Early 1970s - California Dreamin'

DOUG'S JET TO CALIFORNIA Love Field, Dallas, Texas - August 1971 This is the beginning of it all. Even though you can't see me, I'm in there somewhere, believe me, and I can't wait to set foot in Southern California. That was a trip to remember, let me tell you. In fact, I think I will.

AND HE'S OFF Love Field, Dallas, Texas - August 1971 And I'm rolling down the runway. California, here I come! Once I landed at LAX Airport, I had a three-hour wait for the next bus up the coast so I amused myself by plunking quarters in one of the pay TVs mounted onto chairs. While thus engrossed, a smarmy shyster came up and tried to sell me a "diamond" ring, even going so far as to prove it was a diamond by scatching it right across the plexiglass covering the screen of my TV. I told him he was a total idiot and he'd better get the hell away from me immediately, which he did. Just because I was a guy in uniform didn't mean I was an easy mark. At last the bus arrived, and on it's way to Pt Mugu, it stopped at what seemed like every street corner between LA and the base, taking yet another three hours or more to cover what could have been traveled in an hour. I arrived at Pt Mugu around midnight tired, frustrated, and very sleepy, but glad to finally be there.

CAP'N DOUG Port Hueneme Apartments This is a shot of me in my 2-person inflatable raft in our apartment's pool in Port Hueneme, the first place my wife, Karen, and I lived in. It was a dumpy little place, but after she got a job at the local health clinic (she was an LVN), we were able to escape to nicer digs. I once rode my bicycle into this pool just to see what it was like. I learned you had to do a small wheelie just before entering, or else the bicycle stops and you don't, leaving a nice bruise on each leg from the handlebars. I never said I was a rocket scientist.

PORT HUENEME CAFE This was a nice little place to eat, right by our apartment. Lucky for me, too, as this meant I didn't have to cook, as Karen couldn't.

PATROL SQUADRON 65 (VP-65) GROUP SHOT NAS Pt Mugu, California This is a group shot of my squadron taken in front of one of our Lockheed SP2H Neptunes. That's me, fifth from the right in the back row, with my buddy Don Huiatt on my right. We'll see him a little later on in the album.

LOCKHEED SP2H NEPTUNE "PG-12" [1957] BuNo 141238 NAS Pt Mugu, California This a full-length shot of one of the aircraft from my Navy days in Patrol Squadron 65 (VP-65). There were twelve in all, their call signs derived from the squadron's two-letter designation (PG) and the "buzz number" on their nose. One of this plane's sister ships, "PG-6" (BuNo 141234), is now on outdoor display at the National Naval Aviation Museum in Pensacola, Florida. Other than the PG on the tail and the squadron logo, there are no squadron markings on it, though, not even the treasured Navy "E" below the windscreen.

NAVAL AIRMAN DOUG DUNCAN Grand Prairie, Texas One of the nice things about being in a patrol bomber squadron is that occasionally you get to go up in them or, in this case, have them drop you off at home for an emergency visit. Such was the case here.

MY RIDE AWAITS Naval Air Station Dallas, Grand Prairie, Texas - 1974 And here's my ticket home now, one of our SP2H Neptunes just waiting for the pilot to do some of that pilot stuff they always have to do. Those are parachute harnesses lying on the ground to the left of the guys standing by the nose, which we always wear when flying. (The actual parachutes are stowed on racks in the airplane, and we clip on if we need them.) A lineman stands at the ready with a fire extinguisher on the right. We always do that as a precaution when starting the engines.

BEECHCRAFT T-34B MENTOR NAS Pt Mugu, California This shot holds a certain sentimental value, as this was the aircraft in which I learned how to do aerobatics. To give pilots additional flight time -- and to keep us non-pilots happy -- NARU (Naval Air Reserve Unit) Pt Mugu, our parent reserve organization, instituted the "morale flight" program. We were taken up and flown around the area and up and down the coast at wave-top level and pretty much anything else we wanted to do, all in this little red-white-and-blue beauty. One day Chief Fitzgerald, our Maintenance Control Chief, looked at me with a wry smile and said, "Duncan, you look like you could use a little morale." Before he could say, "Grab a flight suit and . . . ," I was dressed and out the door. As we were heading up the coast after takeoff, the pilot asked me if I had ever flown before, and I told him that I had been flying for years. He then asked me if I'd ever done any aerobatics, to which I replied, "No, I'm afraid not." Smiling into the rear-view mirror, he promptly walked me through two of the basics -- the loop and the barrel roll -- and then turned the stick over to me. My first barrel roll was a complete disaster, as I was sure there had to be rudder movement involved, which ended up with us in a heaving, twisting tumble through the air, my helmet (with head inside) bouncing off the plexiglass canopy. "That didn't come out quite right, did it?" he calmly asked, once I got us righted again. After a refresher on keeping the rudder inline, the next ones were picture perfect. The rest of the flight had us looping and rolling high above the hills of Malibu, before finally dropping down to buzz bikini-clad Malibu Beach on our way home. Talk about a boost to morale! That's one flight I'll never forget. Those are my squadron's (VP-65) Lockheed SP2H Neptunes in the background.

