TANGO THIRTY ONE AERO CLUBE

By Matt Ferrari

Earlier this spring while at SUN ‘n FUN, I wandered into the Lakeland Aero Club hangar and there sitting at a table to greet me was a cast of characters, similar to a modern-day version of the “Little Rascals”, the likes of which I haven’t seen in a long time.

T31 is the identifier for the Aero Country Airport, a privately owned public use airport located just outside McKinney, Texas. One of the few airports left in our country without a tall fence surrounding it. That just may be one of the main reasons that something special is happening there.

Tango Thirty One Aero Clube (yes, Clube…) is the brainchild of flying friends Kevin Lacey, Lt. Col. Greg “Spanky” Barber and retired airline Captain Ron Roland. All of whom went far with their own aviation careers and decided to provide a launch pad for the next generation. Kevin has a storied career covering many facets of aviation from general aviation, corporate flying, aircraft maintenance and he found fame in the Discovery Channel television series “Airplane Repo” where film crews followed him around as he repossessed aircraft for lenders from non-paying borrowers. His aeronautical antics are well documented in his self-authored book, “Fly It Like You Stole It”, a fun read that I highly recommend! USAF Lt. Col Greg “Spanky” Barber was the last person selected to fly the SR-71 Blackbird, he spent two years training for the job only to have the program cancelled on the week of his first scheduled flight by then President Bill Clinton. Recovering from that career setback, “Spanky” found a place in the U-2 flight program and moved on to that. His perseverance shows that sometimes life throws you a curve and even with the best laid out plans, and all the hard work to match, you may have to change course, and keep leaning forward. Tragically, “Spanky” and his son Tim, who was to leave the following morning to begin his second semester at the U.S. Air Force Academy, were lost in a mid-air collision over their home airport on New Year’s Eve, 2016. Captain Ron Roland retired after a successful airline career, finishing up flying the Boeing B-757 and B-767 and in retirement he enjoys owning and flying a beautiful Cessna C-180 and a Piper J-3 Cub. Kevin Lacey considers himself semi-retired, sort of. He still takes on some work, but only considers shorter term projects. Having spent a lot of time chasing down airplanes all over the world, such as spending three years on a fleet of B-737’s in Brazil and nine months recovering a B-747 in Kenya, he prefers to stay a little closer to home these days. Besides, with the Aero Clube meeting at his hangar three days a week, there’s a lot of administrative work like sourcing parts and providing guidance regarding maintenance and repair to keep the aircraft projects moving forward, flight instructing to keep the members moving forward, and seeking grant money to help fund a hangar that the Clube desperately needs as it continues to grow in members and aircraft. In his spare time, Kevin likes to fly his 1946 Taylorcraft BC-12D.

Kevin Lacey is a busy man, but I can say firsthand that his efforts and the time that he is putting into the kids and their Clube are evident with the success and confidence they exude in conversation. Each one of the Clube members has a unique story, and as they each shared theirs with me the others around the table, while occasionally exchanging some teasing banter, were very supportive and encouraging toward one another.

To my left and going around the table clockwise sat Weston “Popeye” Dudley, 18 years old. He currently works as an apprentice at an aircraft maintenance shop gaining experience toward earning his Airframe and Powerplant Mechanic Certificates and as of this writing, he has recently soloed and hopes to fly commercially. Nick “Snaggletooth” Heilman, 18 years old, has already earned his Private Pilot Certificate and is planning to continue his education and flight training, attending Embry Riddle Aeronautical University starting this fall. He hopes to fly for the airlines and is leaning toward the cargo carriers. Peyton “Junior” Dudley, 16 years old and “Popeye’s” younger brother, hasn’t yet started his flying lessons and has an interest in pursuing a career in Aeronautical and

Aerospace Engineering. Ethan “Plowboy” Chapman, 17 years old, is currently taking flying lessons and hopes to earn his A&P Certificates. Kaitlin “Jailbait” Murphy is 18 years old, she’s already earned her Private Pilot Certificate, plans to go to Texas A&M, participate in the ROTC program and become a career U.S. Marine Corps aviator where she hopes to fly the V-22 Osprey. After speaking with Kaitlin for about 10 minutes, there is absolutely no doubt in my mind that she will accomplish exactly what she sets out to do and the Marines will be lucky to have her! Logan “Mighty Mouse” Griffin, 17 years old, has also earned his Private Pilot Certificate and he hopes to fly for the airlines. Logan is a bit soft spoken and a man of few words, hence the call sign “Mighty Mouse”, but the rest of the group was there to fill in the blanks and prop him up.

