A very interesting fellow I knew passed away a couple of weeks ago in Phoenix, just shy of seeing his 79th Christmas. This name might not mean much to the young whippersnappers on this board (not age, but years as a pilot), heck.....might not mean much to anyone here. But his name was Sergio Tommasoni.
For anyone that's ever flown in the PHX area, there's a little-known airfield called Chandler-Memorial field (34AZ), located a little south of Queen Creek Road on Old Price Road. It's not an airport that has very much in the way of operations, and even fewer residents. It's an old USAF training field, much like Deer Valley and Scottsdale were, and has two runways in an "L" configuration, one 8650' x 300', the other 5200' x 200'. The only aircraft there belong to a company now known as International Air Response. IAR flies ex-USAF C-130A aircraft on infrequent forest firefighting missions in France, the planes having been banned from firefighting missions in the USA following the loss of the C-130 that had the wings come apart in California in 2002. They also have several DC-6/C-118, DC-7, and DC-4/C-54 aircraft that they've flown in their time, or that they store....all in various stages of disrepair. There are also several very classic aircraft at the field, such as one of the few remaining Howard 500 twin-recip aircraft, in it's day the fastest business twin around.....a TRUE classic.
Prior to being known as IAR, the company on field was known as T&G Aviation, co-owned by Sergio Tommasoni and Woody Grantham, both icons in the aerial forest firefighting industry (Biegert Aviation was also on-field flying C-54s as transports and aerial sprayers). Sergio had been in the business since the 1960s, and Woody since just after. T&G was one of the premier airtanker companies, and had been at the Chandler-Memorial Field location for a good number of years.....at least since the early 1970s; having previously been at the Buckeye Airport. The company went through ups and downs, one of the worst downs being the loss of one of their DC-7s to an SA-7 surface to air missile in Africa in 1988 that resulted in the loss of 3 of their employees, and another plane that was also hit but survived having had an engine shot off of the wing mount.....and sits at Memorial Field to this day.
I'd met Sergio in the mid-1980s when I was a fledgling Private pilot growing up in SDL who was interested in old aircraft, and I'd taken a little drive to the (then) middle of nowhere airfield in order to take some pics of the planes. I stopped into the office, introducing myself as a pilot that was interested in classic planes, and asked if it was OK to take pics of the planes. Sergio Tommasoni said "go ahead son, make yourself at home," so I did; taking pics of the various planes there. At that time, T&G had a plane called a PB4Y-2, a single-tail Navy version of the B-24 Liberator WWII bomber, that they used for forest firefighting. N3739G is now at the Lone Star Flight Museum, having been retired in 1991. At this time (1985) it had just finished an engine change the day I was there. As I was walking around the field, Mr. Tommasoni drove up to me and asked if I'd be interested in sitting in the co-pilot's seat as they did an engine run-up and taxi of the big plane. Heck yes! That day I got to a number of pics of of the plane starting up and the smoke from the R-1830 radials drifting into the cockpit side window......cool as heck, as well as a ride of a lifetime, even though it was just taxiing. Just climbing up the ladder on the side of the plane to enter the cockpit was too cool.
A pic of N3739G, tanker Charlie 30: (courtesy Goleta Air and Space Museum)
http://www.air-and-space.com/19811230 GBIRMA/01 PB4Y-2G N3739G c30 left front l.jpg
After that time, I'd visit Memorial Field every so often, just to see what was new in town, and was always greeted warmly by Mr. Tommasoni, who seemingly didn't mind dropping whatever it was he was doing for a moment to say hi and talk. During Christmas, I'd drop a card to Sergio as a gesture of thanks for being the person he was. Sergio left T&G in the early-mid 1990s, following multiple deaths in his immediate family.
An interesting thing I hadn't known was that Sergio had been partners early in the airtanker business with a man named George Stell, also an airtanker icon, having been in the business for many years. Geroge Stell was killed, along with his son Greg, in the crash of their PB4Y-2 N7237C, Charlie 50 (and sister ship to 3739G). They went down while fighting a fire on Mount Graham near Safford, AZ on 27 June 1974; having impacted trees during a drop run on the fire. A year prior to meeting Sergio, I'd hiked up to the wreck of C50 to check it out, which still sits on Mount Graham to this day. Hiking to old aircraft wrecks is a hobby of mine; small world that I'd run into the man who was a partner of the deceased elder Stell less than a year later.
1973 pic of 7237C, C50 (courtesy Goleta):
http://www.air-and-space.com/19731112 Tucson/73337 PB4Y-2G N7237C c50 right rear l.jpg
All in all, it's sort of a sad Christmas this year. My list of people I know in the industry from my days past gets smaller and smaller each year. Just a couple of weeks ago, a cargo Cessna 310 crashed on takeoff from Flagstaff, AZ airport, killing the pilot. The pilot, Mark Conte, had previously flown seasonaly as a co-pilot for a company known as ARDCO Inc, based out of Tucson/Ryan Field. ARDCO flies a small fleet of C-54 (DC-4) aircraft that used to be used for forest firefighting, and have since not been contracted by the US Forest Service. I'd met Mark a number of times when I'd stop in to Ryan, or see one of ARDCO's planes, namely Tanker 152, at an outbase. He was a friendly guy that loved to chat. He'd just been married about a year ago and had moved his family to AZ since he'd gotten the flying gig with the company flying the 310s. Another sad loss.
Worst part is, they're gonna keep on happening.
As I work tonight on yet another night shift alone, I'm gonna crack a beer and drink a toast to those fallen men. Some friends, some acquaintinces, some just faces on a flightline that I've chatted with for only a few moments and gotten their name....only to see it in print in the news section or obituary section a few weeks, months, or years later.