ANCHORAGE APARTMENTS Karen and I decided we needed -- or rather, wanted -- a little nicer apartment than the one in Port Hueneme, so we moved to the Anchorage Apartments on Channel Islands Harbor in Oxnard, the town next door. It was like living in a resort, with a swimming pool, jacuzzi, weight room, and game room/clubhouse. This is the channel side of the apartments, and our building is on the far left. The lengthwise building you see in the middle fronts the swimming pool/jacuzzi and clubhouse. Pretty sweet digs, huh?

CHANNEL VIEW Here's a view looking the other way, down the channel toward Channel Islands Harbor.

SUNSET IN RED Anchorage Apartments, Oxnard Well, not everybody gets such a nice view of a sunset from their apartment balcony. I was attempting to add some punch to it by using my red black-and-white filter on the camera, something I did way too much of.

APPROACHING STORM - CHANNEL ISLANDS HARBOR This shot was taken from the bridge over the channel near the apartments, which are behind me.

SABAT, AHOY! Anchorage Apartments, Oxnard That's one of our neighbors, whose name I can't recall, sailing about in his Sabat sailboat. He actually let me take it out solo on this day, which proved to be a near-disaster. I did pretty well while in the lee of the apartment building, but when I moved into the gap between two of them, the wind completely flipped me over. Only by sheer instinct did I jump to the high side and get it righted again before it shipped too much water. How exciting!

JANE O'NEAL This is another one of our neighbors, who lived just down the hall from us with her husband, Larry. She would become very influential in my new-found hobby of photography.

STOP Near the Oxnard Airport While standing at the approach end of the Oxnard Airport waiting for airplanes to land, I caught this haughty little thing in a Triumph TR6 as she was making a stop. I love that the stop sign got caught in the window. It suits her attitude.

HITCHHIKERS Near Oxnard Airport Here's something you saw a lot of in California back in the 70's -- hitchhiking. I once picked up a couple of hitchhikers on my way into town from the base one day and took them all the way down to Laguna Beach. It was quite an adventure, as my old Ford Falcon crapped out in Seal Beach on the way back at night and I had to take a bus back to the base to keep from being AWOL. I didn't get in until after midnight, but I got back. All it was was a loose generator belt.

ADVANCE VEHICLE ENGINEERS (AVE) "MIZAR" Oxnard Airport - August 1973 Very few people ever heard of this unusual experimental aircraft -- or much less even seen one -- but I happened to be at the Oxnard Airport one day while they were out performing tests on it. The AVE Mizar was the latest attempt at the creation of a viable flying automobile, or roadable aircraft, a commuter aircraft design that has fueled the imagination of aeronautical engineers for decades. (The flying surfaces are to detach from the vehicle, allowing the pilot/driver to use the vehicle as it was intended.) However, this particular design -- a Ford Pinto outfitted with full flight controls and attached to the wings, rear engine and tail assembly of a Cessna Skymaster -- failed during a flight test on September 11, 1973, and was destroyed.

ADVANCE VEHICLE ENGINEERS (AVE) MIZAR Oxnard Airport - August 1973 And I even got one of the Mizar taking off! What a coup this was!!! It's too bad I had to take it with my crappy old Vivitar 90-230mm telephoto zoom lens, but I got it anyway. There are few -- if any -- shots of this thing in the air.

BELL P-39 AIRACOBRA "MR MENNEN" - Double-truck Over the California Coast, Oxnard, California That's what they call a two-page photo spread in the magazine world. This shot of the Bell P-39 Airacrobra racing plane "Mr Mennen" was taken from a Beechcraft Baron for the February 1973 issue of Sport Flying magazine, a commission that just fell in my lap while I was poking around shooting airplanes at the Oxnard Airport one day. Cool, huh?

BELL P-39 AIRACOBRA "MR MENNEN" Over the Malibu Hills, California For some reason, they never even used this shot, but I think it shows the plane in its best light. I just love the background.

DON AND HIS BABY And here's Don and his beloved 1948 Aeronca 7AC Champ before our takeoff to head back to Oxnard. Needless to say, I was extremely jealous.

OXNARD FROM THE AIR My buddy, Don Huiatt, got his pilot's license and bought himself an Aeronca Champ, and one day he and I flew to Santa Paula Airport, one of my favorite destinations. I just had to take a shot of Oxnard as we flew over. Not a bad little town; much larger than I thought.

