LIFE IMITATES ART - OR DOES IT?

Readers of this column will recall that over the past four months I’ve dealt with the sometimes not-so-subtle inaccuracies found in all the magnificent artwork we celebrate here at The Boxart Den. I’ve made the point that whether or not it was a “truth in advertising” issue, or simply a case of art directors running amok with ideas to excite young model builders, the cover art shown on model boxtops from the 1950s through the 1970s was simply the best in the world for what it was designed to do – spark our imaginations, launch future careers, and knock the socks off of viewers despite those technical inaccuracies.

This month, however, I’m going to try something different. Look closely at the painting shown above. It was created by noted 1960’s New York commercial illustrator Mort Kunstler who painted this pastoral scene of a rural airstrip showing a chauffeured Rolls-Royce disgorging an elegantly-clad couple about to board an Aero Commander for a trip to some far-off exotic locale. A large grey hangar across the field proudly displays the name of the little airport which reads “ZAHN’S” as a ground crewman stands atop a wooden step ladder filling the fuel tanks of one of these aircraft from a GULF gas truck parked alongside. The finishing touch is seeing another ‘Commander cruise overhead in this classic example of 1960’s aviation art at its best.

Well folks believe it or not, this scene is dead accurate. That was not only a real airport, but those aircraft were actually based there and the local gas service was indeed GULF for as long as the airport existed. In fact, Zahn’s, located in Amityville New York from 1945 through 1979, was once Long Island’s busiest general aviation airport. Home of the Amityville Flying Service located next to the very hangar shown on the cover, Zahn’s Airport sprang from an apple orchard owned by Joe Zahn which was purchased by three local businessmen who had a vision for the future, and who realized what general aviation could bring to the community. As with the rise and fall of many post-WWII businesses, however, the airport became rather derelict toward the end of its existence, but what a great ride it was!

The green-and-black Aero Commander 560F shown in the foreground belonged to a very cool guy named Stan. His hangar was located directly across the field from the flight school and he used the plane for private charter and aerial ambulance work. He also owned one of the first 1966 Ford Mustang GT 2+2s ever seen in the New York metropolitan area – a snazzy tomato-soup-red fastback with a 289 and a 4-speed usually found parked right next to his hangar. Sometimes Stan would jump into the cab of the gas truck during the fueling of his plane and floor the engine to expedite fuel flow while rushing to launch for yet another emergency aero-med mission. His high-speed low passes before entering the landing pattern were legendary and it was easy to see why he was known around the airport as the “ace of the base”.

The airborne tan-and-white Commander is shown flying over Zahn’s main runway, a 4,000-foot strip of asphalt that was home to everything from the flight school’s yellow J-3 Cubs (often referred to by students as the “Amityville Horrors”), to the New York Yankees’ private DC-3 and a beautiful Grumman Mallard used by the New York Daily News. Those old T-hangars in the background became stand-ins for Roosevelt Field during filming of the 1957 aviation classic, “The Spirit of St. Louis” starring Jimmy Stewart as Charles Lindbergh. There was also an Army National Guard unit located at the south end of the field. Other aircraft types based there included the Twin Beech, Cessna 310B, and Piper Apache, all of which were first released as Comet models and then re-issued by Aurora in this same series.

OK, everything in this image is real and I’ve told you about the airport. So how do I know all this stuff? Simple. I worked there as a line boy in 1967 and actually drove that gas truck. I stood on that same step ladder while refueling Stan’s Aero Commander, and I even got to drive his Mustang GT. I also made my first solo flight in one of the J-3 Cubs. Zahn’s was simply a magical place where dreams came true and thousands of aviation careers were launched, from bush pilot to airline captain. It was also a much simpler time before TCAs and ABC airspace restrictions, but anyone who ever flew there found their lives enriched by the innate charm of the place and all the colorful characters who shared a mutual love of aviation. < P> Oh yes, about the National Guard. Home to a fleet of Bell Hueys and a Cessna L-19, the unit seemed to operate in a mysterious world of its own. We wondered what all the fuss was about one cold winter day when a Guard Huey lost power and landed at nearby Jones Beach. The ‘copter was soon surrounded by well-armed MPs as though it was carrying some sort of precious Top Secret cargo. Well guess what? It was! Located directly across the street from the airport in a wooded residential area was an underground anti-aircraft missile site housing Nike Ajax and eventually the larger nuclear-tipped Nike Hercules. That Huey on the beach was carrying one of the warheads. Officially known as “NY 24”, the site operated from 1957 through 1974 without any of the neighbors ever knowing it was there. But wait, there’s more - its radar control center was located two miles up the road right next to a Nathan’s hot dog restaurant!

They say “life imitates art”, but in this cover painting, art was really imitating life. I can just imagine what led to the creation of this image since the Aurora plant was located in West Hempstead, only twelve miles west of Zahn’s. Discovering that the airport had a bevy of Aero Commanders, I’ll bet the art director sent either a photographer or Mort himself out there for a photo shoot. If Stan’s 560F was parked on the grass in front of his hangar at dusk, the flight school complex across the field (accurate right down to the rotating beacon) would be exactly where it is shown in the painting and that airborne ‘Commander would indeed be flying over the North-South runway. Add in the Rolls-Royce, a few fashion models and the GULF gas truck stationed on the airport, and voila – you’d have the boxtop painting exactly as it appears above!