Comments on: The Old and the Bold http://www.storiesthatfly.com/main/the-old-and-the-bold-2 Grass roots. Blue sky. The best digital stories in general aviation. Mon, 05 Dec 2011 20:57:17 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: Barry Wawrin http://www.storiesthatfly.com/main/the-old-and-the-bold-2/comment-page-1#comment-111 Barry Wawrin Mon, 05 Dec 2011 20:57:17 +0000 http://www.storiesthatfly.com/main/?p=343#comment-111 What a pleasure to have known Richard Schwabe. He was a gentle man at every turn and always willing to offer aide to those in need. My first FAA check ride was with “Schwabie” and still remember how rewarding it was. I loved the way this walking encyclopedia of aviation knowledge would watch over his students without over-shadowing; allowing them to make a mistake here or there as to engrain the lesson he was there to teach. Men of Richard’s caliber are a rarity. He is missed. What a pleasure to have known Richard Schwabe. He was a gentle man at every turn and always willing to offer aide to those in need.

My first FAA check ride was with “Schwabie” and still remember how rewarding it was. I loved the way this walking encyclopedia of aviation knowledge would watch over his students without over-shadowing; allowing them to make a mistake here or there as to engrain the lesson he was there to teach.

Men of Richard’s caliber are a rarity. He is missed.

]]> By: Paul Sciullo http://www.storiesthatfly.com/main/the-old-and-the-bold-2/comment-page-1#comment-89 Paul Sciullo Sat, 09 Apr 2011 23:51:01 +0000 http://www.storiesthatfly.com/main/?p=343#comment-89 It was with heartfelt sorrow that i learned of Mr. Schwabe's passing. Mr Schwabe had a profound effect on my life. I looked forward to his arrival at the airport when i was there for my lesson. he would ask us questions about what we were learning and give insight on how to master it. I had many a checkride with schwabe. My first was my private pilot checkride which he was about to cancel for the third time. as he had just had one with a student that again did something he didn't like and wanted to have a meeting with all the instructors before he did another checkride. This being the third time he was going to cancel on me for the very same reason, after i had spent the morning getting things ready for him, spun me right into a "bad mood". Dan Magglio took Dick aside and explained to him what i had gone through for yet another disappointment and guilted him into giving me a checkride. It was Good Friday you see and i wanted to go home for easter with that certificate in hand. so When Dick said to me "if you do what this last guy did to me i'm gonna bust ya" my answer was at least Dick i would have tried...no excuses.. with that he started my oral. when we got to the aircraft he watched my preflight, asked questions and we strapped in..he looked at me and said OK I know your a bit nervous and its probably mostly my fault so lets just leave it all on the ground and go up and have a good time. I don't know what it was, but I instantly relaxed, even to the point of adding humor to the checklist. "doors and windows closed and locked, machine guns locked and loaded and bomb bay doors closed" He looked at me with that grin patted me on the back and said "lets go" Never had a better day. I have weathered many storms in my career had many wonderful things associated with my name, but nothing, no title, no commedation, set of wings or captains bars has ever given more pride and honor than that of being one of "Schwabies Boys" thank you Mr. Schwabe, Godspeed and rest in peace. It was with heartfelt sorrow that i learned of Mr. Schwabe’s passing. Mr Schwabe had a profound effect on my life. I looked forward to his arrival at the airport when i was there for my lesson. he would ask us questions about what we were learning and give insight on how to master it. I had many a checkride with schwabe. My first was my private pilot checkride which he was about to cancel for the third time. as he had just had one with a student that again did something he didn’t like and wanted to have a meeting with all the instructors before he did another checkride. This being the third time he was going to cancel on me for the very same reason, after i had spent the morning getting things ready for him, spun me right into a “bad mood”. Dan Magglio took Dick aside and explained to him what i had gone through for yet another disappointment and guilted him into giving me a checkride. It was Good Friday you see and i wanted to go home for easter with that certificate in hand. so When Dick said to me “if you do what this last guy did to me i’m gonna bust ya” my answer was at least Dick i would have tried…no excuses.. with that he started my oral. when we got to the aircraft he watched my preflight, asked questions and we strapped in..he looked at me and said OK I know your a bit nervous and its probably mostly my fault so lets just leave it all on the ground and go up and have a good time. I don’t know what it was, but I instantly relaxed, even to the point of adding humor to the checklist. “doors and windows closed and locked, machine guns locked and loaded and bomb bay doors closed” He looked at me with that grin patted me on the back and said “lets go” Never had a better day. I have weathered many storms in my career had many wonderful things associated with my name, but nothing, no title, no commedation, set of wings or captains bars has ever given more pride and honor than that of being one of “Schwabies Boys” thank you Mr. Schwabe, Godspeed and rest in peace.

