Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Air Acts To Be Exciting

Fans of air shows will be in for a major treat when the First Annual Forest Festival Air Exposition is held Oct. 26-27 at Lowe Field.

Doug Watts will be bringing his Forbes "F-3" down for the festivities. This is the only known Forbes "F-3" to be in existence at this time.

The plane, built for racing, has no electrical system and the engine operates with an old-fashioned carburetor. During inverted flight (when he's flying upside down) the plane's engine tries to stall.

Should the engine stall, Watts will find out how well the plane glides upside down before falling out of the sky.

Watts was in town Wednesday, Aug. 14, talking about how he became involved in flying in general and stunt flying.

He came down in a World War II-era AT- 6, owned by Mark Trimble of Little Rock. This plane was used to train pilots to fly fighter planes, such as the P-51 Mustang.

The AT-6's engine has 450 horsepower and weighs three tons. The plane, Watts said, is part of aviation history.

This particular AT- 6 was used in the movie "Tuskegee Airmen."

Watts, who owns Doug's Doughnuts in Benton, has been a pilot for some 30 years. He spent the first 15 years in what he called "routine" flying -- taking the plane up and bringing it back down with no tricks involved.

At one time, he owned an aerobatic plane. He had taken this plane to air shows with a friend of his, who was flying in the show.

During a show at Temple, Tex. his buddy told him to get plenty of rest because he would be the opening act the next day, because the scheduled opener had cancelled.

Watts was told he had already been cleared by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), but couldn't fly below 1,500 feet.

The announcer, he said, was kind and kept telling the crowd this was Watts' first time up as an aerobatic pilot.

Since then, Watts has been stunt flying. He said the announcer is half the show, because it is up to them to get the crowd involved and keep those on the ground entertained.

Watts has been married a year, and is teaching his wife, Deanna, how to fly.

In fact, he gave Deanna her first plane ride, which got her hooked on flying, and didn't hurt their relationship any either, especially when he did a loop with her in the plane. "She loved it," he said.

Watts said she should be able to come to the Air Expo as the air show is scheduled for Sunday afternoon.

While Watts flies, Deanna handles the doughnut shop. He said getting up at 3 a.m. and working until early afternoon is not conducive for her coming with him to many shows. This one, though, will be different.

Currently, Watts said, his wife has six hours in lessons. In order to get her private pilot's license, she will have to complete 40 logged hours.

Watts himself grew up with a pilot, his father. When Watts was 15, his dad said he could take one lesson a month (which cost about $20 a lesson at the time).

A year later, Watts soloed and became a licensed pilot. In fact, his solo flight came on his 16th birthday.

But Watts is more than a pilot, he's also a professional drummer. He began getting paid to be a musician when he was 14, and, at one time, was the drummer for Boxcar Willie at his show in Branson, Mo.

"Flying is a hobby for me," Watts said. "I love the experience and pick up some extra money doing the shows." However, Watts doesn't rely on the money he earns from air shows to do much more than cover his expenses.

When he flew the AT-6 down, he did so in order to give rides to members of the Gurdon Airport Commission and members of the media on hand.

The AT-6 used about $200 in fuel during his trip from Benton and three flights around the city of Gurdon.

Had he brought his Forbes down, the fuel cost would have been about $7.

Stepping into the AT-6 can be compared to stepping into an old John Wayne WWII movie and history at the same time.

The plane is silver in color and polished to a high reflective gloss. This was originally done to prevent enemy planes from being able to spot it and shoot them down, as it blended in against the backdrop of the sky.

Watts handles the plane like an old friend -- smooth, gentle and trusting. His takeoff was so easy the passenger had to look down to realize they had left the ground.

The flight, as short as it was, provided a panoramic view from the sides of the cockpit. It was virtually impossible to see anything looking forward.

When landing, Watts navigated the craft on the 30-foot wide runway at Lowe Field as if he'd been doing it all his life.

The AT-6 is called a "tail-dragger" because of its fixed rear wheel. When the plane first touches down, it's silky smooth. However, when the rear wheel hits the earth, the back end of the plane fishtales somewhat, but not enough to be a problem.

In addition to the doughnut shop and air shows, Watts will occasionally fly to different places and bring planes back to Arkansas for people.

His other "duties" include being a safety instructor with the FAA. Watts said because of federal cutbacks, the FAA has designated experienced pilots, such as himself, to work with others in areas of air safety.

Talking about his Forbes, Watts said it is considered a homebuilt plane. The FAA allows him to fly the plane with no wiring in air shows (which is part of his act). This helps make it more exciting for the crowd when he goes into a rolling 180 degree turn, or loops with four- point rolls.

"I try to give the audience a wide variety of maneuvers and techniques," he said.

"My plane has a carburetor. When I'm upside down it tries to cut out, because the engine is getting no gas. But I've developed a way to keep it (the engine) from stalling."

While saying he's not a professional air show pilot, Watts said he likes to do shows at small airports, such as Lowe Field, to help them out. "Small airports should have shows," he said.

This air expo is being held to help the airport commission raise money to improve Lowe Field.

If it's successful, Mary Burns, one of the commissioners, said, it will become an annual event.

Along with Watts, Dr. Galen Hutcheson will bring his Cobra down for the show Sunday afternoon.

In addition, a parachute act has been scheduled, and Smokey the Bear will be on hand as well. The Arkla Gas Co. balloon will be at Lowe Field, with rides available to those interested.

Burns said there is a possibility the Confederate Air Force will bring one of its aircraft down as a display, along with the Arkansas State Police plane.

Should all go according to plan, she said, Tony's Pizza's Red Baron could show up in his WWI biplane.

There will be static displays at the expo on Saturday, when the pilots are expected to fly in.

Burns is worki