BajaNomad - Where is he now?: Capt. Francisco Muñoz

Where is he now?: Capt. Francisco Muñoz

Fatboy - 5-14-2008 at 08:08 PM

Reading older books on Baja (1960/70's) the name Francisco Munoz keeps popping up. What happened to him? Did he just quit flying and one day passed away?

In Hovering Over Baja there is picture of him and he looks to be in his forties back then. The book was published in 1961 so if he is still alive he would be in his 90's.

So what is his story, does anyone know?

[Edited on 12-6-2011 by BajaNomad]

Ken Bondy - 5-14-2008 at 08:16 PM

Niemann's "Baja Legends" book, published in 2002, says that Munoz and his wife Lisle live in "the San Diego area." p.155

Paulina - 5-14-2008 at 08:25 PM

I'm sorry to report that "the Kissing Captain" passed away in March of '06.

I thought he was a wonderful man. I miss seeing him in Bahia.

http://www.signonsandiego.com/uniontrib/20060401/news_1m1mun...

P<*)))><

edit: added link

[Edited on 15-5-2008 by Paulina]

Fatboy - 5-14-2008 at 10:00 PM

Thank You!

That link was great! He sounded like a really interesting person.

Another book I will have to look into getting...

capt. mike - 5-15-2008 at 07:11 AM

they threw a huge party for him at the Serenidad shortly before he passed.
i think Larry Hahn was there too.

i talk air to air with one of his 1st hires, Capt. Chavez, occasionally. he flies caravans for GN areo servicios. he flew 440s once for Munoz. as well as the gamut of DC3s and twin B 18s.

David K - 5-15-2008 at 08:14 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by capt. mike
they threw a huge party for him at the Serenidad shortly before he passed.
i think Larry Hahn was there too.

i talk air to air with one of his 1st hires, Capt. Chavez, occasionally. he flies caravans for GN areo servicios. he flew 440s once for Munoz. as well as the gamut of DC3s and twin B 18s.

I made a web page for the Serenidad's 40th party and on the first photo is Capt. Muñoz with Don Johnson and Larry Hahn: http://community-2.webtv.net/boojum1/serenidad

Here's the caption for that photo (below):

Larry Hahn (www.BajaDreams.com) on the left and Don Johnson (www.Serenidad.com) on the right with Baja's most famous pilot, Capt. Francisco Munoz. (photo from Larry)

[Edited on 5-15-2008 by David K]

mailedD58.jpg - 46kB

David K - 5-15-2008 at 08:24 AM

Capt. MuÃ±oz talking with Dr. Margain, the archeologist that Erle Stanley Gardner had MuÃ±oz fly into San Ignacio to examine the 're-discovered' giant cave paintings.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
At Bahia Concepcion:

Baja Air Service's Captain Francisco MuÃ±oz has a chat with Erle Stanley Gardner
(seated in one of J.W. Black's off-road inventions, the 'Butterfly').

Photos from Choral Pepper... See more at http://choralpepper.com

[Edited on 3-22-2019 by David K]

sd - 5-15-2008 at 08:52 AM

David,

A great link and photos.

Is that a dual front tire on the butterfly?

David K - 5-15-2008 at 08:55 AM

Yes, JW experimented with various tire types for the Butterfly... and the dual set up seemed to work the best.

Pompano can probably add more, as JW Black is a friend and neighbor of his, at Concepcion Bay...?

Fatboy - 5-15-2008 at 08:53 PM

Quote:

Pompano can probably add more, as JW Black is a friend and neighbor of his, at Concepcion Bay...?

WHAT!!!!!

There's gotta be some GREAT stories there!!!! I would love to listen to him...

[Edited on 5-16-2008 by Fatboy]

David K - 5-15-2008 at 09:53 PM

Do it soon... all the Gardner expedition members are 'leaving' us! I spoke with JW over the phone, as well as others from the 1960's Gardner trips for my 'lost mission' search. The one inspired by my late great friend, Choral Pepper.

David K - 12-1-2011 at 04:31 PM

Bumping this because I got a request to provide photos of Captain Muñoz for his wife Leysl... They lost all their photos in the 2003 Crest fire.

I have several thanks to Choral Pepper and my Erle Stanley Gardner book collection, but I am sure there are more out there...

