Warbird Information Exchange

I lost my best friend and mentor, Carl Schmieder,along with his passenger, Shannon Forbes, in the crash of his T-6 Texan. Carl was T-6 lead at Oshkosh, and was the man responcible for putting together and leading the huge T-6 formations. He was also a ICAS ACE, and was instrumental in the forming of the FAST commitee, along with being a EAA Warbirds Director, a CAF life member, founding member of the AZ wing of the CAF. He was typed and rated for B-17, T-33, P-64, and was also a A&P, IA. He restored his T-6, and also built a P-64 replica that is now in Thialand. He was also a noted jewler, and was listed in the Who's Who in Jewlery, several of the pieces he designed are in the Smithsonian collection in Washington DC. He was also a member of the local Rotary, and the Better Business Bureu.

Carl also was a teacher, out of our members we had 4 get thier A&Ps, 3 private pilots. I got my A&P, IA, and Private Pilot with Carls help. I was the only student pilot that could fly formation and acro before I could land.

I never got my dream of flying the T-6 from the front seat, but I did live one dream. I got to fly formation off of Carls wing as a PIC. We were flight testing a 177RG that we had rebuilt. Carl was flying the Cardinal, I was off his wing in a 172



Carl, you left us all too soon, and I think of you everytime I touch a plane. I thank you for being there and believing in me and helping me get where I am today.

Fly High,

Very nice words, Matt.

Since our community is comparatively small, I believe the best tribute we can offer our mentors in life is by becoming one ourselves. I'd like to think that most of us have had at least one person who went "way out of their way" to share his or her passion for classic aircraft with each of us, and by doing so has created the opportunity for us to do the same.

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It was a good idea, it just didn't work.