Anyone remember Gordon Baxter from (U.S) Flying Mag?
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Anyone remember Gordon Baxter from (U.S) Flying Mag?
For many years before and while learning to fly I used to buy the US "Flying" magazine (which I unfortunately no longer subscribe to). When I bought the mag I'd always without fail turn to the last page so that I might read "Bax Seat" first. I will admit to never having been able to sample a Mooney quite the way he described it. Anyway, was trolling around and found this article.....
12/6/2005: Farewell to the man called Bax.
By ROLANDO GARCIA, The Enterprise.
Gordon Baxter Jr., a legendary Southeast Texas radio personality and author, died Saturday. He was 81.
Baxter had been in declining health and was suffering from respiratory problems, said his son, Jim Baxter.
Baxter's penchant for speaking his mind got him fired frequently, and he bounced between local radio stations during his 50-year broadcasting career. But he kept a loyal following.
A self-styled storyteller, Baxter also wrote a popular column for a national aviation magazine -- he was an amateur pilot -- and authored 13 books.
"He was the most alive man I ever knew," said Diane Baxter, his wife.
Baxter was born on Christmas Day in Port Arthur. After a stint in the Merchant Marines during World War II, he got his first radio job in 1945 at KPAC radio, according to Beaumont Enterprise archives.
There, he earned the enmity of local unions for speaking out against the violence that had erupted during a labor strike.
He waded into political controversy again in the 1960s when he wrote a book defending American policy in Vietnam at a time when the war was growing unpopular. "(Baxter) never backed down and didn't care whether people agreed with him or not," Jim Baxter said.
A devoted audience and a knack for seamlessly weaving advertising into his show ensured that whenever one station let him go, another would snatch him up.
After getting the pink slip from KLVI in 1977, Baxter said he was fired "for the same reason they hired me. I'm Gordon Baxter, and there's no cure for that,"according to Enterprise archives.
Whether he was reporting from the site of the 1948 Texas City explosion or the Apollo space launch or from Vietnam, Baxter focused on the human side of stories in a way that resonated with Southeast Texans, Jim Baxter said.
Even his family life was a frequent on-air topic. Baxter would broadcast live from his living room on Christmas while his children opened presents one at a time on the air.
Baxter's other passion was flying. For 30 years, he wrote the "Bax Seat" column in Flying magazine.
His writing, which ranged from the romance of flight to life at small airports, made him a beloved figure in the aviation community, Jim Baxter said.
At Baxter's 80th birthday bash, retired astronaut Greg Harbaugh praised Baxter for inspiring a generation of pilots.
He will be inducted later this year into the Texas Aviation Hall of Fame, Jim Baxter said.
Baxter is survived by nine children, eight from a previous marriage that ended in divorce and one from his 32-year marriage with Diane.
[email protected]
12/6/2005: Farewell to the man called Bax.
By ROLANDO GARCIA, The Enterprise.
Gordon Baxter Jr., a legendary Southeast Texas radio personality and author, died Saturday. He was 81.
Baxter had been in declining health and was suffering from respiratory problems, said his son, Jim Baxter.
Baxter's penchant for speaking his mind got him fired frequently, and he bounced between local radio stations during his 50-year broadcasting career. But he kept a loyal following.
A self-styled storyteller, Baxter also wrote a popular column for a national aviation magazine -- he was an amateur pilot -- and authored 13 books.
"He was the most alive man I ever knew," said Diane Baxter, his wife.
Baxter was born on Christmas Day in Port Arthur. After a stint in the Merchant Marines during World War II, he got his first radio job in 1945 at KPAC radio, according to Beaumont Enterprise archives.
There, he earned the enmity of local unions for speaking out against the violence that had erupted during a labor strike.
He waded into political controversy again in the 1960s when he wrote a book defending American policy in Vietnam at a time when the war was growing unpopular. "(Baxter) never backed down and didn't care whether people agreed with him or not," Jim Baxter said.
A devoted audience and a knack for seamlessly weaving advertising into his show ensured that whenever one station let him go, another would snatch him up.