Any of you who have photos of Captain Francisco Muñoz during his Baja Air Service years or anytime, please post them here or email them to me so I can make an album for Leysl.

Thank you!
info*at*vivabaja.com for emailing (put BAJA in subject line please)

DENNIS - 12-1-2011 at 05:15 PM

Didn't he fly with/for Ed Tabor as well?

David K - 12-1-2011 at 05:57 PM

Never heard that, as Tabor's resort operated the same years as Baja Air Service... but he did fly for the salt company at Guerrero Negro after his years of flying his own 'Baja' airline.

edit: I see in the obit that Paulina posted a link to, Baja Air Service ran from 1955 to 1970. Perhaps he did fly for Ed Tabor between 1970 and 1975? Although, I kind of think that the government shut both air operations down at the same time because they didn't want their airline (Aero Mexico) to have any competition...?

[Edited on 12-2-2011 by David K]

tiotomasbcs - 12-1-2011 at 05:59 PM

Damn, I didn't think Pompano was that old? :biggrin:

Altho I'm a newbie, I have gathered he has been around for many years! I feel Thankful for the little history I have garnered here on Nomads! Good posting, Gordo. Tio ps I flew in with Capt Munoz, I suspect, to the Fishermans Lodge in 75?! Tio

David K - 12-1-2011 at 06:12 PM

In 1967, Baja Air Service flew a route from Tijuana to Bahia de los Angeles to Mulege to Puerto Vallarta, then back. Not sure about his other years, but that year is when my dad flew with him, and the captain invited my dad into the co-pilot's chair as they flew over Baja. My dad always remembered how kind Muñoz was to him.

David K - 12-1-2011 at 06:15 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Paulina
I'm sorry to report that "the Kissing Captain" passed away in March of '06.

I thought he was a wonderful man. I miss seeing him in Bahia.

http://www.signonsandiego.com/uniontrib/20060401/news_1m1mun...

P<*)))><

Francisco Munoz, 86; founder of Baja Airlines loved to fly

By Jack Williams
STAFF WRITER

April 1, 2006

He was a famed author's passport to Baja California, a daringly resourceful pilot and the inspiration for a song – “The Kissing Captain” – that glorified his nickname.

Francisco Munoz logged close to 25,000 hours of flying in his lifetime, many of them as the founder of Baja Airlines, which he operated until its closure in 1970.

It never would have happened, however, had he not left seminary school after one semester to follow his dream.

“He realized he would never be a priest, although his family wanted him to be,” said his daughter, Amy Munoz Friedlund. “He had been building airplanes since he was little, and he wanted to fly.”

Mr. Munoz, who at 19 became the 237th commercial pilot licensed in Mexico, died March 20 at his home in Crest. He was 86.

The cause of death was complications from Parkinson's disease, Friedlund said.

Much of Mr. Munoz's colorful career was tied to his decade-long relationship with author/adventurer Erle Stanley Gardner, creator of fictional lawyer Perry Mason.

The pair met in 1960, when Mr. Munoz began flying Gardner to sites in Baja that inspired six nonfiction books. One of Gardner's books, “The Hidden Heart of Baja,” described Mr. Munoz as a “quick-thinking, quick-talking aviator, who has been flying long enough to have developed an uncanny skill as well as an encyclopedic knowledge of the country over which he is flying.”

Some of the flights were at an unusually low trajectory and slow speeds so that Mr. Munoz could make an impromptu landing on sandy beaches at Gardner's request.

When they first met, Gardner's celebrity status failed to register with Mr. Munoz.

Then, as Mr. Munoz flew Gardner from Guerrero Negro to San Diego in his twin-engine Cessna, he realized this was no ordinary passenger. “I thought, 'Oh, my God, I've got Perry Mason on board!' ” he told the San Diego Reader in a 1995 interview.

Mr. Munoz, known to Gardner as “Don Francisco,” practically made a career out of shuttling scripts, mail and secretarial replacements between the author's Temecula digs and the Baja outback.

Fred Astaire, Leo Carrillo, James Arness, Chuck Connors and Desi Arnaz also requested his services. And he was the private pilot of Miguel Aleman, president of Mexico from 1946-52, during a presidential campaign.

