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| By Carmelo Turdo |
The Aero Experience honors our military service members at every opportunity, and we offer our special appreciation for them on this Veterans Day. It is a special privilege to include veterans from the Midwest Aviation community in our stories and videos, and today we feature Mark Schuler, who served in the U.S. Air Force as an air traffic controller from 1975-1979 before working for the FAA and the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency. He is currently known for taking his Cessna Skyhawk or Nanchang CJ-6A to fly-ins, winning awards for his restored 1946 Willys Jeep at car shows and working the Warbirds Area Tower at EAA AirVenture Oshkosh. Wherever he happens to be, Mark Schuler makes a positive impact on those around him.
You may have seen Mark Schuler in our previous coverage of Midwest Aviation events, but we have not yet focused just on his aviation career. We arranged to meet at his home airport, Sackman Field in Columbia, IL, this summer after his return from Oshkosh. Our initial discussion was not about his military service or air traffic control experience, but the rebuilding of his hangar and repair of the Cessna 172 damaged by the spring storm that rolled through the area.
A tornado struck the southwest corner of Sackman Field on the night of March 14/15, completely destroying the hangar containing his Cessna 172.
"When the gust front came through here, it took out my door, and when the door caved in, all the wind came in here and just lifted the roof and the wall. It carried it four hundred plus yards, just blew the building apart from the inside out."
The aircraft received damage to the left wing, right wing flap, left horizontal stabilizer tip, propeller and spinner. Amazingly, due to the outward failure of the walls and roof, the aircraft was repairable. Schuler took immediate action, arranging for Dawson Aircraft of Clinton, AR to retrieve the Cessna and begin the repairs. The hangar was rebuilt, and the aircraft was returned to service by early July in time to start an early sojourn to Oshkosh.
(Mark Schuler photos)
Returning to our interview, the first question was, "How did you get into aviation?" The answer is a reflection of the times.
"My father was an airline pilot. He flew DC-10s and 747s for Northwest, and I thought, 'Well, that's pretty cool.' And for some reason I wasn't getting into flying - he didn't really push me into flying. But then I found out about air traffic control, I originally was going to join the Navy because my father started out as a mechanic for Northwest - he worked on the 377, the Stratocruiser. So, I took the Navy test because my brother was in the Navy, so I qualified for aircraft mechanic school. Then this other friend of mine said, 'We're going to join the Air Force. The Air Force is much nicer, and you don't have to get stuck on a ship.' So, I took their aptitude test and they said, 'You qualify real high. You qualify for air traffic controller.' I go, 'YEAH, that sounds pretty cool. I'll do that.'
"So, I joined the service and went through their air traffic control school. I ended up going to MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa, Florida. It was a real busy base - it was an F-4 training base back in the day. We had three fighter wings there...The F-4s were loud and fast!"
Other aircraft types visited the base, including Air National Guard F-105 Thunderchiefs. They were too fast in the pattern behind the F-4s, which caused serious spacing issues. A Navy EC-121 Warning Star (Constellation) and Air Force B-57 Canberras also arrived, and the E-4A was coming online. They would conduct crew scramble exercises but then return to the apron, disrupting any other traffic movements at the time.
An air traffic control safety incident occurred when Thurman Munson, the baseball player for the New York Yankees, took off in his King Air from a nearby airport and continued into the base's airspace. The wing commander happened to be flying in the pattern, and he later gave Schuler a commendation for calling out the hazard. Munson was reported for the violation, and two weeks later he was killed in an accident involving his Citation jet in Akron, OH.
Following his discharge from the Air Force, Schuler was hired by the FAA and attended air traffic control training in Oklahoma City. One third of the class washed out or quit, including his roommate who was already a corporate pilot.
Schuler began his FAA career at the Rockford, IL tower and approach control facilities. He was released following non-renewal of the contract during the 1981 strike. In the intervening years, he obtained a degree in computer science using the GI Bill, obtained his private pilot certificate, and worked for the Midwest ATC contract tower at the Lea County Regional Airport in Hobbs, NM. A friend recommended that he apply for the Aeronautical Specialist job at the (former) Defense Mapping Agency, and there he worked on sectionals, military TPC (Tactical Pilotage Chart), approach plates, navaids, and more. When computers became more widely used, Schuler served as interim IT support. He retired in 2019.
Schuler bought his Cessna 172 from Wings of Hope in 1997. Ironically, the previous owner damaged the left wing, this time from an off-runway incident. The aircraft has been part of his aviation life ever since.
Mark Schuler developed an interest in warbirds from volunteering with the Missouri Wing of the Commemorative Air Force (CAF) based at St. Charles County Regional Airport - Smartt Field. He purchased a 1969 Nanchang CJ-6A in 2015 from its third owner based in Denver, CO. The aircraft was featured in Trade a Plane and was priced significantly less than the typical T-34 Mentor or T-6 Texan. The aircraft is stock. It originally sported a green camouflage paint scheme, but was previously repainted and the cockpit instruments were converted from metric to English denominations.
According to Schuler, the Nanchang CJ-6A is well-built and easy to fly, using a pneumatic system for landing gear, flaps and starter. A compressor running off the engine keeps the main and emergency tanks filled. Parts are in good supply, including the four special jacks designed to clear landing gear during inspection. Following our visit, the Nanchang was flown to M-14P Inc. in Kingman, AZ, a company specializing in the Huosai engine. It is shown here in its own hangar, undamaged in the March storm, and also during a flight in 2019.
Mark Schuler became interested in World War II-era vehicles during his time as a CAF volunteer. He found a 1946 Willys Jeep located in Waterloo, IL in poor condition for a good price on Craigslist. He stripped the vehicle down to the frame and rebuilt it using new, pre-formed panels imported from India and the original, post-war, seven slot grill. The seats were recovered using a canvas tarp material, and a Browning M1919 30 caliber wood replica machine gun was added.
Over the last ten years, Mark Schuler has served in the Warbirds Area at EAA AirVenture Oshkosh. He first volunteered for the Warbird Welcome, greeting and registering warbird pilots as they arrived. He was also the narrator for the Warbirds tram tour. Wanting to be closer to the action, and having air traffic control experience, he visited the Warbirds Tower and was put to work.
"We are like a ground control for all the warbirds. In the Warbirds Area, we break it down to the type of warbird. When we are up in the tower, we monitor the frequencies and find out what type of aircraft is coming in. We have about eight different areas in Warbirds - liaison, T-34s, T-6s, bombers, jets and so forth - then we notify those [parking] leads of the type of aircraft and how many there might be. And then when the aircraft lands, we can direct them to the appropriate entry point to the parking area."
There are one to three people in the Warbirds Tower, depending on the air traffic. Warbird controllers keep a tally of each type flying in airshows for EAA fuel records and direct aircraft to their parking leads when they return. The Mustangs are directed to their own area in the grass - "Area 51."
Those who arrive early the week before EAA AirVenture Oshkosh will see Schuler's Skyhawk or Nanchang parked in the grass before the rest of the arrivals. He works more shifts in the first few days and then again at the end of the week, with plenty of time to see the aircraft displays and exhibitors. But in the Warbirds Tower, he has a better view than the rest of us!
Even in retirement, Mark Schuler puts in a solid day's work (even if it is on the golf course). He is always open to sharing his love of aviation by displaying his aircraft at airshows and fly-ins, assisting warbird owners with their maintenance projects and working in the Warbirds Tower. He supports his community by driving his Willys Jeep in local parades and displaying at car shows. If something doesn't work, he is trying to figure out a solution. If he can help, he will.
The Aero Experience thanks Mark Schuler for serving his country and our Midwest Aviation Community.
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