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

How the Helicopter Changed Modern Warfare

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 on May 26th 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."

Click here to view Yasmin's photos of this event.

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 what this highly respected man of letters and experiences had to say about the future of military flight.

Watch for news of our upcoming September meeting. - RD

Remembering NASM Artist Robert McCall

Artist Robert McCall, who helped illustrate the Space Age for America, passed away on February 26th of a heart attack. He was born in Ohio in 1919.

Every single member of our Silver Wings Fraternity has viewed McCall's captivating perception of space as he or she entered the NASM museum on Independence Avenue. It was completed and waiting to be seen when the great museum first opened on July 4th, 1976. I was working on the premises at the time and watched McCall paint his wonderful larger-than-life mural.It has remained right on the same wall ever since.

Raised on a diet of science fiction, McCall knew he wanted to be an artist when he was 8 years old, but he was also passionately interested in science and technology, especially aviation. After high school, he won a scholarship to the Columbus Fine Art School. While attending school, he worked for a local sign shop, making posters and advertising billboards. He joined the Army Air Corps during World War II, but the war ended before he was sent overseas.

McCall and his new wife, Louise Harrup, moved to Chicago, where he worked as an advertising artist, while aiming "to become a first-rank illustrator, like Norman Rockwell or N.C. Wyeth." They moved to New York in 1949, and he continued to work in advertising art, but also began painting magazine illustrations for the likes of Life, The Saturday Evening Post, and Popular Science.

With the coming of the space program in the 1950s, McCall writes, as aviation moved from planes to rockets, so did he. "It was visually dramatic. All of the buildup to a manned launch, so theatrical and dramatic. It really inspired me." In the middle of the decade, the Air Force started inviting artists to visit their facilities and paint about the experience; McCall jumped at the chance. "I got to fly in all the aircraft. I'd go to great lengths to get permission to fly in the backseat of a jet fighter." When NASA instituted a similar program, again, McCall was at the front of the line. He also created several mission patches for NASA, including those of Apollo 17 (the last manned mission to the Moon) and the first and third Space Shuttle missions. Many of his paintings have been donated to the Pentagon, the Air Force Academy, air bases, and NASA. - Ron David

On approach to Narita

I'm currently still in one piece, writing from my room in the Narita crew hotel. It's 8am. This is my inaugural trans-pacific trip as a brand new, recently checked out, international 767 Captain and it has been interesting, to say the least, so far. I've crossed the Atlantic three times so far so the oceancrossing procedures were familiar.

By the way, stunning scenery flying over the Aleutian Islands. Everything was going fine until 100 miles out from Tokyo and in the descent for arrival. The first indication of any trouble was that Japan air traffic control started putting everyone into holding patterns. At first we thought it was usual congestion on arrival. Then we got a company data link message advising about the earthquake, followed by another stating Narita airport was temporarily closed for inspection and expected to open shortly (the company is always so positive).

From our perspective things were obviously looking a little different. The Japanese controller's anxiety level seemed quite high and he said expect "indefinite" holding time. No one would commit to a time frame on that so I got my copilot and relief pilot busy looking at divert stations and our fuel situation, which, after an ocean crossing is typically low.

It wasn't long, maybe ten minutes, before the first pilots started requesting diversions to other airports. Air Canada, American, United, etc. all reporting minimal fuel situations. I still had enough fuel for 1.5 to 2.0 hours of holding. Needless to say, the diverts started complicating the situation.

Japan air traffic control then announced Narita was closed indefinitely due to damage. Planes immediately started requesting arrivals into Haneada, near Tokyo, a half dozen JAL and western planes got clearance in that direction but then ATC announced Haenada had just closed. Uh oh! Now instead of just holding, we all had to start looking at more distant alternatives like Osaka, or Nagoya.

One bad thing about a large airliner is that you can't just be-pop into any little airport. We generally need lots of runway. With more planes piling in from both east and west, all needing a place to land and several now fuel critical ATC was getting over-whelmed. In the scramble, and without waiting for my fuel to get critical, I got my flight a clearance to head for Nagoya, fuel situation still okay. So far so good. A few minutes into heading that way, I was "ordered" by ATC to reverse course. Nagoya was saturated with traffic and unable to handle more planes (read- airport full). Ditto for Osaka.

With that statement, my situation went instantly from fuel okay, to fuel minimal considering we might have to divert a much farther distance. Multiply my situation by a dozen other aircraft all in the same boat, all making demands requests and threats to ATC for clearances somewhere. Air Canada and then someone else went to "emergency" fuel situation. Planes started to heading for air force bases. The nearest to Tokyo was Yokoda AFB. I threw my hat in the ring for that initially. The answer - Yokoda closed! no more space.

