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    "Warbird Experience"



    Museum Pilots




    Guy Campolattara

    Photo by Dan Sheehan www.gearupsix.com


    Museum Planes Flown:
    Stearman, L-2

    Bio:
    Guy's dad was a pilot back in 1952, and Guy remembers when dad bought his first airplane for a grand total of $35.00. Guy's dad was friends with Mark Murvihill, and Mr. Murvihill helped Guy's dad to find, purchase, and restore the plane.

    Mark Murvihill was a WWII aviation veteran, and Guy became well acquainted with him, hearing about his wartime experiences. During the war, Mr. Murvihill flew such planes as the Stinson L-5 and Cub while on liason and observation duty. Sometimes the job required searching out the enemy, and sometimes it meant transporting an officer from place to place. One of those places had been a liberated German concentration camp. Mr. Murvihill flew an army general in to view this horror, and Mr. Murvihill was allowed to take photos. Experiences like these greatly changed Mr. Murvihill's life. After the war, Mr. Murvihill settled down in Valparaiso, IN, and opened an aircraft maintenance shop at the old Urschel Airport, which used to be located where K-Mart is now. One of the Urschel family members of Urschel Laboratories had started this airport. Eventually Mr. Murvihill moved his maintenance shop to Porter County Airport, and Murvihill Road was named after him.

    Having a dad as a pilot, Guy developed an interest in aviation at an early age, spending a lot of time at the hangar and around planes, as well as observing the influential aerobatic pilots Bill Adams and Harold Krier. Guy still has photos of himself standing beside dad's plane, which was a Taylorcraft L-2 Grasshopper, precisely the same plane that Indiana Aviation Museum has today, which also explains why dad had to take a ride in the museum's L-2.

    During high school, Guy worked at Miller's Grocery, and had a friend working for Professional Aviation, an aircraft maintenance business operated by Bernie Rodgers and Larry Bub. Guy's friend, a future Purdue Aviation student, recommended Guy as a replacement when it came time for Guy's friend to leave for Purdue. So, Guy then began working for Professional Aviation, and remained there from 1969-1976.

    Thus, Guy also started flying at an early age, and by the age of 16, he had soloed for the first time. Woody Barnes, jr., a once Navy pilot, then Gary police helicopter pilot, served as Guy's flight instructor. Guy started out learning in a Cub, but then changed to a Cessna Skyhawk because it had a better heating system, a must for winter flying. After 4.5 hours of dual instruction, Guy soloed, as he recalls, on January 12, 1969. And then, in 1972, Guy achieved his private pilots license making his checkride with Mr. Bob Love of Love's Flying Service.

    Also during the time with Professional Aviation, Guy not only got his private pilots license, but achieved his airframe and powerplant repair license. It was a very good 7 years there, and the rough diamond that Mr. Murvihill had started was being polished.

    After such good experiences in the world of flight and aircraft repair, Guy then landed a job with Bendix in South Bend in 1976. This job entailed working with turbine engine fuel controls for such planes as the F-14 Tomcat, F-15 Eagle, F-16 Falcon, F-18 Hornet, and the SR-71 Blackbird. This experience provided much learning about the corporate world as well as the production of the fuel control systems.

    With a job change in 1989 to return to flying, Guy flew a Beechcraft King Air 200 in Michigan City until 1996, and then flew for Trailer Transit in Valpo. From 1996-97, Guy thoroughly enjoyed flying a Cessna Citation II corporate jet. In 1997, Guy had the opportunity to manage the Michigan City Airport for a year. Needless to say, Guy has seen aviation from many angles, and his spent his entire life in it.

    Currently, Guy flies the company plane for Valpo Harley-Davidson, and also serves as a flight instructor for Eagle Aircraft, as well as a museum pilot for IAM.

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    4601 Murvihill Rd. Valparaiso, IN 46383   Phone: 219.548.3123
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