Page 5 - Demo

“Squeek” Burnett
Almost with one movement, he jockeyed the plane up to seventy-five feet and rolled over, starting his glide for an emergency landing. As he worked the throttle, the engine caught. He soared off, then rounded the field and drifted in for a landing at the Chattanooga airport. At that moment, on September 22, 1938, the crowd went wild with applause, thinking the engine cut was all part of the act. What showmanship!
gling for a foothold in this risky flying business.
Just one month earlier, Squeek had reveled at being the first American pilot to perfect the inverted ribbon act, cut- ting ribbons while flying upside down, skimming close enough to the ground to cut the grass with his propeller. He was also the first to do the “square loop.” But today’s near-fatal mistake rearranged those moments of glory into a glaring reality check. How could he have been so careless!
Then, it occurred to him. He had forgotten to say a prayer before starting the act.
Always, Squeek made it a habit to pause for a few seconds before a per- formance and ask God for protection against the unexpected fumbles of flight. But somehow this time, he had over- looked this part of his safety ritual, just like he’d overlooked the fuel tank switch.
As if experiencing a delayed reaction to his near-death experience, Squeek
saw, in that moment, his whole life flash before him, his past, his present, and his dreams for the future. As a result of this one deeply entrenched lesson, he now knew with an inner certainty that he would never get too hurried to bypass his safety ritual again, and he would never die in an airplane.
Who Was Squeek Burnett?
Lynchburg native Vincent Ward “Squeek” Burnett, born June 16, 1913, was a nationally known aerobatic pilot who thrilled audiences during the 1930s and ’40s with his daring barnstorming stunts. By various accounts, he was the first pilot to perform the square inside loop and the bottle-neck loop, and he was the first American pilot to execute the inverted ribbon pick-up. From 1934 to 1937, he traveled around the United
States with the Flying Aces air circus from Wichita, Kansas.
During World War II, Burnett demonstrated extraordinary ability as
a military flyer. He served in the Army Air Corps as a ferry pilot and rose to the rank of colonel. While serving as an advisor to General Jimmie Doolittle, Burnett was credited with saving the Martin B-26 Marauder program from extinction. Dubbed the “Widow Maker,” the B-26 was plagued by many problems, but Burnett dispelled the misconceptions by demonstrating that the plane could be flown safely. His test flights with the B-26, the P-39, and the P-51 helped engineers improve the de- signs in future models. In 1945, he was awarded the National Air Medal for his contributions to combat performance during the war.
Burnett later retired to Lakemont farm in Campbell County, Virginia, where he and his wife, Evelyn, raised chickens. He continued to fly as long as his health permitted. In 1981, he was named to the Virginia Aviation Hall of Fame.
From an early age everyone called him Squeek. The nickname seemed to come about when Burnett was a small boy in elementary school and received a pair of brand-new shoes one Christmas. The first day he wore them to school they squeaked so loudly when he walked up and down the wooden halls that the kids teased him unmercifully about the noise, calling him “Squeeky.” Some have suggested that the nickname may have been derived from the fact that, as a boy, Squeek was small, with a somewhat “squeaky” voice. Others jokingly related it to the fact that he barely “squeaked” by in his school work.
Whatever the real reason, even in later years, old-timers still referred to
Back on the line, Vincent “Squeek” Burnett fiddled in his cockpit, curi-
ous to know why the engine had quit. He soon found out. He had failed to turn on his inverted fuel tanks when he kicked the ship over on its back. A basic, but important, step carelessly forgotten.
How embarrassing. Pilots have personal pride of a high order, especially in the stunt-flying business. Something goes wrong, or a man forgets, and
there is the devil to pay for a few tense seconds. The public seldom ever knows of such errors unless, of course, a flight ends in disaster.
Ever meticulous about safety, Squeek understood all too well that a pilot may practice a stunt for months on end at his home airport and become letter- perfect with each maneuver, yet, he must always watch for the unexpected when performing in front of the crowds. When it comes to stunt flying, practice may make you near-perfect, but forget- ting the basics can make you dead.
The pilot, realizing this and clearly annoyed with himself, took a few bows in response to the crowd’s applause and promptly walked off the field. Had it been physically possible, he would have been only too pleased to kick himself all the way down the runway. He had come close to losing it all after having come such a long way, reaching his peak at age twenty-five, after nine years of strug-
FALL/WINTER 2009 
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