"Thank you Bill! I love learning about the history of the Skinny Bird! It always makes interesting conversation when explaining what a Porterfield is."
Keep the Skinny Birds Flying Safely
-
Bill Skinner
- Male
- Fort Worth, TX
- United States
- Blog Posts (3)
- Discussions (13)
- Photos (29)
- Photo Albums (1)
- Videos (2)
Bill Skinner's Discussions
The Porterfield Story - Antique Airplane Association - By Chuck Lebrecht
2 Replies
I have been reviewing collected materials from dad's files again....My latest effort involves looking through a stack of Antique Airplane Association magazines. There are about 50 issues in the…Continue
Started this discussion. Last reply by Steve Ahrens 14 hours ago.
Aircraft Structural Repair - Wood Aircraft Structures
2 Replies
Several months ago I ran across a discussion concerning a wing spar repair. I am now uncertain which website it was located within; Porterfield Club, Facebook, etc. The essence of the question was…Continue
Started this discussion. Last reply by Bill Skinner Feb 11.
American Eaglet
1 Reply
I saw an American Eaglet posted on Facebook. Interesting pictures....NC597Y$15KLocation: San Antonio…Continue
Started this discussion. Last reply by Andy Andraka May 1, 2021.
Unknown Elevators
3 Replies
To All:My dad saved an old set of elevators. They were of some significance to him as they were "representative examples" of production articles. For what aircraft I do not know, and that is the…Continue
Started this discussion. Last reply by Bill Skinner Jul 4, 2020.
Bill Skinner's Page
Latest Activity
"Thank you for this, Bill! Learning the history of Porterfield really helps us all appreciate our old girls that much more."
The Porterfield Story - Antique Airplance Association - By Chuck Lebrecht
I have been reviewing collected materials from dad's files again....My latest effort involves looking through a stack of Antique Airplane Association magazines. There are about 50 issues in the stack; from the years 1961 thru 1965.These old magazines are wonderful.... many aircraft types represented, many people of importance to the history of aviation, lots of great pictures. I remember some from when I was young. ... my dad and I would sit and look through the issues. I remember he so looked…See More
William-Robert-Skinner-Interstate-Aircraft-Portrait-small-1944-2-3_0001
"Thanks Bill! I was originally thinking that maybe he got started with Interstate here after Porterfield/Columbia closed then transferred to DeKalb. I think one of your other posts I later saw indicated that wasn't the case. I…"
William-Robert-Skinner-Interstate-Aircraft-Portrait-small-1944-2-3_0001
"Brett. Regarding your question about Interstate and Kansas City, I am not sure about it...
My father worked for a number of companies during the war years. Some of that, including his work for Interstate was on the TDR series of Drones, which was…"
Porterfield-Cabin-IMG_0001-small
"I found a reference to this exact photo in the Antique Airplane Association July 1964 issue. The photo was sent to Chuck Lebrecht by my father, W. R. Skinner and appeared in the "Porterfield Club" news on page 18 of that issue. .. and…"
"I'm a year late seeing and commenting on this, since I wasn't in the group when it was posted. It's a very interesting article. Based on my own research it contains very interesting factual details, and also quite a bit of…"
William-Robert-Skinner-Interstate-Aircraft-Portrait-small-1944-2-3_0001
"Did your father happen to work for Interstate while they were in Kansas City, located at Fairfax Airport? Information about their presence there is scarce, but it appears they were there from February 1942 to sometime between July and December…"
"Thanks Andy. Good reference, more complete. I have so many of the old documents.... I would love to scan them all ... beautiful old hand drawn sketches, pictures, and notes."
"I would recommend reading AC 4313-1B, Chapter 1, Section 4, Paragraph 1-40 for spar repairs
https://www.faa.gov/documentLibrary/media/Advisory_Circular/AC_43.13-1B_w-chg1.pdf
You can download it from this link.
Your USAF/USN manual is a piece of…"
Aircraft Structural Repair - Wood Aircraft Structures
Several months ago I ran across a discussion concerning a wing spar repair. I am now uncertain which website it was located within; Porterfield Club, Facebook, etc. The essence of the question was related to repair of a damaged wooden wing spar and the proper method to splice the spar.Long story, but my dad was an A.E. with a background in working with wooden aircraft. I knew he was considering at one point the methods to fix a couple of spars from a Porterfield we owned. Additionally, his…See More
34819N-Earl-Audra-Kezer
"Earl Kezer made 34819 from two Porterfields. This one actually belonged to Audra Kezer and not Earl. According to Earl, it was originally blue with silver wings. Earl painted everything red! This example, like most, had several owners, including the…"
"Thanks Bill"
34819N-Earl-Audra-Kezer
"This old gal is now cared for by member Ernie Knudsen, so she’s still in Texas. The picture on Ernie’s page shows she still sports the same, all-red paint scheme. Thank you, Bill!"
"Awesome! Thank you so much for Sharing Bill!"
Profile Information
- About Me:
- My name is Bill Skinner. I am the son of the Bill Skinner that was an Engineer for Ed Porterfield and who was a design engineer for some of the Porterfield Aircraft. I was a pilot, briefly. I have worked in the Aviation industry for my entire career. I am now retired.
- Do you own a Porterfield Airplane? N#?
- No, but my dad had one for a while when i was young. It was not complete or airworthy.
- Are You a Pilot? Ratings?
- No
Bill Skinner's Photos
Bill Skinner's Videos
Comment Wall (1 comment)
- At 4:17pm on July 6, 2010,
Tom Porterfield said…
- Bill,
We are happy to have you as a member in our Porterfield Airplane Club. Feel free to share your pictures and stories with us. Welcome aboard!
Tom Porterfield
Bill Skinner's Blog
Sport Flying - 1975, Vol 1, Iss 2 - Porterfield Article
Sport-Flying-Article-1975-Vol-1-Iss-2.pdf
I was cleaning some shelves in a closet and found an issue of Sport Flying that my dad saved. It has an article on the Porterfield Aircraft Company in it.
I remember there being much discussion around the article at our house. I think that the author of the article, Don Pratt, may have contacted my dad…
ContinuePosted on March 6, 2023 at 11:00am — 4 Comments
Porterfield Club Newsletters
I have within my fathers paperwork / files a number of Porterfield Club Newsletters. Would current club members be interested in a project to have these inventoried, scanned into searchable PDFs, and either posted to the club site or made available to club members? Any and all thoughts on this would be appreciated.
Posted on July 13, 2020 at 12:51pm — 3 Comments
A Tribute to My Dad
Today is July 10th, 2020. My mother and father would have been married for 80 years today. They have long since passed, but I am still amazed by their lives. Happy anniversary Mom and Dad.
Since my dad was so involved with the Porterfield aircraft, I wanted to re-share a bio that appeared in the Porterfield Club newsletter in April of 1978. It was authored by Chuck LeBrecht with inputs from my dad.
There are some errors, spelling, grammatical, and factual (I…
ContinuePosted on July 10, 2020 at 7:44am — 1 Comment
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