Gordon R. Page

 

Gordon R. Page is past president of the Colorado Aviation Historical Society and opened the Colorado Aviation Hall of Fame in Denver. He lives with his family in Louisville, Colorado where he owns and operates an aircraft sales and charter business. Gordon is the President of Air Assets International which specializes in aircraft acquisition, sales, aviation technologies, valuation and consulting. His position with Air Assets includes working with rare aircraft collections owned by museums and private collectors worldwide. Page is the former President of the Colorado Aviation Historical Society and helped establish the Colorado Aviation Hall of Fame. He was also nominated in 1991 as Entrepreneur of the Year by Ernst & Young. In addition to his career, Page has been an avid writer for over 15 years and has published proposals
 

PageOneLit.com: Where did you grow up and was reading and writing a part of your life? Who were your earliest influences and why?

Gordon R. Page: I grew up in Springfield Missouri and was always fascinated by WWII and aviation in general. I used to read books on WWII and I wrote to companies like Cessna and McDonald Douglas for information on the latest aircraft that they were working on, mostly so I could get factory aircraft photos. My Grandmother worked for McGraw-Hill and was on the one who encouraged me as a kid to visit libraries to read up on aviation. She was the one who told me to not be afraid to write the aircraft companies for information, saying all they could do is say no.

 

PageOneLit.com: Why did you write "Warbird Recovery: The Hunt for a Rare WWII Plane in Siberia, Russia"?

Gordon R. Page: My wife, Tracey, had me take a journal on my first trip to Siberia to take notes in case our kids might someday ask what Russia was like. She also wanted me to take notes in case I didn’t come back and was hopeful that the journal could have provided some leads on what might have happened. We I got back from a second trip to Russia and told stories to friends about what had happened they just couldn’t believe it. More than once I was told that I should write a book about our crazy dealings in Russia, so again at the suggestion of my wife I took out pen and pad and put it all down on paper.
 

PageOneLit.com: What is a German Bf 109 fighter plane and what makes it so rare?

Gordon R. Page: The Messerschmitt Bf109 was the most produced fighter aircraft of WWII. Over 35,000 were built, but only a few exist in the world today. Most aircraft from WWII, including American built ones, were destroyed after the war which is why they are sought after by collectors and museums around the world.




PageOneLit.com: Discuss some of the/your dangers and risk traveling to Russia?


Gordon R. Page:  I was initially blinded to any potential risk or danger because of my passion for WWII fighter aircraft. The first time I felt I was in any real danger was when our car was pulled over by gunmen just outside of the Moscow Airport. That just doesn’t happen in the United States. The experience was the first of many that I had in Russia that made me wonder why I had ever left the comforts we enjoy in the US.




PageOneLit.com: What was your first interest in aviation?

Gordon R. Page: Like a lot of aviation enthusiast I got hooked by building model airplanes. My hobby became an addition that moved me to build radio controlled aircraft, and then I eventually had enough money to take some flying lessons. I call it the Spirit of Flight, which means if you have the aviation bug you have to look up to see what is flying overhead, no matter what it is.




PageOneLit.com: What do you hope readers will take with them after reading "Warbird Recovery: The Hunt for a Rare WWII Plane in Siberia, Russia"?

Gordon R. Page:  I wrote Warbird Recovery as a “don’t try this at home” story about what it takes to save aviation history. It is not an easy task to recovery and then put a former military aircraft together to flying condition. My goal is that readers will look at a plane at an Airshow in a different way after reading the book, wondering where it came from and the efforts that it took to put it together.




PageOneLit.com: What did you learn from writing "Warbird Recovery: The Hunt for a Rare WWII Plane in Siberia, Russia"?


Gordon R. Page: I have heard from readers around the world who have really enjoyed the story but just can’t believe what I went through to chase my childhood dream of owning a WWII fighter. Because of the tremendous feedback I am focused even more on saving aviation history. I also tell people that they can chase their dreams like I did, just know what you are getting yourself into.

PageOneLit.com: What's next?

Gordon R. Page: We have established a new museum in Colorado called the Spirit of Flight Center. The facility features aircraft from the book and other aviation artifacts that have been recovered from around the world. It is a way for us to honor veterans and to educate the general public about aviation and aviation history. www.spiritofflight.com for more information. We are also continuing to travel the world to recovery rare aircraft for the collection and for other museums and collectors. I have begun writing another book about the most recent project, but this time it involves head hunters and stone money instead of the KGB.



PageOneLit.com: What was the last book you read?

Gordon R. Page:  Aphrodite: Desperate Mission by Jack Olsen. This is the story of a dangerous mission of World War II that was born in desperation and involved flying B-17 bombers as drone planes filled with explosives. I thought I had a harrowing experience in Russia until I read this book.

PageOneLit.com: Do you have any hobbies? What are they? How do they enhance your writing?

Gordon R. Page: I am a collector of aviation memorabilia and have become somewhat of a historian. I am also a pilot and get to fly a lot of neat aircraft, including some vintage jets and even a B-25 bomber. My day job allows me to travel and meet some very interesting people from around the world and it has allowed me to experience the common interest in aviation. There are some amazing stories when it involves aircraft and not just from pilots so I keep a good journal after what I experienced in Russia…