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| By
Rick Siegfried, President, EAA Warbirds of America |
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The
past several months have been very active for Warbirds of
America. The planning for EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2010 has
been underway since the convention closed last August. The
efforts of many have finally come together to create a
convention that will fill the week with great reasons why
you "Got to be at AirVenture Oshkosh 2010!" Many
of you are aware that this is the 75th anniversary of the
Douglas
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| DC-3/C-47,
Boeing B-17, and the 70th anniversary of the Battle of
Britain. These are significant celebrations in themselves.
This year we will introduce a new theme in Warbirds and
across the entire EAA AirVenture convention site, the
"Salute to Veterans" - a weeklong celebration of
the service and sacrifice to our nation by veterans and
active-duty military service men and women. When you visit
the Warbird area this summer you will also see significant
changes in how we display Warbird aircraft and pay tribute
to those men and women in the Armed Forces. Read
more |
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| Safety
News and Issues |
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| The
Human Element in Aviation |
| Human
factors: It's a topic discussed at most aviation safety
seminars, as well as a fundamental subject during pilot and
mechanic training. Yet, despite widespread awareness of the
importance of human factors in safety, it continues to play
a key role in a majority of today's aircraft incidents and
accidents.
Encompassing
everything from fatigue and workload management, to
integrating the latest advances in technology, the topic of
human factors covers a wide spectrum. The FAA Aviation News
team, along with staff members of the FAA's Civil Aerospace
Medical Institute (CAMI) teamed up to produce an issue
dedicated to this important subject. Read
more |
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| EAA's
B-17G Aluminum Overcast to Have Operational Ball
Turret Soon |
| EAA's
B-17G Aluminum Overcast, which is currently at the
Kermit Weeks hangar for its winter maintenance program, will
have a new feature soon. Restoration work is well under way
in bringing the ball turret back to operation. Last
week |
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| (February
4), the turret was reinstalled, and the process is underway
to finish electrical wiring. Read
more |
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| Halifax
Progress Report |
| In
August 1945 during weather patrol, this aging bomber sprung
a fuel leak, and while trying to return to base, was forced
to ditch off the Hebrides Islands west of Ireland. The crew
was rescued, and LW170, one of the last Royal Canadian Air
Force combat Halifaxes to have survived the war and the
scrapyard, sank gently out of sight into the deep.
In this
edition of the Halifax Rescue report, we learn of a
Canadian Halifax crewmember who lost track of his British
crewmate after being shot down and captured. Each went to
separate POW camps without knowing the fate of the other. Read
their latest progress report |
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| Updates
on Government Issues and Advocacy |
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| EAA
Warns WA State Aircraft Owners of Proposed State Tax |
| The
Washington state House of Representatives just introduced House
Bill 3176 that will impose a 1/2 percent excise
tax on all aircraft in the state of Washington. The bill
also states that if you elect to register your aircraft in
another state and that state does not have a excise tax or
is less than this new WA excise tax you will be required to
pay the difference. Read
more |
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| Report:
TSA Confirms LASP Changes |
| Based
largely on the negative response from the general aviation
community, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA)
signaled major changes to the Large Aircraft Security
Program (LASP), consistent with those EAA has been
reporting, in an
interview that aired Friday on National Public Radio.
TSA also publicly acknowledged its intent to work with GA
stakeholders to come up with a more reasonable approach to
GA security through the formation of a General Aviation
Working Group under the Aviation Security Advisory
Committee, on which EAA has been invited to participate. Read
more |
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| User
Fees Not in 2011 Proposed FAA Budget |
| The
While House has released its proposed budget for Fiscal Year
2011 and unlike previous proposal, there is no call for a
system of user fees to be imposed on general aviation. Since
virtually all of GA has rejected the notion of user fees to
fund the FAA, this demonstrates the success of the GA
community in finally convincing policy makers that user fees
would severely affect general aviation’s viability. Read
more |
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| EAA
Warbirds and Government Relations Officials to Attend NWOC |
| The
National Warbird
Operators Conference (NWOC) convenes next weekend (Feb.
18-21) in San Diego. EAA's Vice President of Industry and
Government Relations Earl Lawrence and EAA Warbirds of
America Executive Director Bill Fischer, along with EAA
Warbirds of America President Rick Siegfried, will be in
attendance. Of importance will be the continued focus on
issues relating to the Experimental Exhibition category of
aircraft and improving perceptions of safety by warbird
operators in the eyes of the FAA. |
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| February’s
Featured Stories |
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| The
Glorious Aerodynamic Stallion |
| We
have our share of everyday aircraft: executive jets and
helicopters, high-end single engine aircraft, some jet
warbirds, and other vintage aircraft tucked away in some of
the hangars. |
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| But
this month's aircraft repairs were a little different at
Skyland Aircraft Inc., the aircraft maintenance facility at
the Santa Fe Municipal Airport, Santa Fe, New Mexico.
Normally, with most general aviation aircraft hangars, you
see Beechcraft, Cessna, Piper, or the like in for repairs
and inspections. This rare beauty was very different; you
could feel the excitement behind closed doors here in Santa
Fe. Read
more |
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| Cannon
Returns From Kiwi Adventure |
| A
recent family trip to New Zealand was wonderful, but perhaps
one of the best unexpected pleasures was the level of
warbird interest in "N Zed."
