Local pilot recalls past flights

For Bob Ruthford, there’s nothing like an open sky. The Superior resident keeps two planes in a hanger at the Mineral County airport, and on a good day there’s no other place he’d like to be.

The pilot started flying planes back in 1942 when he enlisted in the Army Air Corp. He ended up spending 28 years flying in the service and saw three wars from the skies.

“I think once it gets into your blood, you just have to stay with it,” Ruthford said. “But it’s the same as anyone who loves golf or something.”

Ruthford flew B-17s, which is a bomber aircraft, during World War II.

“One of the most enjoyable moments is that I had a radio operator who was always encouraging me to barrel roll the plane,” Ruthford said. “We tried it once.”

Ruthford said that he didn’t see much action during World War II. He said that by the time he completed training, the war was pretty much coming to an end.

After World War II, Ruthford went onto fly in the Korean War. He was in a fighter plane, a B-52.

“We served as ground support and worked closely with the army on the frontlines,” Ruthford said.

The fighter was much easier on the controls and much faster. Ruthford said that the bombers were flown higher up in the air at about 22,000 feet. He said that at times, he sometimes “felt like a duck” when he was being shot at.

In Vietnam, Ruthford traded in the B-52 to fly a C-123, which is a cargo aircraft. Ruthford said that learning to fly a plane was often “easier than learning to drive a car.”

Ruthford said that he recalls enjoying Spain and working with the Spanish aviators and controllers. Today, a lot of the pilots he flew with have passed on.

Ruthford retired from the service after 28 years and today he has what he refers to as a “couple of toys.” He retired from McChord Airforce Base in Tacoma, Wash. and “by luck” ended up in Superior.

Today, he keeps a Cessna 182 and a Cessna 150. The Cessna 182 has more power.

“You have the freedom,” Ruthford said. “You don’t have to worry about any traffic although birds can be a factor. At the lower altitudes they can be a problem.”

Ruthford said that he enjoys the smaller planes because you can fly everywhere and have the maneuverability. He said that one of his favorites flights is the 40 minute trip over to Coeur D’Alene.

“It’s a pretty flight over Mullan Pass.”

Minor maintenance and yearly instructions are a must to keep the planes in order. One of his favorite flights that Ruthford went on was when he flew with a group from Alaska to Russia.

“About 70 aircraft started off with us, but only 50 actually completed the trip. We flew across the Bering Straight and went down the west coast,” Ruthford said. “A lot of times they’d approved the flight one day and then we’d be waiting the next day.”

Ruthford said that it was a really enjoyable trip and there was a variety of aircraft that went on the trip. Today, one of the things Ruthford enjoys is just taking up people who have never flown before.

“I really enjoy taking people up. Its lots of fun,” Ruthford said. “Especially when you get a kid who hasn’t been and you get about 300 feet in the air and they’re like, ‘I’m flying. I’m flying.’”