George Wahl Bogardus

George W. Bogardus (born Cascade Locks, Oregon about September 20^th 1914 - died September 14^th 1997 Gresham, Oregon).  George may be best known for building a grass roots organization for home-built airplane enthusiasts called the American Airmen’s Association (AAA) and for persuading the Federal Government to formally recognize amateur built aircraft. He flew a homebuilt airplane known as Little Gee Bee, from Beaverton, Oregon to Washington DC three times to demonstrate the viability and capabilities of this type of aircraft.

George Bogardus and Little Gee Bee at Deer Park Airport, Long Island, NY circa 1947

The AAA was a forerunner of today’s Experimental Aviation Association (EAA).  The EAA currently has more than 200,000 members and 1,000 chapters worldwide.  Amateur built aviation continues to be a popular hobby.  It provides a means to build and fly one’s own airplane.  Home built aircraft in the United States are inspected, registered and have a special airworthiness certificate issued by the FAA. They’re registered as a sub category of experimental designs.  Thus, the namesake - Experimental Amateur Built (EAB).  George’s efforts made significant steps towards establishing this sub category.

The Wright brothers were arguably some of the earliest and most well-known home builders. Aviation and machine technology evolved very rapidly during WW1.  Charles Lindbergh’s successful nonstop flight across the Atlantic Ocean in 1927 inspired, bolstered confidence, and accelerated development in many branches of aviation.  By 1930 many aerodynamic and construction concepts were understood.  This put building a viable aircraft within reach of hobbyists. Magazines such as Modern Mechanix, and Popular Aviation provided a way for home builders to share ideas.

Several well-known American home-built airplanes were designed in the late 1920s, e.g. the Heath Parasol, the Corbin Baby Ace, and the Pietenpol Air Camper.  Plans or kits were made available to builders via mail order. They used wood truss construction, similar to pre-WWI aircraft, or simple welded tubing.  Motor options were limited but included motorcycle and the Ford model A engine.  These were affordable materials and techniques that appealed to home builders. All forms of aviation were adversely effected during the Great Depression.

Oregon was an early center for home-built aviation development. Until the late 1930s Oregon was one of few states with state level aircraft licensing.  This preceded Federal level certification and registration.  Home building flourished under these progressive statutes.  Home building was allowed under the Federal Air Commerce Act of 1926.  However, Federal rules were revised by the Civil Aeronautics Act of 1938 which created the CAA (now FAA).  The new rules failed to include amateur built airplanes.  By the late 1930s, home builders felt the Federal government had ignored them and CAA enforcement was encroaching on their personal freedoms.

One of the most prolific Oregon home builders in the 1930s and 1940s was Leslie (Les) Long of Cornelius, Oregon.  Les designed and built several aircraft including the low wing Longster - a low wing, wire braced design.  He designed, built and published plans for a two-cylinder aircraft engine, the Harlequin (which used Harley Davidson motorcycle engine cylinders), and he hand carved wood propellers. Les wrote multiple articles for Popular Aviation about his experiments and he helped to launch a national organization called the Amateur Aircraft League. He mentored several builders including Ed Ball and Swede Ralston (the founders of Aero Air at the Hillsboro Airport), and Tom Story.

About 1930 George met Les Long, Roy Fry, and Lee Eyerly.  Lee was a member of the Oregon State Board of Aeronautics. Together they formed the American Airmen’s Association (AAA).  Membership was subscription based.  Les and George collaborated on the initial newsletter called the Triple A Flyer. Later George renamed the newsletter the Popular Flying Manual and grew the AAA into a national organization (he also maintained a subgroup known as the Oregon Airmen’s Association).  Les died in 1945.  George continued to build the subscription base and use his experience with linotype machines to produce the newsletter.

The first incarnation of Les Long’s low wing design was built in 1937 by Les and Swede Ralston. It used an Aeronca "L head" (E-107) engine. It became to be known as Wimpy.  The airplane was ultimately owned by Myron “Buzz” Buzzwell.  George and others improved upon the design, e.g. they added a Continental A40, and a NACA 23012 airfoil.  A second airframe was built by Tom Story and Lee Eyerly, at Eyerly Aircraft, about 1940.  It was purchased by George in 1945 and it came to be known Little Gee Bee.  In 1947 George and A&P mechanic Cliff Krum installed an additional fuel tank and a Continental A65 for the flights to Washington D.C. Fred Sheppard furnished a fuel filler neck and the gas cap from Tex Rankin’s wrecked Republic Seebee. Little Gee Bee was based at Bernard’s Airfield in Beaverton, Oregon. 

Little Gee Bee at the National Air and Space Museum

Beaverton had been an active center for homebuilders since the late 1930s.  Several homebuilders learned to fly there with designer and flight instructor Gorge Yates.  Bogardus left Oregon to work in California from 1937 to 1942, eventually working at the Ryan School of Aeronautics in Hemet California. He stayed in contact with and recruited some of the “Beaverton boys” to work in Hemet. In 1942 he returned to Oregon, worked at Yates' Geodetic Aircraft in Beaverton, and with Les Long building propellers.  The limitations being imposed on the Oregon home builders by the newly formed CAA was impetus to do something about it.  However, WW2 took priority.