In 1967, when Dean Jones was critically injured on a motorcycle deep in Baja, Mr. Munoz flew the actor to safety and was credited with saving his life.

Mr. Munoz's “Kissing Captain” moniker stemmed from the way he greeted female passengers as they boarded and left. A Mexican quartet wrote a “Kissing Captain” song describing his warm and affectionate demeanor.

“He was the kind of a person you knew well even if you only talked to him for 15 minutes,” Friedlund said. “People were attracted to him.”

The eldest of nine children, Mr. Munoz was born April 15, 1919, in Parras, Coahuila, Mexico, and raised on his well-to-do grandparents' ranch.

He fell out of favor with a bishop in seminary school by asking too many questions, he later recalled.

Mr. Munoz finished high school in Monterrey, Mexico, and worked as a butcher to pay for flight lessons. Two months short of his 18th birthday, he earned his private pilot's license after fewer than 10 hours of training.

After two years of flying passengers on sightseeing trips, he earned his commercial license and joined Aeronaves de Mexico.

In the late 1940s, he briefly changed career paths by working in the concrete industry in Coahuila.

“He had a house made of concrete,” Friedlund said. “Then he bought a plane for use on the weekend and little by little starting flying people again.”

On a business trip to San Diego, Mr. Munoz learned that Tijuana was lacking an air service. In 1955, he started Baja Airlines with a four-passenger Cessna 170 and established residences in Imperial Beach and Bahia de Los Angeles.

Mr. Munoz began flying deep-sea fishing parties up and down the Baja peninsula, shuttling supplies into fish camps on the Gulf of California and its islands.

He expanded his service to fly teams of oceanographers into Baja for research. The oceanographers' projects led to the establishment of D.K. Ludwig's expansive salt works at Guerrero Negro Lagoon.

From 1974 until his retirement in 1983, Mr. Munoz worked full-time as a pilot for Exportadora del Sal, the operators of the salt works. His assignment: shuttling plant personnel back and forth to San Diego and to mainland Mexico.

After a divorce from his first wife, Guadalupe Valdez, in 1968, Mr. Munoz moved his main residence from Imperial Beach to Crest. He lost the home in a 1970 fire and rebuilt. Then he lost it a second time in the 2003 Cedar fire.

Again, he rebuilt, refusing to abandon his panoramic view and the apple and avocado trees he loved.

Survivors include his wife, Anne Leysl Semler; daughters, Olivia Munoz of Imperial Beach, Amy Munoz Friedlund of Rancho Peñasquitos and Rebecca Munoz Sanchez of Chula Vista; son, Francisco Munoz Jr. of San Diego; sisters, Pilar Aguirre of Ensenada, Genoveva Tames of Queretero, Guanajuato, Mexico, Refugio Marca of Mexico City, Socorrina Hernandez of Queretero and Clemen Junco of Mexico; brother, Jose Luis Munoz Ceballos of Guadalajara; eight grandchildren; and one great-grandchild.

Hook - 12-1-2011 at 06:18 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by tiotomasbcs
Damn, I didn't think Pompano was that old? :biggrin:

I think Pompano and Munoz would agree..............the key to longevity is

co-pilots.

tiotomasbcs - 12-2-2011 at 07:20 AM

Very good, Capt. Hook! Pomp will agree wholeheartedly I'm sure! :bounce:

Tio

mcfez - 12-2-2011 at 07:40 AM

This the same that guy had a helicopter down in Baja during the 60's?

BillP - 12-2-2011 at 10:11 AM

I'll always cherish the memories of camping at BOLA for a week with Francisco and Leysl as our hosts. Had many nice chats.

here is is with my girl friend

capt. mike - 12-2-2011 at 10:12 AM

Sr. Munoz and gal.jpg - 37kB

David K - 12-2-2011 at 10:27 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by mcfez
This the same that guy had a helicopter down in Baja during the 60's?

That was Erle Stanley Gardner who brought down helicopters to explore the canyons of Baja, using the money he made as creator of Perry Mason and writing mystery novels... Gardner hired Muñoz often to fly people up and down Baja for him in the 60's.

David K - 12-2-2011 at 10:29 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by capt. mike

Thanks Mike... I will add that photo to the album I am making for Leysl.

