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by Mike Wyrick
Ira Jones bought his first airplane in 1946 at age 18. It was a
brand new
Luscombe 8A Silveraire, N1353K, construction number
4080, direct from the factory for the outrageous sum (then and
now) of $2250. A family, a business career, three airplanes, and
65 years later in 2011, he decided he liked the Luscombe so well
he bought another one, for a bit more than the original $2250.
Ira, 85 in January 2012, is the most experienced pilot at
Booneville Municipal Airport (4M2), and is pictured above with
both his “old” 1946 Luscombe 8A, N1353K and his “new” 1946
Luscombe 8A, NC2207K.
Ira started flying in 1943 at the age of 15. Inspired by the
pilots of World War II, he enlisted as a cadet in the Army Air
Corps. He entered the service as a ground crew member but toward
the end of the war, the pilot training programs were closing
down. Since military aviation would apparently not be in his
future, he served as a chief clerk in a finance office in Berlin
until the end of the war.
His son, Rusty, is also a pilot. The Luscombe 8A is an LSA class
aircraft.
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