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Weekend: 10AM - 5PM
Major Suropol Premsmith
Major Suropol Premsmith is 73 years old. He was born in Prachinburi and started flying for the Royal Thai Air Force in Korat when he was 17. He says that in Laos, they have a proverb – “Ma Noi, Bow Loo Jak SuuA” (the puppy doesn’t know the tiger). Kruu Surapol started his training in the Dehavilland Chipmunk, then in the T-6 American. From 2495-2497 (Buddhist Era), he was in the “Top Ten” Groundschool. There were American U.S.A.F. instructors who trained him in cross country and night flying. He finished in the top 80% of his class. The top pilots have two choices – they become Fighters or Instructors. Everybody else goes to fly cargo or something. At age 19, Kruu Surapol was flying the F-8-F American Grumman Bearcat. This was a single seat tailwheel fighter aircraft with an 18 cylinder radial engine. “I liked it,” Kruu Surapol says, “It was flexible and could do everything. The aircraft was designed for World War II.” He flew the Bearcat for over 15 years. By the year 2515, he had 2,300 hours in the Bearcat and 7,000 hours in the T-6 as an instructor for combat flying. The Thai word for “Bearcat” was “Mee-Maeow.” In 2499, Kruu Surapol was in Vietnam. His missions were “Go and Back” in the T-28. Kruu tells the story of the Top Secret Air Attache from the Pentagon in USA who was conducting the operations in Laos from Vientiane. Kruu Surapol was based in Udon Thani. He would fly to Vientiane for “Weapon Loading” then “Bomb or Rocket the location” and return to Udon before nightfall. There were two times that he landed in the secret CIA airbase of Long Tien. One night, the Air Attaché had a party up there, and they flew up in a C-47 to attend the party.
From 2505-2506, Kruu spent 21 months in Laos. He was hit 6 times by bullets from antiaircraft fire. The bullets were Russian. Now, after 47 years, he can talk about it. During the war, he had to change his name and nationality. “My name was Lieutenant Douwan, and I was Lao.” Kruu flew more than 200 missions “up North” and this is where he learned the expression “Ma Noi, Bow Loo Jak SuuA.” It is from “Boh-Rahn” (old Thai History Story), and it refers to someone who doesn’t know “Who-is-Who.” It takes time and experience before one can really tell who is who, and this is why sometimes the little dog can wander innocently up in front of the Tiger. The airplane is the Tiger, and if you are not careful, it will eat you. It is an interesting concept. In 2504 was the critical war period in Vietnam. Kruu was there. He flew a top secret special flight from Udon to Danang. Then he spent two months flying the L-19 “Birddog” around Danang for the Agency and observing movements on the ground.
“Being a Fighter Pilot is like Thai Boxing,” Kruu says. At age 24-25, he was in the program called “Water Pump” to get the American Wings. This was the training for “up North.” From 2503 to 2515, Kruu also flew escort for His Majesty The King. He did these flights in a T-6 or a T-28 based at Prachuap Khiri Kan. Back then, they had Pink Areas, Grey Areas, and Red Areas. “The Pink areas were 80% communist; the Grey areas were maybe communist, and the Red areas were 100% communist.” The King was in a helicopter and would drop in and walk on the ground. Kruu’s job was to protect him while in the air. If you fly escort for H.M. The King for more than 8 years, His Majesty awards you with a medal. Kruu Surapol was also on the T-6 Aerobatic Team and flew 3 times for His Majesties The King and The Queen – twice at Prachuap and once at a gunnery range in Lopburi. Around Kruu Surapol’s neck, he wears 3 Buddha images on a gold chain. The one in the center is the Buddha “Jitrada” which was hand-made by His Majesty The King with H.M. The King’s Seal on the back. His Majesty The King presented this “Jitrada” to Kruu Surapol at the Royal Palace in Hua Hin in July 2511. The serial number is #2502, and His Majesty The King said to Kruu Surapol, “if you die, this should be given this to your eldest son.”
