Rudy & Lee

"I Had A Fear of Flying Until I Met Rudy Eskra" 

Rudy flew a biplane back from Colorado following telephone poles and lines; then he refurbished it piece by piece in a hangar @ the old Metcalf Field near Toledo, Ohio.

Rudy called this plane "His Mistress," and his wife was glad she was a plane! We met one clear Saturday morning because Rudy, as he asked to be called, wanted photos of his biplane. Rudy stated he "worked for Dura."  Well Rudy did not exactly explain his position; he was a member of the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers, and his papers were of international acclaim as were his patents. But, we went along [for the ride].

The photographer was a crazy daredevil, lying on the ground, taking photos with an old Nikon F-2. and motor drive. Old fashioned, yes, but it worked. Then Rudolph Eskra took the photographer in the passenger seat and did twists, turns, barrel rolls, everything.

My turn: Maybe because I didn't have any coffee, or because it was 7:00 a.m., I was PERSUADED to be Rudy's passenger. He told me it could become a "glider," if necessary. Well, that helped!  And then he took off, flew over treetops and a river, gently moving the red Stearman through the air -- no barrel rolls, no twists, no turns . . . silence, wind, and a captain gentleman.

We landed, and everyone went to a diner on the premises for breakfast. He had a photo of me with him & the plane. And my copy -- in a box, on a slide, filed away. But the memory -- well, it could have been yesterday!