1976. Me standing next to my beloved fully aerobatic Citabria 7KCAB aircraft at Schellville airport, in Sonoma County.…when the two runways were still unpaved. It had a 150 HP Lycoming engine. I learnt to fly aerobatics to the Sportsman level with the great Bob Short who ran “Aerosport”. He was also a musician and often played with the “Turk Murphy Jazz Band”. Bob died in a horrible air accident when the “Breezy” homebuilt aircraft he was flying folded up around him at three hundred feet over the runway. It wasn’t his aircraft and a mutual friend Dave Hayden had advised him not to take it up…but Bob said he could fly anything. He didn’t know the plane wasn’t built well. He was close to the age I am now when he died…a wonderful man, a great musician and an amazing pilot.
Pete, hi, I was a friend of Bob Shorts. A fellow instructor worked for Bob teaching aerobatics, and introduced us. This was 1973–74. Many years later I found myself back at Schellville to get a lesson from a young lady whom I had known since she was seven, flying a T Craft with her dad. She flew instruments only, because that’s all she could see. She was still petite as an instructor, but got on with the airlines, following in her dad’s footsteps. It was a hard blow for the community losing Bob; I’ve thought about him often. Good to see a connection, thanks to the internet. Godspeed, take care.