BajaBlanca - 12-2-2011 at 10:01 PM

how sad to lose photos in a fire ..... hopefully many people have pics to share with her ....

here is Chavez, Munoz' 1st hire

capt. mike - 12-3-2011 at 09:50 AM

I met Chavez before he retired a few years ago. He was still flying Cessna 208 grand caravans for Aeroservicios De GN up and down the routes. We talked air to air many times.

flying sportsmen-r.JPG - 48kB

ocotillo - 12-3-2011 at 11:58 AM

David,

Great photos David and capt. mike!!! You might try Eve Ewing. She told me a few years ago that her father worked for Scripps back in the 50's and 60's and would hire planes to do research in Baja. On some occasions flying with E.S. Gardner. I assume there were not to many pilots for hire back then. She was a photographer at an early age and said she would often accompany her father on flights to Baja. I've lost her cell number, but I would think you could reach her through Carol at Discover Baja. Hope that helps.

David K - 12-3-2011 at 06:40 PM

That is a great idea Ocotillo... Eve has attended various events that I was at and I am familiar with her muleback ride down the peninsula when she was a young thing and her work on the video Corazon Vaquero, too.

capt. mike - 12-4-2011 at 09:52 AM

i get called by Scripps once or twice a year wanting to shuttle some guys around a few days.
I can't do it for a variety of reasons so i always refer them to those who are better equipped with larger equipment and licenses.

The Scripps archivals shoulod have plenty of pix.

David K - 12-4-2011 at 06:47 PM

I just went through my Choral Pepper photo folders and scanned all the photos that included Capt. Muñoz... a couple were already posted above...

One more from about 1999...

David K - 12-4-2011 at 06:55 PM

This is Nomad 'DesertGhost' (Tad) and Capt. Muñoz.

Two from Gardner's 1961 'Hovering Over Baja'

David K - 12-5-2011 at 04:49 PM

Two from Gardner's 1962 Hidden Heart of Baja

David K - 12-5-2011 at 05:28 PM

fatboy

Baja Bernie - 12-5-2011 at 05:56 PM

In my book,"Think you know Baja" I have a story on the 'Kissing Captain'. That was Fransisico Munoz nickname. P-224

Vince - 12-5-2011 at 06:17 PM

I met Capt. Munoz several times when he flew me to and from the old airport in Mulege, west of town as a passenger on Baja Airlines. One time in the mid '60's I wanted to get a sail for a sailboat down to Manuel Diaz in Coyote Bay.I delivered it to his house in Imperial Beach and he flew it down free of charge. A very impressive man and superb pilot.

David K - 12-5-2011 at 09:21 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Vince
I met Capt. Munoz several times when he flew me to and from the old airport in Mulege, west of town as a passenger on Baja Airlines. One time in the mid '60's I wanted to get a sail for a sailboat down to Manuel Diaz in Coyote Bay.I delivered it to his house in Imperial Beach and he flew it down free of charge. A very impressive man and superb pilot.

That is a great story... any photos???

Please folks, Leysl would like to have some photos of her late husband after all were lost in the Crest fire a few years ago. I was contacted by a Bahia resident who is friends of both Leysl and Mary Ann Humfreville (how she connected with me), and already the photos have brought joy to her (I was informed today)!

Thank you/ Mil Gracias!

(more photos from the next Erle Stanley Gardner book coming soon)

capt. mike - 12-6-2011 at 08:05 AM

One thing i didn't know - re Munoz - did he fly the choppers too?

David K - 12-6-2011 at 09:09 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by capt. mike
One thing i didn't know - re Munoz - did he fly the choppers too?

10 from Gardner's 1967 'Off the Beaten Track in Baja'

David K - 12-6-2011 at 01:35 PM

The family at EL BARRIL

Dr. MacKinnon was a well known and often visited Australian dentist by American travelers in the pre-pavement days, in Santa Rosalia. Not for dental work as much as for traveling conditions. MacKinnon traveled about central Baja with a foot powered drill back in the 1950's. My dad visited with him in 1972, 5 years after flying with Muñoz... and we just missed a meeting with Gardner at his Temecula ranch. Two out of three anyway!

I have one more Gardner book in my collection... stay tuned...

