Name: Dave Gleiter  Age:59

I had the honor ofspending an evening with Max a the home of Chuck LeMaster, a flying friend, and a friend of Max's.  I saw his movies he had and it was a wonderful evening of relaxation and great stories.  I had the honor of flying Chuck's Tri Motor, 414H and doing some air to air photos of it, you can see the squared of wing tip on one wing where it hit a tree at Ypsalenti Michigan when hauling auto parts for Ford, they just faired it over and kept flying it.  Chuck was a great aviator and a true fiend of avaition,  Meeting Max through him was just antoher one of many wonderful stories.  Chuck helped me find an buy my current love, N4947A, a 1956 Cessna 180 that I have put over 1500 hours on and loved every bit of it.

Name: George Donnally, MD  Age:72

Name: Doug Robertson  Age:74

Name: Rod  Ledingham  Age:64

I was a meteorologist in Antarctica at Adelaide Island (British Base)  when Max arrived in Nov/Dec 1968. Five of us had been stuck at Fossil Bluff about 240 nm to the south on Alexander Island for 11 months and had heard from the US base at Palmer that he was on his way and we thought that maybe he could rescue us, We had crashed a Pilatus Porter on the Palmerland Plateau in early 1968. British Antarctic Survey had no other aircraft and our head office advised Adelaide to ask him if he would help.

A Twin Otter arrived in early Dec and promptly got lost in bad weather on the eastern side of the peninsula for 9 days (on the Larsen Iceshelf which has recently drifted out to sea) thanks to an incompetent pilot. There was talk of getting Max to fly them some fuel. Anyway they were extricated by helicopters from the HMS Endurance and came out to rescue on 21st Dec and we arrived back to find Max had just arrived on skis.

Word came from London not to help him and some of us were so angry that they could say this that we went out of our way to help him as much as we could! I remember him as a lovely old guy and we chatted for hours. I got up at 0300 one morning  to do my met ob and spotted someone swimming in the sea. I ran down from met hill to find Max in the water. What the hell are you doing I said- the sea is -2*C . It turned out that he was trying to kill the fleas he had picked up in a hanger on Argentina. We took all his clothing and boiled it. and gave him some or ours for a day or two. He was worried in case he would give us fleas!! and didn't want to say.

He had excellent communications - he could talk via the Ham Bands to his family in US -we were battling sometimes to talk to Stonington Base 50 NM away.

It was a great pleasure having his company for Xmas and New Year in 1968/9- I still have his post card with the Lets Fly on it I remember the record on the tail of the Aztec. Anyway he tried to take off on wheels in Jan but sank in to the soft snow and couldn't even taxi so he eventually headed back to Punta Areanas
I hope this is of interest.

Name: Gary Anderson  Age:67

Name: David Herber  Age:45

http://www.cityofliberal.com/airmuseum/index.html

Name: Ray Herber III Age:50

I'm Max's eldest grandchild. I had many memories of flying with Max and my mom and siblings from a very young age (4 years old?) going to vacation in Winona (from Massachusetts?). He also dropped by when I was in middle school in rural Illinois (New Memphis, pop. 90). The last time we flew together was when he visited us when I was in high school in Placerville CA in the 70's. Even then he would still take us on "Indian wrestling!" I wish I'd gotten to know him better, and gotten a pilots license!

Name: Chuck Weeks Age:54

Name: Sid Rugh Age:58

I've been reading the other log entries, and I am surprised that there haven’t been any stories about Prescott , Arizona or more information about Max's wonderful family.

I lived in Prescott , Arizona from about 1964 to 1968 Max had two sons Nick Conrad, and Francis Conrad which were very good friends of mine.

Nick Conrad was in a rock band with me called "The Centries" he was the most talented musician I ever saw, in the band he played the key board and harmonica, but he was equally good at any instrument. I always wanted Francis Checko Conrad to play drums in my band but he was playing in other bands, he was really great at the drums.

Max and Betty Conrad had a beautiful log cabin in Prescott, AZ with a really long driveway up to the house. I was over there all the time, but I only saw Max Conrad a couple of times, he was a really nice guy, his wife Betty was very nice to me every time I saw her, and I remember she was always dressed very nice, all the time.

Name: Malcolm Arnett Age: 69

As a young boy in Bowman, North Dakota, about ten years old at the time, I remember my dad taking me to the Clara Lincoln Hotel in Bowman, to see this famous guy known as Max Conrad. All I knew he was someone my dad wanted me to meet. I can't remember much of what was talked about, but I knew I was in the presence of a special person. That memory of him shaking my hand is frozen in time back in 1947, nearly sixty years ago.

Name: Ron Collins Age: 58

I remember first seeing the Aztec Max flew at his hangar in Lock Haven. My uncle was a sign painter from Avis, PA and he was contracted to put lettering on the plane. He didn't know how to align the rudder so as to get his lines straight so I pointed out the rudder pedals. I later on became an aircraft mechanic at Lock Haven and last saw N110LF in the 1970's when Max was thinking about flying and setting another record in the Comanche. He was ultimately dissuaded from the idea but I am still working on other PA-24s.

