Paul's Flying Career

Paul had a dream in his heart that began at a young age, a dream of flying. The first time he saw an airplane was 1933, when he was eight years old, and that plane was an auto gyro which is a cross between an airplane and a rotorcraft. Paul was excited when his father took him to Midway Field in Chicago in 1936 to see airplanes. They stayed two hours and saw only one airplane and that plane was sitting on the ground.

Paul's first ride was in a Ford Tri Motor, a three engine airplane, which was giving rides to passengers at Savanna, Illinois, where Paul spent his childhood and young adult life. To ride on this plane, an adult was required to purchase a ticket and then that adult could choose someone to ride with him or her for free. Paul stood the entire day waiting for an adult to purchase a ticket, an adult who was alone, to ask them if he could ride as their free passenger. It was worth the wait. At 9:30 PM that night, there was a man buying a ticket, who was there alone, and Paul ran over to the man and asked if he could be his free passenger. Yes!!

Paul got his second ride with a barnstormer that was landing in Savanna close to Paul's family farm. The pilot told Paul if he would get his father to mow a taxi way thru the field for him that he would give him three free rides. Paul took his father, his brother George and a neighbor boy with him on his free rides. In 1943, after he began college, Paul wanted to enlist in the U S Army Air Corp as an Aviation Cadet and this was a worry to his parents. His Dad sent him a letter and told him that he and his mother didn't want him to fly but they knew if he didn't do this, he would be in the infantry. If you lose an arm or a leg, we would feel it was our fault.

Paul entered the military in March 1943 and soloed July 14, 1943 at Stamford, Texas as an aviation cadet. He received his wings and commission at Foster Field on January 7, 1944 at Victoria, Texas. He was then sent to instructor school at Randolph Field, Texas for a month and then on to Independence, Kansas where he instructed basic instrument training to aviation cadets for ten months. While in Independence, he met Bob Ehrhardt, who he would refer to many times in the future, as his best friend, and they would enjoy that friendship for years to come. Paul then went to Martin Marauder 6-26 training as an aircraft commander and then to B 24 training also as an aircraft commander. Paul was then discharged in November.

Paul did not have a student as young as he was; he began teaching two and half months after his nineteenth birthday. He remained in the US Air Force Reserve for twenty eight years and retired with the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. In the mid 1940’s Paul purchased a Waco UPF-7 biplane and barnstormed around Iowa, Illinois and Kansas at county fairs and rodeos, charging three dollars a ride for one person. His Grandmother Siedenburg had previously told him that she wanted to be the first grandmother to ride with him but Grandma Douglas showed up at the field and said she wanted a ride. Unfortunately, the local newspaper printed an article and a picture of Grandma Douglas showing that she had ridden with Paul. Paul got a phone call the next day from his Grandmother Siedenburg; she would be there tomorrow and was expecting to take a ride with him. Paul would tell you that flying the biplane was like flying a rocking chair.

From the late 40’s to mid 50’s Paul flew various types of airplanes in the Des Moines area and owned one half of an interest in a Culver Cadet, Culver V and a Cessna 170. From 1955 to 1985 Paul flew company airplanes, Beech Travelaire, Beech Barons and Cessna 340 and 4I4A to meetings, while serving as a Vice President in charge of marketing for Farm Bureau Insurance Companies.

In 1985, Warren Tanner, with Elliott Flying Service, asked Paul to fly 135 Charter for them which he enjoyed a great deal and learned a lot from Lowell Weir, Chief Pilot at Elliott’s, at the time.

Paul purchased a E55 Baron and flew this airplane from 1992 until 1999. With Robert Fisher, in 1999 he replaced the E55 Baron with a Beech Bonanza, N9715Y, and flew it until they sold the plane in 2007.

Paul was accident free for sixty five years and 7500 hours of flying and took pride in his smooth landings. He flew many trips, from Toronto, Ontario to the Northwest Territories of Canada, to Mexico and the Bahamas and places throughout the United States from Washington D.C. to California. Paul had the privilege of flying many wonderful people over the years: his family, friends, employees, clients and one of his favorite passengers, Governor Terry Brandstad.

Following the end of World War II, the author, Colonel Scott, wrote a book entitled "God was my copilot". In Paul's case, he believes God was the pilot and he was the copilot - just along for the ride, and what a ride it was!