We have tremendous respect for the folks who make their living
in the turbulent and demanding airshow business. For some, it is a
business fraught with stress, sacrifice and unending complexity.
But for most, it's more than a job... its a life.
Imagine, if you will, though the extra demands placed on a
performer who has to deal with a life-threatening illness to not
only survive, but to regain his place in the airshow biz. THAT
takes guts... and perseverance... and incredible professionalism...
THAT takes a guy like Texas T-Cart Airshow's Randy Henderson.
Following a health threat that grounded him for a number of months,
Randy is climbing back into the cockpit of his beloved T-Craft in
order to demonstrate the kind of old-fashioned stick and rudder
airshow flying first pioneered by the likes of Duane Cole and now
kept alive by Randy's inability to say 'Uncle' to whatever
obstacles life hands him.
Henderson claims to have launched his aerobatic career by
executing his first barrel roll at 5,000 feet -- with his eyes
closed! Just a few years later, Randy won the very first contest he
flew in the Texas T-Cart. He's the star of the show, a well-known
aerobatic performer who now has a number of regional, national and
international titles to his credit.
The Texas T-Cart driver earned his private pilot's license
during the two years he spent stationed in England as a medic in
the U.S. Air Force. During that time, he began skydiving as well,
and made 24 parachute jumps. Randy later began his professional
career flying DC-3 freighter planes with only 380 hours of flight
time under his belt. In just three years, he logged 3,000 hours in
the air -- and survived thirteen engine failures as he worked his
way up to Captain. Since January 1979, Randy has been a pilot for
Southwest Airlines. He became their youngest Boeing 737 Captain
ever when he upgraded less than three years later.
The Texas T-Cart is a highly modified, clipped-wing Taylorcraft
BC12-D, and first rolled off the assembly line in 1946. Randy spent
two years modifying this homebuilt taildragger in his hangar at
Cottonpatch Aerodrome in Frisco, Texas.
The wings of the Texas T-Cart have been clipped eight feet for a
total wingspan of twenty-eight feet, and the engine is a 180
horsepower Lycoming. It also has both an inverted fuel system
especially designed for aerobatics and a smoke oil system that
Randy uses during all of his air show performances.