Danville Squadron honors member of 56 years

Times have changed a lot since Civil Air Patrol Maj. Charles Duckworth took to the skies in the 1950s.

Duckworth, 82, was honored by the Danville Squadron of the CAP on Thursday night at Danville Regional Airport.

Although Duckworth has not been active for many years in search and rescue, one of the main functions of the CAP, he has been member for 56 years.

“When Maj. Duckworth started, his airplane just had a couple of instruments,” said David Hutcheson, public affairs officer for the Danville Squadron. “Our latest airplanes have flat-screen computers for instruments, including GPS, to give the pilot as much information as a 747 pilot has, while Maj. Duckworth’s small, 60hp two-seater airplane had only a compass for navigation.” 

Back in the 1960s, CAP search and rescue teams would climb into their planes, often their own, when a call came in, but now the Air Force provides the equipment, according to Hutcheson. The CAP is an auxiliary of the U.S. Air Force.

Stories to tell

Duckworth actually got the CAP charter for Chase City, where he lives, back in 1959, but when his business travels took him away too often, the chapter closed. Members then came to Danville to participate in the search-and-rescue training there.

In the late 60s and into the 70s, the Danville Squadron was considered the No. 1 in the state and Chase City No. 2.

Duckworth has many stories to share of the days when he was one of those who climbed into his plane and took off when needed.

One of his stories is about a time he located a missing Navy jet.

“I got a call from the FAA that a Navy jet was missing along the Virginia/North Carolina border,” Duckworth said. “I got into my plane with a spotter in the back seat, and we found the jet pretty quickly. It had crashed into the woods and left a crater. It was burning.

“We noted the location, flew back to the airport, got into our CAP search vehicle and went back and secured the area. We stayed all night, and the Navy arrived the next day.”

Some of Duckworth’s experiences were a little too close to danger.

On one flight he was about 35 miles south of Farmville when his lost his oil pressure.

“I checked the oil, and it was fine. I figured I had a bad oil pressure gauge, so I took off again and resumed my trip,” he said. “When I had the airport in sight, the engine quit completely. There was unbelievable silence.

“At this point, the airplane turned into a glider, and I was high enough I was able to make it onto the tip end of the runway. We practice emergency procedures like this as a part of training, so I really didn’t get nervous until I landed.”

Another experience was sadder than he likes to remember.

“I got a call from a mother in the middle of the night,” he recalled. “Her 12-year-old son had gone out (hunting) with a shotgun and had not come back. She had looked all night. When it was sunrise, I got in my plane and made one sweep around the farm.

“He was lying by the fence. His gun had gone off and killed him as he went through the fence.”

Another time when he was flying to Danville, he flew into a bank of fog across the river east of Danville. The only thing he could see was the VIR racetrack, so he landed on the track and waited for the fog to lift so he could take off again.

During all the years of flying, his best co-pilot was his wife, Bettie, who couldn’t fly, but was a great navigator, he said.

Now retired

These days Duckworth is retired from the furniture and hardware businesses that were his career and he lives on the edge of a golf course.

“I live on the golf course, and I work on the lawn, doing what I’m told,” he said.

Five years ago he sold his airplane.

“I flew for 55 years of flying and 3,000 hours and never put a scratch on a plane or hurt anyone,” he said. “It was time to get out with a good record.”

And the only time he misses flying a plane? “Every time one goes over.”