Silver Wings Over Washington

President, Ron David; Vice President, “Whitey” Feightner; Treasurer, Joan Stalk; Secretary, Carole Sue Coupland.

Board Members -  Randy Brandt, Gil Coshland, Stephen Craven, Debbie Gallaway, Charles Stallworth.

Our mission at Silver Wings Over Washington is to provide an educational foundation that inspires, advocates, and fosters a venue for learning through aviation for the younger generation; a forum for networking among members, colleagues and friends with remarkable speakers and camaraderie across the board.

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Join us on Thursday, November 17th,  for our Silver Wings Speakers Luncheon

Featuring Captain Thomas W. McMahon, USN (ret.)

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Capt. McMahon will tell us about the FAA Emergency Order on 9-11 to “Clear the Skies”,  and what happened to all those flights, both international and domestic.

After the order to “clear the skies” over the Continental United States at about 9:30 a.m., in a matter of hours, the skies were eerily quiet. Many remember hearing about this, but few know what happened with the many flights that were en route from Asia, Europe and elsewhere.

What happened to them? Where did they go and how were they handled?

FAA oceanic airspace, Flight Information Regions encompass over 20 million square miles of the globe. On the morning of 9/11, this airspace contained many flights en route to the United States under the control of FAA controllers at Anchorage, Oakland, and New York Centers. Beyond 200 miles, most of the communications was being handled through Aeronautical Radio, Inc. communications centers at New York and Oakland to whom fell the responsibility of advising flights of the “Clear the Skies” order, coordinating their requests for changing their destinations, and providing phone patches between puzzled flight crews and flight dispatch oftheir respective companies.

On this fateful day, Tom McMahon was the Senior Director of Air Traffic Communications and Services and he is going to inform us of how the flights were handled also the tale of a little-known but frightening story of a possible fifth hijacked aircraft.

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At these Speakers Luncheons you have the opportunity of meeting and networking with a unique group of remarkable individuals who have pioneered, excelled and contributed to the world of aviation. We encourage members to bring friends, guests, and introduce young people to the exploits and achievements of our distinguished members and speakers.

Agenda: Thursday, November 17th, 2011,  Speakers Luncheon at theANCC

Site:     Army Navy Country Club, 703.521.6800

Cost:   $30.00, paid at the entrance

Date:   Thursday, November 17, 2011
1100:   Doors Open, Networking Time 
1200:   Salute to the Flag 
1210:   Luncheon served, hot gourmet entree, fresh garden salad with dressing, rolls, freshly brewed coffee, or hot tea, complemented by a delicious dessert
1250:   Introduction of our Speaker Tom W. McMahon
1300:   Speaker: Capt. Thomas W. McMahon, USN (ret.)
1345:   Q & A
1400:   Conclusion of Speakers Luncheon

NOTE: RSVP now with Treasurer Joan Stalk at 703.451.4181 or with me  at 202.333.8707,  rondavid@gmail.com. We need a firm count by the 14th of November, Noon, for the ANCC.  The ANCC charges an additional $3 fee for walk-ins, save the fee and RSVP now.

Happy Landings,
Ron
Ron David
SWOW President 
(202) 333-8707; (202) 907-3241 Cell
(202) 470-0053 Skype
http://rondavid.com

 

2012 Silver Wings Speakers Luncheon Serie: Col. Ken O. Chilstrom, USAF (Ret.), March 23, 2012

We are delighted to announce Col. Kenneth O. Chilstrom, USAF (Ret.) will be our distinguished speaker at our Speakers Luncheon, Friday, March 23, 2012.

Col.Kenneth O. Chilstrom, USAF (ret.)

Friday, March 23rd, 2012

Army Navy Country Club

“Ken is a retired United States Air Force officer, combat veteran, test pilotand author. He was the first USAF pilot to fly the XP-86 Sabre chief of fighter test at Wright Field commandant of the U.S. Air Force Test Pilot School and program manager for the XF-108 Rapier. Chilstrom was a pilot in the first jet air race and delivered the first air mail by jet. He flew over eighty combat missions in the Italian Campaign of World War II and tested over twenty foreign models of German and Japanese fighters and bombers to evaluate their strengths and weaknesses. Among the test pilots under his command were Bob Hoover and Chuck Yeager.

