Planes, buses keep M cK innon's going
ByPAUL KELLER
SU B Writer
A faded sign stuck in a scotch
broom patch northwest of
Roslyn Lake warns: "Danger:
watch for aircraft, cross at
your ow n risk."
The road that runs by crosses
a gravel runway and stops in
front of a large, arced silver
hangar surrounded by trees
Inside. A. G "M a c” McKinnon
and his crew have worked the
past 19 years A brochure on the
enterprise refers to that which
emerges from the secluded
b uilding as “ m obile a r
chitecture"
In 1952 McKinnon started his
own aircraft making company
Today, besides pounding out
world renowned planes, his top-
notch crew converts GMC
Greynound buses into ex-
travangaza homes on wheels
worth over $100.000
"A little aircraft is mixed
with this too." says Mac of the
fancy McKinnon Coach, a West
Coast novelty.
If you're already making
first rate airplanes, why bother
going to buses?
"The airplane industry blows
hot and blows cold.” explains
McKinnon, a pioneer airman
himself with 45 years piloting
experience By expanding the
workload inside his hangar to
include another brand of mo
bile merchandise, he keeps
his expert electricians, sheet
metalists. cabinet makers and
other engineers w orking
despite the ups and downs of
the aviation biz.
The same ten specialized
men who can convert a turbo
prop amphibian aircraft into
the McKinnon G-21-G now also
plug their talents into work on
w ingless coaches
M e ta m o r p h o s is
fr o m
passenger bus to mobile home
takes around six months, says
W ally
Gunderson.
shop
foreman and McKinnon's rig h t
hand man for 27 years. Three
others in the McKinnon crew
have been with Sandy's own
Sky King for 20 years.
Gunderson explain s the
custom coach is b uilt to the
ow ner’s whim
So far. the McKinnon crew
have been transforming old
Greyhounds into complete, self-
supporting systems w ith their
own 15.000 k ilo w a tt diesel
power plants Special holding
tanks on the rigs carry butane
heat. 150 gallons of w ater and
3>i tons of air conditioning
The McKinnon Coach's 165
gallon diesel fuel tank holds a
1.100 mile supply. “ You can fill
up and drive all the way to Los
Angeles,” affirm s McKinnon
from experience.
C ra fts m a n s h ip , e le g a n t
accessories and plus decor
ty p ify the coach born in
Sandy's backyard.
Kitchen on a demonstration
model parked inside the hangar
features garbage compressors,
built-in mixers and blenders
and a central vacuum sys
tem—hence the heavy price
tag.
Last week while McKinnon's
men finished up a coach for a
private firm , a plane settled
down over the tree tops,
crunching the gravel runway.
It had flown a ll the way from
Boston. Mass., fo r recon version
work.
Orders from planes are sent
to Rt 3, Box 690. Sandy, from
across the continent and world
On McKinnon's desk, located a
matter of steps from where his
men shape planes and busses,
letters
from
Indonesia,
Ecuador and Greece ask for
airplanes
This week a plane is due in
from Middlesburg, Ind., and
next, the McKinnon touch w ill
go into an a ircraft owned by a
Florida man
When p ilo ts enroute to
McKinnon's balk at landing in
the Sandy River Valley, they
usually opt fo r populated,
secure Portland McKinnon,
himself, then sets these birds
down on the tin y s trip by
Roslyn Lake.
"We get it done right here;
we're authorities on airplanes.
Because of us, Sandy is known
all over the w orld," McKinnon
remarks unbashedly
A self-built businessman who
started out on his own in the
heavy construction industry,
Mac shuns neckties and
traditional executive garb. He
drives a pick-up camper rig
ra th e r than a Cadillac.
Cadillac.
" I have no use for that,” he
savs of the a rtificialitie s of
success A Thursday n ig h t
bowler in the Sandy men's
bow ling league, he prefers
wearling long sleeved wool
shirts and highlace boots to
work.
“ Both the plane and bus
business is blowing hot right
now,” Mac, father at three
ORDERS FROM around the world for airplanes and motor homes valued at over SKMl.WM are part of the picture at McKinnon'S, located in Sandy's backyard.
Sandy High School graduates,
notes as a slight smile moves
his white mustache.
The recession hasn't found
the road which leads past the
sign and scotch broom beside
Roslyn Lake, nor have most
Sandyites app re ciate d the
d iv e rs ifie d and notorious
craftsmanship that hammers
away inside a hangar there
MAINTENANCE IS easy on the McKinnon Coach, thanks
to tracks that allow the rig ’s three heating systems. 15.600
watt diesel generator and water, waste and butane tanks
to pull out for service. Wally Gunderson, shop foreman at
McKinnon's, goes over undercarriage.
(Post Photo)
Larger Loans on Mobile Homes
If you are a veteran, you'll be
interested in the change in
lim its on the guarantee of
mobile home loans. The
maximum VA loan amount for
a single-wide mobile home is
increased fro m $10,000 to
$12.500 and for a double-wide
from $15.000 to $20.000 The
length of loan was extended
from 15 to 20 years
DEPEND ON
FANCHER
Truck Parts
FOR
QUALITY AUTOMOTIVE PARTS
EXPERT
MACHINE SHOP SERVICE
Baby born
SPECIAL CARE
WE’RE (
HEAD
HUNTERS
D O G G R O O M IN G
A ll B reeds - A ll P a tte rn s
Reasonable Prices - Senior Citizen Discounts
SPECIALISTS IN
CYLINDER HEAD RECONDITIONING
ENGINE BLOCK RECONDITIONING
PISTON AND ROD RECONDITIONING
BRAKE SERVICE (Disc or Drum)
AND QUALITY PARTS
SANOY
668-4444
311 Proctor, Sandy
GRESHAM
6S5-8118
A*
255 NE Hogan Rd.
ESTACADA STORE 630-6614 HWY. 2N ESTACADA
%
Professionally Trained
Evening Appointments Accepted
1 Ya M ile s O u t F lrw o o d
Road Tow ards D o v e r
6 6 8 -6 5 3 1
in A la s k a
From Kotzebue, Alaska,
small Eskimo village in the
Arctic Circle, comes word of a
new granddaughter for M r and
Mrs Barney Vohs, Gresham
and M r. and Mrs Forrest Kirk,
Boring
Form er Gresham residents.
Ix*onard and Deborah K irk are
the parents of Kiana Marie,
born A p ril 8
She joins a brother, Ben
jamin. three
The baby weighed 8 lbs. 11 oz.
G reat grandm others
are
Mabie Vohs, Hood River, Grace
H ill, Gresham and Florence
Repass, Coos Bay
Great grandparents are Mr
and Mrs E.A. Aker, Battle
Mountain, Nev
I
Specialists
Since 1932
GRESHAM
TV & RADIO
250 HE Hogan Dr.
Between
Powell & Burnside
665-6125
Looking for a good way to save?
Own your own home Besides
giving you and your family a
place to live, your home is an
investment in the future
And now is the lime to buy
that home, because mortgage
credit is more available One
source might be the local finan
cial institution where you have
an account For others, see a
REALTOR*. He can give you a
lot of good ideas on creative
financing
Call your REALTOR* now.
And start saving now
IB
RfAiTon '
This message is
brought to you by
the CLACKAMAS
COUNTY BOARD OF
REALTORS