1948 Funk B85C N1655N

I purchased this Funk from Randy Berry, one of S & S Air Services's pilots, for $2500 in 1974. I flew it to California in December of that year. The weather was good until I got to the southern end of San Joaquin Valley which was totally fogged in. I crossed over the very southern end above the fog to the coastal mountain range. I got as far north as San Martin where I ran into fog covering the San Francisco bay area. I left the Funk there and called Suann to come get me; that's another story involving the purchase of a new battery for her Ford Pinto which she didn't need. Five days latter I took a bus to San Martin and flew the Funk to Tracy.

In the summer of 1975 Ron Cain came out from Texas, and we took both of my planes, the Mite and the Funk, to the Merced fly-in. On the way down, Ron flew the Mite and managed to take some in-flight photos of me in the Funk. Not being a small guy, Ron did a great job taking these photos, considering that he was crammed into a tiny Mooney Mite cockpit, flying with his knees and shooting pictures with the canopy open (This is probably the only way he fit best!). A few years later, Walter Boyne from the Smithsonian wrote to ask for photographs of the Funk. As it turns out, he was writing an article about Funks for Aviation Quarterly. I mailed him some copies of the in-flight photos that Ron had taken. Unfortunately, Ron's photos were not used in the article; however, they were added to the photo collection at the Smithsonian. Several years later in 1985, one of these photos showed up in G. Dale Beach's book, Its a Funk, page 51.

This Funk, serial number 439, was the last Funk in regular production. There was one Funk that was assembled from remaining parts in 1949. Its serial number, 438, and N number, N1654N, are one less than mine. N1654N is still around and I saw it at Oshkosh in 1974.

I enjoyed flying the Fat and Friendly Funk for several years. My son Erik, and my wife Suann, were both introduced to the noise and charm of light plane flying in this Funk. In 1979 I sold it back to Randy Berry for $4500.