Flight test

Chilstrom strongly desired a position in flight test at Dayton, Ohio's Wright Field—the dream job of many fighter pilots. Although no flight test positions were open at the time, he was able to secure a position as maintenance officer for Major Chris Petrie, Chief of Fighter Test. Flight test at Wright Field expanded rapidly and provided Chilstrom with the opportunity to realize his dream. He tested a number of P-47 Thunderbolt variants including the XP-47E with a pressurized cockpit and the XP-47J—one of the fastest piston engine fighters ever built.

Captured Fw 190

During his seven years in flight test, Chilstrom flew 147 different aircraft including X, Y, and production models from the United States, Germany, and Japan. Many German and Japanese aircraft captured during World War II were sent to Wright Field, and Chilstrom had the opportunity to fly and evaluate over twenty different models including the Focke-Wulf Fw 190, the Messerschmitt Me 262, the A6M Zero, and the Kawasaki Ki-45.

He flew the Fw 190 extensively and during his tenth flight on February 24, 1945, a malfunctioning trim switch nearly killed him. Chilstrom was landing at Wright Field when the elevator trim switch malfunctioned causing the nose to pitch up while the Fw 190 was dangerously close to the ground. After regaining control and climbing to a safe altitude, he identified the problem and determined the trim could also be driven to a full nose-down position. With full nose-down trim, Chilstrom had just enough control to successfully land the aircraft. Other Fw 190 pilots were not as fortunate as electrical problems in the

trim switch caused or were suspected to have caused a number of crashes.

     X P-86 in flight over the Mojave Desert in 1947

Chilstrom was graduated in the first group, class 45, of the recently formed Flight Performance School (now known as the United States Air Force Test Pilot School) with his friend and roommate Glen Edwards, who would later become the namesake of Edwards Air Force Base.

Chilstrom was highly regarded by his superiors and in September 1946 succeeded Gabby Gabreski as chief of the Fighter Test section. He was in charge of a very select group of pilots including Richard Bong, John Godfrey, Bob Hoover, Don Gentile, Steve Pisanos, and Chuck Yeager. In 1947, Lieutenant Colonel Fred Ascani, deputy of the Flight Test Division, recommended Chilstrom fly the Bell X-1 on the historic mission to break the sound barrier,but division commander Colonel Al Boyd wanted Chilstrom as project officer for the XP-86 Sabre.

Chilstrom was the first Air Force officer to test the XP-86, and by December 1947 had completed the XP-86 Phase II performance, stability and control tests pushing the aircraft to 45,000 feet (14,000 m) and Mach number 0.9.

Between 1949 and 1950, Chilstrom was assigned as the commandant of the USAF Test Pilot School and commanded the last classes held at Wright Field. Following classes, 51A and later, were held at Edwards Air Force Base in California. In the summer of 1949 he took his wife to Hollywood and at Warner Bros. Studios he was the technical advisor on the movie Chain Lightning starring Humphrey Bogart, Raymond Massey, and Eleanor Parker. In 1950, Chilstrom was selected for a test pilot exchange tour with the United Kingdom's Royal Air Force. While at Farnborough Airfield and Boscombe Down, he flew twenty five different British aircraft in two months.

Aviation firsts

In addition to being the first USAF pilot to test the XP-86, Chilstrom was involved in a number of aviation "firsts" including:

First jet air mail

To demonstrate the capabilities of the Army Air Corps, Chilstrom and fellow pilot Captain Robert Baird carried out the first transport of air mail by jet aircraft on June 22, 1946.

Carrying a collection of mail that included a letter for Orville Wright, Chilstrom flew a P-80 Shooting Star fromSchenectady County Airport in Schenectady, New York, to Dayton, Ohio. After stopping at Wright Field, he flew on to Chicago, Illinois to complete the air mail delivery. 

First jet air race

Ken participated in the first "closed course" jet air race at the 1946 Cleveland National Air Races in Ohio. In this race, three P-80 Shooting Stars from Wright Field competed against three P-80s from the 1st Fighter Group at March Field, California. Chilstrom was forced out of the race due to mechanical problems when his aircraft's aileron boost failed.

The Thompson trophy (Jet Division) was won by Major Gustav E. Lundquist of Wright Field.  Major Robin Olds of March Field took second place.

