Eric W. Loveland
Born: 1923 at Leigh-on-Sea, Essex, England, a small fishing village at the mouth of the River Thames
Education: Southend Technical College, graduated in mechanical engineering at the age of 16

At the onset of World War II, Eric watched the dogfights. As the Nazi bombers flew up the river to London and were intercepted by the R.A.F. Spitfire and Hurricane aircraft, he longed to join them. At 17, he volunteered to join the R.A.F. as aircrew and was accepted for pilot training. The hostile skies over England, together with marginal weather, made flight training in the U.K. extremely difficult. So the cadets were shipped to Canada, South Africa and after Pearl Harbor, the U.S.A.

Eric really had the luck of the draw, for he was sent to No. 5 B.F.T.S. in Clewiston, FL to learn to fly. The hospitality of the Americans, the quality of life and excellent training he received, made a lasting impression on this young lad.

Graduating from Riddle Field on November 11, 1942, Eric then traveled to New York, boarded the Queen Elizabeth liner which sped to England, unescorted, to deliver the troops to the European theater of war.

Further operational training was then undertaken, making Eric a night fighter pilot assigned to No. 68 Squadron, flying twin-engine Beaufighter aircraft, armed with 4-20mm cannons in the nose and 6-machine guns in the wings. His navigator Jack Duffy was the radar operator, whose job it was to direct his pilot to approach the enemy from behind and below so that positive identification could be made. When not flying, Jack would play the piano in the mess leading us all in some bawdy sing-songs (in return for free drinks)!

The 68 Squadron was later re-equipped with the new Mosquito aircraft, which was the dream of every pilot to fly. The Mosquito was made of wood with 2 Rolls Royce Merlin engines, making it the fastest aircraft in the war at that time. It was armed with 4-20mm cannons and 4-machine guns.

At the completion of his operational tours, Eric was instructing new pilots to fly the Mosquito. His final assignment at the end of the European War was to convert a P-51 Mustang squadron over to flying the new twin-engine De Haviland Hornet fighter - the fastest propellor driven aircraft in World War II. Starting with the commanding officer and going down the pecking order, Eric had the squadron converted in time for the VE Day Formation fly past over Buckingham Palace.

Leaving the R.A.F., Eric pursued his engineering career, moving to Montreal, Canada to start up a company for his parent company in England. He became a Canadian citizen, but spent all his vacations in the Florida he had learned to love. Finally, he made the move and immigrated to Miami. And joined the Aircraft Industry Engineering and Sales Operations.

An acquaintance of his wife introduced Eric to her husband who, being with the F.A.A. soon had Eric flying again, and encouraging him to get all the ratings for flight instuctor, which he chose not to pursue.

Moving to Central Florida, Eric and his wife Edith went into their own business, owning a chain of video stores. During this period, Eric met a customer who was instructing R.A.F. cadets at Riddle Field, whilst Eric was there. The resulting friendship had Eric flying antique biplanes as a hobby, which he continues to enjoy.

Retirement came, but was short lived, as Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University moved an operation to Eric's local airport in Deland. And he was once more instructing new pilots on the ground subjects necessary to pass the F.A.A. exams.

Now at 78 years old, Eric has retired again, and now flies his 1950 Piper pacer aircraft regularly. He resides in Orange City, Florida, fulfilling his boyhood dream.