Goodbye Sergio. Thanks for the memories, and I hope you had a fufilling 79 years of life.
For anyone that's ever flown in the PHX area, there's a little-known airfield called Chandler-Memorial field (34AZ), located a little south of Queen Creek Road on Old Price Road. It's not an airport that has very much in the way of operations, and even fewer residents. It's an old USAF training field, much like Deer Valley and Scottsdale were, and has two runways in an "L" configuration, one 8650' x 300', the other 5200' x 200'. The only aircraft there belong to a company now known as International Air Response. IAR flies ex-USAF C-130A aircraft on infrequent forest firefighting missions in France, the planes having been banned from firefighting missions in the USA following the loss of the C-130 that had the wings come apart in California in 2002. They also have several DC-6/C-118, DC-7, and DC-4/C-54 aircraft that they've flown in their time, or that they store....all in various stages of disrepair. There are also several very classic aircraft at the field, such as one of the few remaining Howard 500 twin-recip aircraft, in it's day the fastest business twin around.....a TRUE classic.
Prior to being known as IAR, the company on field was known as T&G Aviation, co-owned by Sergio Tommasoni and Woody Grantham, both icons in the aerial forest firefighting industry (Biegert Aviation was also on-field flying C-54s as transports and aerial sprayers). Sergio had been in the business since the 1960s, and Woody since just after. T&G was one of the premier airtanker companies, and had been at the Chandler-Memorial Field location for a good number of years.....at least since the early 1970s; having previously been at the Buckeye Airport. The company went through ups and downs, one of the worst downs being the loss of one of their DC-7s to an SA-7 surface to air missile in Africa in 1988 that resulted in the loss of 3 of their employees, and another plane that was also hit but survived having had an engine shot off of the wing mount.....and sits at Memorial Field to this day.
I'd met Sergio in the mid-1980s when I was a fledgling Private pilot growing up in SDL who was interested in old aircraft, and I'd taken a little drive to the (then) middle of nowhere airfield in order to take some pics of the planes. I stopped into the office, introducing myself as a pilot that was interested in classic planes, and asked if it was OK to take pics of the planes. Sergio Tommasoni said "go ahead son, make yourself at home," so I did; taking pics of the various planes there. At that time, T&G had a plane called a PB4Y-2, a single-tail Navy version of the B-24 Liberator WWII bomber, that they used for forest firefighting. N3739G is now at the Lone Star Flight Museum, having been retired in 1991. At this time (1985) it had just finished an engine change the day I was there. As I was walking around the field, Mr. Tommasoni drove up to me and asked if I'd be interested in sitting in the co-pilot's seat as they did an engine run-up and taxi of the big plane. Heck yes! That day I got to a number of pics of of the plane starting up and the smoke from the R-1830 radials drifting into the cockpit side window......cool as heck, as well as a ride of a lifetime, even though it was just taxiing. Just climbing up the ladder on the side of the plane to enter the cockpit was too cool.
A pic of N3739G, tanker Charlie 30: (courtesy Goleta Air and Space Museum)
http://www.air-and-space.com/19811230 GBIRMA/01 PB4Y-2G N3739G c30 left front l.jpg
After that time, I'd visit Memorial Field every so often, just to see what was new in town, and was always greeted warmly by Mr. Tommasoni, who seemingly didn't mind dropping whatever it was he was doing for a moment to say hi and talk. During Christmas, I'd drop a card to Sergio as a gesture of thanks for being the person he was. Sergio left T&G in the early-mid 1990s, following multiple deaths in his immediate family.
An interesting thing I hadn't known was that Sergio had been partners early in the airtanker business with a man named George Stell, also an airtanker icon, having been in the business for many years. Geroge Stell was killed, along with his son Greg, in the crash of their PB4Y-2 N7237C, Charlie 50 (and sister ship to 3739G). They went down while fighting a fire on Mount Graham near Safford, AZ on 27 June 1974; having impacted trees during a drop run on the fire. A year prior to meeting Sergio, I'd hiked up to the wreck of C50 to check it out, which still sits on Mount Graham to this day. Hiking to old aircraft wrecks is a hobby of mine; small world that I'd run into the man who was a partner of the deceased elder Stell less than a year later.
1973 pic of 7237C, C50 (courtesy Goleta):
http://www.air-and-space.com/19731112 Tucson/73337 PB4Y-2G N7237C c50 right rear l.jpg
All in all, it's sort of a sad Christmas this year. My list of people I know in the industry from my days past gets smaller and smaller each year. Just a couple of weeks ago, a cargo Cessna 310 crashed on takeoff from Flagstaff, AZ airport, killing the pilot. The pilot, Mark Conte, had previously flown seasonaly as a co-pilot for a company known as ARDCO Inc, based out of Tucson/Ryan Field. ARDCO flies a small fleet of C-54 (DC-4) aircraft that used to be used for forest firefighting, and have since not been contracted by the US Forest Service. I'd met Mark a number of times when I'd stop in to Ryan, or see one of ARDCO's planes, namely Tanker 152, at an outbase. He was a friendly guy that loved to chat. He'd just been married about a year ago and had moved his family to AZ since he'd gotten the flying gig with the company flying the 310s. Another sad loss.
Worst part is, they're gonna keep on happening.
As I work tonight on yet another night shift alone, I'm gonna crack a beer and drink a toast to those fallen men. Some friends, some acquaintinces, some just faces on a flightline that I've chatted with for only a few moments and gotten their name....only to see it in print in the news section or obituary section a few weeks, months, or years later.
Goodbye Sergio. Thanks for the memories, and I hope you had a fufilling 79 years of life.
Last edited:
