Radio rancher ruled the sky

My first acquaintance with this show's cast of characters actually began when they were just images in mind on their radio program in 1946. I'd catch their 15-minute episode in the afternoon after school in front of my Grandma's console radio. If he hadn't had a catchy nickname, I'd probably not have been captivated by a western hero named Schuyler. However, Schuyler became "Sky King," and the concept of a modern-day flying rancher who fought the bad guys caught me (as it did many other impressionable kids). The television show premiered in September 1951 and lasted only a year on NBC, but it lived on in reruns on both the other major networks and even in syndication in the 1980s. Sky and his niece, Penny, and nephew, Clipper, hung out at his Flying Crown Ranch near Grover City, Ariz. Sky flew a twin-engined Cessna named "The Songbird" as well as being able in the saddle when called upon by his sheriff buddy to apprehend some criminals. Sky was played by Kirby Grant on television. The radio program actually overlapped the TV show as it ran from 1946 to 1954...more