Meet Arvin Basnight
Historian, Wright Flyer Project
The thrill of flying and understanding what makes it possible started
early in my life. I was born and raised on Roanoke Island in North Carolina.
From my family's boat landing, there is a great view of Kill Devil Hill
and Kitty Hawk. Of the seven people involved with the first flight by
the Wrights, I have known five of them. This includes Coastguardsman Will
Dough; Adam Etheridge who also had custody of their equipment when they
were away, John T Daniels who made the photograph of the first flight;
Johnny Moore a special boy and Orville Wright who shared a day with me.
Other local persons I have known, who were not present for the flight,
but were involved with the Wrights. Bill Tate a prime factor in bringing
the Wrights to Kitty Hawk and accommodating them in many ways and Alf
Drinkwater a weatherman and telegrapher.
In my childhood our £lifestyle was not centered around television. We
sat with and learned from our elders. The local lore centered around the
Wrights, Virginia Dare, Blackbeard, Fessenden, Lindberg's visit and Billy
Mitchell. I was stimulated by these stories and characters and they helped
shape my career.
I studied Engineering for two years at N. C. State then got a job in
Washington and attended night school studying public administration. In
1938 while serving as the first uniformed guide at the Wright Memorial
Orville Wright to my surprise pulled up in his big black Hudson sedan.
Following a lengthy discussion about the Monument, the visiting public
and their interests, he asked me a favor, that I drive him around to several
sites. In particular, the spot on Roanoke Island where Reginald A. Fessenden
had experimented with wireless telegraphy.
As we rode around, Mr. Wright expressed a lot of feeling about the frustrations
they experienced as they sought a patent and recognition of what they
bad achieved. It seemed to hurt him that in 1903 only five newspapers
in the U. S. had published accounts of their flight. Furthermore approval
of their patent application had been delayed until President Wilson interceded
in 1915.
He related there was a lot min common in their experience and that of
Fessenden. In perspective, he seemed to have, hungered for acceptance
and recognition when Wilbur was alive.
We drove through the town of Manteo. He was not interested in talking
with people but anxious to have lunch at a good place. We stopped at Bill
Parkinson's who insisted on showing Mr Wright his own invention which
was a wooden barrel bored with holes and strawberries planted in the holes.
As we were eating, Mr. Wright's comment was "Arvin you see what I have
to put up with." After touring Roanoke Island and Kitty Hawk, Mr. Wright
left for Elizabeth City on his way back to Dayton.
In 1940 the CAA was expanding, and I was employed primarily to recruit
Air Traffic Controllers. The work involved pioneers in our airway system
and Jack Morris whose ideas led to the Civilian Pilot Training Program.
On December 6, 1941 Marjorie Gauthier accepted my band in matrimony.
We began a honeymoon tap to the Great Smokies, however the next bombing
Pearl Harbor was bombed and we returned immediately to Washington where
I joined the Army Air Corp. Our marriage has been happy and we have three
children. Mary Ann is married to an aerospace engineer, Bill is a Boeing
757 Captain and Mike is an invasive cardiologist.
After cadet training, I became a B-17 pilot and was assigned to the
91st Bomb Group in the 8th Air Force. This groups performance earned many
citations, awards and honors. The movie Memphis Belle dramatized some
of the early events but there were 340 missions and the loss of 420 B-17's
in the groups record. Our crew reported in just before "D" day and most
of our crew finished 35 missions. Our plane was named "Cherie" And sported
a picture of Marjorie as nose art.
Among those missions there are two that are linked to NASA. Allied defense
against the V2 rockets was not effective and the bombing of launching
sites was complicated, so the production center at Peenemundee became
the target. The plant had been designed and built to survive such action,
and we had to go there twice, the last with special bombs. This took care
of the plant. The personnel responsible for that program included Werner
Von Braun and several associates survived our attacks, and in a few months
were working in America in our defense program and later in NASA.
In 1945 I returned to the FAA worked as Budget Officer and other assignments.
When Najeeb Halaby became Administrator I was designated to start a new
Regional Office in Atlanta to serve seven states and our programs in Latin
America. I was returned to Washington DC in 1965 as Associate Administrator
with duties including work with the Military on the planned SST. When
then Secretary of Defense cancelled Defense support, a lesser plane was
undertaken by the British and French In 1967 I replaced the Director of
the Western Region which then included the State of Colorado and those
states west of Colorado. I was involved in the safety certification of
a number of aircrafts including the Lockheed 141 and 1011, The Doughs
DC10, and the Boeing 737 and 747.
My work included work with Chief Executive officers of airlines, aircraft
manufacturing firms, directors of airports, city managers and congressional
committee members.
In these and other experiences, my appreciation of the Wright brothers
has continued to grow. Their understanding of elements of nature, science,
engineering, quality, training and team work that when properly used makes
aviation possible. They also led the way in standards and certification
of airmen on an international basis.
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