Each of these young men and women are unique and have their own dreams and path to follow but as a part of this group, their Aero Clube, they have the support and encouragement of each other, aviation brothers and sisters – related or not. They have a mutual respect for each other earned through working together in the hangar. As members of the Clube, they are each given the opportunity to participate and to succeed. Their success is measured only by their own individual efforts as part of the Clube. Opportunities to succeed come with the risk of failure, but without accepting the fact that they might fail, they can never succeed. Failure is not the result of doing it wrong, that can be learned from. Failure is the result of quitting. Mistakes happen, they are learned from, and the lessons are carried forward. These kids are all the result of opportunity offered, hard work put in on an individual basis, for the good of the Clube, and a mutual respect earned and shared with their peers based on their personal integrity and performance. Not necessarily perfection, but the willingness to try, to learn, to improve and if necessary to try again. It was so refreshing to spend a little time with these young people who share a common passion and love for aviation. It reinforces that the future is indeed bright, and the next generation is strong and able. Passing the aeronautical torch to these young men and women will ensure that our shared love for airplanes and flying will continue long into the future!

Tango Thirty One Aero Clube is indeed a special thing and thanks to people like Kevin Lacey, “Spanky” Barber, and Ron Roland who started it all, just looking for a spark of interest in a few young people, they have lit off what has become an aeronautical flamethrower!

Oh, and the kids have assigned a callsign to Kevin too - “Tombstone”! I’m not quite sure if the callsign is a result of Kevin’s Texas southern drawl and his cookie-duster mustache that could easily place him in the cast of the movie Tombstone, or is it that the much younger Clube members consider that Kevin is getting a little long in the tooth? While they may argue that his warrantee has run out, I would counter that by highlighting the fact that he is by no means circling the drain! Maybe that’s because my age is a little closer to his than theirs……

There is another story happening within the Clube too. There is a group of original members who have moved on, continuing along their journey into their own aviation careers.

Five past members of the Clube, “The Hammer”, “The Professor”, “Blue”, “Ms. Ponytail” and “Beer Money” hold a special place in the history of the Clube.

Kevin “The Hammer” Butler was the first Clube member to earn his Airframe and Powerplant Mechanic Certificates. He has also earned his Inspection Authorization, the highest certification for an A&P Mechanic allowing him to perform a wide variety of aircraft maintenance, repairs, alterations and inspections, such as an aircraft’s annual inspection, and return the aircraft to service. He recently passed his check ride, earning his Private Pilot Certificate. He currently works as first shift Lead Mechanic at Bombardier Aircraft Services at Dallas Love Field maintaining Challenger and Global Express jets.

Daniel “The Professor” Kaphingst earned his Private Pilot Certificate in a Clube airplane that he helped restore. He went on to earn a scholarship to Texas A&M. Unfortunately, his scholarship was lost during the COVID lockdown, yet he continues to move forward, and he is very close to earning his Instrument Rating.

Alex “Blue” Coats was the first Clube member to earn his Private Pilot Certificate and he did it in an airplane he helped restore. He then went on to earn his Airframe and Powerplant Mechanic Certificates, he is currently working on his Instrument Rating and is very close to earning that. He works as an Aircraft Mechanic at the Cirrus Aircraft Maintenance Facility in McKinney, Texas.

Sahara “Ms. Ponytail” Billman earned her Private Pilot Certificate, also in an airplane she helped restore, graduated high school a year ahead of her class and earned a scholarship to Embry Riddle Aeronautical University. She now holds her Commercial Pilot Certificate, Multi Engine and Instrument Ratings and is working toward her Certified Flight Instructor Rating. She is on track to graduate early from college and she has earned a well-deserved spot on the Dean’s Honor Roll every semester that she’s been at Embry Riddle!

Kaleb “Beer Money” McPherson was with the Clube during his high school years. After high school, he joined the U.S Army and is currently stationed at Wheeler Army Airfield, Hawaii working as a Crew Chief on AH-64 Apache helicopters. Prior to heading off to boot camp, he passed his Private Pilot written exam and soloed. He plans to finish up his Private Pilot flight training and then move on to advanced pilot certificates and ratings.

Success breeds success and the past members help inspire the next generation to keep working hard and follow their dreams. These “graduates” of the Clube stay involved with the current members, mentoring them as well as setting examples for them to strive for. You’ll be able to read more about these five originals as each will be featured in upcoming issues of AviNation magazine.