This 1948 Sedan was used a lot to take its owner, Marlin Berg, and family or friends from its home base in Minnesota, USA, to remote fishing spots. Marlin is the guy wearing the plaid shirt. His son, Neil Berg, who contributed the below photos, recounts some details about the Sedan, his Dad's other airplanes and flying, from when he was still a kid:
"As I think about it, this is a Sedan really in its element - reliable enough to fly to the most isolated lakes they could find in North America then able to suck a heavy load up out of small water. I recall taxiing in circles on small lakes, getting up enough speed and shifting our weight to pop one float at a time up on a step, then the other - finally getting it planing, then getting as far downwind as possible, turn into the wind, aim for a gap in the tree line on the far shore and giving it everything the old bird had. Make no mistake about it, these guys were crazy. Technically good seat-of-the-pants pilots, but crazy. I was a kid. He was my father. I had faith. He had a part time job flying next to power lines checking for broken or missing insulators. A lot of airplanes have come and gone in our family: The sedan had pontoons most of the time. He also had a Piper Cub at the same time which had wheels in summer and skis in winter. Before the Sedan, there was a series of old Cubs and Champions, and after it a couple of Cessnas. The last was a flying boat - Grumman I believe. Eventually he got too old and the airplanes became too expensive of a hobby. Both of my parents have been dead for over 20 years. While the Old Man loved to fly, he loved big fish even more. That's the only reason I happened to have pictures of the plane."
Thanks very much, Neil, for sharing your photos and memories!
(This page last updated: 05/2010)
Click on the thumbnails to view the pictures in full size.
Photos © Neil Berg
