Capt. Len Morgan's passing

[Kaman]

Hello,
I just read that Captain Len Morgan (Braniff/ret.) passed away on March 11, 2005 at the age of 82. Captain Morgan was a true American hero and someone that I have long admired for not only what he had written over the years, but his dedication to aviation in all it's forms.
Captain Morgan learned to fly with RCAF and found himself in the RAF before becoming part of the USAAF and flew the C-46, C-47 and C-54 in the Air Transport Service. He was hired as a DC-3 co-pilot with Braniff and went onto fly the DC-6, CV-440, L-188, Boeing 707, 727 and 747.
Perhaps Captain Morgan is best known for his articles as a contributing editor for Flying magazine and his own AERO Publishing, Inc. that he formed with his son who currently employed as a USAirways pilot nearing retirement. I enjoyed his books and was lucky enough to have corresponded with him personally on a few occasions.
So, take a moment to reflect on the passing of a great aviator...Fair skies and Tailwinds Len.

 

[Cardinal]

I'm an airline pilot today, and Len Morgan is half the reason. He will be missed.

 

[slowto250]

With a lump in my throat, I salute you Cpt. Morgan.
He wrote so eloquently, and lamented the passing of his airline, as I did mine.
I too, found him to be inspirational. Without question (in my mind), the most talented writer to have ever chronicled our beloved profession. Pure poetry.

Hope some day I can do some "hangar flyin" with him.

 

[avbug]

I wrote to him on a couple of occasions, and he was gracious enough to write back, handwritten, personal. I spent a lot of time carried away in his writings...those will always be present, but it's truly sad to think that he's more than a postage stamp away.

It's true that old aviators never die. They merely become legends.

 

[Tinstaafl]

Before moving from Australia I used to buy the rather expensive imported Flying magazine there so I could read two columnists in particular. Len Morgan was one of them. I'm saddened by his death.

 

[350DRIVER]

I wrote to him on a couple of occasions, and he was gracious enough to write back, handwritten, personal. I spent a lot of time carried away in his writings...those will always be present, but it's truly sad to think that he's more than a postage stamp away.

It's true that old aviators never die. They merely become legends.

Very well said and not only do they become legends but they continue to captivate and inspire a large group.

He will be missed by many

3 5 0

 

[avbug]

Before moving from Australia I used to buy the rather expensive imported Flying magazine there so I could read two columnists in particular. Len Morgan was one of them. I'm saddened by his death.

If you're like me, I'm betting Gordon Baxter was the other. Lots of good articles, lots of good information...but it was Len and Gordon that put me in the cockpit.

 

[NuGuy]

Heyas all,

Bax and Len Morgan were heart and soul of Flying Magazine.

Captain Morgan was the reason I got into this racket in the first place. His writings were the gospel for me for many, many years. My copy of "Vectors" is as dog eared as my copy of "Fate is the Hunter".

We have a few hardy souls from BNF that flew with both Len and his son Terry. Class acts, both of them, was the universal opinion.

Captain Morgan loved Braniff, aviation and the airline business in general. But in his post-retirement writings, you could tell that he was heartbroken about what had happened post-deregulation and the awful state of the airlines and that he was more than happy to be retired (his particular rants were about the security non-sense, drug and alchohol testing and inept management).

I could only agree.

Nu

 

[Tinstaafl]

Peter Garrett's 'Technicalities' is the other one.

 

[ArcticFlier]

Hmmmmmmm......another one 'flies west.'


AF