]]> By: Kim Franklin http://www.storiesthatfly.com/main/the-old-and-the-bold-2/comment-page-1#comment-81 Kim Franklin Mon, 28 Mar 2011 21:34:22 +0000 http://www.storiesthatfly.com/main/?p=343#comment-81 Well written story. Schwabie was an awesome man with amazing stories. I remember he once said if you don't like what you see when you are landing shut off the landing light. Well written story. Schwabie was an awesome man with amazing stories. I remember he once said if you don’t like what you see when you are landing shut off the landing light.

]]> By: Jolene Toman http://www.storiesthatfly.com/main/the-old-and-the-bold-2/comment-page-1#comment-78 Jolene Toman Sat, 26 Mar 2011 20:39:20 +0000 http://www.storiesthatfly.com/main/?p=343#comment-78 I remember when I was training for my instrument rating, I was up with my CFII and we were shooting approaches at CAK and Muni and it was cold and getting foggy and starting to sleet. We finally decided we had better get back to Kent and shot the VOR A and missed due to heavy fog and snow. So we tell the controller we are on a missed approach and he says, "I thought you guys said you would be a full stop!" And we said, "we did, we REALLY missed!" We also told him we were picking up a lot of ice and needed vectors for a straight in approach. We had to use full power ALL THE WAY DOWN TO THE GROUND we had so much ice!!! We, of course, had to bust minimums to land. (thank God for that bright red K Mart sign!!) Anyway, we didn't even get to the pumps to shut down and Schwab was coming across the ramp and he was PISSED!! He went up one side of my CFII and down the other for keeping us out that long. I also remember the time I had to stop in Wooster on a cross country because it would have been dark by the time I got back to Kent and I wasn't signed off to fly at night. A pilot at the airport at Wooster who was a mailman and had just gotten off work offered to fly me back to Kent with his buddy following in their plane to take him back. I will never forget the look on Dick's face when he saw the 'mailman' get out of the plane with me!! Dick had stayed at the airport till I got back. I remember him taking me around the pattern flying the plane only with trim tab!! And once, we took off 19 and the winds were so strong that after we got about 700', he let the wind just take us backwards across the top of the airport and we landed on 19! But mostly I remember how reassuring he always was before a checkride. Always with a gentle smile. He will always be a very special part of my aviation career. I will NEVER forget him. My thoughts and prayers go out to his family. Jolene Tomaro Class of '76 I remember when I was training for my instrument rating, I was up with my CFII and we were shooting approaches at CAK and Muni and it was cold and getting foggy and starting to sleet. We finally decided we had better get back to Kent and shot the VOR A and missed due to heavy fog and snow. So we tell the controller we are on a missed approach and he says, “I thought you guys said you would be a full stop!” And we said, “we did, we REALLY missed!” We also told him we were picking up a lot of ice and needed vectors for a straight in approach. We had to use full power ALL THE WAY DOWN TO THE GROUND we had so much ice!!! We, of course, had to bust minimums to land. (thank God for that bright red K Mart sign!!) Anyway, we didn’t even get to the pumps to shut down and Schwab was coming across the ramp and he was PISSED!! He went up one side of my CFII and down the other for keeping us out that long.

