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Michael William Moore, 87, retired from flying decades ago but relived the soaring heights of his first solo flight in 1954 after his sister in Arkansas discovered an old photo of the milestone.
The old black-and-white photo depicts 16-year-old Moore and his 15-year-old brother right before Moore took off in late September 1954. The flight started in Temple off an old Air Force base. He said he remembered the flight clearly, especially having to wait for cargo planes to land before he could.
“I felt like I had accomplished something, but I was never afraid or anything like that,” Moore said.
Moore said his sister found the 71-year-old photo at the house of their mother, who lived to be 103 years old. She found the photo while sifting through old photographs and texted Moore a photo of the original version earlier this year.
“I didn’t know she took that picture and I didn’t have any pictures of me with that plane,” Moore said.
Bell had just turned 16 earlier that month and had to order a copy of his missing birth certificate for proof of his age for his license. However, Moore said he had already been flying at 15 and picked cotton to pay for his flying lessons which cost him $7.50 an hour.
“I could fly before I had my driver’s license,” Moore said and laughed.
Moore said he flew his favorite plane for his first solo flight: the Aeronca Champion. Over the course of his hobby as a pilot, Moore said he flew almost a dozen different types of planes. He said his favorite type of flying was aerobatics, which he took lessons for and enjoyed doing after work.
“I remember one time I had worked for a lot of hours, and I went out there and…pulled too many Gs. I got out of the maneuver, and everything was just kind of grey,” Moore said. “I didn’t pass out…I kept on circling until the blood got back in my head and I knew where I was at, and I landed that plane.”
Moore, a Bell County native, said he’s flown recreationally all over the Texan countryside and frequently mentioned La Porte as a stop. The pilot said his longest trip was about 300 miles. He even owned his own plane at one point.
“Ever since I was a kid, I would look up into the sky and see the clouds,” Moore said. “I just always wanted to fly.”
Over the span of around 50 years, Moore earned around 500 flight hours. He took his last flight in 1995.