First USAF/USN pilot exchange program

In 1948, Chilstrom requested assignment in the first USAF exchange tour with the United States Navy. He trained atNaval Air Station Pensacola and checked out in the SNJ with six carrier landings on the USS Wright. Chilstrom was then assigned to Carrier Air Group Seven based at Naval Air Station Quonset Point, Rhode Island. After eighty Field Carrier Landing Practice (FCLP) touchdowns on shore, he completed fifty carrier landings in the F8F Bearcat aboard the USS Leyte.

Honors

During his combat tour in World War II, Chilstrom earned the Distinguished Flying Cross, and the Air Medal with eightoak leaf clusters. In 2008, he was recognized in Air Force Magazine as a famous flyer of the F-86 Sabre.”

2012 Silver Wings Speakers Luncheon Serie: Col. "Wolf" Samuel

We hope you had a pleasant Holiday Season and will join us for our first event of the 2012. Our first Speakers Luncheon of 2012 will take place on Thursday, January 26th at the Army Navy Country Club in Arlington, Virginia.

Our distinguished speaker has a unique and remarkable background, his effervescent personality and his jovial presence will contribute to his engaging and articulate address.

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Announcing our first Speakers Luncheon of 2012

Thursday, January 26th

Col. Wolfgang "Wolf" W.E. Samuel

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“Born in Germany during World War Two, ten year-old Wolfgang fled with his mother and sister from his home town of Sagan (now Zagan in Poland) in 1945 as the Red Army came. As refugees, young Wolfgang’s family experienced all the horrors one can imagine at the hands of their Soviet occupiers, but persevered, eventually succeeding in emigrating to the United States and a new life.

Samuel attended the University of Colorado at Boulder, graduating with a Bachelorof Science degree in Business in 1960, and subsequently the National War College.

In 1960 “Wolf” was commissioned a 2nd Lieutenant  in the U.S. Air Force and flew strategic reconnaissance aircraft against the Soviet Union during the Cold War years and, later, combat missions against North Vietnam.

He served in the United States Air Force for 30 years, retiring with the rank of Colonel in 1985. He was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross and Air Medal multiple times during his years of active duty.

After retirement from the Air Force, Wolf worked for a defense contractor in the Washington area, then retired once again to become an author.

Wolf has published seven books. The first, German Boy: A Refugee's Story, is a memoir detailing the war years and his post-war life as a refugee. It features a foreword by historian Stephen Ambrose

His second book, I Always Wanted to Fly: America's Cold War Airmen, is a compilation of oral histories of American aviators during the Cold War era.

The War of Our Childhood: Memories of World War II, is another oral history compilation, and tells of twenty-seven Germans who experienced the war as children.

American Raiders: The Race to Capture the Luftwaffe's Secrets, is an account of the efforts made by

the United States military to acquire German military technology.

Glory Days: The Untold Story of the Men Who Flew the B-66 Destroyer into the Face of Fear recounts some of the adventures of the often unsung crews of the B-66, RB-66 and EB-66 aircraft.

His most recent work is entitled “Watson's Whizzer's”: Operation Lusty and the Race for Nazi Aviation Technology.”

Happy Landings!

Ron

Ron David

SWOW President

www.rondavid.com

(202) 333-8707; Cell: 202) 907-3241; Skype (202) 470-0053

THERE WERE NO GERMAN SPIES IN BRITAIN IN WW II – NONE! HISTORY VIDEO!

THERE WERE NO GERMAN SPIES IN BRITAIN IN WW II – NONE! HISTORY VIDEO!

Here is an interesting little video, please comment to me. - Ron rondavid@gmail.com

THERE WERE NO GERMAN SPIES IN BRITAIN IN WW II – NONE! HISTORY VIDEO!

THERE WERE NO GERMAN SPIES IN BRITAIN IN WW II – NONE! HISTORY VIDEO!

Here is an interesting little video, please comment to me. - Ron rondavid@gmail.com

2011 Silver Wings Speakers Luncheon Serie: Maj.Gen. Bob Steel, September 22, 2011

Join us on Thursday, September 22, 2011  for our Silver Wings Speakers Luncheon Featuring 

Major General Robert P. Steel (USAF)

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Robert Steel has done it all, a seasoned F-16 pilot, father of a flying Air Force family, and a man with more than his share of leadership commands will take our dais next Thursday to share his wit, wisdom and his view of the future. Don't miss his address.

