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Robert came from TWA. From Gene Banning's list of 8/31/00: "... July, 1943; landed plane #86 at Kunming after an oxygen tank exploded, blew hole in fuselage, 6/14/44." Bob was on the Pilots Flying Time list, September, 1947. From the last roster of CNAC pilots, 2 April 1949: Hinkel, (yes, misspelled) R.G. 996 Hugjao Road, Apt. 2 29659 From a 1960's CNAC address list - Bob's widow: Hinkle, Nellie 7025 Van Dyke St. Philadelphia, Pa. April 9, 2006 Dad (Don McBride) remembers Hinkle. They called him "Pop." "Pop Hinkle." He was an older pilot who came from an airline background . . . . . TWA, Dad thinks. Hinkle had at least one unusual experience on one of his flights. On one occasion, he had a load of Chinese soldiers on board when he had mechanical problems (Dad recalled it was an engine failure.) There were no parachutes on board so he couldn't unload his passengers. He had to fly through the dark over the Patcai Range of mountains on instruments. He couldn't see anything and he had to fly over these mountains, which many of those mountains rise about 8000 ft. high. He was flying below 8000 ft. for that whole time over the Patcai Range, and remarkably he made it back safely with his passengers. A real feat . . . . . and no one knows how he did it. Very fortunate. Dad also said that Hinkle went back and flew the same route again later and tried to do it at the elevation that he flew the night of his engine problems. He couldn't do it in the daylight with a fully functional airplane. He wondered how he avoided flying into a mountain the night he had a load full of passengers. Dad says that Pop made it back to the U.S. . . . . . he thinks he left China before the end of the war. Dad doesn't remember seeing him at subsequent reunions. Eileen McBride (Don's daughter)  or would like to be added to the CNAC e-mail distribution list, please let the CNAC Web Editor, Tom Moore, know. Thanks! |