Originally posted by Wilbus
Sorry for my lack of knowledge but was Erik a WW2 pilot?
He sure was. Erik began flying with the USAAC in the late 1930s. During an assignment to Langley Field, he tested such aircraft as the Curtiss YP-37 and the Bell YFM-1 Airacuda. He was qualified in virtually every fighter the USAAC had prior to WWII. When Chennault was granted permission to recruit American pilots for the AVG, Erik was quick to sign up for the adventure and the promise of high pay and bounties. Chennault would come to hold Erik as one of his favorite pilots, stating, "Shilling can fly anything better than anyone." Indeed, Chennault picked Erik to defend AVG honor in a mock combat between the RAF detachment at Rangoon and the AVG. Over the course of several engagements, Shilling easily defeated his British counterpart by "flying circles around the Brewster" Buffalo with his Curtiss Tomahawk. Shilling was chosen as the AVG's recon pilot. He stripped a Tomahawk of its guns and non-essential components. He then cut a hole in the bottom of the aft fuselage, where he installed an aerial camera. Mechanics worked to tune the already hand-built Allison to peak performance. Shilling would routinely fly deep into Japanese air space and photograph airfields and military installations. His lightweight, high powered Tomahawk was capable of speeds close to 390 mph, and Erik used this to race away from pursuing Japanese fighters. After the AVG was disbanded (7/4/42), Erik signed up with CNAC, and flew transport aircraft "over the Hump" for the remainder of the war.
Erik later flew for various organizations, being the last aircraft in and out of Dien Bien Phu. No other contract pilot was willing to fly into that dirt strip under heavy fire. He landed a C-119 under fire, bringing in medical supplies, food and ammunition. Likewise he took off under fire taking out the sick and wounded. His C-119 taking over 50 hits, and having to fly most of the way back on one engine, Erik would be decorated by the French government for his courage.
Later in his remarkable career, Erik was a contract pilot for Air America, flying covert missions deep into Laos and Cambodia. He is rumored to have actually landed in North Vietnam, bringing in CIA operatives.
Erik was the personafication of the Flying Tiger, right until his death, which he met with great dignity and an indomidable spirit, passing on with the great satisfaction of knowing that he had made a difference. I can't think of a single person I admire more.
To read more about Erik, click on the link.
Erik Shilling My regards,
Widewing