ON APPROACH And here we are on approach to Santa Paula Airport now. The fun thing about this particular airport is its a Mecca for antique airplanes on the weekends.

De HAVILLAND D.H.82 TIGER MOTH Santa Paula Airport - May 1975 And here's an antique now. That's Don sitting in the back seat, about to go up with a friend of his (the caretaker for the plane's owner). I would go up next, my first ride ever in a biplane.

De HAVILLAND D.H.82 TIGER MOTH Santa Paula Airport - May 1975 Here's Don and his friend on final approach. The really nice thing about photographing airplanes at Santa Paula Airport was the great vantage point at the very end of the runway -- that and the place was usually swarming with antique airplanes.

THE FORD TRIMOTOR AND ME On another trip to Santa Paula Airport one weekend, as I was given to do, and came across one of these antique behemoths that I love so much, so I couldn't help but take a photo of me with it. I still want a ride in one of these someday. This aircraft was dedicated the City of Philadelphia in 1929 by none other than the actress Gloria Swanson herself, although I didn't know that at the time.

$1 PER HOUR Here's something fun I ran across at Santa Paula Airport. Depending on how long that sign's been up there, it could've been true at one time. When I was taking flying lessons back in the late 60's and early 70's, I used to rent a Piper Cub for $3 per hour, so this is not such a stretch considering this shot was taken in 1973 and that looks like an Aeronca Champ painted there. (Actually, it looks like Don's.) It looks like it's been there a while, though. Boy, those were the days.

FACE HERE TO RUN UP It's funny they should designate a particular area and direction to do your pre-flight runup of your engine. I was always taught you did so into the wind. The winds must be pretty predictable here in Santa Paula.

SELF-PORTRAIT IN SPINNER Santa Paula Airport I could never resist taking a shot into a nice, shiny spinner, like this one on a Howard DGA-11. Usually, I get a little closer, but I liked the geometry of the lines.

SUNSET TAKEOFF Oxnard Airport And here's Doug with red filter in hand again.

AIRPORT SUNSET Oxnard Airport And as the sun sets slowly in the west, it takes on an oblong shape, while the mirage at the end of the runway does its part. Notice the runway lights are on.

JOHATHAN WINTERS' ROLLS-ROYCE Esplanade Shopping Mall, Oxnard I'm embarrassed to say I almost rammed the famous Jonathan Winters as we was attempting to pull out of the Levitz parking lot just down the street. I'd had a bad morning in the Unemployment Office and I was determined no fat, rich bastard was going to pull out in front of me. When I saw who it was, I felt like the dumbass I was. I was so ashamed, I didn't even go up and apologize to him, but I wish I had. What a missed opportunity.

JONATHAN WINTERS' ROLLS-ROYCE Esplanade Shopping Mall, Oxnard No fancy vanity plates for Jonathan -- just his initials.

PAUL KLATT KEYBOARD While Karen and I were living in the Anchorage Apartments, we decided to buy a piano and take piano lessons. It didn't bother us that we had an upstairs apartment. That's what movers are for. It was a beautiful cantilever anodized ebony upright. This was taken in the condominium we had moved into when our rent went up at the Anchorage.

MISSILE CONTRAILS AT SUNSET Our condominium, Oxnard Vandenburg AFB would often launch missiles as a routine part of their operations, but sometimes things go awry, as in this case. I don't remember hearing the boom from the self-destruct, but I'm sure there was one.

UNDER THE OXNARD PIER Ventura Shores, Oxnard I'm always on the lookout for a nice perspective shot.

ICE PLANT Ventura Pier, Ventura Anyone who's ever lived on the California coast knows this plant very well. It's everywhere!

VENTURA PIER STAIRS Ventura Pier, Ventura See, what did I tell you? More perspective. It'll happen again later, don't worry.

VENTURA PIER Looks deserted, doesn't it? Well, stand by as we move on.

VENTURA PIER IN ACTION There, that's more like it. It just happens that everybody's at the far end fishing.

JANE SHOOTING FOUNTAIN It's not just Jane; I've always had a fascination with shooting other people shooting things. I always wonder what it looks like through their viewfinders -- how their eye sees things.

JANE HIDING As if to say, "Enough already, Doug! Sheesh!!!"

VENTURA FOUNTAIN This is the fountain in front of the San Buenaventura Mission in old downtown Ventura.

DOWNTOWN VENTURA Here we are on the streets of old downtown Ventura, which has now been turned into a pedestrian walk. The fountain is to our left (you can see the edge) and the San Buenaventura Mission is to our right.

CALIFORNIA CAMPIN' Rincon Beach, between Ventura and Santa Barbara On any day of the year, you'll find at least one RV parked along the roadside camping out. Hey, it's free and you can't beat the view.