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  • Howie Keefe

    Sad to say that owner/pilot emeritus of Miss America, Howie Keefe passed away from complications of cancer in Florida. I think he was 92 or 93.

    Thanks, Howie. You were the 'face of air racing' for a generation of kids.
    Attached Files

  • #2
    Re: Howie Keefe

    Originally posted by Big_Jim View Post
    Sad to say that owner/pilot emeritus of Miss America, Howie Keefe passed away from complications of cancer in Florida. I think he was 92 or 93.

    Thanks, Howie. You were the 'face of air racing' for a generation of kids.
    One of my Heros and a great Pilot

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    • #3
      Re: Howie Keefe

      I was talking with John Slack this afternoon and his comment to me seemed most appropriate. I hope he will forgive my using his words:

      "Slowly and quietly the most vibrant and colorful heroes of our youth are slipping from our presence. The are almost vanished, even now."

      Comment


      • #4
        Re: Howie Keefe

        Originally posted by Big_Jim View Post
        Sad to say that owner/pilot emeritus of Miss America, Howie Keefe passed away from complications of cancer in Florida. I think he was 92 or 93.

        Thanks, Howie. You were the 'face of air racing' for a generation of kids.
        So sorry to hear the information. Howie was such a great gentlemen and pilot. I will forever miss him. I was lucky to have gotten his license plates "Airrrace" several years ago and will forever treasure that moment.
        Farewell my friend,

        Comment


        • #5
          Re: Howie Keefe

          Howie also set (and still holds) the propeller speed record from Los Angeles to Washington DC in 1972 in 6 hours and 21 minutes. He did it in his p-51 Mustang Miss America.

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          • #6
            Re: Howie Keefe

            So sad to hear this news, but very happy that he lived such a full life!

            He was also very inspirational to me..

            I think this is '94. I had drawn a picture of Miss America, and Howie noticed, and so I had him sign it. Then he gave me a piggy-back around the pits. Yeah!





            - Joseph

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            • #7
              Re: Howie Keefe

              Betty Sherman sent me a brief bio of Howie.. I'm pretty sure it's OK to share here.

              "Howie Keefe grew up on the North Shore of Chicago and learned to fly at Hamilton College in upstate NY in the early '40s. When the war broke out and he enlisted in the Navy, they made him on officer right away because they needed flight instructors. He loved teaching student pilots. When the was was over, he married, had 4 children and worked at the Chicago Tribune where he rose to Marketing Director position. He then invented Sky Prints charts and marketed them in an atlas format.....a solution for loose-chart cockpit clutter......a first in aviation. In the '60s, Howie moved to Los Angeles with the Newspaper Advertising Bureau and got into air racing at Reno, NV flying T-6s. He is most famous for his red, white and blue P51 Mustang named, "Miss America" which he owned and raced from 1969-1981. Howie holds the record for the most consecutive air races and also set a speed record in flying Miss America from Los Angeles to Wash D.C. in 6hrs and 21min. In 1980, he developed the Air Chart IFR Enroute Atlas for IFR pilots as a companion to his advanced VFR atlas, Sky Prints. In 2001, Howie wrote a book of air racing memoirs and other exciting lifetime adventures entitled, "Galloping on Wings". He remarried in 1988 and moved to the Central FL area in 2002 where the Sun 'N Fun aviation convention is held at Lakeland Linder Airport. For his 90th birthday, his wife fulfilled his wish for a ride in a Stearman which was the same aircraft in which he taught his Navy cadets some 70 years ago. Howie died in July 2013 at 92 and admits he had a most exciting, fun-filled, fascinating life."
              Wayne Sagar
              "Pusher of Electrons"

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              • #8
                Re: Howie Keefe

                Howie is the kind of guy that will arrive in Heaven already blessed with wings.

                Yes, I am getting old as my heros are slipping away faster than new ones are taking their place....
                '71 S.D.1000, '85-'91,'94',95,'97-'99,'02,'04,'06,'08,'10,'13,'14 NCAR.

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                • #9
                  Re: Howie Keefe

                  Originally posted by planecrazy2 View Post
                  Yes, I am getting old as my heros are slipping away faster than new ones are taking their place....
                  Well, that's two of us, then.

                  Years ago, I had a long conversation with Howie about his IFR charts. I thought then, that they were superior to Jepps and NOA charts. The one thing that I remember most about him was his enthusiasm.

                  Blue skies and tail winds to Howie.

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                  • #10
                    Re: Howie Keefe

                    So sad to hear this, Howie and Miss America were my introduction to Air Racing, even brought the Cox racer...

                    Thank you for your service and Blue Skies Howie,



                    Lynn

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                    • #11
                      Re: Howie Keefe

                      "Blue-Skies & Tailwinds-Forever!"~Howie Keefe!!!

                      Thanks for all the many golden air racing & airshow memories over the years, Sir!

                      One small photo offering in tribute~ Howie Keefe arrives to compete in the Unlimited Class @ The Reno '81 National Championship Air Races w/his iconic patriotic-schemed NAA P-51D racer~#11-"Miss America" (N991R), in this vintage archive photo-capture.

                      Plus a personal Howie anecdote to share: Many years-after I'd had the privilege of getting to know Howie during the late 1970s, an old Chicago high-school-days fellow musician pal I'd lost-touch with, suddenly re-surfaced one day via a long-distance call to me from out of the blue. He'd subsequently-relocated to the LA area & we somehow got on the subject of air racing, & turned-out he'd happened to coincidentally-become friends with Howie, as their offices were in the same building. 'Serendipity @ Work', again! What a classy gentleman-aviator was "Wowie" Howie Keefe & he'll be surely fondly-remembered & sorely-missed by many. "Fly-Fast Forever", my friend!

                      FYI~ Howie's book- "Galloping On Wings" is a great-read for air racing fans, if you haven't had the opportunity to pickup a copy yet.

                      DBD
                      Attached Files

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                      • #12
                        Re: Howie Keefe

                        Can't help it, but Miss America looked so much better in this early scheme than in later versions.

                        T J

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                        • #13
                          Re: Howie Keefe

                          Originally posted by T J Johansen View Post
                          Can't help it, but Miss America looked so much better in this early scheme than in later versions.

                          T J
                          If I remember correctly, the 'original' paint scheme came about when then-owner Robert Cleaves asked Star-Trek creator Gene Roddenberry to come up with something flashy, classy, and patriotic for his airplane. I have seen a couple of pictures of the plane when owned by Cleaves flying in formation with Bob Hoover's original Mustang. Looks pretty cool. It's Miss America, but it's not Miss America because there's no name on it yet.

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                          • #14
                            Re: Howie Keefe

                            I use to have a pictue of a P-51 that belonged to the USAF and based at Edwards AFB. I don't know if it was the same plane as Misss America, but it had the same or very similar paint scheme. I think the picture was taken in the 50's or 60's
                            it was in a book I use to have......trouble is, I leant it to someone years ago and can't remember who and it's disapperaed. Does anyone remember this plane at Edwards?
                            I always enjoyed watching Howie Keefe at Reno........Blue Skys Mr Keefe!
                            Brian

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                            • #15
                              Re: Howie Keefe

                              .

                              ...Mojave '73...
                              Attached Files

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