Thomas E. Smothermon

Born in St. Louis, Missouri, to Hubert and Valerie Smothermon, his family moved to Goleta in 1962, and he was enrolled as an 8th grader at La Colina Junior High School. Subsequently, Tom attended San Marcos High School and graduated with the class of 1967. While in high school, Tom worked as a part- time employee for Aztec Aircraft at the Santa Barbara Airport. During that time he developed skills in a variety of routine maintenance activities on private and commercial aircraft, large and small. Those responsibilities included refueling passenger-carrying and cargo hauling commercial jets as well as propeller-driven aircraft employed in fire suppression missions providing forestry protection services.

During the Viet Nam conflict Tom enlisted in the U.S. Air Force in October 1968. He underwent Advanced Individual Training and was rated as a radio communications specialist. Tom was stationed at Klamath Air Force station, Klamath California with the 777th Radar Squadron. After completing four years active duty Tom received an Honorable Discharge as a Senior Airman in October 1972.

Soon after he left the Air Force, Tom returned to Goleta and created his own small business, a radio repair and avionics shop at the Santa Barbara airport. He was later hired by Apollo Airways as their avionics manager and subsequently joined ASB Avionics, which provided maintenance and repair services for the Air Transport, Corporate, and General Aviation avionics industry. He continued working in aviation-related enterprises for several years at the Santa Barbara airport until he retired. Tom continued to work on a limited basis in the field after retirement at Avionics and Maintenance West and provided consulting whenever there was a puzzle to solve in the field of avionics. He worked wiring and laying out panels for Mustangs and Marchettis around the USA and one in Canada.

Tom served as a crew member for Unlimited Gold air racing teams for 14 years and was with the Dago Red P-51 Mustang team when it won the Thompson Trophy at the 2003 Reno National Air Races, which he has documented with internet videos.

He has collected several thousand photographs, documents, and artifacts recording the history of the Airport from the 1930s when the Bundys established Santa Barbara Flying Service, through the era when the Guppy Aircraft, which flew Apollo rocket boosters to the launch site. He has supplied historic photos for the documentary film Above and Beyond, the book Ultra Large Aircraft, 1940-1970, and for goletahistory.com.

An avid collector of aviation memorabilia and photos, Tom was committed to preserving early aviation history. His website highlighting the Guppy aircraft guppyphotos.com will be monitored by friends as will the continuing Facebook group “Memories of The Santa Barbara Airport.”

Tom passed away peacefully at home in Goleta, after a battle with cancer. He is survived by his older sister Mary “Peri” Lebeck, nephew Jason Lebeck, and great-nephew Randy Lebeck.

A Celebration of Life memorial gathering for Tom will take place on Saturday, July 27th, at 11:00 am within Hanger “12” Aviation and Maintenance West, located at 495 South Fairview Avenue – Santa Barbara Airport. Navigate to the FedEx office at 495 S. Fairview and park there. If you’re not familiar with the layout, you enter the airport via a little bridge across Fairview from McLean’s Auto Body, then hang a right turn and follow the road into the lot.

Friends, fellow students of the SMHS Class of 1967, aviation buffs, former business associates and colleagues are invited to attend.