ETLB Squawk Forums — Archive

Saturday the 12th of this month was a beautiful day. My dad and I flew our Quicksilvers to a grass field in Georgetown, TN, and my good friend Gary C. met us there from his home base at West Wind in Niota, TN.  We talked with the RC club flying there and the owner of the strip.  The owner even took Gary to a local BBQ place where Gary bought us all lunch. We decided to fly to the Gliderport in Benton, TN, to see if anything was going on there. I took off first, my dad next, and then Gary quickly passed us in his Rans S12. I gave a ride while at the Gliderport in my Sport II, and then we all sat on a picnic table for a chat when we decided to fly to an RC field in Etowah where I am a member and which is just a few minutes up the valley.  We were having a great time that day.  Gary told us to go ahead and that he would catch up to us because he was talking to one of the gliderport owners, so dad and I left. I kept waiting on Gary to pass us, but he never did so I tried to call and texted him when I landed. After not getting a response I figured knowing how friendly and helpful Gary was, he either was helping someone at the gliderport or he had flown back to Niota for some emergency someone else was having. (People knew they could count on Gary that way and often called asking for help.) I decided to go look for him but figured the best place to start would be to call the gliderport to see if he had left yet or which direction he went. That's when I was informed that Gary had crashed on take-off and that it was fatal.

It's still unknown exactly what happened. Gary was an experienced pilot and had owned, built, and flown many planes.  He had a healthy respect for his S12.  I can attest to his plane being in good shape and that it flew very well.  If it flew well, Gary loved it.  Among his favorite planes were QuickSilvers and Phantoms.

The people who were fortunate enough to have met Gary can attest to his friendliness and helpfulness, and for his wife, six kids, numerous grandkids, and friends - things will never be the same. I often used Gary as a moral compass because I knew I couldn't get a better opinion from anyone else. I had the honor of calling Gary my best friend for the past several years. We got to eat lunch together often and we went on many adventures together like riding bikes to Key West or just around the valley, flying all over, working on our many projects, and picking up or delivering airplanes all over the country.  Even the mundane everyday chores were made easier just having my friend there with me. The aviation community truly lost a good friend three days ago. RIP Gary...

Friends of the family created a GoFundMe page to help with funeral expenses http://www.gofundme.com/garychurch

Funeral services will be held Wednesday, Dec. 16, 2015, in the chapel of Serenity Funeral Home and Cremation Center of Etowah at 7 p.m. with Brother Steve Ward officiating.
Family and friends will gather at 11 a.m. on Thursday at Piney Grove United Methodist Church Cemetery for the committal service. The family will receive friends from 5 to 7 p.m. at the funeral home prior to the service on Wednesday.

So sorry

That is truly sad. My hart goes out to his family and friends.

Oh man, what a tragedy!  So sorry to learn of Gary's accident, you have lost a dear friend and the aviation community has lost one of its bright souls.  My condolences.

Paul Fiebich

Very sorry to here about your friend. My prayers are with you and Gary's family.

Monte

Very sorry to hear the sad news and the loss of your friend.
My condolences to the family and friends.

Condolences.  

When you find out what happened,  please let us know.

I want to thank everyone for their condolences.

Funeral services were Wednesday. It was the biggest funeral service I've ever seen. There was a 2.5 hour line to see him. Everyone there had a story how Gary had helped them in some way. It was very moving.

As of now the FAA hasn't finalized their report but they haven't had much time. They released his plane Wednesday and the glider port wanted it removed asap so my father and I took my rollback and a Sawzall and removed it from the glider port. I've worked many wrecks over the last 25 years but this was by far the hardest. There's nothing on this plane not broke or bent.  While there I talked to one of the glider ports owners and he said Gary took off and immediately pulled up into a hammerhead like maneuver at about 100' AGL. I just can't imagine Gary doing this on purpose. Another eye witness said the engine changed sound before impact but didn't see the flight or impact. There could be many explanations for this change in sound. I rotated the prop around and there's definitely something wrong but with the severity of the impact I would expect this damage.

Not knowing what exactly what happened or being able to help him will weigh on me the rest of my life. I really miss my friend.

Curt

Hammerhead huh?  Have you checked the elevator cable to see if it's still intact/functional? Just out of curiosity...
Sorry to hear about the death of a great aviator.  

Quoted from PUFF Hammerhead huh?  Have you checked the elevator cable to see if it's still intact/functional? Just out of curiosity...
Sorry to hear about the death of a great aviator.  

First thing.

I'm late reading this, but sorry to read about your losing your friend and also having to deal with the wreckage so soon afterward.

Thanks, means a lot.

My belated condolences,it's really rough losing somebody so close.

I went flying again today with my father. We had a great time. Gary would have too.

I was teaching one of Gary's sons to fly a few years ago until he went to Afghanistan to serve our country. He told me the other day he wants to continue his lessons in honor of his father. I told him it would be an honor.

Thats Great to hear. Thanks for the update.

cherish the memories

regards Arthur