“Danny Kaye”
Flying Magazine – March 1964
By: Gerry Casey and Tonia Nagle
My instructor said, “Okay, Redhead, don’t kill yourself.”
“With this advice, I took off on my first solo. I had heard students do weird things when they solo. They talk to themselves, yell with excitement or just sit there and shake. Me? I sang at the top of my lungs all around the pattern.”
Danny Kaye speaking.
Clown, mimic, comedian—and now pilot.
Like all pilots, he remembers his first solo flight as a momentous experience. His instructor, Dick Weaver, had asked him to fly to a nearby airport and shoot landings. En route, Weaver—silent and nonchalant—filed his fingernails. Suddenly he asked Danny, “Do you want to take it up yourself?”
“He was so unconcerned,” Danny said. “When Dick asked that, I sensed he might not repeat the offer very soon if I declined. I gave him a weak nod. When we landed, Dick stepped out and folded the seat belts. I waited for the expected flock of last minute instructions. No words. Nothing. But when he’d finished folding the belts, I heard those words I’ll never forget.”
Danny Kaye took his original flight training at Van Nuys, California in a Cessna
150. But he has the distinction of being one of the few pilots who completely skipped
their single-
I asked if he had experienced any anxious moments during his training.
“Gerry, it’s amazing what little insidious doubts can do to a student’s confidence. In ground school, during our discussions of aerodynamics, I heard about pilots who ‘stalled and spun in.’ I heard this often, ‘stalled and spun in.’ This took much of the joy from my lessons and I fretted. Then came the morning when I knew I had to lick this before it ended my flying ambition. So, I asked Dick to teach me spins. I vowed I would quit flying if I couldn’t shake this feeling.”
“What happened, Danny?”
He grinned and relaxed in his seat. “When I saw how easily the modern airplane recovers from spins and how tough it is to induce one, my misgivings evaporated in a beautiful cloud of steam.”
During the flying hours after his certification, Danny learned an airplane could be an efficient, useful business tool. His company interests are widespread, and his firm purchased a Beech Model 65 Queen Air and hired Bob Dorn, from Riverside, California, as a professional pilot. Later the company turned in the Model 65 for a Model 80.
Danny’s advanced training, therefore, is dream-
“It’s business, of course,” he admits. “But I get the bonus of being pilot or passenger.”
Danny is very serious about his flying. His use of the checklist is thorough and consistent. His flying and general handling of the airplane are smooth and capable. By choice, he prefers to fly airways, using all navigational equipment at hand. He’s careful to explain that his airplane is not a toy.
“It is very professionally equipped,” he states, “and it should be flown in a professional manner.”
Though Danny Kaye is yet unrated as an instrument pilot, his ability on the gauges is surprising. But one is conscious that he is aware of his limitations.
“If it gets to be real work, we stop,” Danny says. “We’re not a scheduled air carrier. Arriving at our destination at an exact time is secondary to getting there safely.”
Over lunch at the Palm Springs Country Club, we chatted about aviation and its people.
“Danny,” I asked, “what do you think of pilots in general?”
“I like being around them. I think they’re a responsible group of people.”
“Is flying one of your favorite hobbies?”
“I don’t have hobbies, Gerry, I have a great
many interests. Flying is one of my interests.”
“How does flying affect you emotionally?”
“Well, perhaps other pilots share the same feelings I have; so, I’ll try and explain.
“Flying is a challenge. Doing it well gives me an added zest and enthusiasm. Each flight is a new thing to be solved. And like acting, both take consistent practice. I think this is why I admire the professional airline pilot.”
On our jaunts together, I have watched the reaction of other pilots to Danny. To them, he changes from the world famous entertainer and becomes “another pilot.” It is clear he enjoys this acceptance.
A request to Najeeb Halaby, FAA Administrator, brought this reply on his opinion of Danny:
“A mind both serious and sharp—a wit, but quick.
“A body nimble and co-
“A sense of timing—tireless at rehearsing—full of the spirit of flight.
“What else does it take?”
After my ride with Danny, as we were walking away from his airplane, he touched my arm and we turned to admire the sleek beauty of his new airplane.
“When I was a kid, I had always wanted a bicycle,” Danny said slowly. “We were too poor. Now I’ve got one. Look at it. Isn’t that some bicycle?”
I had to agree, it is. And Danny Kaye of the long legs and swift feet has learned to pedal it most capably.