Benefield: Replica planes lost to time take flight once more at Sonoma County airport

The last time Tim Haworth saw the two replica airplanes he painstakingly made more than a decade ago was in 2007.

That was when they were hanging — imposing in ⅔ scale — in still life yet seemingly soaring above the Hall of Flowers exhibit during the Sonoma County Fair.

They were replicas of the planes flown by Snoopy and the Red Baron in the “Peanuts” cartoons.

Crafted and built by Haworth, they became a highlight of that year’s flower show, themed “Snoopy’s Garden of Dreams.”

Haworth, a fine arts craftsman and model builder with a deep background in engineering, had been commissioned to lead the creation of scale replicas of the iconic “Peanuts” characters for the fair display.

But after its close, Haworth moved on to other projects and the two planes were lost to time.

At least to him.

He thought about them on occasion and every so often did an internet search for images of them in flight, but those inquiries never bore fruit.

Then last spring he got a call from Wade Eakle, a volunteer with the Pacific Coast Air Museum in Santa Rosa.

Eakle, an avid World War I aviation historian, had spied Haworth’s Sopwith Camel, a single-seat biplane fighter, with Snoopy at the controls, lying in a state of disrepair in a corner of the open-air Butler hangar at the Charles M. Schulz-Sonoma County Airport.

He got the idea of trying to restore it.

But he wanted it done right, so he started nosing around the history of the aircraft.

He learned the other plane built by Haworth, a Fokker Triplane flown by the Red Baron, had been gifted to Craig Schulz, son of the late “Peanuts” creator Charles M. Schulz, and was now suspended in his hangar.

The story of their public reemergence began to unfold from there.

Eakle thought a restored Sopwith Camel might be good for the Pacific Coast Air Museum. But he knew the project would take some work.

The Camel had suffered over the years.

Eakle contacted Greg Duncan, who for the past 35 years has led the design of the Hall of Flowers. Eakle wanted to find the creator of the replicas.

Duncan put him in touch with Haworth.

Prior to that phone call last spring, Haworth had no idea what had become of the planes.

“When I saw it, it was pretty disheartening,” Haworth said of Snoopy’s Sopwith Camel. “The fuselage is on one side, wheels are broken off, the prop is broken, there are dozens of holes.”

“It was bittersweet. It was kind of fun to know, OK, it’s here, but it was also, oh, my God.”

Plans were made to restore the plane, but they needed space to work.

Eakle went to airport manager Jon Stout, hoping for some hangar space.

“That is when I said, ‘I have a better idea,’” Stout said.

Stout now knew of the existence of both planes and thought as a duo they’d make a great centerpiece to the new 200-seat terminal.

The pitch was for the airport to help fund the restoration of the Sopwith Camel, while also offering work space. In exchange, the planes would have a new home: high under the vaulted ceiling of the new terminal.

The trade of sorts would give the two planes heightened visibility while also pointing travelers to both the nearby Pacific Coast Air Museum and the Charles Schulz Museum as destinations.

There is also a plaque on the wall of the terminal, outlining a history of the two planes.

“The flying ace is part of our logo, so it was always a desire to get Snoopy flying the plane,” Stout said.

So, they had a deal. Now they just had to repair those planes, especially the Camel.

Under Haworth’s direction, they began restoration work in April and finished last month, just before the terminal’s unveiling.

“There were a couple dozen holes struck into it,” Haworth said. “I thought, this is going to be something to try to restore.”

The triplane, which spent years hanging in Schulz’s hangar, needed mostly superficial touch-ups.

“I pulled the triplane out of my hangar and donated that,” Schulz said. “It all came together wonderfully.”

Schulz, like Haworth and Eakle, were eager to see the Camel restored and both planes given a forever home where they would be protected — and seen.

“I didn’t want to see the airplanes ruined again,” he said. “It was great that Wade took the challenge on. It was a big effort for him.”

And for Haworth.

But with his history with both planes, it was a labor of love of sorts to bring them back to their original glory.

“Fifteen years ago, they had great effect when they were in the Hall of Flowers and hundreds if not thousands of people got to see them there over a short period of time,” he said. “I’m thrilled that they can see them now for years and years on end.”

Schulz was equally impressed with the results.

“He restored them to the standards that he wanted them restored,” Schulz said.

And the wow factor is real, Stout said. Right down to how and where the planes are displayed. They look as if they have flown into the terminal through the massive window on the eastern side of the building.

Haworth credited Eakle with getting the project off the ground — literally.

“It was him seeing this pile of junk in Butler,” he said. “It was what instigated the whole thing. … It was his vision.”

You can reach Staff Columnist Kerry Benefield at 707-526-8671 or kerry.benefield@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @benefield.