by Ralph McCormick 

Being born the year Lindbergh soloed the Atlantic… 1927, Clint Allen of Mountain View (MO) spreads his love for aviation all around the center of the United States.  His bubbly, positive attitude about life and aviation is contagious.  Being born in 1927 would make him seventy-eight this year.  At that age, he is still performing aerobatics at six or more air shows per year.  You heard right… seventy-eight and still pulling 5 g’s or more… and having way too much fun.  He is one of those “Barnstormers’ we hear so much about… a breed of aviator that flies a slower airplane at air shows without the three hundred horsepower.  Whether an air show promoter wants a straight air show or a comedy act, Clint can provide either. 

“Matilda”, the name of the Citabria Clint flies, came from his grandmother.  The song “Waltzing Matilda” holds a small part in the name.  Since aerobatics is much like a choreographed dance, thus Clint does waltz with Matilda while performing.  She is not a standard 1966 Citabria.  But she has been legally modified for safety and performance reasons.  As are most Citabria’s, there is no inverted fuel or oil system.  That is the way Clint wants to perform.  At one performance in 1985, his performance caused the engine to stop in the air.  After the event some local people told him that he should see a local tractor repair mechanic… as the mechanic could fix his plane and stop it from dying in the air.  

During a recent performance, his act called for a dead stick landing.  The performance went well and the engine was stopped in the air by Clint.  When he landed, he touched down on the runway and continued to roll into the aerobatic Hot Zone with a dead engine.  That brought applause from pilots and non-pilots alike.  He did it like it was old hat stuff, and perhaps to him it was…  His part of the show was popular with the crowd.  His enthusiasm for aviation and life exudes into his performance.  People recognize that from a distance. 

When asked where he lived and worked… his answer was, “In southern Missouri… One plane lives at West Plains (UNO), Willow Springs (1H5) where ‘Matilda’ lives and Clint work out of Mountain View (MNF).”  Clint is an IA and has received the coveted Charles Taylor Award.  Having over 10,000 hours logged he still plans to fly air shows in the future…. At seventy-eight he still goes at it with one-hundred percent.  He will practice before each performance, making sure that he has the routine down.  Bear in mind, he soloed in 1947. 

“Fascination for aviation, being raised on a cattle ranch in Arizona, I discovered that a horse is not always the best way to travel.  The ranch I grew up on was right in the middle of Davis-Monahan Air base and Wilcox (AZ) the bombing range… During the war (World War II), the planes flew overhead all the time which added to my fascination.” 

While attending the University of Arizona, he met his wife Margaret.  She is still one of the admirers that watch him perform at air shows.  Clint’s college studies were in agriculture.  He worked with crop dusters, but didn’t fly the planes. 

In 1966, Clint went to work for Southern Airways as a contractor to work at Mineral Wells (TX).  The Army did all of the training by contractors.  Over 1400 helicopters were stationed at Fort Walters.  “I became interested and learned to fly helicopters early on and this fit my requirements, flying and being paid for it...” He remarked.  

“I almost got myself fired once.  I said to my flying customer after we launched, would you hold this fight manual.  I will turn it over to the emergency pages.  If we have an emergency, I will tell you what it is and you’ll have to flip over to it and read fast.  We will have to do all these things quickly.  When the customer told my boss about it, he called me in and said, ‘Don’t you ever do that again!’  We did try to have some humor in those days; I don’t think you can today,” Clint jokingly stated. 

The first aerobatic flights for Clint came after his purchase of a Citabria around 1985.  Clint said, “I can tell you when I first watched aerobatics with Frank Price and his ‘Flying Tigers’.  Harold Newman may have been down there, too.  It was at Valley Mills (TX) just out of Waco.  I believe the year was 1969.  After that I began doing aerobatics.  I was fascinated because it gave me a true three dimension in flying.  I was just a free person to go anyway I wanted too.”   

I believe in safety.  It starts with one’s mind, goes through maintenance and ends up in the left seat.  No phase of that can be left out.  When one starts omitting things and cutting corners that is where trouble begins. I believe that aerobatics is attainable by more that those that practice it.  If one does it with a good instructor and a good fashion, it can be a very enjoyable thing.  It gives you a third dimension in flying.” 

For more information contact Clint at 417 451-8824 or go to his website http://www.geocities.com/clintallenmpa/ to read more about this aerobatic pilot and his flying machine, “Matilda”.