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Frank was world famous. He was USA's first-ever international aerobatic competitor. The story of his taking his (old even then) non-competitive 1929 185 hp Warner Great Lakes to Bratislava, Czechoslovakia to fly against the government-sponsored, best-in-the-world, defies reason and logic even to this day, but it was pure Frank. He wanted the USA to be represented in World competition and if no one else was going to do it, he would, and he did. |
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Even with an embarrassing lack of funds, Frank flew the 31-year-old (remember this was 1960 ), re-powered Lakes from Texas to the East Coast, took the biplane apart (he had never done that before) got it rigged and started out for Bratislava, which was behind the iron curtain. He did not know he had NO chance of ever flying it into Czechoslovakia. He had no charts...as he flew eastward and landed at small airports, he literally asked the way to the next field, not unlike the Crusades of the 1200's. It simply could not be done, but no one ever told Frank that; he somehow found his way. Had the State Department known about it, they would have fainted dead away. The Cold War was at its height, and here was Frank penetrating Eastern Europe in a 31-year old, 120 mph Warner Great Lakes biplane. You just have to imagine what the KGB was thinking. It gets better. As said, all the aircraft of the other Eastern Block nations were new, latest state-of-the-art, meticulously maintained, high-power-to-weight machines etc., and here comes Frank. Frank would tell the story of coming down air show center, inverted, a few feet off the deck, when he heard this awful metallic rattling sound behind him. He thought the old Lakes was packing it in, right there in front of God and everyone, but, it was worse. His external baggage door aft of the rear cockpit had come open and he was losing all his tools right down the runway! Frank would come to laugh as he related the incident long after, but it wasn't funny at the time! He didn't score particularly well; after all, he had flown only county airport air-shows, not point-scoring competition aerobatics based on the European system. While
Frank had not scored well or finished high in the standings, something
far more important was occurring. He Didn't Win, But He Scored Big In that era, there was a best-selling book entitled The Ugly American, and it accurately portrayed affluent Americans traveling in Europe as highly vain, egotistical, self-centered snobs who cared little for anyone or anything except themselves. The viewpoint was widely accepted in Europe. But Frank's magnetic, warm, outgoing, smiling, friendly personality would forever change every European's view of America once they met Frank! And Frank would know everyone around him in five minutes. Air-shows and aerobatics were Frank's love and passion, but his vocation was crop dusting. You aren't dusting or spraying if you're off in Europe flying competition aerobatics. So, when the World contest was over, Frank had to leave the Old Lakes there, come home and fly a season dusting before he could afford to go back and bring the Lakes home. It would seem impossible that anyone has not seen the movie "The Great Waldo Pepper." Frank flew all the Bucker aerobatic sequences, flew them in his Jungmeister, and flew them exactly the way they should be flown and shown. His extremely low-level spin recovery was exactly the way Frank planned it! Motion picture director George Roy Hill learned Frank was a precise perfectionist in his flying and would do each sequence as perfectly as could be done. Sharing His Knowledge & Talent Frank brought the Ares tic aerobatic code to the U.S. from Europe. It is the universal air show and competition cockpit graphic illustration of an aerobatic sequence of maneuvers. Frank represented the USA in World Competition in Europe in 1960, 1962, and 1964. He was Charles Hillard's mentor, and the two of them worked out Charlie's torque roll at the top of the vertical line which WOWED the judges at Hullavington in 1972 and won Charlie the world's championship! Up until the late '40s and even through the 1950's, 1960's, and into the 1970's aerobatic and air-show performers were virtually self-taught. Since they were competitors, there was a strong reluctance to share any of their hard-earned knowledge with each other. Frank leg the way in the late '70s for a totally open and helpful informational exchange. He wrote a series of articles for Sport Aerobatics magazine to assist in the critical area of identification of and recovery from inverted spins, and the proper recovery procedures from flat spins, both upright and inverted. A Pioneer Teacher The "Beggs Method" of hands-off recovery was still in the future at that time. Frank was a pioneer in openly conveying life saving and self-learned knowledge and information on to young fledgling aerobatic pilots. Frank was one of the original founders of the Aerobatic Club of America; he was one of the original founders of the International Aerobatic Club; he founded his own American Tiger Club. And he was one of the first three original inductees into the EAA IAC Hall of Fame. Franks annual American Tiger Club gathering in Waco was an event that brought aerobatic pilots from all over the U.S. to Texas each spring. It was done on a Friday, Saturday and Sunday, away from high traffic airport's and every one of the airport's four quadrants had simultaneous aerobatic sequences being flown by the brightest and best, and by the new kids on the block just trying to hack it. Tiger Days were a BALL.
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Information on the Museum and Hours of Operation Courtesy
of Steve and Linda Kay Dean
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One of the biplane and aerobatic community's most dearly loved and
respected member's passed away September 9, 1999. Frank Price, the
Old Tiger himself, died at his home at Moody, Texas, at the age of
77, after an extended and valiant battle with a long failing health
condition.