Our wonderful 2019 Holiday Party
The Del Amo Flyers Holiday Party was full of holiday charm with a good time had by all! Everyone cleaned up quite nicely for this festive occasion at PVGC. Vince and Heather La Duca created the beautiful and illuminated table decorations that brought the holiday spirit to every table. We enjoyed wonderful fellowship, delicious food, along with terrific entertainment by the live band who kept the dance floor hopping. Steve Sappington thanked all the volunteers that contributed this year’s successful fly-ins, dinners and events. He also thanked the 2019 Board of Directors for their service, but delayed the announcement of the 2020 Board until January, as a couple vacancies are in need of galant volunteers.
ROBINSON - OUR PRODUCTIVE NEIGHBOR AT KTOA!
We had a great turnout for our November 20 dinner with speaker Kurt Robinson, President and CEO of Robinson Helicopter Company. Kurt started out by sharing a bit of what it was like growing up in the Robinson household on Longhill Drive in Rancho Palos Verdes. In 1973, his living room, family room and garage served as the beginnings of the very successful Robinson Helicopter Company started in their home by Kurt's father Frank. Kurt didn't think it was unusual, doesn't everyone have a budding business developing in their family home? Doesn't everyone have technical drawings all over their dining room table? Kurt shared with us about the expansion of the business that would eventually take them to a 600,000 sq. foot manufacturing facility located at Torrance Municipal Airport. Clearly Frank Robinson, trained as an aeronautical engineer in Seattle at the U of W, had the determination and vision to make it happen.Frank Robinson's vision was to produce the world’s highest quality, most reliable helicopters in the most efficient, cost-effective way possible. It became apparent over the years that their helicopters, in addition to personal use, would become useful in many commercial operations worldwide, including police, news agencies, cattle herding and cargo hauling. The R-66 Marine is also equipped with inflatable floats for over water travel.
Safety and training is a huge focus with Robinson Helicopter Company, with intense training available domestically as well as overseas. There have even been several Around-the-World trips taken in both the R-44 and R-66 Turbine. Since Robinson discourages any high risk flying, they are very happy when those trips are completed! The company continues to expand with various types of R-22's, R-44's and R-66's with more specialized purposes. There is also a focus now on manufacturing diesel helicopters. To date, Robinson Helicopter Company has delivered over 12,000 helicopters worldwide.
They manufacture over 300 units a year and sell most of them overseas. It is a terrific benefit having Robinson based at KTOA, ensuring many years of local flying opportunities for all of us. We thank Kurt for sharing with us about the past, present and future of his thriving company, in addition for the opportunity to tour his facility in February.
Adventurers charmed by Alamos
On Friday, November 1, seven airplanes and 21 people arrived in Alamos, Sonora, Mexico for a relaxing fun and sun filled long weekend. All entered the country officially in Guaymas, then upon arrival at Alamos, we got the party started with margaritas and snacks in the huge 12 plane hangar. The weather was warm but nice with evenings quite pleasant. The weekend included delicious dining choices at several dining locations where no one went hungry....or thirsty for that matter! The group was entertained nightly by a variety of authentic Mexican musicians, including the vibrant Ballet Folklorico (dancers, singers and musicians, 60 people in all) from the nearby town of Navojoa. For the early risers, on three mornings we had the option of taking a guided walking tour through various parts of town, plus we were treated to an Alamos history talk one late morning. Those interesting walks and talks were led by Hacienda de los Santos owner Jim Swickard or his son-in-law Ramon Alcantar. The Sonoran Cooking Class and the Tequila Class were well attended by eager learners! Hiking, horseback riding and bicycling were popular options too as was lounging and swimming at the numerous pools. A dozen folks boarded a tram to visit the local cemetery where the Day of the Dead (October 31 – November 2 each year) traditions were taking place which included prayer and remembrance of friends and family members who have passed way. It was a memorable experience not to be forgotten! The Swickard/Alcantar families and staff at the Hacienda de Los Santos were quite attentive to the needs of the group, tending to every little detail!
After Alamos, two planes took off for more adventures, one to El Fuerte to catch the train up the mountain to visit Mexico’s Copper Canyon (larger and deeper than our Grand Canyon), and another headed to San Carlos for beach and sailing fun! Travelling to Mexico often includes additional challenges for pilots….and this trip was no exception! However, those challenges were resolved and all planes that travelled returned safely.
Thank you to Patti and Tom LaGrelius for organizing such a memorable trip.
The October 2019 Mystery Fly-In
October 12th 2019 was the Del Amo Flyer's annual Mystery Fly-inWe had 6 Teams which ended up being 11.5 contestants.
The test was composed of 27 questions for a total of 205 points.
It was a timed quiz, so in addition to answering questions correctly, points are awarded or deducted according to the total time used to take the quiz.
First, a little review of a couple of questions:
What is this?
b. Young Eagles Excellence Award
c. DAF Jim Gerlach Memorial Air Rally Trophy
d. None of the above
Extra Credit – Used in a tie breaker
Which Fly-in this year had the greatest attendance? ____________
And a scrambler, shame shame shame...
LAEDLSEYMOFR __________________________
After the tests were in, teams had to unscramble to determine where they where headed.
A scrambler works well for this:
RNLFLYEACHVE __________________________
Everyone headed out once they turned in their destinations.
It ended up being a wonderful weather day, we all met up at the restaurant in French Valley for a great lunch and ended up with 13.5 people.
Now on to the answers:
What is this?
is...
c. DAF Jim Gerlach Memorial Air Rally Trophy
Extra Credit – Used in a tie breaker
Answer: Bermuda Dunes had the greatest attendance of 45 people
The scramble... LAEDLSEYMOFR Answer: Del Amo Flyers
On to the results:
We had:
6 Teams
11.5 contestants
2 committee
27 questions
Perfect score would be 205
High Score 155
Low 45
And the winner was: Mitch Taylor