The shapes and sizes change constantly, but we will never ever forget what they looked like,” Griffin said. “By making hundreds of model planes, I am chronicling the entire history of aviation. He said he was happy with his job at Packard Electric. He did not take the job and said he did not regret it. It would save a lot of time and money,” Griffin said. Upon seeing my work, they realized I could build model buildings to scale and all changes could be made on the model before the actual building began. Nashbar owned a bicycle business and was also a planner and builder for shopping plazas. DeBartolo was building plazas and malls all over the country. They thought it was an amazing reproduction. DeBartolo’s Lear Jet and his Helio Courier. Griffin recalled a very special moment in time when good friend Arnie Nashbar offered him a job working for Edward DeBartolo Sr. He can create scale drawings 1/2-inch to the foot, 3/4-inch to the foot or 1/16 scale, or 1-inch to the foot and even 1/72 scale and 1/44 scale models. He took the sideboards off his brother’s water bed to finish the project. He also enjoyed creating the 785-foot long USS Akron dirigible to scale. The HR1 was a record setting speed racing plane. So he decided to build Hughes’ famous Spruce Goose Aircraft along with his HR1. He did mention how fond he was of the life and times of Howard Hughes and read all of his books and biographies. When asked what his favorite model is, Arthur Griffin said “all of them.” William “Bill” Griffin died in February of 2019. Griffin’s grandson, Connor, is also a pilot and owns his own plane. Hall was notably America’s first flight instructor at 19 in the early 1900’s. His other son, William, was also a pilot and founded the Ernie Hall Aviation Museum in Warren. His son Robert has taken his father’s ideas a few steps further and now rebuilds or restores and flies numerous planes and owns a 1946 Fairchild. The whole family has a passion for aviation. He said they had four children: Janie, Robert, William and Heidi. We were good Christians and members of the United Methodist Church in Howland.” Annabelle and I tied the knot in November of 1955, the same year I graduated, and we had a wonderful marriage for 65 years before she passed away two years ago. ![]() Either spend money on flying lessons or plan a future with the most beautiful person I had ever met,” Griffin said. He said United and Capital Airlines DC-3 twin engine commuter aircraft flew over their house every day, and he really wanted to become a pilot. Griffin said airplanes became an obsession for him while he grew up on state Route 193, about 3 miles from the Youngstown-Warren Regional Airport in Vienna. For a fabric aircraft, he uses pinstriping tape to extemporize his work. His many crafts are authentic because he uses intricate tools and a lot of time to cut panel lines, and will simulate rivets if needed by using a dress maker’s pattern wheel. He learned at a young age how to operate a band and table saw and a belt sander. I cut and prepared the wiring harnesses for car electrical systems as well as radio and speaker systems,” Griffin said. “I graduated from Fowler High and went right to work at General Fireproofing until I took a better job at Packard Electric as an artos cutter and inspector for the next 35 years. When asked if he was an engineer, he just laughed. However, Griffin refused to sell it because it was a gift for his son, Bill Griffin. His biggest offer was $1,000 for the USS Star Trek Enterprise from a local hobby shop owner. He also has built models with plastic, but he prefers wood.īy the time he was 45, many people offered to purchase his exquisite workmanship. ![]() And not long after that, he began to build with bass wood. Griffin later graduated to building a stronger type of lightweight structure built with balsa wood. He said he never met the Wright brothers because they were before his time but because of these shenanigans, his mother called her 10 boys the “Wrong Brothers.” We would then light them on fire and throw them out the upstairs window to see which one would fly the longest and farthest,” Griffin said. “We would make flying objects out of our own stick and tissue idea.
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