September 2025

Chuck Borden: Memories Introduction

I have been around airplanes all my life. When my father returned from Italy and North Africa in 1946. It was the first time I really knew him. He was given an assignment at Lowry AFB in Denver. He worked as a crash firefighter. We went to all the air shows and I was on Base quit a bit. I even saw the first B36 land at Lowry. I thought they would never build a bigger airplanes. He was a student pilot at the base flying club and had his solo and about twenty hours when he realized he couldn’t afford to fly with a growing family.

When he tried to reenlist in 1948 he was refused because of a heart murmur. His argument was he had it in 1935 when he joined the Army. They told him this was the new Air Force. Even after his discharge we went to the BX and events there. When the Korean War started he admitted maybe it was better not to be in the Air Force when his best friend was sent to Korea. I remember sitting on the couch on Sunday with my dad watching Victory at Sea every Sunday. I told my dad I wanted to jump out of an airplane. He said no you don’t. One day I was reading Popular Mechanics Magazine and there was an article about building a Whitman Tailwind and told my dad about it. His comment was he just couldn’t do it. Wait tell your older and maybe you can do it then. When I joined the Army after High School I was stationed at Fort Hood and Training at Fort Knox. When returning to Ft hood from Ft Knox, one day I was having a beer at the PX and met a friend I served with at Ft Knox. I asked him what he was doing and he said Skydiving, jumping out of airplanes. I was stunned. I always wanted to do that. So out of boredom being in Texas I joined the Fort hood Skydivers. My first jump was terrifying out of a L19 Beaver, an airplane I came to admire.

I received international class B parachute license after 25 jumps. I went on to make demonstration jumps out of C47’s and two jumps from a C123 Flying Boxcar that day the ramp was not working so we went out the side into the prop wash at 10,500 ft.

I was offered a chance to do a ramp jump out of Army Caribou. But had duty that day. My last demonstration jump was out of the C123 before my enlistment was up.

After my discharge I found myself in Inglewood studying aviation mechanics at Northrop Tech. Living in Hawthorne. I worked at a filling station making $1.50 an hour and having a hard time making ends meet. I finally had to quit school and was looking in the paper for a better paying job. I saw an add for Technical Illustrating. Requirement was to know Isometric Drawing, I knew that from high school drafting class I took the test and was offered a job in Hawthorne.

Now I could take flying lessons and afford my $90 a month rent. So I got my license in a C150 cost was a little over $350.00. While at work illustrating I met a friend, he owned Aeronca Champ 7AC. Twice a month we would fly out to El Mirage Lake where he had his glider. One day I told him that I wanted to build a Stits Playboy Two, since he was based at Whiteman he told me he would show me one. I was not impressed with it. He said why not build a good airplane build a Thorp T18. So I began my life in the Thorp Family.

Another pleasant day for a meeting but only a few people showed up.