cap flying family (1945)

8/9/2019 CAP Flying Family (1945)

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KITPINff UP

Pappy explains the fundamentals o{ aerob.tica to C..olyn, Jesrio and Helen.

ITIHE residents of Lancaster- Penn-I syluuniu. have long

"in""giu"r, up

the idea of trying to keep up with

the Jones family. That's because theJoneses are up in the air so much ofthe time. As America's most outstand-

ing llying household, the Joneses have

accumulated approximately IS-thou-

sand hours of flying time, and every

day bring. many new entries for theirguartet of log books. There wouldhave been five log books for these

dailyentries but Mrs.

Jones,years

ago, decided that some one in the

Iamily should keep the accounts. She

elected herself to this position whileher husband was carrying his 6rst rev-

enue passengers in a patched up Jenny,and every since, she has served as

business head for the other members

of her flying family.There was a time 25 years ago,

when prospective passengers failed to

4.ms^ica a- funtmotL {L/inq- {anilq-hnn- 15,000 hnana- herthded

in- ib- IoqlooL.a-.



llIITH TIT JONDSNSBy Ann Delo

to conduct his operations, Duringthe first take-oll. the Jenny driftedrapidly torvard a fence rorr and onlya miracle averted an.arly.rcsh. Thisprompted the barnstormer to do someextra flight practice in order to com-pensate lor lhe cros, rrind he r'.ould/encounl.r rrhen landing, Thrr", r,itllhis passenger enjoying every man.euver, Jesse Jones built up his ex-perience, flying around the {ield untilthe gas gave out and he rras cornpelledto set down rvith a series ol bounces.

cnding in a ground Joop.The passenger \r,as so elated that

he climbed from the cockpit, haudedJones a trvo dollar tip and said,..Ihave ridden with many pilots. but ).ouare the best of them all."

From that lesson, the pilot learnednever to accept public acclaim forability and realized that this l'as an-other case where ignorance rvas

bliss,During the ensuing years, Jesse has

made their lirst llighLs rvith Je-.se

Jones at Lhe controls, and manv stu,dents have gained their civilian li-censes or have gorrc

off tothe armed

services after graduating fronr histraining classes, Todav. as test l)ilotfor the nanufacturers of Aero-Maticpropellers- and nith more than 10.

thousand |ours in the air. he has rr<r

time to carrr' l)assengers or instructstudents. His claughters no\r carry on

that famih- tradition.Helen Jones. rtho is nou' 21. has

been llying sirrce 1935, and her logbooks shol- a total of approximatell'2500 hours. She rvas the youngest ofgirl pilots rlhen she received her li,cense, and soon after, was engaged incloss-country Ilying and instructingcivilian and militarr' -"tudents. As a

baby. she lleru jn her mothers' armsrvhile her father transported his small

femilv from field to field rlurine hisbarn-torming tours. Hclen. just ai her

on pontoons, along the Susquehanna

Ilir er at Harrisburg.Next in line is Jessie E. Jones,20,

rvith rvell over2000 hours. She left

her classes at Pelns,vlvania State Col-

lege to aid in the training of Armyand \av1' pilots rrhen a shortage ofiD:Lruclors llrreslorpd llre warlime

prograrn, Her former students callher 'Junior" rrherr they u,rite of theirexploits along the r,''orld's far flung

ainral-s. She's busier than ever norv,

in:lrrrcling al Lanca-ler's original air-

port. and like the other members ofthe Jones familv, is activel,v errgaged

il the advancement of the Civil AirPatrol,

Carolyn Jones, the youngest mem-

ber of the flying famil,v. is just lB and

still engaged in her college studies,

Her log books aren't so Jilled as those

of her sisters, but she is looking for-

rrard to l,uilding rrl' more air time incompany rvith an airminded husband.



J{rrpin4- W Ail" ltzz lonntnt-(Continued from page 29)

The Jones girls have enjoyed many . erations at the centqrs where theyailvantages not always available to the serve. They agree rhat it is a relief, inaviation student. Throughout their these days when engine overhauls come

careers, they have had the guidance every 450 to 600 hours, not to be

o{ their flying father, who has taught working on the old type equipment

them many tricks of the trade which where they used to aid their fatherwould not ordinarily be fortJrcoming. every 25 or 50 hours.

All of their experience has been of It was a happy day for the Jones

a practical nature. They can look family when "P"ppyl' as he became

back to the era when they accompa- known, decided to curtail his barn-nied a flying circus, serving as weights storming activities and settle down as

for parachutes being packed by the a fixed-base operator at Lancaster.

exhibition jumpers; selling airplane Now, they could have a home with a

rides and shooing grazing cattle from fireplace, a shiny automobile to re-

the pastures where their father carried place the bamstorming jalopy and a

on his barnstorming activities. Helen, kitchen where Mrs. Jones could turnJessie and Carolyn learned while quite out home fried chicken. Since that

young how to fuel an airplane, patch time, flying visitors are always as-

a wing, and stake down a ship when sured of a chicken dinner when they

storm clouds threatened, They learned let the Joneses know in advance ofboth theory and the practical side of their arrival,aviation first hand, under the guidance Jesse Jones and his family keptof an experienced teacher. Now, they apace and sonietimes ahead of the rap-

are'as capable as most men of equal idly expanding industry as the popu-

exferience in carrying on. aviation op- larity of their airport increased. In

J AN U ARY, I945

addition to the local operation, the

Joneses found time to participale in

air shows, meets, and races in many

sections of the country. The head ofthe family is credited with originatingthe comedy flying act, featuring a

country jake who finds himself in the'

cockpit of an airplane, and who latercuts aerial capers to the astonishment

of the spectators. This act has longsince become a standard feature al airshows,

Today, the Jones family is an es-

tablished institution so far as aviationis concerned. Their fame is no longerconfined within the borders of this

country since their former studentsfiscuss their instructors while stroll-ing along the narrow streets of Casa-

blanca, dodging sacred cows at In-

dian bazaars or toasting fellow pilots

at a bar in Paris.

Meanwhile, they carry on their fly-

ing traditions, and while tle girls pre-

pare more pilol. lor a future in avia.

tion, Mother Jones looks after thebookkeeping and fried chicken, while'

Pappy advocates more landing fields

and conducts his daily flight tests forthe development of more practical

propellers for our post-war airplanes.

cap flying family (1945)

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