Seeing double

By JOE FERNANDEZ

It’s rare these days to see a Fairchild 24 flying overhead.

It’s even rarer to see a pair of Fairchilds flying in formation.

But that’s what’s happening in south Texas, home to two vintage Fairchild 24s. It’s quite common to see the pair of Fairchilds flying overhead, then capturing the attention of everyone when they show up at general aviation airports around the San Antonio area.

The two aircraft are owned by friends Dave Schur and Steve Harrelson, both long-time aviation enthusiasts who have immersed themselves in the world of flight.

Seeing Red

The red aircraft, N81261, is a 1946 Fairchild 24W-46, owned by Dave Schur, who is based at Heritage Airfield (TE86) in New Berlin, Texas.

“I’ve always had a soft spot for antique and classic airplanes,” he says. “The Fairchild 24, in particular, has that unmistakable Art Deco aesthetic that really sets it apart. With its wide, sprawling landing gear and the narrow wing roots where the wings meet the fuselage, it’s got a quirky elegance, maybe even a bit of an ugly duckling compared to the sleek Stinsons, Spartans, and Howards of its era. But that’s exactly what I love about it.”

He had been “casually searching” for a Fairchild for a while, but knew he had found the one when he saw an ad for a Fairchild powered by a Warner Super Scarab radial engine.

“When I found out it only had 40 hours on the engine since overhaul, I had to check it out,” he said. “One thing led to another, and before I knew it, I was flying it from Massachusetts to Texas in December. The trip took 22.6 hours total, averaging a groundspeed of 73 knots. Quite an adventure.”

“It’s a solid cross-country machine if you’re not in a hurry,” he continues. “I once knocked out a 4.5-hour leg between Somerset, Pennsylvania, and Louisville, Kentucky, in it — the only limitation being how much coffee you drank before you flew.”

While the Fairchild 24 “is not a speed demon by any means,” he notes it is “solid, reliable, and an absolute joy to fly.”

“It has a ton of character, both in its vintage appearance and in the way it handles,” he says. “One of its most distinctive features is the landing gear. The oil-filled struts absorb landing forces so well that even on my rough clay runway in Texas, they compress with a smoothness that gives the pilot an inflated sense of finesse. It might be the most forgiving conventional gear airplane I have ever flown.”

And he’s flown quite a few airplanes.

Falling in love with aviation on his first airline flight when he was 8 years old, Dave says he doesn’t remember where the family was flying “but I do remember getting to visit the cockpit and talk to the pilots. That was it. I was hooked.”

“From then on, aviation consumed me,” he continues. “My dad would take me to air shows and the Kalamazoo Air Zoo, which really sparked my love for aviation history and classic airplanes. I soloed at 16, before I even had a driver’s license, and began instructing at a family-owned flight school in North Texas by the time I was 18. That experience opened the door to flying for a regional airline at 20. I eventually joined the Air Force Reserve and began flying the C-5 Galaxy. Today, I’m a captain at a major airline and still flying the C-5 ‘on the side.’”

When he’s not flying the heavy iron, you can find him in his Fairchild.

“It’s definitely a rare bird and this one has an even rarer engine,” he says. “You don’t see many of them flying anymore, but that scarcity is part of the magic — it turns heads on the ramp and always sparks a conversation.”

Even with all that, Dave says his favorite thing about the airplane has nothing to do with the engine, the fuselage, or the ramp aesthetics.

“My favorite feature has to be the crank-down windows,” he says. “There is something incredibly satisfying about flying with your arm resting on the windowsill, like you are just cruising down a quiet country road on a Sunday morning, if that road happened to be filled with the deep, rumbling voice of a seven-cylinder Warner up front.”

Seeing Yellow

Meanwhile, the yellow airplane, N81332, is a 1946 Fairchild 24W-46, which owner Steve Harrelson bases out of Zuehl Airport Flying Community (1TE4) in Zuehl, Texas, just minutes from Dave at Heritage Airfield.

His Fairchild has a rare engine conversion, with an STC for the Lycoming R680-17 radial engine, which produces 225 horsepower. Rumor has it that only three of the Fairchild-24s were converted to this engine, which came originally from a surplus supply for Boeing Stearman trainers, according to Steve.

“From 1946 to 1952, this Fairchild flew for an airline in the New York area, before being flown to California for the engine upgrade,” he recounts, saying the information came from the “amazingly complete records” that came with the aircraft. “For 10 years after that, it flew for another airline out of California, eventually being sold to a cattle rancher, who needed it for its rough field and off-airport capability.”

He bought it in Manistee, Michigan, in 2024. Flying it home to Texas was a four day adventure due to weather along the way.

Steve, who is now a corporate pilot, grew up in the world of aviation.

“Both of my parents were pilots,” he says. “I was introduced to aviation as a small child and flew a number of planes through the years.”

Joining Forces

Dave and Steve often fly together, promoting vintage aviation at local air shows and fly-ins.

“Our plan is to keep the Fairchilds flying for years to come,” Dave says.

There’s still work to be done on the vintage flyers, including an interior refresh, but they aren’t looking to create “museum pieces,” he says.

“I want a well-loved, well-flown example of living history,” he says. “There’s something really rewarding about giving these old machines a second life and keeping aviation’s golden age alive in the skies.”

A special thanks to Thomas Hughes for providing the photo ship for this story.