Home | Gone West: Greg Little

Gone West: Greg Little

N3590RThe Beech Aero Club is sorry to announce that one of our members, Greg Little, perished on Monday. He was flying in his A23 Musketeer over the Lake Mammoth area in California. Greg held ratings and certificates as a private pilot, instrument, commercial, Multi-engine, A&P, as well as Flight Engineer.

The Photo shows Greg with his mouse at the Lone Pine Airport in June of 2004 with Mt. Whittney in the background. His emails to me often ended with “Have a Mouseketeer Day”.


I hope there’s a place, way up in the sky

Where pilots can go when they have to die.

A place where a guy could buy a cold beer 

For a friend and a comrade whose memory is dear.

A place where no doctor or lawyer could tread,

Nor a management-type would e’er be caught dead!

Just a quaint little place, kind of dark, full of smoke,

Where they like to sing loud, and love a good joke.

The kind of a place that a lady could go

And feel safe and secure by the men she would know.

There must be a place where old pilots go,

When their wings become heavy, when their airspeed gets low,

Where the whiskey is old, and the women are young,

And songs about flying and dying are sung.

Where you’d see all the fellows who’d ‘flown west’ before,

And they’d call out your name, as you came through the door,

Who would buy you a drink, if your thirst should be bad,

And relate to the others, “He was quite a good lad!”

And there, through the mist, you’d spot an old guy

You had not seen in years, though he’d taught you to fly.

He’d nod his old head, and grin ear to ear

And say, “Welcome, my Son, I’m proud that you’re here!

For this is the place where true flyers come

When the battles are over, and the wars have been won.

They’ve come here at last, to be safe and alone,

From the government clerk, and the management clone;

Politicians and lawyers, the Feds, and the noise,

Where all hours are happy, and these good ol’ boys

Can relax with a cool one, and a well deserved rest!

This is Heaven, my Son.  You’ve passed your last test!

– Captain Michael J Larkin, TWA (Retired), Air Line Pilot magazine, February 1995

Thank you for adding to the resources available for your Fellow BAC Members.