After getting the pink slip from KLVI in 1977, Baxter said he was fired "for the same reason they hired me. I'm Gordon Baxter, and there's no cure for that,"according to Enterprise archives.
Whether he was reporting from the site of the 1948 Texas City explosion or the Apollo space launch or from Vietnam, Baxter focused on the human side of stories in a way that resonated with Southeast Texans, Jim Baxter said.
Even his family life was a frequent on-air topic. Baxter would broadcast live from his living room on Christmas while his children opened presents one at a time on the air.
Baxter's other passion was flying. For 30 years, he wrote the "Bax Seat" column in Flying magazine.
His writing, which ranged from the romance of flight to life at small airports, made him a beloved figure in the aviation community, Jim Baxter said.
At Baxter's 80th birthday bash, retired astronaut Greg Harbaugh praised Baxter for inspiring a generation of pilots.
He will be inducted later this year into the Texas Aviation Hall of Fame, Jim Baxter said.
Baxter is survived by nine children, eight from a previous marriage that ended in divorce and one from his 32-year marriage with Diane.
[email protected]
hoss
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Aaaaahhh bugger.
Now there was a man who could write to make your spine tingle, with the poetry of flight and the pure joy of aviation.
Like OpsNormal it was the back page first when I was buying it and guiltily when I was flicking through it at the newsagent. I was never disappointed.
Richard Collins was the other one.
The life seems to have gone out of that mag with the death and retirement of many of its great contributors.
His son says;
aint dat de troof.
RIP Bax I'll miss you.
Now there was a man who could write to make your spine tingle, with the poetry of flight and the pure joy of aviation.
Like OpsNormal it was the back page first when I was buying it and guiltily when I was flicking through it at the newsagent. I was never disappointed.
Richard Collins was the other one.
The life seems to have gone out of that mag with the death and retirement of many of its great contributors.
His son says;
His writing, which ranged from the romance of flight to life at small airports, made him a beloved figure in the aviation community,
RIP Bax I'll miss you.
The last Bax Seat
I subscribe to Flying because it is more relevant to the type of flying I do - ME IFR. Aus Flying is only on step ahead of an ultralight journal and only sometimes at that.
The Last Bax seat appears in the Septmber 2005 issue of FLYING. It had been held since the 1970's for use after Bax had died and if you liked Bax's writing you will find him at his best, posthumously, this month.
RIP Bax.
The Last Bax seat appears in the Septmber 2005 issue of FLYING. It had been held since the 1970's for use after Bax had died and if you liked Bax's writing you will find him at his best, posthumously, this month.
RIP Bax.
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Baxter and Morgan had the amazing gift of being able to put their love and passion for flying into prose without ever having to grandstand.
The Australian Aviation and Australian Flying magazines should take note and have a few veterans of both GA and the airlines writing a monthly column.
The younger generation certainly could learn a thing or two about aviations past and also themselves.
Instead the Oz publications dribble on about military trainers and provide a feeble attempt at humour in "On the Airwaves" or whatever its called.
A sad comparison really.
Baxter and Morgan were both true gentlemen of aviation and were respected worldwide.
The Australian Aviation and Australian Flying magazines should take note and have a few veterans of both GA and the airlines writing a monthly column.
The younger generation certainly could learn a thing or two about aviations past and also themselves.
Instead the Oz publications dribble on about military trainers and provide a feeble attempt at humour in "On the Airwaves" or whatever its called.
A sad comparison really.
Baxter and Morgan were both true gentlemen of aviation and were respected worldwide.
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tinny
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Morgan I was trying to rmember his name, if he was the guy who did the column on a day in his life as an airline pilot he was brilliant.
Our local stuff is not even close, there is some good stuff but not enough for 2 monthly mags, but then we don't have a pilot population around 400,000 either.
and guiltily when I was flicking through it at the newsagent. I was never disappointed.
Morgan I was trying to rmember his name, if he was the guy who did the column on a day in his life as an airline pilot he was brilliant.
Our local stuff is not even close, there is some good stuff but not enough for 2 monthly mags, but then we don't have a pilot population around 400,000 either.
