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Capt. Len Morgan's passing

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K

Kaman

Well-known member
Joined
Nov 26, 2001
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947
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.
 
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.
 
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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.
 
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.
 
avbug said:
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.
Click to expand...

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
 
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.
Click to expand...


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.
 
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
 
I have no words worthy of honoring him. I hope he understood just how many of us were affected by his wonderful words.
 
RIP

When I was in the Air Force at Luke Airplane Patch, I sent a letter to Capt Morgan, and in true gentleman style, he wrote back; a simple note saying thank you for my kind words. I dont remember what I wrote, but I remember what he sent back. I still have it somewhere at home.

I'm a dispatcher (partially) because of his writings. I subscribed to Flying, mostly, for his writings. There are still some that I read today; 20 years after reading them for the first time.

Fair skies and 100 kt tailwinds Captain, thats your briefing. Thanks for the memories.
 
About 10 years ago I had an Internet list of aviation quotes and great lines from flying books. Playing around with the then-still-new Internet.

Out of the blue (as they say) I got an email from Captain Morgan. It was supportive and inspiring. We exchanged several more emails and a phone call or two. As a writer and former aviation book publisher he showed me how to turn a stupid webpage into a couple of books.

He was an amazing writer, at the very top level of folks who bring alive the airline cockpit using just pen and paper. He was also gentleman.




From my list at www.skygod.com:


An airplane might disappoint any pilot but it'll never surprise a good one.
— Len Morgan ​

Watching the Dallas Cowboys perform, it is not difficult to believe that coach Tom Landry flew four-engines bombers during World War II. He was in B-17 Flying Fortresses out of England, they say. His cautious, conservative approach to every situation and the complexity of the plays he sends in do seem to reflect the philosophy of a pilot trained to doggedly press on according to plans laid down before takeoff. I sometimes wonder how the Cowboys would have fared all this years had Tom flown fighters in combat situations which dictated continuously changing tactics.

— Len Morgan, 'View from the Cockpit.' ​

I came to admire this machine which could lift virtually any load strapped to its back and carry it anywhere in any weather, safely and dependably. The C-47 groaned, it protested, it rattled, it leaked oil, it ran hot, it ran cold, it ran rough, it staggered along on hot days and scared you half to death, its wings flexed and twisted in a horrifying manner, it sank back to earth with a great sigh of relief - but it flew and it flew and it flew.

— Len Morgan. The C-47 was the U.S. military designation for the DC-3.​

The way I see it, you can either work for a living or you can fly airplanes. Me, I'd rather fly.



— Len Morgan


​


 
I also loved Capt. Morgan's column in Flying. I started reading it in June of 1985, when I was 7 years old. Godspeed Sir.


On a side note, does anyone know a place where I can buy his books? I tried looking a while back and couldn't find them anywhere.
 
It's good to see that I'm not the only aviator who was especially touched by his articles. I remember how excited I was to receive my first "Flying" issue some 10+ years ago after my grandparents bought me the subscription for Christmas. I was hooked on "Vectors" from day one and kept thinking about how much I wanted to live a life like he'd had. Maybe we'll get back to that someday but I'm not complaining in the meantime either.

We need more like him to say the very least.

Godspeed
 

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