Name: Robert Brydges Age: 60

Max died long before I met her, but I was married to one of his children during the mid 1990's, Chris (Louise C). I found this website while searching for airplane info and was surprised there was not more info on the family section. I wrote in thinking she may know of the website, read this one day and offer some additional information on the family history. From all I know of him, he was truly a great man and I am sure visitors to this site would like to know more about him. Thank you.

Name: Paul Kersten - Max's grandson  Age: 40

Name: Kevin Conrad Meehan  Age: 38

Max Conrad was my great uncle.

Name: Dan Bonow   Age: WHS Class of '51

I had my first airplane ride with Max Conrad. Sometime after the fire burned down the Winona Airport, Max had a yellow Piper Cub, with pontoons, parked at Lake Winona, just east of the warming house. He was giving rides in the plane for $1. My parents gave me the dollar and I, along with another small boy, went flying with Max. It was a thrill of my life.

Name: James S. Welles   Age: 67

I owned a 1963 Piper Comanche 250, and if memory serves me, Max Conrad flew a Comanche 250 non-stop from Los Angeles to Capetown, South Africa. However, I can only find a refer to such a flight that he made in a Twin Comanche. Can you shed any light on this? Many thanks.

Name: Ann Petersen Pratt Age: 70

Memories: the way he used to leave a slice of bread to mold on the window sill and calling it his penicillin; the way he could be alone in a crowd, holding his head to one side as though listening to something far away; the way he used to sleep on couches in waiting rooms and rest rooms at airports rather than go to a hotel; the way he created his record-breaking flights sitting on a gas tank in a stripped-to-the-bare bones airplane and carrying with him only a change of underwear, socks, a bag of apples and his harmonica; his modesty and his great will power; his essential loneliness; his successful fight to regain his power of speech after a terrible accident which would have permanently crippled a weaker man; his great good fortune in marrying the most remarkable wife that any man ever had.

Name: Jean-Paul Plouvier Age: 64

In the mid 50',my father bought a Piper Apache which was flown over to Europe by Max. I still have the original log books signed by his hand.

In 1961 I worked for some time for Piper International in Geneva, Switzerland and had the pleasure to meet this great man when he flew all types of Piper over from Lock Haven.

I remember particularly one winter night when I was waiting alone for Max who was bringing in a Piper Comanche. The weather was terrible with snow and freezing, visibility and ceiling down to the minima's, the airport surrounded by high mountains, his radio equipment was minimal and simply attached to the seat of the front passenger, his voice could hardly be heard on the VHF and suddenly there he was exiting the plane which a large smile and very relaxed.

What a performance!

Name: Steve

Name: Olivia Anderson  Age: 8

Max Conrad is my great uncle, in fact I'm doing an ancestor report about him.

Name: Molly Anderson  Age: 47

Name: Kevin Marshall Age: 19

My grandfather is one of Max Conrad's cousins. He lives in Rochester, Minnesota and is still flying at the age of 84. He told me that Max and himself would make wings and strap them on, then jump down from a tree so that they could fly. My grandfather has many memories of Max and they talked quite a bit. Max is surely remembered to this very day and what he did back then setting all of those records is very admirable.

Name: Stephen Ripplinger 

I own a Piper PA-11 that was owned by Mr. Max Conrad. I have owned this aircraft for 30+ years. It is currently being restored, and I would like some information on the paint scheme that it had at that time. Thank You

Name: Edward  Age: 80

My Father-in-law was Max's brother-in-law..My FIL and I drove down to Strum, Wi where Max was taking up passengers from a Farm strip. This was the first time I had met him. He came up to us with a pail of water and a towel, one of his passengers had thrown up in the plane. That would have been in the early '50s.

Name: Mike  Age: 67

I'm Happy to have found your Web site. Like so many people I'm sure, just the thought of all those flights of Max's has kept me pumped up for almost as long as I can remember. What memories!

Name:   GL Clark   Age: 71

Just re- reading Sally Buegeleisen's book " Into the Wind" again. Guess this has been in my collection since 1974. It is hair raising to say the least. My 20 years as an air force pilot saw zero chills but some thrills but never moments to compare with anything of Max Conrad's days. What a man and what a great pilot!!!

Name:   Jennifer Kersten   Age: 35

My favorite memory of him is the time he brought me a cookie from somewhere around the world. I was 4 or 5 and that was amazing to me.

Name:  John Ragozzino     Age: 49

I fueled Max's Commanche in fall of 1973 in Guthrie, OK. I was taking instruction for my private license at the time.

Name:  Jordan Kwolik     Age: 15

Hello,
My name is Jordan. Max was one of the greatest pilots ever! He was related to my dad...I think he was my dads uncle...I just wanted to say thank you for making this wonderful site commemorating my relative...My grandma still lives in Winona but I live in Sartell MN...right by St. Cloud.

