In a casual conversation, a co-worker mentioned to me that all of the videtapes of a 1950’s show (Sky King0 were destroyed accidentally-so the show is lost forever. Anyway, i have some very dim memories of the show-it was about a rich dude who owned a ranch in Texas or Arizona-and he wore a cowboy hat…and flew a twin-engined plane. he had a daughter named penny?-who didn’t seem to do much…and a boyfriend/hired hand. who sometimes flew the plane. Anyway, they seemed to have a few adventures-don’t think they ever crashed the plane. Anybody know more? Are future generations forevered deprived of great art? 
Your co-worker is wrong.
Episodes available online at this American Flyers webpage.
Or purchase the DVDs - all 72 episodes for $249.
I would be very surpised if Sky King were mastered on video tape, since most shows were done on film in those days. Video tape technology was in its infancy in the 50’s, and if used at all would only be for shows produced in the studio. Sky King was shot almost exclusively on location.
From my recollections, I think Sky King was an airborn version of Roy Rogers, catching the bad guys using his airplane, Songbird. I can’t remember any specific episodes, but I always picture Penny talking to him over the radio from the ranch.
I loved the show when I was a small child. When I was in Liberal, Kansas (no, there are no liberals there, but that is another thread) recently, I visited the Mid-America Air Museum and they had a delightful exhibit on Sky King. They had about 10 or 15 of the TV programs going on a loop. They had both of the Cessnas used on the show (I think a four seater the first year and six the second - also, not the origional planes used, just the same type of plane decorated to look like the Songbird and Songbird II). They had a video taped interview with two or three of the actors from the show that was done at the museum.
Having visited with the man, I would be willing to bet that the curator of the museum is one of the top experts on the subject.
The weird thing is that there is no mention of the exhibit on their website.
Penny was Sky’s niece not daughter, and yes, her basic responsibility was to either talk on the radio and say, “Gosh, Uncle Sky, that’s awfully dangerous,” or being kidnapped and shouting as she was being carried away, “Help Uncle Sky. Help me.”
There were some very interesting concepts brought forth on the show. Sky diving was explored back at a time when no one was doing it. I remember a show experimenting with picking up people on the fly. And I remember a program where the Arizona pilot helped fire fighters fight forest fires (not the most common method of fighting fires in the 1950s). The show was not quite so mature as Sea Hunt dealing with scuba diving nor as childish as some of the space operas of the time dealing with space travel, but it had some very interesting directions.
I once talked to a number of baby-boomer-aged pilots at a local air show and many of them credited Sky King as the original source for their interest in flying.
I loved that show also, but I’m surprised there was no interest in skydiving, considering the number of paratroopers who learned how to do it in the war. I’m sure a few of them would want to continue when they weren’t getting shot at on the way down! You might remember a skydiving show called Ripcord, btw. That was running 8 years after Sky King was originally on, but I saw Sky King in syndication.