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| PA-30 Twin Comanche |
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| Piper Aircraft |
When I started
at Piper Aircraft, I worked first on the PA-30 line, building fuselage bottoms - worked for Semintelli - good guy. |
Willliam T. Piper, Sr.,
Founder |
|
| Piper Aircraft Corporation |
I bought the
Dale Masters house on Island Route in Castanea Township PA, two doors down from Mr. Piper - used to stop and talk with
him sometimes when he worked in his garden - always very pleasant.
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| William T. Piper Memorial Airport |
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| KHLV Lock Haven PA |
I was the fourth
house below the Constitution Bridge, property went right out to the taxi strip. Pilots used to taxi through my yard
to get to Frank Gillotts for engine work. Couldn't let my boys play ball when planes were tied down in my yard.
It was great in the evening, cooking out and watching the planes, touch & go's, etc.
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| PA-24 Comanche |
|
| Piper Aircraft |
I built a few
24's too - and worked on one 400.
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| PA-24 Instrument Panel |
|
| Piper Aircraft |
After I left
the 23 line, I went upstairs and built PA 24 instrument panels. I remember the spiteful note that my Department Head
(Mr. J) clipped to my last paycheck when I quit Piper to work at Bell Telephone - sure glad I did that.
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| Piper Aircraft Plant |
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| Lock Haven PA |
Hey, remember
Jimmy Chilcot's Restaurant? Thousands of Piper employees ate there - thousands of times! Jimmy always had good
food, and treated us well - and got us in and out fast. Back to work! Hey John Keches, remember the night we were
climbing telephone poles in the dark up in Farrandsville? That was a case of B wire trouble going up to Jimmy's
house.
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| PA-23 Piper Aztec |
|
| Piper Aircraft |
I left the Commanche
line and went to the 23 line for a while, hanging noses on Aztecs. My brother-in-law, Bill Braucht, worked
on the PA 23 line final assembly at the time.
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| PA-31 Navajo Chieftain |
|
| Piper Aircraft |
I also worked
on one Navajo in Final Assembly. Don't remember which model, but I think it was a 31P. I was not one for turning
down overtime.
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| U.S. Navy Aztec |
|
| Piper Aircraft |
Navy had some
Apaches and Aztecs. When I was in the Navy, I used to fly Lock Haven-DC (Anacostia) with LCDR Tom Case - felt pretty
good handling a twin.
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