A Loving Tribute to a Dear Friend…

By Marilyn Dash

Ruby Red Racing

Where he belonged, flying low, fast and turning left. (Victor Archer)The Warbird and Air Racing Communities lost a great friend last month. Al Goss was flying his beloved T-6, Warlock, with his crew chief, Steve Ballard, when tragedy struck.    

Alfred Fredrick Goss Jr., or “Papa Goss” or “Al” to all that knew him, was born Dec.16, 1941 in Shenandoah, Idaho, to Alfred and Lucille Goss.

At 18, Al started flying and soon found employment as a crop duster flying for Pat Tomlinson of M & W Flying in Porterville, Calif.  After several years, he migrated to Northern California and flew for several different organizations.  Twenty-two years ago, he took a job in the Bakersfield, Calif., area with Old River Crop Dusting, owned by dear friend and fellow air racer, Eddie Van Fossen. 

A crop duster by day, his real passion was Warlock and the people who surrounded him and supported him while he raced the pylons at Reno. Two sons, Randy and David, and a daughter, Sandra, survive him but he adopted the rest of us and made everyone feel like family.