When an organization needs leadership, it doesn’t take special talents or background, but you can bet around here that the volunteers are the kind of people you really want to know more about.  So, here’s goes with Chapter 59’s new Vice President, Dale Breedlove. 

 The first time I met Dale Breedlove I thought “racing, Craig Breedlove, World Land Speed Record holder.”  Well, at least the racing part was right.  Dale spent over 15 year racing motorcycles and cars. 
 Dale should know his way around Waco.  You know, like North and South Valley Mills Dr. runs west and east.  The logical stuff.  See, Dale was born and raised here in Waco, so he figured that stuff out before many of us did.  And he did it mostly on motorcycles.  He always loved them.  We all may know that he retired from the motorcycle business in 1991, when he sold his Harley-Davidson/Suzuki dealership, and last year completed his RV-6, but what about before then? 

 Dale started racing motorcycles as a kid and raced Harley WR and KR flat trackers from about 1952 to 1959.  These were the stripped down racing versions of the Harley 45 cubic inch machines with no rear suspension and no brakes.  Not for the meek, to slow it down you just kicked it sideways and drug a foot!  During the latter part of that period he studied engineering at U. of Houston, then math at Baylor.  Racing was his real “major” though, so he didn’t study quite enough to graduate.  At one time, however, he did graduate to number 4 in the nation in flat track racing.  Not a small achievement. 

 In 1958, Frank Price was teaching flying over at Waco Municipal, so Dale became one of his students.  Dale needed more speed to get to the races and figured flying was the way to get it.  He bought an Aircoupe and earned his private license in it with Frank.  You can’t stop a racer from racing so when motorcycle racing faded out in the late 50’s, Dale switched to cars.  He raced Modifieds here locally and eventually was a major player in USAC sprint car racing (until 1971).

 Dale moved to West Memphis, Arkansas, to be more centrally located for national races and bought an E model Bonanza to get around in.  He got a job selling Mooneys for a dealer there and earned his Commercial, Instrument, Multi-engine, Instructor, and A & P ratings.  After a couple of years, he sold the “E” and bought a D model with tip tanks for longer flights to the races (there’s a good story about that plane, you’ll hear later.)  To summarize Dale’s long relationship with Bonanzas, he has own a total of five, including next, a J Model, a C Model, and the G Bonanza he owns (and neglects) now.  In 1968, Dale did a series of loops and rolls down the straightaway in a sprint car.  It took about a year to recover from that and he moved back to Texas and worked for Champion Sparkplugs in public relations and troubleshooting.  In 1971, Dale quit racing, sold his J Model Bonanza and open the motorcycle shop in Waco. 

 The motorcycle business kept Dale busy seven days a week but in his spare time he hung out at the airport and was always buying or selling an airplane to supplement his income.  He had a 1965 Mooney, then a ’65 Bellanca Viking, and somewhere along the way a Cessna Skymaster.  Ever since he saw Mike Frey’s Starduster in the 1960’s, Dale wanted a homebuilt, so when the RV-3 kit became available, he ordered one.  Delivery was months away, so in the meantime he and neighbor Grover Rogers bought a BD-4 kit.  Neither of them had time to work on it, so they sold it and Dale, Grover and W.D. Brown bought a Schweizer 1-26 sailplane.  Dale traded his RV-3 kit to John Williams in exchange for a 150 HP PA-16, to use as a tow plane.  So, add sailplane to the list of ratings Dale has.  They flew the sailplane off the McGregor airport, and now you know where John Williams got his RV-3 kit.  The next airplane he had was a Cassuit (from W.D. Brown) and then a Tailwind, both in partnership with Grover Rogers.

 With over 3,000 hours flying time, I was sure I could pry a few really good “war” stories out of Dale, but you’d think every flight was just a routine event, from his response.  He did tell me about the time he rode as a passenger in a Mooney to Arkansas and got to experience an engine failure over miles of pine trees.  He remembered that flight.  With more prying I found out about a trip returning from a sprint car race in California (in that D Model Bonanza mentioned earlier).  He left California after dark to return to Arkansas (about 1967) and dropped off part of his crew at a mining company airstrip in the Mojave Desert.  He needed fuel but there was none there, so he flew on to Blythe, California, and landed at that airport.  The place was deserted, so in desperation, Dale cut a piece of garden hose he found next to the FBO and proceeded to siphon gas from a car in the parking lot.  Picture the FSS manager suddenly showing up with Dale standing there draining gas out of a car, with part of a hose that was supposed to be watering his grass!  Well, he talked his way out of that one, bought some fuel from the guy, then had an uneventful (so he tells me) all night flight back to Arkansas, stopping in El Paso and Ft. Worth for fuel along the way. The life of a racer.
 
Dale first flew “Plane Jane” in January of last year.  He spent 5 ½ years building it and says he really enjoyed the experience.  His patient (and clearly good humored) wife, Jeanie, helped him drive rivets.  His first flight was uneventful and went as planned but, was exciting, as all first flights are.  The RV-6 has exceeded all his expectations, and is his favorite of all the airplanes he has owned.  The flying Dale enjoys most is taking the plane to social functions like fly-outs and fly-ins, and only regrets that it doesn’t happen more often.  He sees a bright future for Chapter 59, which he feels would really benefit from a chapter building or hangar where members could hang out as well as have events and meetings. 

With leaders like Dale and the other Chapter officers we now have, I’m sure Chapter 59 can meet any goal it sets its sights on.  I’m sure all our members will join me in saying thanks Dale, for volunteering to help lead our EAA Chapter into the 21st Century.
Mike McMains.
 
 

This is Dale's "Plane Jane".	And here's Jane!!