By now it was a three ring circus in the cockpit, my copilot on the radios, me flying and making decisions and the relief copilot buried in the air charts trying to figure out where to go that was within range while data link messages were flying back and forth between us and company dispatch in Atlanta. I picked Misawa AFB at the north end of Honshu island. We could get there with minimal fuel remaining. ATC was happy to get rid of us so we cleared out of themaelstrom of the Tokyo region. We heard ATC try to send planes toward Sendai, a small regional airport on the coast which was later the one I think that got flooded by a tsunami.

Atlanta dispatch then sent us a message asking if we could continue to Chitose airport on the Island of Hokkaido, north of Honshu. Other Delta planes were heading that way. More scrambling in the cockpit - check weather, check charts, check fuel, okay. We could still make it and not be going into a fuel critical situation ... if we had no other fuel delays. As we approached Misawa we got clearance to continue to Chitose. Critical decision thought process. Let's see - trying to help company - plane overflies perfectly good divert airport for one farther away...wonder how that will look in the safety report, if anything goes wrong.

Suddenly ATC comes up and gives us a vector to a fix well short of Chitose and tells us to standby for holding instructions. Nightmare realized. Situation rapidly deteriorating. After initially holding near Tokyo, starting a divert to Nagoya, reversing course back to Tokyo then to re-diverting north toward Misawa, all that happy fuel reserve that I had was vaporizing fast. My subsequent conversation, paraphrased of course...., went something like this:

"Sapporo Control - Delta XX requesting immediate clearance direct to Chitose, minimum fuel, unable hold."

"Negative Ghost-Rider, the Pattern is full" -Top Gun quote

"Sapporo Control - make that - Delta XX declaring emergency, low fuel, proceeding direct Chitose"

"Roger Delta XX, understood, you are cleared direct to Chitose, contact Chitose approach....etc...."

Enough was enough, I had decided to preempt actually running critically low on fuel while in another indefinite holding pattern, especially after bypassing Misawa, and played my last ace...declaring an emergency. The problem with that is now I have a bit of company paperwork to do but what the heck.

As it was - landed Chitose, safe, with at least 30 minutes of fuel remaining before reaching a "true" fuel emergency situation. That's always a good feeling, being safe. They taxied us off to some remote parking area where we shut down and watched a half dozen or more other airplanes come streaming in. In the end, Delta had two 747s, my 767 and another 767 and a 777 all on the ramp at Chitose. We saw two American airlines planes, a United and two Air Canada as well. Not to mention several extra Al Nippon and Japan Air Lines planes.

Post-script - 9 hours later, Japan air lines finally got around to getting a boarding ladder to the plane where we were able to get off and clear customs. - that however, is another interesting story.

By the way - while writing this - I have felt four additional tremors that shook the hotel slightly - all in 45 minutes.

Cheers,

(name withheld)

NEXTGEN Will Impact everyone of us who flies

One of our most popular Luncheon Speakers, Mr. Jack Kies, rejoined us in 2010 to walk us through the most complex remake to date of America's National Air traffic System. This rendition is being called "Nextgen", and Jack knows it better than almost anyone else because he helped parent it.

We first met Jack when he was head of the FAA's universal system command Center. Now he is TOPGUN at Metro Corporation and lives in the crosshairs of the National Airspace System everyday. In this writer's humble opinion, no one is better suited for the job.

What Is NextGen?

FAA literature describes NextGen as an umbrella term for the ongoing, wide-ranging transformation of the United States’ national airspace system (NAS).

At its most basic level, NextGen represents an evolution from a ground-based system of air traffic control to a satellite-based system of air traffic management. This evolution is vital to meeting future demand, and avoid to gridlock in the sky and at our nation’s airports.

NextGen opens America’s skies to continued growth and increased safety while reducing aviation’s environmental impact.

These goals will be realized through the development of aviation-specific applications for existing, widely-used technologies such as Global Positioning Satellite (GPS). They will also be realized through the fostering of technological innovation in areas such as weather forecasting, data networking, and digital communications. Hand in hand with state-of-the-art technology will be new airport infrastructure and new procedures, including the shifting of certain decision-making responsibility from the ground to the cockpit.

When fully implemented, NextGen will safely allow more aircraft to fly more closely together on more direct routes, reducing delays, and providing unprecedented benefits for the environment and the economy through reductions in carbon emissions, fuel consumption, and noise.

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Posted By Ron David to Silver Wings Over Washington at 3/08/2010 17:23:00 PM

Silver Wings Over Washington - Mission Statement

2012 Silver Wings Over Washington

Officers: 

Ron David, President; Adm. Whitey Feightner, USN (Ret.), Vice President; Joan Stalk, Treasurer; Ray Kester, CW04 USN (Ret.), Secretary

Board of Governors: Col. Randy Brandt, USAF (Ret.); Col. E.P.Deatrick USAF (Ret.); Steve Craven; Debbie Gallaway; Pete King; Capt. Zip Rausa, USN (Ret.); Col. Charles Stallworth USAF (Ret.)

