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The Thrasher Brothers created the Worlds Smallest Airport by synchronizing take-offs and landings on a J-3 Piper Cub on a wood platform mounted to the top of a 1946 Ford. The airport also doubled as Grady Thrasher Jr.s family car, hauling Grady III to school.
had a powerful grip, said his nephew. (See their performances on www.worldssmallestairport.com.) Grady also laughs about his mom driving him to school in the Worlds Smallest Airport. That was our only car, he said. After several mishaps with dangling traffic lights and store awnings, police advised, Mrs. Thrasher, please keep your airport off the streets. When Washingtons Smithsonian Institute unveiled its Air and Space Museum in 1976, Grady Thrasher Jr.s aeronautical ingenuity was on exhibit for five years. Grady, the mastermind of car-top landings/take-offs and the human pick-up, scored a third first building a light twin airplane. He bolted two Ercoupes together and flew them as one plane in air showsdoing loops and spins. His son remembers sitting in one side with his dad and his mother and sister riding in the other side, cruising to Florida at 120 mph. We had no radio communica-
Between 1945 and 1950, the Thrasher Brothers performed 378 shows across America. Expecting they would eventually need life insurance and bank loans, Grady Jr., Bud and Tunis closed down the circus. tion between the two cockpits, Grady III said. When mother or sister Miki needed a pit stop, theyd hold up a sign. And dad would find a place to land. Perhaps the most startling stunt was when 4-year-old Grady starred as the worlds youngest pilot. The Cub had two in-line seats. The pilot could sit in either place. Gradys dad disconnected the front control stick, took off the planes doors and buckled in his son upfront. Once airborne, Grady Jr. would climb outside onto the strut and fly the plane with his other hand. As the plane zoomed close to the ground, the crowd would gasp as young Grady roared by. But the act was short-lived. Grady III chuckles, When Mother heard about what Dad was doing, that was the end of that. And when the Thrasher Brothers decided they might eventually need life insurance and bank loans, that was the end of that for the Worlds Smallest Airport. dnesmith@cninewspapers.com
After Charley Trippi, center, saw the Thrasher Brothers Aerial Circus perform in the late 1940s, the All-American Georgia Bulldog donated his football helmet to Grady Jr., right, and Bud, left. The future NFL Hall of Fame star said, Here, I think you need this more than me.
Grady Thrasher III, once dubbed the worlds youngest pilot, is now a retired attorney living in Athens. He and his wife, Kathy Prescott, produced a video documentary entitled The Worlds Smallest Airport.