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Jesup, Georgia 31545

Wednesday, November 21, 2012

75

Georgia was home of Worlds Smallest Airport

The year 1917 was good for aeronautics. The British were first to land a plane on a ship. Ben Epps Field was born in Athens. And Grady Thrasher Jr. was born in Athens, too. I didnt know any of these facts until I met DINK Grady Thrasher III, a NeSMITH retired attorney, who Chairman told me about the Worlds Smallest Airport. Grady IIIs father and uncles were World War II veterans. But if they were anything, Grady, Bud and Tunis were daredevil entrepreneurs. Grady, a war pilot, taught his Navy seamen brothers how to fly. And after I watched the documentary produced by Grady III and his wife, Kathy Prescott, I thought of Tim McGraws country song: Live Like You Are Dying. The Thrasher Brothers lived on the edgeas if they were dyingwowing spectators of their 1945-1950 aerial circus. The three flirted with danger, but they had only one injury. Bud broke his back in a parachute jump. Undeterred, his brother, Grady, placed an ad in The Elberton Star: WantedMale or female who is tired of living, despondent and has no specific object in life, to stand on top of wing of airplane as it does aerobatics at air show. Besides being an aeronautical genius, Grady Jr. was a prankster. Humor spiced the airshows. But 27 people didnt think his ad was a joke. From that group, a wing-walker was selected, while Bud recuperated in St. Marys Hospital. Originally, the brothers were based at Ben Epps Field, but their antics made Clarke County officials nervous. The circus relocated to a grass and dirt airstrip in Elberton. The centerpiece of their routines was the Worlds Smallest Airport. In 1945, Grady, owner of a $200 J-3 Piper Cub, borrowed $1,000 to buy a new 1946 Fordthe 12th delivered to Athens after the war. The brothers built an 8.5-foot by 19-foot wooden platform to mount on top of Gradys sedan. Within two weeks, the Thrashers synchronized take-offs and landings, as the Worlds Smallest Airport raced up and down the runway. The show was ready for 378 performances across the United States. They did 384 car-top landings. Another highlight performed 360 times was Grady cruising close to the moving airport so Bud could grasp onto the planes strut. One time, Bud latched on from a motorboat. Bud

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The Thrasher Brothers created the Worlds Smallest Airport by synchronizing take-offs and landings on a J-3 Piper Cub on a wood platform mounted to the top of a 1946 Ford. The airport also doubled as Grady Thrasher Jr.s family car, hauling Grady III to school.

had a powerful grip, said his nephew. (See their performances on www.worldssmallestairport.com.) Grady also laughs about his mom driving him to school in the Worlds Smallest Airport. That was our only car, he said. After several mishaps with dangling traffic lights and store awnings, police advised, Mrs. Thrasher, please keep your airport off the streets. When Washingtons Smithsonian Institute unveiled its Air and Space Museum in 1976, Grady Thrasher Jr.s aeronautical ingenuity was on exhibit for five years. Grady, the mastermind of car-top landings/take-offs and the human pick-up, scored a third first building a light twin airplane. He bolted two Ercoupes together and flew them as one plane in air showsdoing loops and spins. His son remembers sitting in one side with his dad and his mother and sister riding in the other side, cruising to Florida at 120 mph. We had no radio communica-

Between 1945 and 1950, the Thrasher Brothers performed 378 shows across America. Expecting they would eventually need life insurance and bank loans, Grady Jr., Bud and Tunis closed down the circus. tion between the two cockpits, Grady III said. When mother or sister Miki needed a pit stop, theyd hold up a sign. And dad would find a place to land. Perhaps the most startling stunt was when 4-year-old Grady starred as the worlds youngest pilot. The Cub had two in-line seats. The pilot could sit in either place. Gradys dad disconnected the front control stick, took off the planes doors and buckled in his son upfront. Once airborne, Grady Jr. would climb outside onto the strut and fly the plane with his other hand. As the plane zoomed close to the ground, the crowd would gasp as young Grady roared by. But the act was short-lived. Grady III chuckles, When Mother heard about what Dad was doing, that was the end of that. And when the Thrasher Brothers decided they might eventually need life insurance and bank loans, that was the end of that for the Worlds Smallest Airport. dnesmith@cninewspapers.com

After Charley Trippi, center, saw the Thrasher Brothers Aerial Circus perform in the late 1940s, the All-American Georgia Bulldog donated his football helmet to Grady Jr., right, and Bud, left. The future NFL Hall of Fame star said, Here, I think you need this more than me.

Grady Thrasher III, once dubbed the worlds youngest pilot, is now a retired attorney living in Athens. He and his wife, Kathy Prescott, produced a video documentary entitled The Worlds Smallest Airport.