For the most part, general aviation was suspended during WW2.  George and Les Long continued to correspond about the CAA situation during the war.  Immediately after the war, George contacted the Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB) and made the case for home builders.  He was surprised when they invited him to make his arguments in person in Washington D.C.  In April 1946 Roy Fry and George drove to Washington, stopping to visit various AAA members along the way.  They spent a month on the road, driving a 1937 Chevy.  Several AAA members helped with expenses, provided room and board, or made suggestions for the CAB meeting.

The CAB meeting took place at a fortuitous moment in history.  This was acknowledged by George himself.  The CAB, and the aviation industry at large, expected a post war boom in civilian aviation. The CAB was open minded and quickly agreed to recognize home built aircraft. The meeting was brief but included notables: John H. Geise and Albert Vollmecke.  The CAB responded in October 1946, six months after the first meeting.  Home builts would be added to the already existing experimental category, but with certain limitations.  Until then, the experimental category had mostly been used by aircraft developers for prototyping, and testing new designs. The CAB stipulated that the newly recognized home builts must be inspected by a CAA inspector, and registered.  All experimental aircraft must have an "EXPERIMENTAL" placard near the cockpit. Because of a discrepancy that needed to be addressed, Little Gee Bee was not the first, but instead the second home built to receive its NX registration.  The first homebuilt to be registered was Russ Stewart’s Salmson powered Pietenpol. Little Gee Bee was registered NX 31250.

The flights to Washington DC that followed the initial CAB meeting took place in 1947, 1948 and 1951.  They were needed to expand the definition of the EAB category in order to better accommodate home builders, e.g. to increase the registration period.  In the meantime, George used the AAA newsletter to encourage members to comply with the new Federal rules.  An important Bogardus confidant and AAA member was Jack McRae, an aeronautical engineer based in Long Island, New York.  Jack had engineering credentials and he aspired to design his own home built. Which he eventually did – the Super Dart (based on the Driggs Dart).  Jack accompanied George to Washington D.C. in 1947 (flying his Cessna 140) and helped to explain the technical aspects of home-built designs. He hosted George at his home in Long Island, NY and coordinated press coverage.

In a 1986 interview with Robert Taylor, George acknowledged that many individuals helped make the flights to Washington D.C. happen.  Including Charlie Bernard owner of Bernard field in Beaverton, A&P mechanic Walt Ruppert, and many AAA members across the country.

By the early 1950s the AAA had served its purpose.  It had united a group of like-minded people, across the country, into a loose organization.  In 1953 a new organization formed in Wisconsin – the EAA.  Its goal was to promote the now legal activity of building personal aircraft.  According to Dick Vangrunsven, George was reluctant to give up on the organization that he had put so much of his life into (communication with author, December 28, 2024).  George’s contributions were recognized by the EAA. He was one of the first three names added to the EAA Hall of Fame in 1993.

Another well-known home builder came from the fertile Willamette Valley.  The VanGrunsven brothers grew up near Les Long’s farm.  Dick VanGrunsven went on to experiment with and design a series of EAB aircraft.  He eventually formed his own company - Van’s Aircraft.  Today Van’s Aircraft is one of the largest and most well-known manufacturers of home-built aircraft kits.  Tom Story built two more low wing airplanes based on the Longster concept. His designs inspired Peter Bower’s Fly Baby.

George and his wife Lillian had no children and left their estate to EAA Chapter 105, which is currently in Hillsboro, Oregon in care of Dick VanGrunsven.  Their estate included a large collection of documents which includes correspondence with State and Federal agencies, scrap books, early AAA newsletters, twenty years’ worth of correspondence with AAA members (many became lifelong friends), a series of letters from Les Long written in 1943-44, and what remained of Little Gee Bee including its airframe and engine logbooks. As of 2025, the chapter is in the process of digitizing and hosting some of the documents.

Little Gee Bee was restored to non-flying condition in 2005 by EAA Chapter 105 members and was donated to the National Air and Space Museum of the Smithsonian Institution.  Wimpy, the first Les Long low wing, was restored to non-flying condition by the Oregon Aviation Historical Society (OAHS).  Wimpy and two of Tom Story’s airplanes reside in the OAHS museum located in Cottage Grove, Oregon.

Further Reading and external links

• George A. Hardie, Jr: Henderson Longster. EAA Experimenter December 1987 pp 31 - 34.
• George A. Hardie, Jr: The Low Wing Longster. EAA Experimenter January 1988 pp 28 - 29.
• Dean Sigler: Chapter 105 The Continuation of A Tradition. EAA Sport Aviation September 1964 pp 26 - 29.
• Tim Talen: Wimpy The Little Airplane That Could And Did.  EAA Sport Aviation Sep 2003
• Brochure for Ryan School of Aeronautics
• Oregon Aviation Historical Society: Les Long. Vol 1, issue 1, p4 March 2011
• Story Little Gee Bee National Air and Space Museum
• Story Little Gee Bee Smithsonian Institution
• Ken Scott: Barnstorming the Beltway May 2026
• Eyerly Aircraft Company
• Early photo of Wimpy with Les Long’s emblem on the fuselage