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October's dinner meeting featured fellow DAFer Fritz Probst, who related some of his flying experiences in the USAF and at Northrop, both in the US and overseas. One of the highlights of Fritz's presentation was describing his long relationship with aviation legend Bob Hoover.

A few attendees wore costumes (though not as many as in past October meetings) - Jodie and Larry Chapman won the costume contest and each took home a bottle of wine.

Twenty-three DAFers in nine aircraft descended into Columbia Airport (O22) Friday October 11 for a spectacular fall weekend. The leaves were turning, the days were warm and nights cool - it could not have been better weather. Eleven of us stayed at the airport's well-kept campground, while everyone else lodged in nearby Sonora. The campers had use of the campground's kitchen pavilion for the weekend, and hosted the "townies" on Friday night for a a tri-tip and chicken dinner (grilling courtesy of master chef Mitch).

On Saturday, many of us walked around historic Columbia, where a Fall Crafts Fair was being held. On Saturday evening, it was Happy Hour at the townies' hotel followed by a group dinner in neighboring Jamestown. The weekend demonstrated that with a adequate supply of beverages, even life-embracing campers and buttoned-down townies can all get along. Thanks to Larry and Jodie Chapman for organizing this fun weekend.

Eighteen DAFers in six aircraft landed on Kern Valley's 3600' runway on a blustery Saturday, September 21. Unfortunately, IFR conditions at Torrance prevented some pilots and passengers from attending, but for those who made it, a fine lunch at the airport cafe was waiting. We all would have loved to have seen Lambi's short approach in his King Air - but as he always seems to arrive first, there sadly were no witnesses.

Joe Cogan and Craig Narr were responsible for organizing this event, which as far as we can tell, consisted of a phone call to the cafe to make sure they could accommodate us. For this kind of effort, I'm smelling Wings award.

The September 17dinner meeting featured Craig Post, who is in charge of designing and planning the tours on the battleship Iowa. His presentation covered the history of the Iowa, which was the last lead ship of any class of United States battleships and was the only ship of her class to have served in the Atlantic Ocean during World War II. The main advantages of the battleship were its heavy armor and big guns. Located at Berth 87 at the Port of LA, the ship is now open for partial tours. The tours are broken into small groups because of the tight quarters and involve a lot of stair & ladder climbing, so be forewarned. Many thanks to Craig Post for his excellent presentation.

Important announcements made at the well-attended dinner meeting included the news that Willie the Shark, who escaped from the August hangar party, has yet to be found. An attempt to embarrass Curtis by announcing his birthday also failed. A good time was had by all.