Sunday, August 14, 2016

A Stop at James Clements Airport

On Saturday I saw that the Algoway was heading into Bay City.  I wasn't quite sure what dock she was going to use but I knew some spots where I could catch her.  I ended up taking M-13 into town.
 As I was approaching James Clements Airport, I saw that there was a plane landing.  I was hoping that it was doing touch and goes so I could catch it in the air but it turns out that it was landing.
 It was a Piper Cub.
When I first moved into the house that I grew up in, there was a nice lady that lived behind us.  It turns out that she was the wife of Henry Dora.  Henry Dora was one of the first aviators in Bay County.  He started as an airplane mechanic for Lionel DeRemer and traded his services for aviation instruction.  He would make his first solo flight from Curtiss Farm in 1912.  He ended up serving in World War I and after the war he bought a war surplus Jenny.  Like many early aviators, he was a barnstormer.  He was also instrumental in starting James Clements Airport (which was the place where he first flew solo).  He was the first manager for James Clements for 15 years.  Later in life, he would end up running a machine shop.
 One of the seaplanes in the hangar.
 Another one.
A frontal view of that aircraft.

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