The South
Island of New Zealand is incredibly beautiful. I'm not a big
fan |
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| of
The Lord of the Rings movies, but much of what one
might think was computer created is actually on the South
Island. Against this backdrop you will find the New
Zealand Fighter Pilots Museum. The collection there
includes a Tiger Moth, Hawker Hurricane, Lavochkin La-9, all
in airworthy condition, and a de Havilland Vampire on static
display. Read
more |
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| Tuskegee's
Lone Ace, Lee Archer, Passes Away |
| EAA
was saddened to learn of the passing of retired Air Force
Lt. Colonel Lee A. Archer, the only confirmed Ace (five
aerial victories) of the Tuskegee Airmen, at the age of 90
on January 27 in New York City. As a member of America’s
first black fighter group in World War II, Col. Archer flew
169 combat missions flying cover and escorting long-range
bombers over more than 11 countries, as well as strafing
missions against enemy landing zones and troops on the
ground. Read
more |
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| U-2
Retirement Delayed |
| Airborne
drones have made quite a difference in the military efforts
in Iraq and Afghanistan. However, the United States Air
Force has been asked to continue using a reconnaissance
aircraft built more than half a century ago. The U-2 can
electronically eavesdrop on enemy communications
effectively, but according to Stars and Stripes
reporter |
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Franklin
Fisher, that capability is still being testing on modern-day
drones like the Global Hawk. Read
more
(Used
with permission from Stars and Stripes. (c) 2010 Stars and
Stripes) |
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| The
World's Toughest Plane to Fly
|
The
United States Air Force says that the U-2 is the toughest
plane to fly for many reasons. This oversized glider goes on
8- to 12-hour missions with just one pilot in a pressure
suit up in the thin air. Down low, the mechanical flight
controls can make flying the aircraft physically demanding. Stars
and Stripes writer Franklin Fisher reports that flying
the U-2 is like climbing and descending Mt. Everest in a
single day. Read
more
(Used
with permission from Stars and Stripes. (c) 2010 Stars and
Stripes)
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| In
Their Own Words
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| When
a U-2 visited EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2008, EAA Radio's
Gordon Bowman-Jones had a chance to chat with several of its
pilots about flying the venerable spy plane.
U-2
Pilots Interview Part 1 | U-2
Pilots Interview Part 2
|
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| From
the EAA Warbirds Community
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|
The Warbird Island message forum at Oshkosh365 is as active
as ever. Have a look at the list below and follow the links
to read the actual questions and discussion topics.
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Issue 3,
February 2010 |
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| VIDEO |
|
Restored
P-51 Honors WWII Pilot With Wartime Paint Job
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|
Dan
Fordice, EAA 408416, Warbirds 551126, had always wanted to
own a P-51 fighter. Recently his dream came true, and he
decided to honor Jackson, Mississippi, veteran Cary Salter
in the process. Cary, now 88, flew P-51s in WWII's European
theater. Dan had met Cary before he acquired the fighter and
promised to paint the airplane exactly the same as it was
when Cary served in France. Last month, WLBT-TV covered the
event as Cary got to see the aircraft at Jackson's Hawkins
Field. |
|
Watch the
video
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|
PHOTO GALLERY |
| Iwo
Jima |
| Following
bitter fighting to capture Iwo Jima, the US Air Force used
the island to support ongoing raids on the Japanese home
islands. This month's photo gallery shows that after the
land battle ended, life was not much safer between battle
damage, volcanic ash, and the nature of war operations. |
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|
View the gallery
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|
EAA RADIO |
|
AirshowBuzz
Debuts 'Mike Da Mustang'
AirshowBuzz, an aviation-themed multimedia company has
launched a new animated series featuring the adventures of a
Mike Da Mustang. Ed Shipley, AirshowBuzz co-founder and
Creative Director, talked with EAA Radio’s Fareed Guyot
about the ambitious 26-episode project. Listen
to the interview and watch the video.
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FEB
18-21, 2010 - 16th National Warbird Operator Conference,
San Diego, CA. Visit www.warbirdconference.com.
FEB 21 -
Vacaville, CA. - P-51 Mustang Aces Panel will include
Maj. Hauver, Lt. Gen. Loving, Maj. Ohr and Capt. Wilhelm.
They will share their stories. Presented by the Northern
California Friends. Will be in the Vacaville Performing Arts
Theatre at 1 pm.
Info: 408-725-8095
E-mail: NCF@hot-shot.com
for information and reservations.
FEB 27 -
Countryside, IL - EAA Warbirds Squadron 4 Annual Dinner
at William Tell Holiday Inn.
Info: Jim Delaney 847-731-0808
Web: www.warbirdsquadron4.org
MAR
12-14 - Titusville, FL- Valiant Air Command Museum's Tico
Warbird Air Show; military fly-bys and demos; vintage
warbirds on static display and fly-bys. Vendors, aircraft,
and helicopter rides available.
Info: www.vacwarbirds.org
E-mail: vacwarbirds@bellsouth.net
MAR 13 -
Cincinnati, OH. - EAA Warbirds Squadron 18 Swing Dance -
KLUK Hangar 4.
Info: Jim Stitt, Commander
Phone: 513-241-1661
Web: www.cincinnatiwarbirds.org
APR
13-18, 2010 - Sun 'n Fun Fly-In, Lakeland, FL. Visit www.sun-n-fun.org.
JUL
26-AUG 1, 2010 - EAA AirVenture Oshkosh, Oshkosh, WI.
Visit www.AirVenture.org. |
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In your
opinion, which one of these aircraft was the best all-around
fighter in the U.S. inventory during WWII?
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Your
insights help us provide a better newsletter to you. Please
review and rate this issue of Warbirds Briefing. |
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