Our mission is to provide an educational foundation that inspires, advocates, and fosters a venue for learning through aviation, especially for the younger generation; a forum for networking among members, colleagues and friends with outstanding speakers and camaraderie across the board. "What's Past is Prologue"


The Silver Wings Fraternity is comprised of a wonderful 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 noteworthy exploits and achievements of our distinguished members and speakers. In the past we have hosted prominent speakers who presented contemporary and historical topics relating to aviation, space, and a variety of military accomplishments. 

Your blog editor is Ron David and your online producer is R.N. Jurgenson

Silver Wings Speakers Luncheon: David Pearce, Laura Kelley, RD - January 22, 2010

Do you plan to attend our luncheon? Click here to make sure your name is on our list. Haven't reserved yet? Call us at (202) 588-9055

JANUARY AGENDA: Pledge of Allegiance, Invocation, Election. Speakers: David Pearce, John Kay, Tareq Salahi, Laura Kelly, and Ron's Video

Election of officers. A slate has been prepared which includes the following:

Officers: Ron David, President, Whitey Feightner, Vice President, Joan Stalk, Treasurer, Linda Wells, Secretary.

Members of the Board: "Randy" Brandt, Gil Coshland, Steve Craven, Ron Gatewood, Laura Kelly, "Mac" McMahon.

Nominations from the floor are welcome.

We will salute Silver Winger David Pearce who has been honored by the FAA with the prestigious Wright Brothers Master Pilot Award. David was recognized recently in a ceremony at his home base, Leesburg Airport, for having demonstrated professionalism, skill and aviation expertise by maintaining safe operations for 50 or more years of active flying. The FAA's Phyllis Duncan made the presentation. We can all be extremely proud of David's half Century of contributions to aviation.

The first recorded aerial assault on an enemy force by ship-based warplanes occurred in 1915 when British aircraft attacked Imperial German Zeppelin sheds in Cuxhaven, Lower Saxony. Hampered by bad weather, the result of the raid was mixed, but it is remembered as the first aerial raid by ship-based aircraft of all time. Retired British journalist and SWOW member John Kay will provide an exclusive report.

The Battle of the Coral Sea will be remembered by a flight of vintage aircraft this Spring when polo teams representing the United States and Australia compete for the Land Rover America's Polo Cup in Potomac, Maryland. Match dates will coincide with the 67th commemoration of the fierce air sea battle which lasted four days in May of 1942. International polo star and co-founder of the America's Polo Cup Tareq Salahi will be on hand at our meeting to give us the scoop about the event.

USS Lexington receives fatal hit May 8, 1942
during Coral Sea Battle

On the Wings of a Dream is the title of Silver Winger Laura Kelly's book about Jim Griffis, a WWII ace who also served two years in a German POW camp. The book is much more than a biography because it also encompasses a short history of aerial combat and even includes an interview with a German fighter pilot. Laura is an aerobatic pilot and flies helicopters for the US Army.

NTSB says: Wake Turbulence From 767 Likely Caused Mexican Lear Crash

The crash of a Learjet in Mexico City that was originally suspected to be the result of terrorism and sabotage has now been determined to be the result of wake turbulence caused by improper inflight aircraft management.

The following information has just been released by the NTSB. It was submitted to Silver Wings by Jim Davis.

US and Mexican investigators speculate the downing of a Learjet 45 in Mexico City on November 4 was caused by the combination of wake turbulence from a landing airliner and the pilots’ unfamiliarity with the aircraft.

The plane’s cockpit data recorder, analyzed by the National Transportation Safety Board in Washington, DC, revealed the pilots' last words – "Diosito" (My little God) – in their struggle to regain control of the aircraft as it encountered severe wake turbulence.

Theories of sabotage have been all but ruled out in the deaths of all nine persons on board, including Mexico's Interior Minister, Juan Camilo Mouriño, and José Luis Santiago Vasconcelos, well known for his fight against drug cartels.

Pilot Martín Oliva, 39, and co-pilot Alvaro Sánchez, 58, have been defended by their families as responsible, serious professionals, the Dallas Morning News reported.

But at a news conference, Mexico's Communications and Transportation Minister Luis Telléz said, "The investigation revealed apparent deficiencies in the training and certification process of both [pilots]," and alleged the pilots failed to follow ATC instructions.

As the Learjet approached Mexico City, it was sequenced behind a Boeing 767-300 and given instructions to reduce airspeed in order to maintain proper spacing behind the airliner, Telléz said. But the pilots took over a minute to comply with the speed reduction, putting their plane just 4 nm behind the much larger 767.

Investigators said that wake turbulence from the 767 caused the Learjet to crash within 30 seconds, evidenced by the plane's Cockpit Voice Recorder:

Pilot: "That one's got some turbulence."

Co-pilot: "Hey man."

Pilot: "Hey [expletive]."

Later:

Pilot: "Alvaro, what do we do, Alvaro?"

Co-pilot: "Hand it over to me, hand it over to me, hand it over to me."

Pilot: "It's yours Alvaro."

Pilot: "[expletive]"

Pilot: "No, Alvaro."

Co-pilot: "Diosito."

-30-