[Edited on 12-6-2011 by David K]

tripledigitken - 12-6-2011 at 02:23 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by capt. mike
One thing i didn't know - re Munoz - did he fly the choppers too?

In the book Hovering Over Baja, I found this credit to the helicopter pilot used on their trips.

David K - 12-6-2011 at 02:37 PM

There were several copter pilots over the years... I never read of Muñoz flying anything other than fixed wing... However, he could land a fixed wing in some pretty amazing places! Muñoz was the original and best Baja Bush Pilot even if he didn't give Arnold Senterfitt the idea!

I was most amazed when I read of Muñoz landing up at the San Juan mine (no air strip there, above Bahia de los Angeles) so he and Erle could have a look around.

capt. mike - 12-6-2011 at 02:58 PM

Munoz was an icon. Don Johnson once told me Munoz was without a doubt the best stick he'd seen who ever flew Baja.

there is a story out there and i am trying to recall where - might have come from Don - anyway, Munoz was in a short strip and someone there said he shouldn't take off - like wait for cooler temps due to density altitude issues, or lighten his load etc. - Munoz walked to a spot, pointed it out and said that is where my wheels will depart.
So he goes and takes off and his wheels left exactly where he said they would. Could be legend. I don't know but it's fun stuff.

Vince - 12-6-2011 at 05:53 PM

Those are all great photos, wish I had some to contribute.

LancairDriver - 12-6-2011 at 09:14 PM

I heard he had a unique way of determining just how slow he could land on a short strip based on his weight and air temperature etc. He would simply stall the airplane before landing and note the airspeed then know exactly how slow he could go in. Neat trick.

David K - 12-7-2011 at 11:56 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by LancairDriver
I heard he had a unique way of determining just how slow he could land on a short strip based on his weight and air temperature etc. He would simply stall the airplane before landing and note the airspeed then know exactly how slow he could go in. Neat trick.

Thank you for that! Great stuff...

More photos coming soon...

Mexico's Magic Square c1968

David K - 12-7-2011 at 03:01 PM

4 photos in the next book from Erle Stanley Gardner complete the photos I have of Capt. Muñoz:

capt. mike - 12-7-2011 at 03:11 PM

nice.
be neat to re-read the feature SD tribune [correct local paper?] did a few years ago on Munoz.

Are there other biographies?

LancairDriver - 12-7-2011 at 05:23 PM

Here's a link to another interesting article on the Capt.

http://www.bajadreams.com/cptjose/cptmunozstory.htm

David K - 12-7-2011 at 05:44 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by LancairDriver
Here's a link to another interesting article on the Capt.

http://www.bajadreams.com/cptjose/cptmunozstory.htm

Wonderful article written by a Baja Nomad amigo, and Eli's dad!

This was an interesting line:

"1942 offered Munoz an opportunity to work for the U.S. Government expanding Mexico's airstrips to accommodate the American warplanes."

Kind of explains why many good runways have existed in Baja from so long ago... Ensenada's and El Rosario's were both constructed by the U.S. in '42 and I read others to support transport as well, such as one in Valle de Trinidad (between our radar stations at San Felipe and near Camalu at Punta San Jacinto).

capt. mike - 12-8-2011 at 01:09 PM

anyone know how Larry Hahn is doing? excerpt is from his website.
haven't seen him here or at BBP in some time and he used to check in occasionally.

last time i talked with him was spring 2009 regards his Monaco RV coach connection for an associate.

David K - 12-8-2011 at 07:36 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by capt. mike
anyone know how Larry Hahn is doing? excerpt is from his website.
haven't seen him here or at BBP in some time and he used to check in occasionally.

last time i talked with him was spring 2009 regards his Monaco RV coach connection for an associate.

Not long ago, he posted on Facebook (he is a friend there)... I was relieved to see, as it was a while since I heard from him, and his web site was down (but came back up). http://www.BajaDreams.com

capt. mike - 12-9-2011 at 09:11 AM

ok, thx DK.
he's getting up there, a great guy.

David K - 12-9-2011 at 03:27 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by capt. mike
ok, thx DK.
he's getting up there, a great guy.

