Rides for pay
Excerpt from the book, "Verdi" by Verdi Gilbertson
I hadn’t had the Stearman for very long in 1946 and one night I was pushing it into the hangar. A man stopped by and asked me, “Do you give rides?” I had never seen him before so I told him, “No, but you can stop down at the hangar and ask Bob Clagget, he gives rides.” He said, "Ya, but I want a ride in that air
plane.” I could tell he wanted to ride in an open cockpit airplane like my Stearman. He asked me, “How much would you charge for a ride?” I told him, “Oh, how about three dollars but it will have to be short one because it is almost dark.” He looked at me and said, "Let’s go." So I told him, “If you help me push it in again when we get back I will give you a ride.” That was okay with him so he got in and we took off.
After a short trip around the field, I said, “Okay, it’s going get dark so I’ll have to get back to the hangar.” He was enjoying the ride and said, “No let’s keep on going.” It was getting dark so we had to go back. I didn’t even have a private license yet. All I had was just a solo permit. I was supposed to have a commercial license to charge for rides. After that first ride for pay I thought, “Gee I could make some money with this.” After that I flew out to my home farm and landed the Stearman in a grain field. I gave mostly free rides to all the family members. I had lot of friends and relatives who enjoyed flying for free.
plane.” I could tell he wanted to ride in an open cockpit airplane like my Stearman. He asked me, “How much would you charge for a ride?” I told him, “Oh, how about three dollars but it will have to be short one because it is almost dark.” He looked at me and said, "Let’s go." So I told him, “If you help me push it in again when we get back I will give you a ride.” That was okay with him so he got in and we took off.After a short trip around the field, I said, “Okay, it’s going get dark so I’ll have to get back to the hangar.” He was enjoying the ride and said, “No let’s keep on going.” It was getting dark so we had to go back. I didn’t even have a private license yet. All I had was just a solo permit. I was supposed to have a commercial license to charge for rides. After that first ride for pay I thought, “Gee I could make some money with this.” After that I flew out to my home farm and landed the Stearman in a grain field. I gave mostly free rides to all the family members. I had lot of friends and relatives who enjoyed flying for free.
Barnstorming 1946
Sunday came and then the weather was good for flying. People were looking for rides and we needed money so we gave plenty of rides. The regulations from the FAA weren’t too tough. Many of the farmers wanted to know if they could fly by their home farms. They especially liked the ride when I went right over their home farms. It took more gas to climb high so we were maybe five hundred feet or lower.
The Stearman burned twelve gallons an hour and gas was thirty five cents per gallon so it cost about five dollars an hour for the Stearman to fly considering it took a lot of oil besides the gas. I was glad to give the passenger a ride for five dollars if the farm was a ways away. I probably charged half that if it was closer.
The Stearman burned twelve gallons an hour and gas was thirty five cents per gallon so it cost about five dollars an hour for the Stearman to fly considering it took a lot of oil besides the gas. I was glad to give the passenger a ride for five dollars if the farm was a ways away. I probably charged half that if it was closer.
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