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| By
Rick Siegfried, President, EAA Warbirds of America |
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| Hightower
Visits Midwinter Warbirds Flightline Meeting |
| Traveling
to Oshkosh is always a pleasant journey, although the middle
of January isn't exactly the same experience as visiting OSH
during EAA AirVenture. This year, just like in many previous
Januarys, many of the Warbird of America's volunteer
community gathered in central Wisconsin to attend the
Midwinter Warbirds Flightline Meeting. Forty-two hardy
volunteers and 13 members joined via the Internet to review
last year's effort and look ahead to the 2011 Oshkosh
experience. |
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| Paul
Poberezny, Rod Hightower, Adam Smith, and Sean Elliott of
EAA all stopped by during our meeting. I was also able to
spend a little time with Rod now that he's six months into
his new position at EAA. Read
more |
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| Warbirds
Magazine Reader Survey |
| Since
its founding in 1964, Warbirds of America members have
served as a dynamic and vibrant force, preserving former
military aircraft. The passionate spirit of our members has
led to an outstanding organization that has expanded along
with the interests of our members. As a part of an ongoing
effort to continually improve our publications and services,
our editorial staff and I would like your input and
reactions to Warbirds magazine. We want to hear what
you have to say! Read
more |
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| By
Bill Miller, Secretary, Warbirds of America |
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Board
of Directors Meet at NWOC
In late February most of the Warbirds of America Board of
Directors traveled to Pensacola, Florida, for the winter
board meeting. While for some of us the escape to a warmer
part of the country was welcome, we did accomplish much
during our meeting. While AirVenture provides visibility to
much of our efforts, there is much to do throughout the rest
of the year that most folks do not see. Read
more |
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| Maintenance
and Restoration News
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| Focke-Wulf
Trainer Restoration Making Progress |
| A
Focke-Wulf P.149D, serial number 70, is currently undergoing
rebuild/restoration at Centennial Airport (KAPA), just south
of Denver, Colorado. The aircraft was originally built in
1959 at the Focke-Wulf aircraft manufacturing plant in
Bremen, Germany. |
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| It
served as a flight trainer for the German Luftwaffe for
several years, then was sold to Swissair, and used as an
instrument trainer from 1987 to 2000. Read
more |
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| MiG-29
Fighter Soars Over the Pacific Northwest |
| The
Historic Flight Foundation reports that its 1989 MiG-29UB,
the second privately owned aircraft of its type to fly,
completed the FAA-required 5-hour Phase 1 flight test
program on February 9. |
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| The
aircraft (N29UB) is now certificated for normal flight
operations after successfully demonstrating rolls, loops,
dives and climbs, afterburner takeoffs, and high-altitude
flight. Read
more and watch the video |
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| Updates
on Government Issues and Advocacy |
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| Cascade
Warbirds Seek Applicants for 2011 Youth Scholarships |
| Last month
we told you about Squadron 2's recent scholarship
award winners. The Cascade Warbirds are now calling for
2011 applications for programs including Private Pilot
Ground School With Introductory Flights, as well as a trip
to EAA AirVenture Advanced Air Academy 2011 to be held in
Oshkosh, Wisconsin. Apply
here |
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| 11
Missing Airmen From WWII Identified |
| The
Department of Defense announced recently that the remains of
11 U.S. servicemen, missing in action from World War II,
have been identified and are being returned to their
families for burial with full military honors. |
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| On
November 20, 1943, a B-24D crew took off from Jackson
Airfield, Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea, on a night radar
search mission for shipping over the Bismarck Sea and Wewak.
During the mission, the only radio transmission from the
crew indicated they were 20 miles northwest of Port Moresby,
but they did not return to Jackson Airfield. Read
more |
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|
Featured Stories |
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| Over
the Ocean II |
| Here's
the last in a series of three articles by Rich Hess. As
editor I must admit that this was to be number two, but the
previous issue involved an aircraft dear to me. So, dealer's
choice. Ride along as an L-39 goes across the North Atlantic
with "Over the Ocean II." Read
more |
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| Pilot
Reunited With WWII Plane |
| When
an L-5B became available for sale, people at Cable Airport
near San Bernardino, California, purchased it in part
because the L-5B had a "war diary" with its
paperwork, and logs noted that it arrived in Iwo Jima, in
support of the historic invasion in February of 1945. A name
appearing frequently in the logs was "T. Rozga." |
Lt. Thomas Rozga and
'Lady Satan' on Iwo Jima |
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| The
curious folks at Cable began making inquiries and located in
Florida a Thomas Rozga, now 87 years old, who flew the L-5B
over Iwo Jima six decades ago. Read
more |
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| Featured
Newsletter: Squadron 4 of Northern Illinois |
| The
Squadron is a publication of EAA/Warbirds of America
Squadron 4. It's a great example of what this very active
organization is doing in support of warbird activity. This
month we feature the November issue which highlights
Squadron 4's great experience with the visiting EAA B-17, Aluminum
Overcast. Read
the issue |
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| America's
First Jet Aircraft |
| The
first U.S. jet aircraft didn't blow the doors off of
anything, but it was the first time surrounding pilots and
observers were exposed to the eerie quiet and smoothness of
jet flight. Yet even though America was entering the jet
age, this video shows in the early years |
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| that
simplistic ingenuity often saved the day - from the portable
mission control center to the open-cockpit (human) flight
data recorder to a $2 fix for sticky instruments. Watch
the video |
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| Chuckie
Arrives at Virginia Museum |
| The
Vintage Flying Museum in Fort Worth, Texas, said good-bye
last month to Chuckie, its beloved B-17 Flying Fortress. The
World War II airplane arrived in Virginia to a rousing
welcome at its new home, Jerry Yagen's Military Aviation
Museum at Virginia Beach. Chuckie is the only airworthy B-17
Pathfinder in existence. Even |
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| though
it never saw combat, it was originally equipped with an H2X
Mickey radar unit in place of a ball turret and was intended
to lead bombing missions. Watch
the video |
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| Attend
a Southern State Warbird Event This Year |
| It's
never too early to start planning for fun flying. Warbirds
of America Squadron One (Tennessee) has several area events
to look forward to including Armed Forces Day, the Great
Tennessee Air Show, and the Owensboro Warbird Fly-In. Read
more |
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| Webinars:
Spitfire, Hurricane, BF-109: Which is Best? Watch this
Webinar! |
| SRob
Erdos is Chief Test Pilot for the National Research Council,
Canada and has personally flown all three great fighters of
the Battle of Britain - the Supermarine Spitfire, Hawker
Hurricane and an ultra-rare Messerschmitt Bf-109E. In this
fascinating presentation, he will analyze and compare the
flying qualities of each aircraft and attempt to answer the
question that has perplexed generations of historians,
pilots and aircraft enthusiasts - which aircraft was best?
All
webinars begin at 7 p.m. CDT. To find out more about
upcoming EAA Webinars and to register, visit the webinars
page.
EAA
gratefully acknowledges the support of Aircraft Spruce and
Specialty Co. for their generous sponsorship of our webinar
programs. |
