Photography by Richard E. Loftis

"Airplanes have always been fascinating to me.  During World War 2 we lived south of the Olathe Naval Air Station close to one of its outlying training fields.  At times, the sky would be full of yellow biplanes.  To me, they were so wonderful that I could watch for hours as they did acrobatics and every so often, buzzed our house.  The lasting memories of this time are beautiful blue skies with big puffy white clouds and many airplanes flying about.

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When I was old enough I began to build model airplanes.  I hung out at the local airport.  I soloed on my 16th birthday but could not yet drive a car. I flew often and in many different types of airplanes.  I really enjoyed flying.

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As I got older, jobs and family obligations took me away from the airplanes, but then I took up photography and airplanes became one of my first subjects.  Today I do not hold a pilot's license, but still hang out at airports, go to fly-ins, still photograph airplanes, and belong to several aviation groups.  Now I am very interested in aviation history."  REL

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