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Maj. Gen. Robert P. Steel retired on January 1, 2011. He was the Commandant, National War College, Fort Lesley J. McNair, Washington, D.C. The National War College is the senior service school in the study of national security affairs. It is composed of departmental influences to include Army, Navy, Air Force and Marine Corps, Department of Defense, Department of State, Central Intelligence Agency, National Security Agency and other executive agencies.

General Steel was born in Riverside, Calif., and graduated from the U.S. Air Force Academy in 1978 with a Bachelor of Science degree in astronautical engineering. He has commanded at the squadron, group and wing levels. The general has served on the Joint Staff as Chief, Major Theater War Section, and later as the Chief, Warfighting Analysis Division. He went on to serve as the Director of Staff and senior U.S. representative for Headquarters Allied Air Forces North of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, and subsequently commanded the U.S. Air Forces in Europe Theater Air and Space Operations Center, Headquarters USAFE. General Steel has also served as Director, Air Component Coordination Element, Multi-National Force-Iraq, Baghdad, Iraq, where he was the Combined Forces Air Component Commander's primary adviser and personal representative to the MNF-I Commander. Prior to his current assignment, he commanded the 48th Fighter Wing, Royal Air Force Lakenheath, England.

General Steel is a command pilot with more than 3,100 flying hours in a variety of aircraft, including the F-4E, F-16A/B/C/D, F-16CG, F-16CJ, F-15D, F-15E and HH-60.

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At these Speakers Luncheons you have the opportunity of meeting and networking with a unique group of remarkable individuals who have pioneered, excelled and contributed to the world of aviation. We encourage members to bring friends, guests, and introduce young people to the exploits and achievements of our distinguished members and speakers.

About Silver Wings Over Washington

2014 Silver Wings Over Washington Fraternity

Officers:
President: Ron David, 202.333.8707 
Vice President: Rear Admiral "Whitey" Feightner, U.S. Navy (Ret.)
Treasurer: Mrs. Joan Stalk
Secretary: Ray Kester, CW04 USN (Ret.)

Members of the Board: MG Joe Anderson, USMC (Ret.); Col. Randy Brandt, USAF (Ret.); Col. E.P. Deatrick USAF (Ret.); Steve Craven; Debbie Gallaway; Pete King; Capt. Bud Orr, USN (Ret.); Capt. Zip Rausa, USN (Ret.); Col. Charles Stallworth USAF (Ret.)

Silver Wings Over Washington was established by Ron David and Colonel Harry Zink in 1999 as an "off-shoot" of a larger, national aviation fraternity. SWOW meets six times each year for a "Speakers Luncheon" at the Army Navy Country Club (www.ancc.org) in Arlington at 1700 Army Navy Drive, Arlington, VA, (703) 521-6800.

SWOW members include general aviation pilots, combat pilots, air aces, airshow flyers, record setters, airline captains, air traffic controllers, test pilots, and even an astronaut or two. In short, we represent a microcosm of aviation and aviators.
  

Please post on your calendar the 2014 Speakers Luncheon Serie events at the ANCC:

January 23rd; March 26th; May 22nd; July 24th; September 25th; and November 20th, 2014

For information please contact Ron David
e-mail: rondavid@gmail.com
WDC phone: 202.333.8707

Blakey Calls for new FAA Infrstructure (9/12/11)

Blakey: Skies need 21st century technology

Published: September 12, 2011 8:18 PM
By MARION C. BLAKEY  

Photo credit: NEWSDAY/Jim Baird | Air traffic controllersat work in the JFK airport control tower in 1969. Too little has changed since those days.

Marion Blakey, president and chief executive of the Aerospace Industries Association trade group, served as the administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration between 2002 and 2007.

In the 1950s, American cars had no seat belts; drunken driving got you a small fine; and many state highways were dirt or gravel. It's hard to imagine now that we have air bags, anti-lock brakes and a national highway system. Yet, incredibly, another crucial area of transportation still uses 1950s-era infrastructure: the air traffic control system.

U.S. air traffic controllers still use basically the same radar-and-radio system developed some 60 years ago, with equipment in some cases decades old. If a controller from 1980 could time-travel to today, he could start working again with little problem. And while the solid design of these systems has kept air traffic safely aloft for a very long time, it's time for Congress to back a much-needed transformation.

The imprecision of radar and radio wasn't a problem when air traffic was relatively sparse. But our skies are growing more crowded: American airplanes carried 712 million passengers in 2010; that number is projected to rise to a billion by early next decade. More passengers mean more planes in the air at the same time, especially in highly traveled corridors like the New York City area. And more congestion means more passenger delays, more wasted time and fuel, and less margin for error.

