Pilot flies vintage transport to Hearst Castle for fundraiser
September 27, 2011, 06:48 pm
Airplane and vintage enthusiasts recently rode in style aboard a 1948 Douglas C-47, a low altitude military transport plane that saw the bulk of its military service during the Allied efforts in World War II, according to the Paso Robles Press. This particular restored aircraft, piloted by Sherman Smoot, brought attendees of the annual Friends of Hearst Castle Enchanted Evening from the Paso Robles Estrella Warbirds Museum to the fundraiser.
Smoot, a highly experienced pilot, navigated a coastal fog bank and arrived at the event without incident, landing smoothly at Hearst Ranch in time for the fundraiser, which celebrates the pre-war era that was socially and economically dominated by newspaper magnate William Randolph Hearst.
While new aviation technology entices many pilots, the romantic allure of classic airplanes is special to some aviators, Smoot among them. The pilot noted that flying the somewhat primitive airplane is fun in many ways that modern aircraft are not, and flying them today pays homage to the early formative years of flight.
"I always tell myself that some 21-year-old kid was flying over the channel getting his fanny shot pulling gliders and paratroopers," Smoot told the source.
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