Quote Originally Posted by ClippedCub View Post
The plane's been in our family since shortly after the crash. The story that's been handed down is that the builder, Raoul Messier, was stationed in the Philippines with the US Navy, before the outbreak of WWII. Him and a friend, Col Jimmie Lambert, saw the war coming, and decided that the Philippine government would need a trainer. Either that, or a request for proposals was issued. Either way, they formed the Philippine Aircraft Company, which is unrelated to the present Philippine Aircraft Company I would think, and designed/built/submitted the MessierSnipe PT101 Serial Number 1 powered by an 85 hp LeBlond radial. First flight was in 1936, or 38, or so, and I have a photo of it lifting off hanging up in my hangar along with the original Philippine airworthiness certificate. It was the first airplane certified in the Philippines from what I understand.

When the Japanese invaded the island, Raoul and Col Lambert fled to the mainland. Raoul in the company Cessna Airmaster, and Col Lambert in the Snipe. Raoul made it, but the Snipe was shot down by a Zero over water. Col Lambert survived and was somehow rescued. When Raoul met up with him, he asked where the Snipe was, and after he heard the story, never talked to Col Lambert again. He figured if he made it, the airplane should have too.

Raoul finished his stint in the Navy and lived in the Navy retirement home where he built Serial Number 2 in his seventies. This airplane was built from the parts that would fit in an Airmaster that he keep all those years, but most of it was built here. Raoul was very frugal, and he would sketch out plans on the back of junk mail to save paper, which I still have in 20-30 notebooks in the hangar. I would think another airplane could be built just from the plans.

My father met him after the accident, some spars were broken when he hit a cactus during the off field landing, and he was too old to tackle the rebuild himself. I think he was in his 80's by then. The airplane, and Raoul, were brought to my father's house where they rebuilt it. Raoul passed his medical, and was able to fly the airplane for a year or two after that. He died in the mid 80's I think when he was driving a camper out west, stopped for some lunch, and the stove blew up when he tried to light it. Somehow the smelly part wasn't added to the propane bottle he was using. What a life though, and building an airplane in a retirement home must have been quite the talk of the home.

We didn't want to see the airplane go to just anyone that wouldn't appreciate it's significance, so we bought it from the Navy estate.

Wow - great story and beautiful plane. Thanks for taking the time to share!
Gary