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I asked if he had a minute to talk- He said: “Make it fast I’m up to my elbows’ in compost and its getting deeper!” We talked for over an hour about Amateur radio, building antennas, and flying.
I knew Don holds the patent on the screwdriver type antennas and I told him I was willing to pay him for his patent rights to build a large screwdriver type antenna. Don said: “Ron, don’t worry about it and let me tell you how to build a screwdriver.” We talked about screwdriver design, how other companies have stole his design without even saying thank you, and he went into great detail on building a screwdriver. He told me what to do and what not to and where to get my parts without spending a ton of money. I was really surprised of all the info Don had to offer. I could not thank him enough for all of his help.
I am a private pilot and Don was a pilot before, during and after WW2. This is a little bit of info that a lot of people don’t know about Don and his flying career. Don talked about all of the important people he had met and the different types of aircraft he had seen and flown, I was amazed to say the least. For many years Don was the Captain of a 400 person seaplane built by Martin Aircraft know as a JRM. This was one of the many personnel shuttles that flew between Los Angeles and Hawaii. Don had flown some of the largest aircraft produced back then. Don has logged over 22,000 hours of flying time.
 I asked Don if he would autograph an
antenna and send it to me.
I also requested photos of Don, his wife
and the aircraft he used to fly and asked
if it was OK to put them on my website,
he stated he would send the photos and
no problem with putting them on the my
website. I inquired about the websites
Don has, Don stated he has no websites
and that bootleggers are doing it.
The autographed antenna arrived along with two CDs and many photos of him and his wife along with some of the greatest looking aircraft you have ever seen (pilots would really appreciate these)!
 I talked to Don this morning and he wanted everyone to know
that he is doing fine and is still building screwdriver antennas as
of this writing. (I guess there is a website stating Don is out of
business, not true!)
He is still building 20 antennas a week, painting, cleaning
and doing his favorite chore, working in the compost pile!
Don’s son and I share the same birth date of 7/15. His son
is 7/15/46 and mine is 7/15/57. Very seldom do you run across
someone with the same birth date!
Don has made a significant contribution to the Amateur
community. He is without a doubt a scholar and a gentleman.
Ron Douglass NI7J
10 am Sunday 5/19/07 |
