Propelling A Passion
By Todd Wood
Did you ever wonder what the blue and white logo for BMW cars and motorcycles represents. Until a few weeks ago it was something I occasionally wondered about while sitting at a red light beside one of these vehicles. Coincidentally, the Bavarian colors and how their were used for the Bavarian Motor Works logo ties in to Bill Leftwich’s lifelong passion.
He greeted me at the front gate of a grass airstrip, off Highway 204, on his 1972 BMW motorcycle. Again, the question enters my mind as I look at the logo on the side of his bike. Soon I would have the answer to my question.
It was and still is the highlight of his life. Prior to beginning his career with Gulfstream, Leftwich built an experimental twin engine aircraft and flew it over Africa.
Pooler resident Bill Leftwich grew up in an airline family, traveling the world in his early youth as his father was a pilot for Pan Am’s Latin American division out of Miami.
In 1960, at the age of 13, Bill moved to Frankfurt, Germany where his Father began flying the Inter German Service for Pan Am. After graduating from Frankfurt American High School in 1965, Bill made his way back to the States to attend Miami-Dade Junior College. After college, he joined the United States Coast Guard, and after four years of service, he used the GI Bill to go back to school. This time, he attended a technical school where he obtained an Airframe and Powerplant license at the National Aviation Academy in St. Petersburg, Florida.
Bill’s interest in airplanes and flight was born into him. As a young boy, Bill remembers building model airplanes, but eventually the desire to fly an aircraft, like his father, propelled him into a lifelong career working with, flying and building aircraft.
In 1980, he was hired by Eastern Airlines as an A&P mechanic. It was his dream job, and he thought he would work there for the rest of his life. However, after 12 years on the job, Eastern Airlines announced that they would be shutting down, so Leftwich began looking for work.
He already had his pilot’s license, but could not afford his own airplane. However, his desire to soar above earth would lead him on the most exciting adventure of his life. While at Eastern Airlines, Bill became involved in fabricating and flying ultra light aircraft.
He built his first ultra light aircraft, a three-quarter replica of a Piper Cub, out of spare parts. It weighed 350 pounds empty, had one seat, and topped out at 60 miles per hour on 30 horsepower.
During this time, Bill met Phil Lockwood, the owner of an aviation supply business in Sebring, FL. Soon thereafter, Bill went to work for Lockwood, the same person that had sold him most of his parts he had needed to build his first aircraft.
Lockwood was already building and flying ultralight type planes for Jen & Des Bartlett, a husband and wife who lived in Namibia - two of the best known photographers for National Geographic in all of Africa.
When photojournalist Nick Nichols needed a plane to do a story about the Ndoki rain forest in the Congo for National Geographic, the Bartletts recommended Lockwood for the job of designing and building a very light twin engine plane to be used as an aerial photography platform.
The first twin-engine Air Cam, used for the Ndoki story, was perfect for flying over the jungle - it was a safe and reliable plane. When he got back to the states, Lockwood decided to go into production and sell the Air Cam as an experimental kit.
Bill helped to design the production Air Cam, and eventually built over 20 planes for customers all around the world. It changed his life forever. Bill not only would see Africa for the first time, but he would get to experience seeing Africa in a way very few people had ever seen.
Bill wrote an article featured in the May 2008 issue for Gulfstream’s newsletter about his first trip to Africa where he first flew the Air Cam.
Entitled, The Lion Sleeps Tonight, Leftwich wrote about his initial flight that took him down the Vaal River. It was the first time he actually got to see South Africa from five hundred feet up, and he was amazed at how modern the cities actually were. He explained, in the article, that it was much like flying over an American city. He flew low over sparsely populated villages and watched as children ran excitedly into the streets to follow them. They waved at everyone they saw and it was probably the first time the villagers had ever waved back to an airplane flying overhead.
He took several people for air rides where they observed many of Africa’s most exotic wildlife and harsh terrain. It was an experience like no other, both for Bill and for many of his passengers who had never flown before. He returned two years later with another aircraft, built at Lockwood Aviation, and he is equally excited about his return to Africa next month where he will fly the same Twin Cam once again.
Bill has lived in Pooler for two years, after moving to the area to be closer to his son and his family. Bill’s son, Brian, also followed in his father’s and grandfather’s footsteps. He too flies ultra light aircraft and is employed by Gulfstream.
In his spare time, Bill enjoys rebuilding and riding BMW motorcycles. “Do you see the logo,” says Leftwich - pointing to his bike, parked in a hanger at Hodges Airfield.
My curiosity stirs eagerly as Bill begins to first tell me how BMW got its start. “During World War I, BMW built aircraft engines for war planes,” said Leftwich. “The blue and white logo represents a spinning plane propeller. When the armistice was signed, they could no longer make engines for war weapons, so they took the technology and started making engines for motorcycles. Then, around 1925, they made the first BMW motorcycle - long before they ever made the BMW car.”
Leftwich, a witty and humorous man, likes it when someone in a BMW pulls up beside him, on his bike, in traffic. “They always say - I never knew BMW made motorcycles, and my response is - I never knew they made cars,” he joked.
When he’s not busy building experimental aircraft, or joking with BMW car owners, Leftwich occupies his time with the local Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA). While in Sebring, he was a member of Highlands County EEA Chapter where he became an EAA Technical Counselor and Flight Advisor.
When he moved to Pooler he joined the local EAA Chapter and also volunteers as a technical counselor and flight advisor for all EAA chapters in Southeast Georgia.
He wouldn’t give details, but Leftwich is working on a project that will be one of the most unique recreational crafts ever thought of.
Official Titles:
William S. Leftwich A&P mechanic with IA (inspection authorization) EAA Technical Counselor EAA Flight Advisor AB-DAR (Amateur Built - Designated Airworthiness Representative for the FAA)
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