But Hugh's urge to own an airplane subsided some with the advent of a family.  Hugh owned several airplanes, one at a time, over the years as shown in the pictures below.  All of the planes, except the Luscombe, were obtained either in pieces or as "junk" airplanes.  Each required special attention to restore it to flight status and the picture should attest to the condition at the time the picture was taken.

Hugh took Barbara for her first plane ride in the the 1941 Culver Cadet and her second ride was in the Jodel D-11, both shown below.  

Hugh's flying career started at an early age when Los Angeles International Airport was called Mine's Field.  It was a dirt strip just east of a sand dune off of the Pacific Ocean.  At that time, Hugh visited all of the aircraft on the field and had the opportunity of touching the aircraft and feeling the excitement of flying.  But it was many years later before Hugh had the opportunity of going for a ride.  And the ride was interesting because it was in an LK-11 military surplus sailplane re-built by one of Hugh's neighbors.  After several flights in the air, the excitment and commitment to flying was extremely strong and required satisfaction.  Of course, every airport and airplane on each field was well known as they were visited frequently.

Then one day a Luscombe 8C was found at the Culver City Airport with a "for sale" sign hanging on it.  Well, that was it and it became Hugh's first plane, and its picture is shown below after the plane was completely refurbished.  The Luscombe was refurbished and tied down at Hawthorne Airport.  It was later traded for the pieces of the BT-15 that's also shown below.   The BT is affectionately known as the Vultee Vibrator - and yes it did!

Of course, to be a pilot, one needs to have a license so Hugh proceeded in that direction, but owning a plane meant flying it more than studying, so fly he did.  A few years later while in the Air Force, he flew planes off of a local civilian airport near Biloxi, Mississippi.  The owner of the airport had had enough of Hugh's just flying around on a Student license, so arranged to have him take the Private exam at the municipal airport in New Orleans, Louisiana.  The big event was on a Sunday morning and the flight over, the exam, and the flight back was terrific, and of course, successful.

Later upon being transferred to Chanute AFB in Illinois, Hugh started flying at the Illini Airport just north of the University Of Illinois.  While at that airport, Hugh obtained his Commercial and Multiengine land licenses.  Also while at that field, he built up two airplanes (the Aeronca Champ, as one, is shown).  After leaving the Air Force and being employed at the University, he built up the Culver Cadet shown below.  The Culver was re-built on the grease rack in a gas station in Champaign, Illinois.  After completion it was hangered at the University Of Illinois Airport.  It was named "Lil Stinker" and you can see the skunk on the engine cowel.

Upon returning to California a few years later, he rented various airplanes as the frequency of flying subsided.  Now it's a case of HANGER FLYING that takes place anytime someone is willing to listen to the stories.  The pictures below bring back some really great memories.

That's Hugh and Barbara enjoying the fresh air beside the plane.