Bryan,
I grew up west of Pierre and my first airplane ride was in a Super Cub that had a Sorenson spray unit on it. It was owned by Cecil Ice. I suppose my first ride was in 1967, give or take a year. So, if Cecil owned your plane in that time frame, the possibility is good that I got my first ride in your Cub. The following story is an excerpt from a newsletter article I wrote for the Fleming Field Flyer in 2013 about my ride in that Cub.
I rememberwhen growing up on a farm in South Dakota that my younger brother, Mark, and Iwould spend hours looking up in the sky and watching the airplanes fly over.The first Ag Cat that we saw looked like a 1920’s mail plane. Hearing the roar of the radial engine as it flew overhead filled us with excitement. We would watch each airplane that flew over from the time we could first hear it until it faded out of sight on the distant horizon. The thought of being in the air and looking down on the Earth was only a dream that we could imagine.
One day when I was about six years old, Mark and I were out with Dad checking the cattle. It was a beautiful spring day with a clear sky and no wind. Little did I know it was destined to be a day that would change my life. Cecil Ice landed his Super Cub in the pasture so he could talk to my Dad about some wheat that needed sprayed for weeds. When Cecil was done visiting with my Dad, he asked Mark and me if we would like to go for an airplane ride. I was so excited I could hardly speak!
Cecil put both of us into the back seat, buckled our seatbelt, and climbed into the front seat. My heart was pounding as Cecil started the engine and pushed the throttle forward. In an instant we were accelerating and the ground started to fall away. I was amazed looking down on the wheat fields that you could see each row of green stretching from one end of the field to the other and watching the cattle swishing the flies off of themselves with their tails. The feeling of being pushed into the seat as we banked in each turn, and the lightness in my stomach as the Super Cub nosed down are things I will never forget.
All too soon, Cecil made a final turn and pulled the throttle closed as we smoothly returned to earth. The wheels gently touched the prairie grass and we rolled toa stop. I am sure that I didn’t stop talking about the ride for the rest of the day.
A passion was ignited in me that day. I knew that one day I would be a pilot and I would have my own Super Cub and feel the wheels touch down on the prairie grass as I did on that day with Cecil.
Now that I have realized the dream and have my own Super Cub and have landed on the prairie, my passion is as strong as ever. (My wife says my landings on prairie grass are not as smooth as my memories.) Each time I fly I still feel the same exhilaration that I had on that day with Cecil.
Best Regards,
Mike