Yes, I guess you met him at my Viva Baja #3 party in Oceanside? You flew in from Arizona and Larry flew in from Texas, as I recall... The little Oceanside airport was getting a workout that weekend in 2002!

http://vivabaja.com/vivabaja3

Capt. Mike and Janeen flew in
from Arizona on 'Screaming Airlines'

Larry Hahn and Graham Mackintosh.
Larry flew all the way from El Paso to Oceanside for Viva Baja-3.
That makes Larry the distance champion! See his web site, http://www.bajadreams.com/.

[Edited on 12-9-2011 by David K]

capt. mike - 12-10-2011 at 09:25 AM

yes, 9 years ago, wow.
Larry beat everyone on the distance prize.

I won a baja AAA map book. I donated something to the drawings but can't recall what it was?

David K - 12-10-2011 at 11:38 AM

I would guess it was a Screaming Airlines shirt, maybe?

capt. mike - 12-10-2011 at 01:30 PM

maybe, i just can't recall.
age..... CRS syndrome....
i think "M" won it?

whatever it was.

this is why checklists are in writing and you're supposed to READ them aloud...hahahaha. :light:

David K - 12-24-2012 at 12:59 PM

M, do you remember what you won at Viva Baja-3? It was only 10 years ago!!

David K - 3-6-2013 at 11:37 AM

Bump for Steekers...

Skeet/Loreto - 3-6-2013 at 02:49 PM

Great Photos and Info!!

Does anyone have any information about the "Shark Livers" airstrips and who was doing the flying??

Many times I would land at a small airstrip and talk to some of the People who ask me if I wanted :Livers"

All so looking for Photos of the B25 that Tabor started flying inot Loreto.
Flew one time with Capt. Munoz on one of his DC3's He was the Biset Pilot I have ever met!!
And he loved the ladies!!
When I built Ranchos sonrisa in Loreto Virginia and I wnet up to San Nichols to a place that Gardner had talked about and got some beautifull Rocks to use in our Palapa..

Many of the people would talk about Capt. Munoz and when he had landed on the Beaches.

Great Stories!

SKeet/Loreto

David K - 3-7-2013 at 10:40 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Skeet/Loreto
Great Photos and Info!!

Does anyone have any information about the "Shark Livers" airstrips and who was doing the flying??

Many times I would land at a small airstrip and talk to some of the People who ask me if I wanted :Livers"

All so looking for Photos of the B25 that Tabor started flying inot Loreto.
Flew one time with Capt. Munoz on one of his DC3's He was the Biset Pilot I have ever met!!
And he loved the ladies!!
When I built Ranchos sonrisa in Loreto Virginia and I wnet up to San Nichols to a place that Gardner had talked about and got some beautifull Rocks to use in our Palapa..

Many of the people would talk about Capt. Munoz and when he had landed on the Beaches.

Great Stories!

SKeet/Loreto

Found this for you Skeet:

"I walked to that strip and saw a nice B-25 bomber laying there crippled in the sand. I took the care to pull the props through thinking that someone would surely be saving these valuable airplanes (there were two). In 1985 when I flew some fishermen into Loreto I walked to where the strip was and found instead of the airplanes, a new El Presidente Hotel. I asked one of the locals as to what happened to the airplanes and got the sign language of the use being made with a chainsaw. I cried!"

This is from this web site on old Baja flying memories:

http://bannerbob.net/flying_trips_into_mexico.htm

fishbuck - 3-22-2019 at 01:52 AM

Another jem from the archives

David K - 3-27-2019 at 07:21 AM

Thanks Mike... We have not heard from Skeet here on Nomad for three years now (last post was March 26, 2015). I get a sad feeling when older Nomads stop posting.
I have communicated with Marian Johns, Neal's wife. Neal has stopped using the computer she tells me, at least to post or email. He has been a wealth of knowledge and our favorite 'aridologist' on Nomad and Amigos de Baja before.
The worst part about getting older is seeing your friends leave this world for the other.

fishbuck - 3-27-2019 at 03:32 PM

I guess I am going through that to Dave.
I am grieving the lose of the old runways and the way it was.
That is why I am urgent to get flying in Baja again and see if I can still get the feel and taste of it back... if any still exists.
I think it still does... and we need to keep it going...
Read the old posts and try to remember and dream...