In November 2524, Kruu Surapol flew to Libya. He was locked up in a hotel in Moscow for 13 hours while they checked everything, then he continued on Aeroflot to Bulgaria and on to Tripoli. He had no Visa. They just stamped “employee” in his passport. Kruu went to Libya to fly the C-188 Agtruck and spray fertilizer. He spent 3 years flying in Libya, and sometimes was assigned to fly the Cessna twin Eagle. He only met Khadafi once for about 10 minutes during a visit to his group. That was the time when Libya had shot a missile towards an airfield in Spain, but an American Navy Vessel on standby, shot the Libyan missile down. Kruu was based in a place called Abu Aija. It was just a dirt airstrip, but Kruu was there when the USA flew in and bombed Khadafi’s house at night. “They came in at 200′ under the radar. Ten miles before target, they climbed to 10,000′ then attacked and bombed Khadafi’s house. They killed his son,” Kruu says.
In April 2526, Kruu came back to Thailand. After 3 weeks, Khun Prasom said “Welcome to come and set up in Bang Phra.” There was just a tent and jungle and 6 planes. This was right in the beginning, and it was Kruu Krasin from C.A.T.C. in Hua Hin who sent Kruu Surapol to help Khun Prasom. Back then, we were 3 mechanics (Lek Chareonrat, Sanan (Num’s dad) and one other) and Kruu Surapol was the pilot. There were four C150s, a Tiger, and two Cherokees with around 56 members. Kruu remembers Club President Field Marshall Fuen very well. “He would come many times and sit in the tent with a cigar and a Brandy, and he would remark that you can see Khun Suvit Wanglee make a good landing when there are many pilots around the world who can’t land here.” In those days, Bang Phra was short, small, with many obstructions. It was about 800 meters long with coconut trees, “Ton Son” (tall trees), Eucalyptus trees and dirt.
Kruu Surapol has survived 10 airplane crashes or engine failures. One was at 6,000′ over Rangsit in Bangkok in a Bearcat when #5 cylinder broke, and he deadsticked it onto the runway at Don Muang. There was another one when he hit an “Eelang” (huge heavy bird similar to a vulture) in a T-6 during aerobatic training up in Lopburi; it smashed 2′ of the wing, but he landed safely. He had a prop strike in a Bearcat in heavy rain when the plane skidded off the runway. During a formation flight, an aircraft collided with him in the air and crashed killing the pilot, but he was able to to return and land safely. He was ferrying a Tiger from Malaysia with Khun Wichai Laksanaksorn when the engine failed, and the Malaysian police locked them both up for 10 days in the Loomut Hotel at the Navy Base. He was in a Grumman at 2,000′ after taking off from runway 23 at Bang Phra when he had an engine failure and landed near the beach South of Bang Saen. He had a landing gear malfunction and wheel up landing in Bill Malibu after successful forced landing in Bang Bla (South of Bangkok) Heinecke’s Bonanza. Then Khun Wichai’s Malibu engine failed and he landed gear up in a fish farm in Bang Bla South of Bangkok. Then Supap’s Mooney was scribbled at the end of runway 23 in Bang Phra on an aborted go-around during a test flight. The latest was during a Cessna 206 test flight when the engine stopped due to a fuel situation after a low pass down runway 23. He didn’t make the mistake of attempting to get back to the runway; he pulled it around and dropped into a patch of dirt next to a rice field. All on board were slightly shaken, but not damaged. Kruu Surapol is still flying every weekend at Bang Phra. Those who have had the great honor of flying with him will know the famous “Step1-Step2-Step3 approach.” Many people have also been coached by him during water balloon bombing competitions at Bang Phra, and those who have followed his advice have usually won. There is little doubt that Kruu Surapol is one of the living legends of the Thai Flying Club, and if you are lucky, he might even remind you – “Ma Noi, Bow Loo Jak SuuA.”