As a result, air travel experts say the system could start to collapse, as ever-rising traffic causes gridlock in the skies and runways. And while air fatalities thankfully have come down in recent years, near-misses have not.

The Next Generation Air Transportation System, or NextGen, is a technological solution painstakingly created by the Federal Aviation Administration in cooperation with aviation experts and industry representatives. Adopting it nationwide would bring a long overdue upgrade of our air travel surveillance, communications, navigation, weather and data technologies and equipment.

This will take several years of steady, stable funding by Congress -- a challenge in the current budget climate, but one that will reap great rewards. Full implementation is expected to cost up to $25 billion of federal money over two decades, as well as a significant contribution from the airlines.President Barack Obama included some NextGen funding in the infrastructure component of the jobs bill he announced last week.

At NextGen's heart is a better way of measuring every aircraft's location: using satellites rather than radar. Right now, the GPS system in your car or smartphone is far more precise than the radar systems tracking airplanes. NextGen would convert almost every U.S. cockpit and control tower to GPS, allowing aircraft to operate closer to each other while actually increasing safety over the current system.

This will have three main benefits. Today, air travel is like driving with red lights at every intersection. Because planes move fast and radar is imprecise, air traffic controllers have to keep aircraft miles apart -- even in crowded airspace -- to avoid collisions. Flying with NextGen will be like driving through synchronized traffic lights. The system would make flying more reliable and efficient, reducing delays by at least 25 percent.

NextGen would also significantly reduce aviation's environmental footprint. By cutting delays and making flight paths more precise, fuel usage would drop by nearly 1.4 billion gallons annually by the time NextGen is fully implemented in 2025 -- even as traffic increases by almost 50 percent. One airline recently estimated the savings at 10 percent of its yearly fuel usage. And aircraft greenhouse-gas emissions will be down by 12 percent.

Most important, NextGen will enhance safety by giving pilots and controllers access to the same real-time information and vastly upgrading their ability to communicate. It's hard to think of a workplace relationship in which accurate information and communication are more crucial. But pilots communicate primarily with controllers, not with each other, by radio technology first developed in 1905. They can't share text and data -- as a backup to verify a flight-course correction, for example -- and they don't see the air traffic display controllers see. In crowded airspace, pilots sometimes have to wait precious minutes to make critical radio calls because of all the chatter. NextGen would fix these problems.

Since the Wright brothers rose above the sands of Kitty Hawk, America has been second to none in the skies thanks to our national commitment to innovation and excellence. It's time to renew that commitment.

Silver Wingers Dodge Army-Navy C.C. Construction

We have declared the summer of 2011 a "no club zone" while construction of the new ANCC-Arlington Club House continues. Read article.

Our bi-monthly meetings are scheduled to resume in September. Meanwhile, click here to view Yasmin's photos of our May meeting featuring Walter Boyne.

Another Silver Wings update will follow in August. Source: Ron David, President SWOW

Silver Wings was proud to present acclaimed aviation historian Walter Boyne to our podium again this Summer..

      Colonel Walter Boyne, best-selling author, retired USAF command pilot, past director of the National Air and Space Museum, founder of the Wingspan Television Channel, and former director of the NAA graced our podium this summer to share highlights of his most recent history: How The Helicopter Changed Modern Warfare.

     Budd Davisson, editor-in-chief of Flight Journal Magazine, calls it "a history that reads like a thriller ... packed with an immense amount of information and sometimes alarming, but illuminating, insights."

     Walter was inducted into the National Aviation Hall of Fame in 2007, and awarded the Lifetime Achievement Medal by the Air Force Association in 2010. He lives on a quiet street in suburban Maryland with his lovely wife Terri, a retired artist and designer whom he met when they were both busy creating the National Air and Space Museum on Independence Avenue which opened to the World on July fourth, 1976.

     Walter has dedicated his book to the military members of the vertical flight community who have served as "the point of the modern military sword, sometimes bursting into enemy positions with courage and panache, sometimes acting as angels of compassion, rescuing the wounded under fire. There is no way to measure their selfless bravery, and one can only admire what they have done with so demanding an instrument as the helicopter."

     Always entertaining and filled with stories, it was a treat to hear Walter at our podium again.  - RD