Broken Arrow, OK – Jack D. Smith could take a piece of tin, steel or aluminum and build anything. And, he could do it without any printed plans or blueprint to follow.
We’re talking about big items and built with great detail almost exactly to scale like a model of an A-7 fighter jet that landed in the Military History Museum’s collection recently.
MSG Smith came by this ability naturally. His father designed the fuel tanks from scratch for Charles Lindbergh’s “Spirit of St. Louis” famous flight in 1927.
The younger Smith spent 1951-85 as an Air Technician for the Air Guard just north and east of Tulsa International Airport (9100 E. 46th St. North).
MEMORIES TAKE FLIGHT — Daryl Hubbard, from left, Don Hughes, George Banasky and Larry Ourada stand next to the A-7 scale model they once flew.
“He wanted to make an A-7,” said George Banasky, who is a former A-7 flyer. “And, did it all in his head. He was a master sheet metal man.”
Everybody in the air guard shop contributed to Smith’s masterpiece. The attention to detail was paramount, even down to the fold-up wings.
The scale model took 4-to-5 months to complete. The cockpit seats one person only.
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