Gary Austin: Gone three years today.

[Brad]

My friend Gary Austin has now been gone for three years. I sure miss him but what a great friend he was.

[Iclo]

Hi Brad,

As lots of people here, Gary is "the friend I never met".
I remember his friendly attitude with all the peoples here, just because we have the same interest in aviation and warbirds than him.
I think that lots of peoples learned a lots simply by reading Gary's posts here.

Since his passing, I started restoring an old car, with a few metal work to do and very often when working, I remember the B-24 thread and how Gary was capable to give the impression complex things could be done simply.

I could only imagine how much he's missed by his familly and his close friends.

Regards from the far Belgium

[AvroAvian]

Oh crap! I miss his posts...

[Scott Rose]

I miss him too. I never had the privilege of meeting him in person but our phone conversations always left me knowing more than I started with. I need to do some sort of memorial page for him.

[mrhenniger]

I never met him, but I sure had much respect for him.

Mike

[Dan K]

And I met him once...and that's all it really took to know he was genuine.

Good to hear from you, Brad. Hang in there.

[JDK]

Thank you for the reminder Brad. I never met Gary, but like many here, I profited from his knowledge and enthusiasm for the warbird industry, and knew him to be a fine gentleman and a remarkably lucid writer.

While he is missing and we have lost in his absence, his legacy is one anyone would be proud to have achieved, and it is wonderful how much of that legacy continues.

Here's to Gary.


Gary's view from Cassutt Maybee's Baby.

My tribute here: http://vintageaeroplanewriter.blogspot. ... ustin.html

Regards,

[oz rb fan]

darn three years ...that has gone too fast..like others have said i never met or even talked on the phone but i did exchange a pm or two,and it seems a nice human your could never meet,our little world is a much poorer place with out his knowledge and humor.
i hope your a peace now Gary and not getting too much work in that workshop in the sky.

[K5DH]

I sometimes find myself facing a challenging project and asking myself, "How would Gary have handled something like this?"

[TAdan]

He is certainly missed. While I never met him I always enjoyed his informative and entertaining posts. I think about him often. Blue Skys Gary.

[Jesse C.]

Never met the man and we only sent a few messages back and forth, but, you could tell he was the real deal.

It is strange that I still bring him up in conversation when the subject turns to aircraft and the challenges in restoring them. He represented the "Can Do" attitude that is sorely lacking these days.

To Gary!

[maxum96]

I'll add to the chorus. You can add my name to the list of WIX members that never met Gary. When I joined WIX I was immediately impressed with his posts and message threads. I looked forward to reading about his updates on his work to the CAF's B-24. His workmanship looked second to none. I loved reading about when he would get a new acquisition for Austin Acres. And the video he made of flying in the B-29 was awesome. I still like watching it.

But what impressed me the most was his friendly and helpful demeanor. Anytime I would ask a question, no matter how simplistic and neophyte it was, Gary always responded with a friendly answer showing his extensive knowledge of aircraft and warbirds.

I was deeply saddened to hear that Gary was not able to overcome his personal demons. Though I never met the man, I still find myself missing him here on WIX. I'm glad to see that though he may not be with us anymore, he is not forgotten.

[Zachary]

The one time I met Gary, I made darn sure to get him to sit down and tell his story to one of the Timeless Voices video crews. I'm so glad I did. Here it is:
http://www.eaavideo.org/video.aspx?v=46700747001

One would be hard pressed to find someone with as big a heart as Gary. There was a thread on here a long time ago about what kind of pieces of warbirds people own. At the time, I lamented that I didn't have any. I came home one day to find a package from one Gary Austin with some rocker arms and other small parts from the P-38 Scatterbrain Kid. At that time we'd never met and Gary didn't know me from Adam, but that's the kind of guy he was. I miss his posts and I miss his humor.

[Ztex]

[LadyO2Pilot]

I miss him. It seems such a short time, it seems like such a long time. He was a wonderful person who made everyone his friend. I was lucky to have met him in person and talked about many things. He had a wonderful gift of explaining things to those he mentored in a way that made sense even if it was difficult subject. Now while I am having some challenges with my engine change, how I would love to pick his brain from time to time.

He is in a better place where his demons don't exist. But that does nothing for the pain of those who miss him here. My thoughts are with his family and all who loved and cared about Gary. He is sorely missed.