Sometimes the Flying Weather’s Fit Only for Turkeys

Winter is a good opportunity for telling old aviation stories.

Thursday, May 23, 2024 at 09:03 AM ET

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John Paul Riddle, a talented, handsome (even when I knew him in his 80s), and fascinating barnstormer originally from Pikeville, Kentucky, would play a very big part in creating what is now Cincinnati Municipal Airport-Lunken Field. [Courtesy: City of Pikeville; Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University Archives]

Key Takeaways:

The article recounts the early history of Cincinnati Municipal Airport-Lunken Field (KLUK) in the 1920s, established on a naturally flat site called Turkey Bottoms and initially deeded to the city by Eshelby F. Lunken.
Pioneer barnstormer John Paul Riddle was instrumental in the airport's development, partnering with T. Higbee Embry to form the Embry-Riddle Company, which offered flight training, aircraft sales, and crucial airmail services from Lunken.
The author personally interviewed Riddle in the 1980s, learning about his broader aviation career, which included extensive pilot and mechanic training programs for the government, operations in Brazil, and founding Riddle International Airlines.

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It’s mid-January in the Midwest, and I’m in a funk over something you’ll understand—the weather.

We don’t have much violent weather in the Ohio River Valley, but we suffer through weeks of low, gray skies, rain/snow mix, and gusty surface winds. The surface winds at the moment are 240 degrees at 14 gusting to 22 knots with a light rain/snow mix. Ceiling is 1,300 feet overcast with rime ice reports up to 9,000 feet, plus a wind shear alert—winds at 2,000 feet are from 210 degrees at 50 knots. And that wicked witch, Mother Nature, plans even stronger surface winds with high temperatures in the single digits.

Martha Lunken

Martha Lunken is a lifelong pilot, former FAA inspector and defrocked pilot examiner. She flies a Cessna 180 and anything with a tailwheel, from Cubs to DC-3s.