Fallen pilot honored at Mosquito fly-in

By Jeff M. Hardison

An ultralight Mosquito helicopter circled the 10-acre field on the south side of Gilchrist County Road 319 on Dec. 28 (2010) as an urn attached by a rope to its landing gear sent ashes out onto the field.
When it took off, this very small helicopter sounded like a two-cycle motorcycle or a chainsaw, and there was the unmistakable swoosh of small rotors slicing the air. As it flew away, the earthbound audience watched in reverence.
It was midday on the second day of the three-day Fourth Annual Mosquito Factory Fly-in, when Mark Thompson spoke on behalf of his mother Margaret Thompson, and his brother and sister, Neil Thompson and Jill Lightner, all of Rockledge. Mark conducted the ceremony to honor his father Edgar “Eddy” Thompson, who died July 4, when his Mosquito helicopter crashed.

Mark Thompson brings Lorne Diebel in for a landing after Diebel flew the helicopter to spread the ashes of Thompson’s father – Edgar ‘Eddy’ Thompson on Dec. 28 in Trenton. Photo By Jeff M. Hardison

Mark is a rescue helicopter pilot who lives in Austin, Tex. His birthday is on the Fourth of July (1968), and it was on his 42nd birthday that his 66-year-old father died about a half-mile from Dunn Airpark in Titusville.
Eddy had been an engineer for Lockheed Martin for 30 years before retiring. Eddy was also known for playing the saxophone at Lou’s Blues in Indialantic. He spent six months building this experimental helicopter in his garage.
The Federal Aviation Administration did not investigate, because the aircraft is ultralight and not considered to be a “real” aircraft. Titusville Police investigated and ruled the crash was accidental.
The field located at 9069 CR 319, Trenton, is where the fly-in has been held the past three years. It was named “Eddy Thompson Field” on Dec. 28. The unveiling of the sign on a giant oak tree occurred immediately after the ashes of the former pilot were spread.
Lorne Diebel of Melbourne flew the ultralight Mosquito around the field as one-third of Thompson’s ashes fell gently from the bottom of a specially outfitted urn. Eddy’s wife Margaret has the other ashes, Mark said. Diebel said there was no test flight for this procedure of spreading ashes. It was a first. He hovered a few feet over the field as he traversed its border, at times dragging the urn to help the ashes release.
Part of the memorial ceremony called for a period of silence. After Diebel’s helicopter engine was turned off and until the rotors stopped spinning, everyone prayed in silence.
“Every good flight ends with the motor shut down and the rotor blades spinning down,” Mark said. “And in honor of Jim Starbucks, and my dad Eddy Thompson, and Bruce Schulman, the three people who have perished in Mosquito crashes, we’ll observe a moment of silence – until the blades completely stop spinning. This will be the shutdown they never got.”
Starbucks died in 2007. Schulman and Thompson died in 2010.
There were more than 30 pilots, mechanics, friends and loved ones gathered for the ceremony. Mark Thompson said he was thankful for all of the people who were part of his father’s life and that they meant a lot to his father.
Every time a new pilot took his first flight, Eddy found the same joy as when he first launched in a Mosquito, Mark said. The magic of owning an aircraft and the initial time of taking off is “an amazing feeling, and it is a feeling my dad dreamed about his entire life.”
Dwight Junkin, owner of Composite FX, started the fly-in three years ago. Composite FX is where the small helicopter bodies and landing gear are built in Trenton. The shops are right next to what is now known as Eddy Thompson Field.
During the past six years, between April of 2004 and December of 2010, Junkin said his crew had manufactured 218 Mosquitoes. There is a six-month waiting period now to fill orders already filed, the owner said.
Dwight’s brothers Gary and James Junkin, and his son Adam, and Butch Bentley work on different aspects of the construction. Dwight formerly built boats at the Trenton site.
The 60-horsepower Canadian-made Mosquito engines are two-cycle engines and come in two- or three-cylinder versions. The turbine engine for the Mosquito is 95-horsepower. The top speed for the two-cylinder engine is 90 m.p.h., and 110 m.p.h. for the three-cylinder and turbine version. They all cruise between 60 and 70 m.p.h. A Mosquito costs between $30,000 and $38,000.
Buyers can purchase a kit and assemble the helicopter themselves, or they can have the factory build it if it is the ultralight version. The experimental version, which includes all turbine-powered Mosquitoes, requires owner participation in construction and the owner needs a license to fly. No license is required to fly the ultralight version.
The Mosquito engine can run for three hours on one tank of fuel. It flies at a maximum of 8,000 feet, although most of the pilots said they like flying at 500 feet.
The fly-in attracted five Mosquito helicopters the first year. The second year, six Mosquito owners brought their “magic carpets” to the factory site. The third year, 19 copters arrived. This year, there were 10 Mosquitoes with owners who brought their aircraft to Trenton. Owners came from Canada, South America, California, Texas, Minnesota, South Carolina, Ohio, Maine and Missouri.
Eddy loved seeing the growth and expansion of the “brotherhood” of Mosquito pilots, Mark said.
His father died after catastrophic failure to his Mosquito helicopter. “The very thing he had come to love so much, and brought him so much joy in his life turned out to be the thing that brought the last facet or the last chapter to his life.”
Mark said he had discussed the possibility of this happening.
“Quite honestly, if he was going to go out this way, he told me ‘It’s the way I’d rather go,’” Mark said. “So unlike a lot of us, his wish came true. He didn’t get to choose the way he went, but he wished for a way and it happened that way.”
It is almost comforting to know his father died doing something he loved, he said. Now, just over six months later, Mark said he has come to terms with the death of his father.
A number of people spoke about Eddy Thompson. Everyone mentioned his sense of humor and positive outlook on life. Diebel said the man cared about people in the world.
“He was one top dude,” said Pete Davidson of Toronto.
Cam Habeger of Minnesota said he had joked with Eddy about using hockey tape to hold a carburetor where it had to be. Hockey tape, Habeger said, is what players put on the end of their sticks to better hit the puck.
“He razzed me about hockey tape every time. That’s not an aircraft-approved part, he would say,” Habeger added. “What do I know? I’m from Minnesota.” Each year, Eddy would ask the man about hockey tape so that he could make a helicopter fly.
Every flier has their own plans for adventures while flying.
Davidson’s helicopter has been painted with glow in the dark paint in a design he created himself. It resembles a dinosaur. He named it “Flyrannasaurus.”
Kerry Kerwin of Burbank, Calif., said he plans to have a video made of him flying his orange-colored Mosquito in front of the “Hollywood” sign in California.
The group enjoyed some food, chatting and then took turns flying the Mosquitoes for the rest of the fly-in that started Monday and concluded Wednesday.