Oshkosh restorer
rehabbing man’s father’s
plane
By Ric Reynolds
 |
|
Roger Descomb,
seated, and Mike Butler met face-to-face for the first time this
year. Mike is restoring an airplane owned by Roger’s father
back in the 1930s. Photo by Ric Reynolds |
In 1930, Roger Descomb
and his brother, Charlie, owners of Descomb Flying Service based at
Connecticut’s Hartford-Brainard Airport, purchased a New Standard
D-29. That in itself is not unusual; since they opened the business in
1919, the Descombs have owned dozens of airplanes, including a Taperwing
Waco, several Gee Bee Sportsters, the five-seat New Standard D-25,
Fairchild 22, Travel Air 2000, Cabin Waco, de Havilland Moth, Taylor
Cub, and the list goes on.
But the Descomb brothers
had this 1930 New Standard D-29 for 13 years, one of the longer
stretches they got out of any single airplane. But it did not fly very
much after they sold it. In fact, the airplane wound up sitting in a
field from about 1944 to 1982 until it was pulled out and stored in a
barn until 1999.
That’s when Mike
Butler, Oshkosh resident and aircraft restorer, obtained the tattered
ruins through a contact at Old Rhinebeck Aerodrome in New York. One of
the first things he did was research its history through the FAA
archives, which produced the name of Roger Descomb, who had long since
passed. His son, also named Roger, was still living in Connecticut.
When Mike contacted Roger
in 2000 to inform him of his latest purchase, Roger dug through a box of
photographs left by his father and found a picture of the D-29. As Mike’s
restoration project progressed, the two kept in touch until this year
when Roger asked, "What are the chances we could meet up in
Oshkosh?"
Mike said, "Let’s
do it."
Tuesday the two met for
the first time after six years of corresponding and exchanging Christmas
cards. Roger, wheelchair-bound from a 1958 crop-dusting accident, is
staying with the Butlers through Monday.
As for the restoration
project, Mike says the majority is completed, but it still could take a
few years before it’s ready to fly.
And when that happens,
Mike said he has only one thing in mind:
"I want to give Roger a ride in his
dad’s airplane."
