AVIAT HUSKY A-1B
by Dave Wilkerson
There is an old saying; 'The more things change, the more they stay the same.' Not often can this statement be shown to be true the way it can with the Aviat 'Husky'. A two-seat in tandem light airplane, the high wing taildragger looks familiar. Very familiar. In a group of pilots, the average person will look at the Husky and identify it as a Piper Super Cub. Then, one of the sharp-eyed aviators will notice some un-Cub-like aspect and remark: 'wait . . . cubs don't have gills on the lower cowling.' (Wait . . . Christians don't drink coffee [or fill in your own blank].) Familiar with airplanes, even though not intimate, the group focuses its attention on the mysterious little yellow airplane. 'Cubs all had round wingtips. This one has drooped wingtips.' another will say. At last, one of the small throng notices the gorgeous rendition of a Husky dog on the tail, the words "Aviat Aircraft Husky A-1" circling the dog, or on the nose or wingtips, and conclude 'Hey fellas, I think this is one of those new 'Huskys.' That being said, and a consensus made, conversation drifts to the glories of the old Piper Cub, its development over the decades, and what a shame it is that it is no longer in production.
Such conversations among 20th Century pilots are understandable. Piper's Cub (see preceding article) had been the mainstay of American aviation for longer than many pilots' working careers. To look at an early J-3 was to think of an ideal vacation. Yet the Husky, while having the pleasing lines, stance, and look of Piper's venerable icon, has a markedly different personality. While it allows joy aloft, its details say that it is here to work. One look at the Husky's ailerons tells a story of effective airplane control for a reason beyond merely meeting regulation. A spade-type mass balance under each aileron hints at aerobatic precision, although the Husky is no aerobatic dainty. Those spades are there to give the pilot delicate control during regimes of flight that most pleasure pilots don't routinely tread. And the flaps. While the Cub grew flaps in its adolescence, the Husky was born with them. With the most casual of underwing glances an observer notices a series of candycane 'Vs' joining the flap leading edge to the wing. Obviously, the A-1B's maker prized strength over streamlining for this sky-servant. The spiritual parallel should be obvious: doing the Husky's work demands long, boring hours at low altitudes, in turbulence and slow, slow, slow airspeeds. Many of us would prefer that our lives be streamlined, glamorous and exciting. We would rather be an SR-71 than a Husky A-1B.
Still, while the Husky has been less than a decade in series production, there are far more of them than there are SR-71s simply because of greater need. There are more reasons to have A-1Bs. When our time on this world is through, those of us who are aviation historians may have a blast talking with those who passed before, learning of their lives and their service. Probably, we will find that those who performed the greatest service were the unknown, unseen believers. Those people were and are found most often in the nameless places, their tools mere canoes, shoes, Huskies and Cubs. The world remembers SR-71s and P-51s, but will not remember low-powered Husky as it did the lower-powered Cub.
For decades the venerable 'Cub' drew its power from low powered Continental four-cylinder engines, ending its long production life with Lycoming engines. Picking up the power plant baton where the Super Cub left it, the Husky pulses along with Lycoming's proven O-360 four-cylinder engine. One might be reminded of the old song about the 'old time religion' and wonder just what that might mean as the Lord delays His return and years, knowledge, and perspectives change. There is as much truth today as there was during the 19th Century as churches warned of fire and brimstone. But the message of today's churches requires a different approach, although the goal is the same . . . save souls. The Husky is not the Cub just as Joyce Meyers (21st Century) is not Jonathan Edwards (18th Century) although their goals are the same.
Evangelical Christians must understand and adopt Paul's admonition to be all things to all people in order to lift up Christ to a lost world, just as the Cub was reborn as the Husky to better serve people's needs in a changing world. Many dedicated Christians feel shackled to their aging denominations – Baptist, Lutheran, Methodist, Assembly of God, Episcopal – though some of those bodies shifted their emphasis from winning souls to social activism years ago. The important issue is not who built the airplane – Piper, Wag-Aero, New Piper, Christen, Aviat – but the service the airplane provides. The Husky follows the precepts that made the Cub great while taking full advantage of new materials, methods, and knowledge to perform the same tasks in the modern environment. As we serve Jesus, we are remiss if we do not do the same.
Photo and Text © David R. Wilkerson, 2004
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