Check Six:A Fighter Pilot's Diary of Misadventures

During the activation of 127th Tactical Fighter Squadron from the Kansas Air National Guard to Kunsan South Korea, Ed wrote a diary of his daily activities as a dual role of maintenance officer/fighter pilot flying daily operational missions. The activation was a result of the confiscation of the USS Pueblo on 23 January 1968. The diary is from 24 September 1968 to 4 June 1969.

Edwin Merkel’s first flight was in a New Standard D-25 (Tail number 9103) at Roosevelt Field, New York with his parents, Joseph and Mary Elaine, and his older brother, Joe, circa 1936. His dream of building and flying his own airplane would take some dips and turns, but he would get there. Ed completed both a Bachelor’s of Science Degree in Mechanical Engineering and in Aeronautical Engineering. For many years, Ed held the dual role of aeronautical engineering with several aircraft companies in Wichita, Kansas, while serving his country in the Kansas Air National Guard as a fighter pilot/maintenance officer. With his first wife, Marcia, they had three children: Leslie, Nancy, and Jack. Ed is currently married to his second wife, Bonnie, with whom he helped raise stepdaughter, Julia. His dream came true on 11 April 1973 with the flight of his Merkel Mark II Maverick at High Point Air Park, Valley Center, Kansas. For a young boy, whose first words were, “See Plane,” Ed has done a lot of designing, building and flying airplanes, especially his Maverick.