Aviation pioneer Morrisey dies

Thursday, July 12, 2001 | 10:55 a.m.

Aviation pioneer Bill Morrisey, envisioning that one day people worldwide would fly aircraft for recreation, provided a simple but rugged airplane for that purpose.

Although Morrisey lived to see small craft catch on, his Morrisey 2150 -- the forerunner of many of today's private aircraft -- became but a footnote in the history of flight.

Morrisey, who once worked as a test pilot for the Civil Aeronautics Board-- the predecessor of today's Federal Aviation Administration -- lamented that his experimental designs did not catch on.

Friends say he was never bitter that others made millions from his innovative ideas.

William Joseph Morrisey, who served as the test pilot for President Harry Truman's private plane known as Independence, and as a pilot for billionaire Howard Hughes while working for Douglas Aircraft, died Sunday in Las Vegas. He was 89.

Services for the Las Vegas resident of 16 years will be 4 p.m. Friday at Davis Paradise Funeral Home.

"No matter what he did in life, Bill refused to quit," said Bud Wiedman of Hawaii, a longtime friend, pilot and co-builder of the revolutionary Morrisey 2150.

"He could converse at great lengths about any subject -- flying, films, music -- and entertain people for hours with his vast knowledge."

Russ Wiley, marketing general manager for Davis Funeral Home and, like Morrisey, a member of the Quiet Birdmen aviation club of Las Vegas, said the most remarkable thing about his friend was that Morrisey garnered much of his knowledge through life experiences and little formal education.

"He accomplished so much with the benefit of just a 12th grade education," Wiley said. "Bill's memory was so vivid that when he told stories about flight, he would include the names of the pilot and co-pilot, dates -- everything. It was amazing to listen to him tell his stories."

Among his many accomplishments, Morrisey:

* Built the Morrisey 1000C Nifty, one of the first two-seater planes that used tricycle landing gear, replacing the old three-wheel, tail-dragger style landing gear.

* Delivered the first DC-6 airplanes to Australia.

* Test flew one of Hughes' amphibious planes over Lake Mead and, from Hughes' yacht, watched Hughes' pilot the famed Spruce Goose on its maiden flight.

* Trained the crew of Independence. Truman autographed a photo of the plane for Morrisey. The inscription reads: "With kindest regards and happy memories."

Born Aug. 10, 1911, in Marceline, Mo., Morrisey was the second of four children of pharmacist William J. Morrisey and the former Mary Dolan.

He took his first plane ride at 13, obtained his first pilot's license at 17 and soon after began working for the CAB.

He began working at Douglas in 1937 as a riveter on the night shift. The company's engineers took him under their wing and taught him about aircraft science.

By 1940 Morrisey held every type of aviation license issued in the United States and during World War II, he worked as a test pilot for Douglas, putting fighters and bombers through rigorous exercises.

In 1946 Morrisey made an historic crossing of the Pacific to Australia, piloting the Douglas Skymaster Amana, one of the first huge, post-war luxury planes. After returning home, he built the Morrisey 1000 with a 65 horsepower engine, a fuselage made from welded steel tubing and wooden wings and tail. It first flew on May 18, 1948, and, according to reports of the era, was well received.

In 1954 Morrisey attempted to market the 2000 version of his aircraft with aluminum fixtures replacing wooden parts, but the success he enjoyed as a pilot evaded him as an aircraft builder.

"The timing was never right for Bill," Wiedman said. "In one case, one of his big investors died in an automobile accident in Switzerland. On another occasion, Cessna took advantage of the same technology and put out its own small planes that were successful."

Morrisey installed a 150 horsepower engine in the Morrisey 2150 to improve speed and performance. But only nine of those planes were produced between 1958 and 1960. They retailed for a modest $8,900.

One crashed and was destroyed shortly after a takeoff, one was accidentally shot down by a hunter over New Mexico and seven are still flying and are highly prized, Wiedman said.

Between aircraft builders Shinn, which bought the rights to the plane from Morrisey, and Varga, which bought out Shinn, about 200 models were made.

In 1982 Varga produced only three Kachina 2180TG craft. A few weeks ago, one of them flew into North Las Vegas Airport where the pilot was honored to meet Morrisey.

Ill health forced Morrisey to give up piloting in 1985. But he often went to area airports to watch planes and share with onlookers tales of his early days of flight. Recently, Morrisey was saddened to see an old C124 aircraft that long stood abandoned on property near McCarran International Airport carted away as scrap. Morrisey had once test flown that very craft.

Morrisey was twice a widower, both times losing his wives to cancer. His first wife, the former Ellen Siffer, died after 25 years of marriage. His second wife, the former Helen Barrett, died in 1996, also after 25 years of marriage.

Despite being in great pain in recent weeks, Morrisey never lost his sense of humor and desire to build better flying machines.

Last week Wiedman came to Las Vegas for a visit, stopping first in California to buy Morrisey lottery tickets. Morrisey took the tickets and half-jokingly shook them, proclaiming: "We may be back building airplanes yet, Bud, we may be back building airplanes yet!"

Morrisey is survived by a son, Michael Morrisey of Bellingham, Wash.; a daughter, Patricia Stauffer of Vista, Calif.; a brother, John Morrisey of Florida; and a granddaughter Ruth Stauffer of Vista.