I flew with Doctor John Andrews and lived to tell the story, or should I say, “Stories.” Still recovering to this day! It wasn’t Air Force One, it was more like “Adams Pond” and hold on!

The Piper “J3” was and still is a great airplane. The yellow bird, when Doc Andrews still flew, could be seen mixing it up with the seagulls frequently over the Boothbay peninsula. I believe the Piper Cub was powered by a Continental engine which made a particular and, to me, quite identifiable sound, especially when powering a gentle glide close to the Earth over local landmarks! Dr. John loved to wave (wiggle the wings) when making low level passes in the vicinity of friends. I recall some of his flights over town where I swear you could count the rivets in the fuselage. Sky King was not shy about sharing the joy of flight. God help you if, as a passenger, you had a big lunch before takeoff!

Speaking of takeoff! Back when John was most active, he flew out of Boothbay International then located on the south end of Adams Pond which is now occupied by the Boothbay Harbor water treatment facility.

“Ladies and gentlemen, please make sure your seat backs and tray tables are in their full upright position. Make sure your seat belt is securely fastened and all carry-on luggage is stowed underneath the seat (if you have one) in front of you or in overhead bins. Thank you."

Takeoff was to the north over the pond. With the pedal to the metal (or in this case, hand on the throttle), we would use every inch to the water’s edge to get airborne. Landing was even more exciting. From the south, we needed to come in slow and low and drop out of the sky like a rock after the tree line to hit the grass strip. John most always “greased” his landings with only a couple slip-ups that fortunately did not seriously injure him or the plane. Just tipped over a bit. Family and friends to the rescue.

At the same time, Douglas Carter and my old buddy Minzy flew out of BIA. They had more powerful and heavier planes but seemed to manage liftoffs and landing very well. I flew with both gentlemen and managed to survive. Both of their planes were side by side in the cockpit which felt quite different from John’s fore and after configuration. John took particular delight in placing you in the front seat while he flew from the back seat. You never really knew where he would take you until you were there. Aerial photos were a bit interesting due to the way the “J3” side panels opened. With one section flopping down against the body of the plane and the other portion lifting up to the underside of the wing, it could be quite a dance, especially when John dropped airspeed in order to sneak down through the sky to check license plates on parked vehicles! Quieter so folks on the ground didn’t record numbers on the side of the yellow bird and call NASA for more information!

By the way, Piper aircraft began as a company in Bradford, Pennsylvania, and later moved to Loch Haven, Pennsylvania, not far from where I grew up. We used to see the “Cubs” in the sky over home quite frequently. Black Moshannon airport, 20 minutes away from home, was an Allegheny Airline stop with regular flights using the old “DC-3” workhorse. We would often take a short family ride for a soft serve ice cream to watch the evening DC-3 landings. There were Piper Cubs parked all around the taxiways. Doc Andrews would have been in Piper Heaven.

I think John’s old “J3” may have been acquired by folks at Wiscasset Municipal Airport, not sure. But you can be certain that wherever it is, there are still memories of a grass strip, low flights and skid marks on the front seat — none of them mine, of course!

Fly high, Big Sky. Miss you.