TAB, IND. – What nicer way for a farmer to celebrate his 102nd birthday than to fly over his farm? Such was the case for Gene Leak of Tab, Indiana, who flew with family friend, Martin Rice, on November 14, 2014.
Rice and Leak departed shortly after 9:00 a.m. from Purdue University Airport (KLAF) in Lafayette, Ind. Their first stop was Doc Cottingham’s private airstrip west of Lafayette. With winds blowing at 10 kts and three notches of flaps deployed, the 7GCBC Citabria only used a third of the 1200 ft. runway.
A local newspaper reporter met them when Leak and Rice landed. Following the interview, they departed for Tab, Ind. airport, 10 miles west/northwest of the Cottingham airstrip.
Leak circled the 1,000-acre farmstead where he was born and later lived with his late wife of 77 years, Vivian. The farmstead is still being farmed by a sixth generation of the Leak family.
Leak was born on November 18, 1912. He and Vivian got married on December 24, 1938 and they have two daughters, who live nearby.
Leak is a long-time aviation enthusiast and marvels at the advances, which have come about since in his lifetime, only 9 years after Orville and Wilbur lifted off at the sand dunes of Kitty Hawk, North Carolina.
