Connect The Dots
Connect The Dots
Words: Richard Souza
Photography: Richard Souza, Ryan Kelly, James Woodard
As a child, I was fascinated with "connect the dots". When I attempted to draw freehand, the end product always looked like Picasso threw up. "Connect the dots" allowed me to produce work that I could proudly show the gifted artist known as Pops. I would eventually ditch this form of "art” and now I am only "connecting the dots" in my stories.
On a warm summer night some years ago, I joined my Friend and Full Disc collaborator Courtney Caillouet for a night shoot with the Grimes Flying Lab Foundation's Beech 18. Courtney and I first connected through Kevin Donegan's Instagram photo challenges. It was Courtney who introduced me to his friends at the foundation Roger and Jessica Deere. The photos from that session were the center piece of the Full Disc Aviation story "Urbana Lights".
This summer, the line from Grimes Municipal Airport in Ohio was drawn to the dot at New Garden Flying Field in Toughkenamon, Pennsylvania. Through social media posts, I found out my Friend and N57 Aviation Director Jonathan Martin was realizing a personal dream. After days of suspense, Jon posted photos of his acquisition, a Beech 18, tail number N933GM, to be more precise. This may not mean much to the average person, but for those of us proficient in tail number math, it was the connection of two dots. N933GM was one of several aircraft owned and operated by Grimes Manufacturing Company in Ohio. N933GM rolled off the assembly line in 1960 and was purchased by Grimes in 1972.
This bird was one of three aircraft that comprised Warren G. Grimes’s executive fleet. All three were Beech 18 G18-S models. The other two aircraft of the fleet were N931GM and N932GM. The show piece of Grimes Manufacturing Company was the 1954 C-54C (military variant of the Beech 18) N8640E affectionally known as ‘The Grimes Flying Laboratory'. The very aircraft photographed by Courtney and I; N933GM, that now resides at New Garden Flying Field, was used to fly Warren Grimes with the company engineers and employees to meetings. One of the regular destinations was the family home in Delray Beach, Florida. This Florida city was also where a Grimes plant was located. The company owned the aircraft until 1979. Two of the original pilots that flew N933GM for the company, Bobby Greenlee and James Maggard, are thankfully still among us today.
Once N933GM landed at her new home, I knew this story had to be written. I felt compelled to "connect the dots", so I reached out and pitch the idea of a night shoot. Jon Martin appreciates and is a big supporter of ours and photographers in general, so it is safe to say, this wasn’t a hard sell. Wanting to do something and doing something are two different things. "Connecting the dots" is easier than connecting busy schedules and perfect weather. It took several attempts and a couple weather delays but eventually, James, Ryguy and I descended on New Garden Flying Field. It was later in the afternoon and after coordinating with Jon, all we had to do was wait.
As the sun began its descent, stubborn clouds threatened to tarnish the much-anticipated fall golden hour. In these situations, you take what you can get. The lighted sky was close enough to perfect for N933GM to take to the air for a few passes. Jon was joined in the endeavor by his Daughter and pilot in-training Alyssa. Once the aircraft landed and parked in position, the clouds cleared the way and allowed the sun to depart, leaving behind that golden light. As darkness draped over us, the Beech 18 was illuminated and the night shoot shuffle began.
Shift to the left... shift to the right, do-si-do and take it down low. Night shoots are about finding your groove quickly and making sure to capture the drama of the prop. The window of opportunity is tight, and within a few blinks of an eye, the Pratt and Whitney engines will shut down, and the props will come to a standstill. As we called it a wrap, Jon and Alyssa emerged from inside the aircraft, eager to get a taste of how we made his aircraft look under the Milwaukee lights. The back of the camera images looked promising. With N933GM tucked away for the night, we stayed behind a little longer contemplating what we had just accomplished. The October chill set in and was nipping at our bones. I looked over at James and Ryguy and knew what they were thinking.... Man!! Life's a Beech.... and then you fly.
Full Disc Aviation wishes to THANK Jon and Alyssa Martin for making this shoot a reality.
The dots could not have been connected without the help of Jessica and Roger Deere of the Grimes Flying Lab Foundation. For more information on the foundation please visit https://n8640e.wixsite.com/grimesflyinglab or take a drive to Grimes Field in Urbana Ohio.