Name:  Jim Sillman     Age: 55

I was pleasantly surprised to see Max's web-site. I was born and raised in Winona. I met Max many times as a young boy. Max and my Dad were good friends, meeting when Dad started taking flight instruction at the Winona Airport in the late 30's. Max was his instructor, flying tandem Piper J-2s and J-3s. The two of them flew to Miami in the late 30s to take part in an airshow. Max flew to Havana on a Sikorsky flying boat while my Dad chatted up the local girls. I have Dad's log book from that time. I also have several anecdotes about Max, especially an incident with his Ford Tri-Motor.

The man beside me seemed genuinely interested in my story. About that time, LeMaster happened to notice my new friend and left the Tri-Motor and came to the fence and warmly invited him to take a ride with him in the Ford. I noticed how they greeted each other and that LeMaster called him by name, Max, and asked about his wife. Max said that Betty "had gone to heaven", quite recently. Of course, LeMaster expressed condolences. Max said he would like to ride in the Ford, on one condition, that I be allowed to go along. And so we went, I, recalling an experience some 35 years before, and the Flying Grandfather back in an airplane providing sweet memories for him. I regret that I couldn't spend more time with Max that day, but that brief snippet of time with him will have to suffice until I see him again in the "great hanger in the sky".

Name: Bob Beguiseppe

Hello – I was taught to fly by a man named Amos Babb who was a friend of Max’s from when they taught together at Pewaukee airport in Wheeling Illinois . Another instructor that they taught with and remained friends with a lady named Sally Stremple whom I was told by Amos that she was one of the founders of the “99’s”.  I flew alone and with Amos in the 1959 Commanche N110LF that Max set many records in.  Amos had acquired it from Max at some point either by buying it or Max gave it to him.  Amos and I flew the plane to Cedar Rapids Iowa to meet the Piper dealer there.  This man had made a deal with Amos in that Amos would give him the N110LF and in return Amos would get a new Dakota, I believe.  The dealer intended to re-vamp the plane and donate it to the Smithsonian.  I didn’t see or talk to Amos for awhile after that and I had heard that Amos had died in an airplane accident near the Piper factory in Lockhaven, he was in a rented plane so he must have turned the plane over to the dealer in Cedar Rapids .

 I have pictures around here somewhere; I will look for them if you are interested. Unfortunately I never met max, but Amos always spoke very highly of him and of his accomplishments.  I guess I was born 30 years or so too late. Any additional you could pass along would be appreciated.

 Bob Beguiseppe

Name: Tim Glowczewski
Age:  44

Bill,  Not much of a story but...
When I was a young child I attended a Max Conrad breakfast at the Winona YMCA.  I was very impressed with him and stood in line to shake his hand and get his autograph.  I am going to look in my scrapbook for it to make sure I still have it.  It was a childhood memory of mine.

Note: the Glowczewski's own and operate the world famous Lakeview Drive Inn in Winona.
 

Name: Dee Lund

Name:  Clifford Swayze D.O.     Age: 72

Name: Ernie Aufenkamp     Age: 65

I met Max on one of his record attempts at the Point Barrow Air Force Station, Point Barrow, Alaska in 1964 or 1965.
I was working as the assistant airport manager for a civilian contractor at the time. This attempt, as I recall, was
around the world pole to pole.  So interesting to just sit and listen to him tell stories about his life.

Name: Mike     Age: 57

As a young boy I had an interest in aviation. Two people who fostered this interest were Max Conrad and of course Sky King. I remember the news stories on Max and his record breaking flights. Later in life I also took up flying. Many times as I flew, my mind would drift back to Max and the endurance flights he made. My thoughts of Max would put my short flight in perspective. Today I only fly for about two hours and I land to recuperate. Max was an inspiration to me and I hope this web site carries his name into the hearts of the young. Let's Fly Max!

Mike

Name: Russ Marsolek     Age: 51

In the late 60s, I flew along with some friends into the Decatur, Illinois municipal airport, and while the owners of the Bonanza I was riding paid for the fuel in the FBO's office, I overheard someone mention Max Conrad's name. I turned around and saw him shooting the breeze with one of the FBO people and could not believe I was actually looking at him. I had read a lot of his accomplishments over my young years, and the name was as familiar to me as Lindbergh.

I approached him, asking if he was THE Max Conrad, and when he replied in the affirmative, I extended my hand. His grip was one of practiced control; not weak but enough to show he was glad to meet a kindred spirit. He had just delivered a plane to Decatur and was wrapping up the paperwork. When I explained that Decatur was the last place I'd expect to encounter him, he laughed and said the staff he had just met were some of the best he had met, and he was enjoying the visit. His name didn't register with my friends, but I introduced him anyway, explaining he the greatest name in light plane long distance flying that was still active in the air, and Max seemed to appreciate the recognition. It's great to see a new page telling the world about him. He came across to me as a cross between C. Lindbergh and Chet Atkins, the same eyes, the same soft-spoken way of communicating. Never saw him again, but I was sure glad I had gone flying with my friends that Friday afternoon!

Name:  Max Conrad     Age: 21

Hi ya, just thought I would pop in on my namesake. I'm a Max Conrad from Kent in the UK.

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