Bücker bi-planes swoop into Blaine County

Reporter's note: Ed Obie, Chinook Airport Manager, called to tell me a group of planes would be landing the next day at the local airport. He said, "You might be interested in seeing these planes. There'll also be some students coming over from Meadowlark." Later, Blaine County Undersheriff Frank Billmayer told me one of the pilots was his dad, Jay. I'd talked to Jay when I was gathering information about the old Harlem stock car track. A trip to the airport would be fun to see the planes and finally meet Jay Billmayer.

Jay Billmayer graduated from Hogeland High School in 1966, one of the last classes to graduate there. His father, Frank, had a passion for flying early on. In high school he and a friend acquired a used plane which they hid in a coulee from their parents. Per young Frank, Jay didn't start flying until after college, but he was always around planes that his dad owned and flew. Part of the reason Jay wanted the group to stop in Chinook and show the planes was because he has three grandchildren who attend Meadowlark Elementary. There must be flying in the family genes.

At the airport I was expecting some guys in private planes who were just normal flying enthusiasts on their way to an air show. What I saw was a part of aviation history that is unique and rare.

A dramatic arrival

I arrived early at the airport and learned the planes were running a bit later than expected. The pilots left Kalispell, would make a fuel stop in Chinook and then continue on their way to the Antique Aircraft Association (AAA) annual Fly-in at Blakesburg, Iowa. Blakesburg is the home of the association at Antique Field with its own runway, museum and display space for the 200 members who would be flying to the Labor Day weekend event.

At Obie Field, in Chinook, a couple of classrooms from Meadowlark had arrived and Undersheriff Billmayer was explaining to the students that they could go out on to the apron of the runway to see the planes, once the planes landed and it was safe. He also laid down the main rule: Don't touch the planes. The students sat down in some shade next to the airport office/pilots' lounge to wait for the planes. A couple of turkey buzzards were doing some lazy passes over the airport. It was very peaceful.

Suddenly the students began to murmur...one of them had spied a couple of dark spots on the horizon. Students jumped to their feet and began to shout, "Here they come!" As the first two planes swooped over the end of the field and buzzed the crowd below, the kids, as one teacher described it, freaked out. I just then realized the planes were all bi-planes. It was my first glimpse of the 1930's era Bücker, a plane made famous by the Axis powers during World War II. Now, except for a very few still flying, the German-engineered planes are museum pieces or disappeared forever.

On the ground and up close with the Bückers

Jay Billmayer and Hank Galpin, both from Kalispell, landed first. There were six more planes, still in the air, on their way to Chinook. Billmayer said, "We've been fighting a headwind ever since we left West Glacier. The others will be along shortly." The six who were headed to Iowa had joined with eight other planes over the prior weekend for the annual Bucker Fly-In, hosted by Billmayer and Galpin. It's a small group of plane owners.

Billmayer explained only about 20 of the planes of the type he and Galpin, the one-seater Jungmeister ('young champion'), are still flying. The other few that survived the war are in museums. The two-seater model, some still on their way to Chinook, was first built in 1934 for training purposes. Of the Jungmann ('young man') trainers, Billmayer said about 200 still survived worldwide. Variations of the Bücker were built in several other countries, especially during World War II.

Billmayer told an interesting story about how the plans for the Bücker survived the war. A set of plans had been secreted out of Germany to Czechoslovakia, then to the U.S. He said, "An old guy at an airport where we just happened to land, offered us the plans. He could tell we were real enthusiasts." Based on those plans, Billmayer and his friend, Hank, hand built two Jungmeisters. Billmayer added, "Only five Jungmeisters have been built since 2005. You're looking at two of them." It took Billmayer 12 years to complete his plane, Hank invested 11 years to complete his.

Since the planes were so scarce, so were parts. The two partnered to create their own machine shop at a hangar in Kalispell. Young Frank said of his dad, "He is an engineer but this project was so unique he and Hank had to make many of their own parts." He told, "My dad went to Flathead Valley Community College to learn TIG welding so he could work on the planes. He bought a used mill and lathe, out east, and had them shipped back to Kalispell. Then he set it up and modified the machines so they he could make parts for the Bücker." Jay Billmayer said, "These planes replicate the original model except for a modern engine and instrumentation we installed."

In the 1936 summer Olympics, staged in Berlin, there was an aviation competition. The Bücker won all three top places. In 1937, a Bucker was put in the belly of the Hindenburg, flown to America and then flown in air shows. It crashed twice, was rebuilt both times and finally ended up in a museum. Billmayer said there are Bückers in several museum in Europe, some that were made in Czechoslovakia and Spain. A Czech model was among the eight that landed in Chinook.

The students react to the planes

Liam Morrow is Jay Billmayer's grandson and a fourth grader at Meadowlark. Liam's teacher, Mrs. Scofield, said of the students' reactions to the planes, "They freaked out when the planes flew over before landing. They thought it was very cool, especially the fact that Liam's grandfather was one of the pilots." Bridger Billmayer, is a first grader and another of Jay's grandsons. Before the planes arrived I asked him if he had ever ridden in his grandfather's plane. "No," he said, "I'm not tall enough but I think I will be soon." It was pretty clear he had plans to ride just as soon as he qualified.

Through the course of the morning, several classes came to see the planes and visit with the pilots. Hopefully, at some point in their lives, the students will appreciate their rare opportunity to be up close with a bit of aviation history. And as to the Bücker, the old saying "they aren't making any more of those" is definitely true.