Gone West...

I made the mistake of asking Catherine if she had had the chance to fly
a more real aerobatic plane than the 152. She looked at my with
indignation: "Are you casting aspersions on my Wilbur?" (Kershner's was
Orville)

Dudley Henriques wrote:
"Stan Prevost" wrote in message
...
The last time I saw Bill's Aerobat, it was at my home field for annual. I
understand it is going to the Smithsonian.

I hope so. I kidded him once about him being the only pilot alive who could
make that airplane look good doing a maneuver :-))
Dudley Henriques

The Bat is a wonderful ego equalizer for folks climbing out of a Pitts or
something with the performance of a Pitts.
It's like flying a whale!! :-))
Dudley Henriques


"David Kazdan" wrote in message
...
I made the mistake of asking Catherine if she had had the chance to fly a
more real aerobatic plane than the 152. She looked at my with indignation:
"Are you casting aspersions on my Wilbur?" (Kershner's was Orville)

Dudley Henriques wrote:
"Stan Prevost" wrote in message
...
The last time I saw Bill's Aerobat, it was at my home field for annual.
I understand it is going to the Smithsonian.

I hope so. I kidded him once about him being the only pilot alive who
could make that airplane look good doing a maneuver :-))
Dudley Henriques

aerobatics in a cessna or citabria-type ship are much more elegant.
ain't no snappin a 30-foot wingspan on a little light craft like that.

dan



David Kazdan wrote:
I made the mistake of asking Catherine if she had had the chance to fly
a more real aerobatic plane than the 152. She looked at my with
indignation: "Are you casting aspersions on my Wilbur?" (Kershner's was
Orville)

Dudley Henriques wrote:
"Stan Prevost" wrote in message
...
The last time I saw Bill's Aerobat, it was at my home field for annual. I
understand it is going to the Smithsonian.

I hope so. I kidded him once about him being the only pilot alive who could
make that airplane look good doing a maneuver :-))
Dudley Henriques

"houstondan" wrote in message
oups.com...
aerobatics in a cessna or citabria-type ship are much more elegant.
ain't no snappin a 30-foot wingspan on a little light craft like that.

dan

Actually, snaps are very good in both the Citabria and the Aerobat and
represent their "best" capability in the acro environment. It's the roll
rate that's the "problem" with these two airplanes. The drag in roll is so
great you need a disproportionate amount of vertical space to execute
anything in roll that even comes close to looking good. But if you learn to
use the airplanes correctly in that environment, you can at least make it
look "passable" :-)
Dudley Henriques

Jim,

sad news. I've read his student manual so many times...

It seems he lived a full life, though - and he'll be remembered.

--
Thomas Borchert (EDDH)

I was privileged to talk to Bill on the phone several times. When he was
contemplating moving his books to ASA, he called to ask for my take on the
folks at ASA. Wouldn't leave Tennessee, though...everything had to be done
through the mail. He sent me a full set of his books and I did the same for
him. He was a softspoken true gentleman, and he will be missed.

Bob Gardner

"Jim" wrote in message
...
'Spin Doctor' Bill Kershner dies at 77

Pilot, flight instructor, and aviation author William K. Kershner, 77,
died
January 8 in Sewanee, Tennessee, after a prolonged battle with cancer.

He soloed an Aeronca Defender from Clarksville, Tennessee's Outlaw Field -
a
grass strip at the time - in 1945 at age 16. After four years flying
Corsairs in the Navy, Kershner worked as a corporate pilot, flight-test
pilot, and special assistant to William T. Piper Sr., then president of
Piper Aircraft. With the help of his wife, Betty - who typed his
handwritten
manuscripts - Kershner authored and illustrated a series of five highly
regarded flight manuals; his Student Pilot's Flight Manual alone has sold
more than 1 million copies.

Kershner contributed often to AOPA publications, including AOPA Pilot and
AOPA Flight Training. More than 8,000 spins...