I also remember the time I had to stop in Wooster on a cross country because it would have been dark by the time I got back to Kent and I wasn’t signed off to fly at night. A pilot at the airport at Wooster who was a mailman and had just gotten off work offered to fly me back to Kent with his buddy following in their plane to take him back. I will never forget the look on Dick’s face when he saw the ‘mailman’ get out of the plane with me!! Dick had stayed at the airport till I got back.
I remember him taking me around the pattern flying the plane only with trim tab!! And once, we took off 19 and the winds were so strong that after we got about 700′, he let the wind just take us backwards across the top of the airport and we landed on 19!

But mostly I remember how reassuring he always was before a checkride. Always with a gentle smile. He will always be a very special part of my aviation career. I will NEVER forget him.

My thoughts and prayers go out to his family.

Jolene Tomaro
Class of ’76

]]> By: Mary Reymann Nave http://www.storiesthatfly.com/main/the-old-and-the-bold-2/comment-page-1#comment-77 Mary Reymann Nave Sat, 26 Mar 2011 17:04:15 +0000 http://www.storiesthatfly.com/main/?p=343#comment-77 What can we say? We have lost a dear friend, mentor, and aviation icon in losing Dick Schwabe. True, he never had the fame of Lindbergh or some of the others, but Dick had something more than fame. He had the admiration and respect of every on of us whom he called "one of his boys." And, yes, I too, swell with pride that he consider me as such..."one of his boys". Not all aviators get to wear that moniker so it is a prestigious badge of honor. Richard F. "Right Flight" Schwabe...I learned so much about flying from the man. That knowledge obtained from Schwabie kept me out of trouble while flying. He taught me airmanship: to be in command, to be decisive, to be confident, and above all else, to be safe. In essence, Dick did teach and model "right flight." Dick gave me the love of flying and confidence in myself that sparked my career. He insisted that I capture a photo of myself aside a 727 while I was in uniform and send it to him so that it could be displayed on the wall across from dispatch there at the Kent State airport. How could I refuse the man? I would give anything to Schwabe. Schwabe wanted to inspire the kids there at Kent that they, too, could make their dreams come true. He wanted the students to know that they could follow the lead of those who went before them. The "wall" was one of Dick's ways of teaching outside of the cockpit. We who knew him loved him dearly. How can I say thank you and pay my last respect to a person like Schwabe, the consummate teacher? I'll attempt to try: Thank you, Dick Schwabe, for you helped me and hundreds of others to "slip the surly bonds of earth." You and your legend will live on in future generations of pilots because we who instruct and instructed gave our students a piece of you! God bless, Dick Schwabe, you will be missed! What can we say? We have lost a dear friend, mentor, and aviation icon in losing Dick Schwabe. True, he never had the fame of Lindbergh or some of the others, but Dick had something more than fame. He had the admiration and respect of every on of us whom he called “one of his boys.” And, yes, I too, swell with pride that he consider me as such…”one of his boys”. Not all aviators get to wear that moniker so it is a prestigious badge of honor.
Richard F. “Right Flight” Schwabe…I learned so much about flying from the man. That knowledge obtained from Schwabie kept me out of trouble while flying. He taught me airmanship: to be in command, to be decisive, to be confident, and above all else, to be safe. In essence, Dick did teach and model “right flight.”
Dick gave me the love of flying and confidence in myself that sparked my career. He insisted that I capture a photo of myself aside a 727 while I was in uniform and send it to him so that it could be displayed on the wall across from dispatch there at the Kent State airport. How could I refuse the man? I would give anything to Schwabe. Schwabe wanted to inspire the kids there at Kent that they, too, could make their dreams come true. He wanted the students to know that they could follow the lead of those who went before them. The “wall” was one of Dick’s ways of teaching outside of the cockpit.
We who knew him loved him dearly. How can I say thank you and pay my last respect to a person like Schwabe, the consummate teacher? I’ll attempt to try: Thank you, Dick Schwabe, for you helped me and hundreds of others to “slip the surly bonds of earth.” You and your legend will live on in future generations of pilots because we who instruct and instructed gave our students a piece of you!
God bless, Dick Schwabe, you will be missed!

