing, the Pond Racer caught fire and burned. McDonald finds it odd the pilot had told him shortly before the race that the airplane wasn't competitive and engine failures were likely to occur. Yet McDonald still flies his fighter, determined to give people the opportunity to see it fly rather than gather dust in a museum. Although he can't afford hull insurance on an aircraft air-craft that is worth more than half a million dollars he feels the risks are worth it. The Heber Airport has grown over the years, the runway is paved and is over a mile long, and seeing a jet land there doesn't cause much of a stir in the hangars anymore, yet McDonald's work hasn't been forgotten. forgot-ten. Within the last year the airport was renamed: Heber Municipal Airport Russ McDonald Field. In response, McDonald said, "That usually usu-ally happens after you're dead. . . ! 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Equal Hauling Opportunity 654-3735 654-3805 654-1321 6490924 654-5545 Park City Recreation Services staff would like! the following coaches for their contribution of knowledge and patience throughout the 1995 Summer Youth BaseballSoftball season A, T-flall PeeWee Neil Breton Perry Lofthouse Bob Sacks Shanna Kohler Brad Pyne CarlJackson Dan Chopp JimSteiner Jeff Eule RonSchultz Randy Gerth Susan Schultz Bob Gannon Richard Vincent Dean Draxton Scott Hardman Dennis Mayville Nancy Berry Clark Desking Carol Graves Don Mclntire Mark & Peggy Barber Rick Wilcox Scott Kunkel Jon Papez AINoertker George Ott GusSharry Richard Vincent Mark Young Odie Ron Scott Siemon Neil Breton Larry Hart Jim Smith Cal Davis Chris VonDerAhe Softball Minors Majors Mary Morrison Burke Jolley Nancy Berry James Hammond Lenny Scaglione Carla Cousins Gina Rasmuson Bob Glaser Bill Ross Wes James Kim Jensen Abe Abrams Jerry McMillan Kathleen McMillan Seniors Craig Boswell Jeff Proctor Dan Harkins Randy Workman Tom Walsh David Dorius Jess Ried George Glauser Mark Walker Gerry Kilgore Mark Meakins Phillip Meeks Dennis Mayville Al Noertker Rick Klein Ron Rindernkect Debbie Abate Ron Kadziel Pat Morgan Bob Gannon Layne Jones Chad Wilkinson Scott Johnson Mark Young Jim Brekke Tom Benedict Mike Schoneman Justin Pavoni Kriss Pollack Mark Thompson Abe Abrams Dean Faulkner Eric Nelson Rick Maistain W ' Thanks to all the coaches ad sponsors for a great season! 1995 Sponsors Thank you for your generous support of our program Burgies Cole Sport Dr. Hurwitz - P.C. 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