Planes, Trains and Automobiles

For our October Fly In, 27 DAFers, 9 planes and 2 cars joined up in Williams, Arizona. With weather threatening to move in before the departure on Sunday, there were only 6 cancellations. One group drove their car all the way and 2 planes landed in Bullhead KIFP and drove into Williams. 3 planes landed at Williams KCMR and 4 chose to use Flagstaff KFLG.

On Friday night after Happy Hour, we had a group dinner at Rod’s, a local steak house that has been in Williams on Route 66 since 1946.

On Saturday morning before the train ride to the Grand Canyon, we watched a short poker game gone wrong western shoot out. We then boarded the train for the trip to the South Rim of the Grand Canyon. Because it was the first Saturday of the month, we were being pulled by a steam locomotive. As we traveled, we were treated to fruits, pastry and drinks. Many of us enjoyed the ride from the outside platform of the Parlor Car.

As we neared our destination, it began to rain. Many of us went on a bus shuttle tour of the canyon and some others went hiking. Spectacular rainbows developed over the canyon as the rain subsided. After lunch we boarded the train for the return to Williams. On our way we were treated to local guitarists and our train was robbed.

Back in Williams, we all gathered for Happy Hour as thunder storms were moving into our area. Afterwards, small groups gathered for dinner. As the evening progressed, the thunder and lightning were giving us quite a show.

We woke up on Sunday morning to a blanketing of snow. Peter and Rick wisely arranged to have their planes in hangars for the night. The weather broke long enough that we were all able to depart and make it home.

Thank You for attending our Fly In and making our trip to Williams and the Grand Canyon a fun and memorable experience. A special thank you to Craig and Jody Narr for organizing 
a terrific fly-in. Everyone had a terrific time.

Showing off again!

It's been several years since the last DAF Group Photo, so it was time to do an update. Saturday, 50 members (plus two dogs) showed up to get in on the fun. 11 aircraft were arranged for the backdrop and new photos were shot. After that, everyone headed over to Pacific Skies to lunch on hamburgers and hot dogs. It was a great day for the shot, with perfect weather and not too much wind. 
A big thanks to everyone who worked to pull this off. Special thanks to Gary for coordinating with the TOA staff and Pacific Skies, Robert for help setting up, Linda for cooking up all the burgers and dogs, and Al Gibbs for bringing the bucket truck. Also, a big thank you to David Nicholson of David Nicholson Photography; his help getting the shot was a lifesaver!
Click on the photo to open the full size image.

Around the world in a 115 horsepower 4 seat Sling

The September 19th DAF dinner at the Palos Verdes Golf Club included a wonderful and interesting presentation about the ground breaking around-the-world flights by the designers and manufacturers of the Sling Aircraft from The Airplane Factory. Jean d’Assonville presented highlights of these adventurous undertakings in 2009, 2011 and 2015, and brought us up to date with the latest about the Sling Aircraft. This is an amazing adventure to learn about, and entertain our flying spirits with what it takes to fly around the world in a Sling airplane!!

The [DAF] Force is strong with this one

This Year’s Hangar Potluck took us to a Galaxy Far, Far Away! Over 90 adventurers, including members of the Rebel Alliance and Empire, as well as droids, villains and other colorful characters from the far reaches of the galaxy, descended on the Mos Eisley Cantina at Space Port -TOA to attend this year’s Hangar Potluck. This year we were able to use TWO adjacent hangars for the event! One with the bar and potluck dinner and one for dancing and enjoying the band, The Killer West. A big thanks to Dave & Song Klein and Craig & Hanne Ekberg for letting us use their hangars!
Although, the Vader-Ade Punch seemed to be a big hit, an unexpected shift in beverage choices of the attendees (from previous parties), required some to be a bit more flexible in their beverage, our apologies. For dinner, Mitch Taylor provided his famous brisket and the guests provided a great assortment of potluck items. The band had a good crowd on the dance floor after dinner, and a great time was had by all!
Many thanks to the Hangar Party Committee ably led by Linda Howard and the DAF board members who helped make this party happen. Thanks to TAA, WMoF, Wayne Grau, Larry Chapman and a few others for allowing us to borrow chairs, tables and equipment. And thanks to Mitch for the great photo-op backdrop and Star Wars photos. There were fewer volunteers this year for set-up, party staffing and tear-down; so a special call out to those that helped including: Wayne, Larry, John Bucher, Jim Gates, Al Gibbs, Cliff Tatum, Susan & Arvi Von Nordenflycht and Kelly Clark.    
And of course, a big thanks to all that attended, it wouldn’t be a party without YOU!
A couple side notes…
This year we lost our storage location for our party supplies and furniture, so a big thanks to TAA for allowing us to store our party supplies with you. We donated our chairs to WMoF and our tables are at the E-T’s ‘recycle site’ if you need one. Thank you to Susan and Arvi Von Nordenflycht for storing the large photo backdrop.
Also, in the weeks leading up to the party, DAF, 99s and TAA members worked with the City to clarify their policy for informal gatherings at the airport, like our Potluck. A big thanks to Patti LaGrelius, Jim Gates, Cliff Tatum and Anne O’Brien; also to Councilman Tim Goodrich for his guidance. This party may not have happened without their efforts. And as a result, the city and DAF now have a clear policy to follow for such events.