FAOA History
In 1975, G. Dale Beach was helping a young pilot experiencing trouble landing a taildragger; it was Dale's first-ever encounter with a Funk aircraft. The experience so awestruck him that Dale ended up buying the plane! He subsequently bought the remains of another Funk and completely restored it.Out of this experience came the Funk Aircraft Owners Association, not an ordinary confederation of owners of a particular brand and type of aircraft, but a large, extended family of 100+ members whose mutual interest in their beloved Funks ties them across thousands of miles and all age, gender, and nationality differences.
In April 1976, Dale published the first issue of "Funk Flyers Newletter"; the title was shortened in 1981 to "The Funk Flyer". "The Funk Flyer" is currently published by FAOA Secretary Ruth Ebey of El Cajon, California. Dale also organized the first Funk Fly-In at Coffeeville, held on July 21-23, 1978. This annual gathering of Funk owners and their aircraft has become a regular activity of the Association. The 2002 Fly-In featured xx Funks gathered at the place of their birth, 50 years after the last one rolled off of the assembly line. Various low-key tests of flying skills are offered, with appropriate awards for the most successful in each category.
The award for the furthest-flown aircraft went to a Funk from xx A tour of Funk Manufacturing was provided. There was a banquet with speeches and an annual ceremony --- flying the "Missing Man Formation" --- to recognize the passing of FAOA members. The next annual fly-in is scheduled inxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx. So much fun has been had at recent Coffeyville Fly-Ins that planning is now underway for a second Fly-In, to be held in Akron, Ohio, the birthplace of the Funk aircraft line and the Akron Airplane Company.
The organization has initiated a program to supply Funk parts, which obviously are no longer found on every parts shelf. Some parts are recycled from aircraft that have been destroyed in one way or another, while others are being manufactured from patterns generated from existing aircraft. The FAOA also serves as a clearing house for information on the restoration, repair, and maintenance of Funk aircraft, for buying and selling Funks, and through the newsletter, for exchanging information from far-flung members of the family. Members have been known to chip in to help another member in distress, much as members of an actual family would.