]]> By: Don Tolliver http://www.storiesthatfly.com/main/the-old-and-the-bold-2/comment-page-1#comment-76 Don Tolliver Sat, 26 Mar 2011 13:25:10 +0000 http://www.storiesthatfly.com/main/?p=343#comment-76 Joe, great job on this story. I never met Dick Schwable which is clearly my loss. While going through flight training at Purdue I did get to know one or two WW II veterans who were very much like him and had made that Hump flight several times thenselves. I even had the honor to work with one of them in the AV dept. at Purdue. They told many C-47 stories and during those WW II years honed their flight skills on the job, yet they never considered themselves special. We know otherwise. Joe, great job on this story. I never met Dick Schwable which is clearly my loss. While going through flight training at Purdue I did get to know one or two WW II veterans who were very much like him and had made that Hump flight several times thenselves. I even had the honor to work with one of them in the AV dept. at Purdue. They told many C-47 stories and during those WW II years honed their flight skills on the job, yet they never considered themselves special. We know otherwise.

]]> By: Tom Brubaker http://www.storiesthatfly.com/main/the-old-and-the-bold-2/comment-page-1#comment-75 Tom Brubaker Fri, 25 Mar 2011 19:29:56 +0000 http://www.storiesthatfly.com/main/?p=343#comment-75 I was never fortunate enough to know Schwabie as a flight instructor or pilot. I did get to know him through his work as a Red Cross Water Safety Instructor Trainer and as a pool director in the summers. He was always teaching, always smiling, and always proud of his students. He once was asked how many lives he had saved as a lifeguard. His response was "thousands, by teaching swimming and safety in, on, and around the water." I taught water safety with Dick for 15 years. I was never fortunate enough to know Schwabie as a flight instructor or pilot. I did get to know him through his work as a Red Cross Water Safety Instructor
Trainer and as a pool director in the summers. He was always teaching, always smiling, and always proud of his students. He once was asked how many lives he had saved as a lifeguard. His response was “thousands, by teaching swimming and safety in, on, and around the water.” I taught water safety with Dick for 15 years.

]]> By: Dave Schrank http://www.storiesthatfly.com/main/the-old-and-the-bold-2/comment-page-1#comment-74 Dave Schrank Thu, 24 Mar 2011 22:54:12 +0000 http://www.storiesthatfly.com/main/?p=343#comment-74 Dick Schwabe made an incredible impression on me from the tender age of 19. He made you feel like you were not just becoming a pilot, but joining his fraternity. All of us learned so much from him. Godspeed on your flight west dear Schwabe. Dick Schwabe made an incredible impression on me from the tender age of 19. He made you feel like you were not just becoming a pilot, but joining his fraternity. All of us learned so much from him. Godspeed on your flight west dear Schwabe.

]]> By: Jim Wheeler http://www.storiesthatfly.com/main/the-old-and-the-bold-2/comment-page-1#comment-73 Jim Wheeler Thu, 24 Mar 2011 18:57:12 +0000 http://www.storiesthatfly.com/main/?p=343#comment-73 This story brings back a lot of memories. Sad to hear the news today, I enjoyed learning from this great man for all my checkrides. This story brings back a lot of memories. Sad to hear the news today, I enjoyed learning from this great man for all my checkrides.

]]> By: Dan McWhorter http://www.storiesthatfly.com/main/the-old-and-the-bold-2/comment-page-1#comment-72 Dan McWhorter Thu, 24 Mar 2011 16:01:05 +0000 http://www.storiesthatfly.com/main/?p=343#comment-72 Dick Schwabe was truly one of the "Greatest Generation." Schwabe's teaching both in and out of the cockpit was invaluable to all of us. In all my travels since graduating from KSU, I have never met another man like him. GODSPEED SCHWABE!!!! Dick Schwabe was truly one of the “Greatest Generation.” Schwabe’s teaching both in and out of the cockpit was invaluable to all of us. In all my travels since graduating from KSU, I have never met another man like him. GODSPEED SCHWABE!!!!

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