Albert's Airplanes

At an early age Albert Gigstad knew he wanted to do something connected with flying.  His uncle left the farms of Kansas for flying school.  His brother, 15 years older than Al, piloted a B-24 bomber in World War II.  So in 1952 he joined the Air Force and went through the testing program for flight school.  He passed all of the tests with "flying colors" and knew his dream of flying was about to come true.

The Korean War was winding down by the time he finished his flight school training.  He was named one of six outstanding pilots in a graduating class of 120 and trained to fly a B-26 bomber in preparation for action in Korea.  The Korean conflict ended in 1953 and Al was ordered to report to an airbase in France.  He called Katie back in Kansas and told her the news.  "Do you want to go to France with me?" he inquired.  It was a marriage proposal of sorts, and she accepted.

The Air Force was switching over to new jet bombers and Al trained on the B-51 bomber in San Antonio, Texas.  Following the training, he and his co-pilot flew a B-51 back to France, a three day trip with the refueling stops in the U.S. and Iceland.  He was greeted at the airbase in France by Katie and the photo bears some resemblance to one taken in Times Square on V-J Day at the end of WWII.

Al elected to leave the military after three years and seek a civilian job where he could use his pilot training.  Eventually, that led him to a position with TWA where he flew Boeing 707 and 727 commercial aircraft until he retired after 14 years of service in 1987.

Al's homebase is still Nortonville, Kansas near the family farm where he grew up.  He is a member of St Matthew Lutheran Church where he held just about every office possible over the years.  He and Katie began coming to Arizona the year before the Mountain View Lutheran Church sanctuary building was built.  Katie was a "tireless church worker" and both were involved in a home Bible study group at Gold Canyon RV Park where they lived when wintering in Arizona.  Katie went to heaven in 2000 after being diagnosed with ovarian cancer.

Still going strong after 90 years, Al has decided to sell his park model home and leave Arizona.  "I kept returning for 37 years because this is where my friends are," he recently stated.  Al has been a faithful member of the home Bible study hosted by Norm & Linda Schmidt.  (See 1/16/2019 blog:  Gathering Around the Word)

You will be missed Al.  Fly well!