by J. Rion Bourgeois
Breakfast Report
Attendance was 260 at the July breakfast following 257 at the June breakfast. It appears we have recovered from the pandemic, and are running back to normal. The weather was beautiful so we had lots of aircraft fly in. We flew 33 YE flights as well. Cliff has assembled an excellent ground crew and this program is flourishing under his leadership. If you want to fly Young Eagles or help with the ground crew, please contact Cliff.
Monthly Chapter Meeting Report
The monthly meeting was held at the Aerometal International’s “Hangar Hotel” at the Aurora State Airport. Jan Moon, the chapter’s flyout coordinator, arranged the visit. If anyone has an idea for another flyout destination, reach out to Jan. Benton Holzwarth, the chapter’s secretary and breakfast cashier, brought dinner and gave an update on breakfast attendance this year. Cliff Gerber, the chapter’s Young Eagles coordinator, gave a report on YE activities for the year, Bill Jepson, our Build and Fly coordinator, gave a report on that program, Chris Riedener gave an update on the chapter’s C-120 restoration, and Greg Hughes reported on the chapter’s scholarship program. I would estimate attendance at around 100 souls. Benton brought three loaves of bread for sandwiches, and we ran out before everyone was served. A typical loaf has 26 to 28 slices, so there were definitely more than 78 in attendance. Seven RVs flew in.
Aerometal International, the subject and host of the meeting, specializes in the restoration of Douglas DC-3, C-47, and C-53 aircraft. It has developed a successful niche in the restoration of this aircraft type due its acquired expertise in the type and due to the large number produced and the relatively low cost of acquisition compared to WW II fighters and bombers. Aerometal acquires examples of the type for restoration, resale, and it own operation, and also restores and maintains aircraft for their current owners. Paul Bazeley, the owner of Aerometal, gave us a rundown of the fascinating history of the six aircraft of the type currently on hand. Most of them are ex-military aircraft with significant combat history, including a C-53 which was used for medevac in France after D-Day. When they stripped it for restoration they found the signatures of 15 wounded combat veterans on the inner skins, and the current owners have been attempting to contact them or their families. Another is the highest time DC-3 in history that was received and signed for by Eddie Rickenbacker on behalf of Eastern Airlines. It had 91,460 hours when acquired by Aerometal, and now has over 92,000 hours. If anyone is interested, Aerometal has a DC-3 which they acquired in Alaska that is for sale. It would make a great subject for a flying club, don’t you think?
A special treat for our visit was the opportunity to look over the exterior of a Lockheed Constellation C-121A out on the ramp. It is undergoing an interior restoration by Aerometal for its current museum owner/operator, which plans to fly it to Airventure this year. It was delivered to the USAF in 1949, and was involved in the Berlin Airlift flying the Westover AFB-Rhein-Main route (Massachusetts to Germany). It was the personal aircraft of General Douglas MacArthur during 1950-51, at which time it was known as “Bataan”. It was subsequently the personal transport of General Ridgeway in 1952-53, and then transferred to HQ, Pacific Air Command and used for VIP transport from 1953-65, when it was declared surplus by the USAF. It was acquired and used by NASA from 1966-69 for the Appollo Space Program. It was in the US Army Aviation Museum at Fort Rucker from 1970 to 1993, and owned by various private museums since then. Standing in the shadow of its triple vertical stabilizers was very cool.
On a personal note, in September, 1953, two months short of 70 years ago, my father was flying F-84’s out of Chaumont Air Base for the USAF in eastern France, and we lived in a village nearby. When my mother came to term with my little brother, she was flown to the big US Army hospital in Weisbaden, Germany by military transport. My father was assigned as co-pilot for the flight. My mother went into labor during the flight, but they didn’t tell my father so he wouldn’t be nervous. They made it to the hospital for the delivery, but if my mother’s water had broken a few hours earlier, Jeb would have been born in a C-47!
It was a very enjoyable evening, and we owe a debt of gratitude to Paul and his staff members. I hope we are invited back in the future. We don’t presently have a subject for the August 10 chapter meeting, so if anyone has a suggestion, please contact me.
Calendar of Upcoming Events
Upcoming events, including the Poker Run (8/27/23), Pie Auction (11/9/23), Holiday Banquet (1/12/24) and the First Saturday of Every Month Pancake and Grits Breakfast are on the chapter website EAA105.org under the “Calendar” tab. I hope to see y’all at the next Saturday breakfast on August 5, 2023 and the next monthly chapter meeting on Thursday, August 10, 2023. There will be Young Eagle Events after the August and September breakfasts at Twin Oaks. Details are on the website. The Cessna 120 project group meets on Saturdays or Sundays and the Build and Fly youth program meets on Sundays at the chapter’s project hangar G1 at Twin Oaks. Details and contact information is available on our website.