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| Captain Bill Moore | Captain Dick Sollner |
Dick was born in 1925 in Queens, NY, raised in Brooklyn (don't let it get around).
He enlisted in the Naval Aviation Cadet Program in March 1943 while a senior in Brooklyn
Technical High School. Three and a half years later he received his "Wings of Gold".
He served three years in the Caribbean in a land based, anti submarine patrol squadron. He was designated Patrol Plane Commander in the Lockheed Neptune P2V while still an Ensign.
After the Navy and a siege of tuberculosis he was found healthy enough to fly for Eastern Airlines in 1953. With Eastern he flew for thirty-one years, the last eighteen as Captain. He flew the DC3, Martin 404, DC4, Constellations, DC6, DC7, Lockheed Electra, Boeing 727, DC8, and the last five years the Lockheed 1011 Tri-Star.
Since retirement in 1984 he has been flying his Twin Comanche to such places as Victoria, BC, Portland, Ore., Mexico City, Cancun, Guatemala City, and as far as Munich, Germany via Greenland and Iceland.
He has been an active Rotarian for fifty years having been the President of the ninety member Flemington Club. He is also a member of a pilot subgroup called The International Fellowship of Flying Rotarians, which has members all over the world.
Dick and Bill are both members of AOPA, EAA Chapters 643 and Vintage Chapter 7. Both are members of the Somerville Hangar of the Ancient and Secret Order of Quiet Birdmen. Also involved in the construction of a Pietenpol homebuilt, a two holer monoplane (circa 1929). Dick is a member of the Flying Farmers.
Dick has seven grown children, two in aviation. His son John, a former Marine F18 pilot, is now a junior Captain with United Airlines. His daughter Anastasia, a Continental Flight Attendant with a Commercial and Instrument Rating, is working on her Multi Engine Rating.
Dick has made pilgrimages to Kitty Hawk, Oshkosh and Sun n Fun. He says his last effort will be to circle the globe.
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Bill Moore was born in Portsmouth, Virginia. The fourth of five children by W. Clark and Daisey
Lewis Moore. He was a student at Churchland High School and for two years at William and
Mary College.
He started flying under the "Civilian Pilot Training" program, soloed on March 29, 1941 at Norfolk Airport. Unable to get into the US military flying services because of a perceived eye problem, he continued with CPT and became a civilian flight instructor on May 14, 1942. He worked as a civilian flight instructor of military cadets in Boston, Allentown and Orwigsburg, PA. In April 1943 he went to Montreal and joined the British Royal Air Force Trans-Atlantic Ferry Command and spent the rest of WW II flying Canadian and US built bombers and transport planes across the Atlantic, Africa and Asia. He flew the Avro Lancaster, Douglas Dakota (C-47), Invader (A-26), Lockheed Hudson, Lodestar, Ventura (PV-1), Martin Baltimore (A-30), Marauder (B-26) and North American Mitchell (B-25).
After the war he flew as a corporate pilot for Kaiser-Frazer Automobile Company in Michigan for ten years. They operated five planes to transport employees and move parts. During the Korean War they built C-119 cargo planes that were designed by Fairchild Aircraft Company for the US Air Force. Moore was Director of Flight Test Operations and Chief Test Pilot. When that war was over and the factory at Willow Run sold, he was moved to Oakland as Chief Pilot for Kaiser Industries.
In October 1955 the Kaiser Flight Department was deactivated. Moore went to work for Industrial Indemnity Company and Mr. Kenneth Bechtel. During this period he had the pleasure of flying and living with THE Charles Lindbergh for five days on a mission for conservation of nature, in Baja California, Mexico. Industrial was bought by Crum & Foster in Morristown and Moore moved East in 1970 to set up their flight department and operate their Falcon Jet until he was made an Assistant Vice-President of their Real Estate Department and retired in 1984.
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He met Edyth Brehmer in Fort Lauderdale, Florida and after a hurried and often interrupted courtship they were married in Wausau, Wisconsin on May 23, 1945. They have three children and one grandchild. They live on Bissell Road, Lebanon in Hunterdon County.
He and Captain Dick Sollner have been friends for many years. When Dick asked him if he would like to go on a trip around the world , he didn't have to ask him twice. Bill jumped at the chance and has been participating at the planning and preparation for the last few months.
back to top| Pascal Landi, Manny Higazi | Tuesday, September 25, 2007 |