Dead DC-3s/C-47s at Conroe, TX in the '60's and '70s

ProfromDover · **Posted:** Fri Sep 18, 2009 11:02 pm

I worked at Conroe, Texas (CXO) '79-'80 and then again in '82. I remember going into the terminal (before it burnt down) and there was an aerial picture of the airport from years past. In the one corner of the airport were a mess of DC-3s, etc. that were in various stages of direpair/disassembly. When I talked to the airport manager at the time he said that they were bought and sold several times all the while getting further scavenged. Finally the town got tired of them being abandoned there and pushed them in a pile and burned them. No EPA worries back then! The metal was sold for scrap. All I remember one local old timer saying that one of the oldest DC-3s was in that batch.

I was wondering if anyone had any pictures of the collection prior to it's demise or a tally of N numbers that met their end there.

skymstr02 · **Posted:** Sat Sep 19, 2009 7:49 am

I worked at CXO from 1980 thru 1995, and those airplanes were old Mohawk Airways DC-3's. Gordon Baxter's, from Flying magazine, wife was a stewardess for them earlier. He wrote about the airplanes and came over from Beaumont, where he lived, several times.

Do you remember Bill Holley? He told me that he used a lot of the hydraulic components from the Goonies to make log splitters. I used some of the carbon pile voltage regulators and RCR's from the DC-3's to repair some warbirds later on. I used a fuel tank to collect my used engine oil for recycling.

On taxiway delta, (between the old Heli-flight facility over to the Louisiana Pacific hangar) you could see the track marks from the bulldozers and shards of aluminum in the asphalt when they balled up the airplanes.

airnutz · **Posted:** Sat Sep 19, 2009 11:18 am

ProfromDover wrote:

...were a mess of DC-3s, etc. that were in various stages of direpair/disassembly.

Goonies and Convair 440's. I worked there in 72/73 at an FBO and was involved with getting some of the
Goonies prepared to go to somewhere in South America after one one of the "sales"...recovering tail feather
and aileron fabric. Unfortunately the effects of the Arab oil embargo killed the deal and eventually our little FBO
as well. I hung around for a while longer pumping gas for Ray(airport manager) and watching him play cat
and mouse with Holley. Not much flying then with the cost of gas... I thought the submarine service was
a great idea, so off I went. :wink:

Unfortunately, no pics..a later Conroe flood got that stuff. :cry:

hurk130 · **Posted:** Sat Sep 19, 2009 11:38 am

Lemme look. I grew up in Spring and would go to Montgomery all the time. I might have something in a box somewhere. Kel

ProfromDover · **Posted:** Sun Sep 20, 2009 11:03 am

Yeah, I worked at Heliflight. I was one of the original cadre of folks. Started in the parts room and was able to get into the airframe structures area as a sheetmetal mech. My Dad kept his plane over at the ramp area and used Holley when I was at school. I did a moonlight rebuild of a Seneca wing for Holley when I was working at HF. Holley was a piece of work. All I remember was that the hangar floor was dotted with old cigar stogies and dog turds. We still managed to do some first class work though. I think Holley's son (Don?) is running one of the FBOs there now (the old Conroe Jet Center - Piper). I remember talking to Gary Hudson and seeing Snoopy (AT-6) before it was lost in the fire. Glory days...

skymstr02 · **Posted:** Sun Sep 20, 2009 11:43 am

I worked at Conroe Jet Center (Montgomery County Piper) from 1980 until 1984. Lucky moved down the ramp to us from Heliflight.
Donald Wayne Holley bought the old CJC from the bank and moved into that facility when Miller went tango uniform. He even had an avionics shop for a bit. That hangar has changed hands again. I ran the shop for Hudson in the big hangar from that time until the hangar fire in 1994.

I remember that Seneca wing, the prop spinner separated and danced down the left wing. They were hauling prisoners in it for a while.

Montgomery county airport, now Lone Star Regional has a control tower now.

JBoyle · **Posted:** Sun Sep 20, 2009 1:40 pm

To add to the Flying magazine Gordon Baxter comment:

In a column, "Garbage", he said one of the DC-3s was the fifth built.
He didn't say whether it was the fifth DST or DC-3...it was dated 1936 so I suspect the former.

His wife once worked for Braniff, (not Mohawk) and she worked Covairs back in the day. He swiped a Convair trash container for her. He quoted her as saying there wasn't a lot of room for trash.".the bin had to last eight hours, 40 people per filight" and stewardesses were judged on how efficiently they could use the limited space in the bin.

His final words in the piece were.."We left this graveyard, thinking how stange we outlive these marvelous modern machines, and so quickly too."

It's reprinted in Bax Seat, Log of a Pasture Pilot published in 1978 by Ziff Davis Books. I recently found an autographed copy on the internet.

ProfromDover · **Posted:** Sun Sep 20, 2009 9:42 pm

I did the Seneca job down at Bill Holley's old hangar that was at the end of the Tee's. What a dump. Don Wayne was still in high school. The particular episode that led to this Seneca's repair was a downwind, hot (fast), at night landing that ended up over-running the end of the runway and hitting some concrete blocks with the left gear. It ended up wrinkling the aft spar and skins.

I worked at Heliflight from 79-80 and then again for the summer of 82. By that time Heliflight had really started going down the toilet. Sad to see such a first class place start to rot.

Gary Hudson seemed to be the only operator at CXO that tried to make the place better. The city council never gave a flip about that place. Pretty sad to see such an underutilized airport.

When I was there Tinker Belle (C-46) came in and started refurb. There was something else parked next to her for a little while but I forget. C-47 maybe? Too many moons ago!

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Dead DC-3s/C-47s at Conroe, TX in the '60's and '70s

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