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The Del Amo Flyers started Christmas off with a bang, dancing and celebrating another great year. It was great to see everyone dressed up, and spirits were high (as well as flowing freely)! Palos Verdes Golf Club had the place looking festive, with decorations all around. In Contempt (the band, not our attitude) provided great dance music that got everyone out on the floor until the very end, and the food was very good. Many thanks to Patti LaGrelius for her efforts in making the arrangements; it was a job well done!
The 2018 DAF board was introduced, and we have some new blood this year. Kelvin Vanderlip has joined the board as Webmaster, Gary Palmer is the new Membership director, and Vince and Heather La Duca will be handling Dinner/Door. Patti LaGrelius has stepped up as President, taking over from Larry (who seems to think flying down from Placerville for every dinner and board meeting is a little much. What a wimp!). Mitch Taylor is now Treasurer (a scary thought), James Pavlick is the new Secretary, and Robert Beckwith has taken the reins at Fly-ins. Linda Howard will continue with Decorations, Maggie Smith and Laurice Churchill will keep up their great work with Programs, and Steve Sappington and Nancy Schunke are our Photographers. 
We're looking forward to another fantastic year, with some interesting programs and unique fly-in destinations. Happy New Year!

There were 18 of us who made the trek down to San Carlos in 6 airplanes, landing at nearby Guaymas Airport. The weather there was perfect. The Marina Terra Hotel and Spa provided a nice logistical location for the group as many went kayaking, stand-up paddle boarding and snorkeling at the hotel beach club nearby. On Algodones Beach, we had takers for horseback swimming (yes, they took the horses in the ocean!) and others went regular horseback riding on the beach. The dolphins gave us a fantastic show as did the sunset on our Hattie Annie Margarita Sunset Cruise. The margaritas weren’t bad either! Our “toes in the sand” dining at Sunsets was a real treat as we watched the sunset and listened to a local band. Nearby the popular Soggy Peso Bar received some of our “soggy pesos’ during the weekend. Rumor has it that Sally and Eric Kinder made it to the top of Tetakawi Mountain, the well-known landmark in the middle of San Carlos. It’s quite a hike but the view is breathtaking. Kudos to Sally and Eric! For a little down time, the pool and jacuzzi were popular. On our last night we had 16 of us in the jacuzzi after dinner! Overall it was a fun trip with a fantastic group of people. Thank you Patti and Tom for arranging a fantastic trip and for sharing your favorite Mexico getaway with fellow DAFers!

For the November program the  “Ettinger Total Luck Quotient” was presented by Colonel Robert C. Ettinger USAF (Ret). Based on live and repeatable test results it was truly an incredible story.... Fighter aircraft, pitch black night, 15 foot waves, 56 degree water and finally the long awaited rescue by brave sailors of the Japanese Maritime Safety Agency. Thanks again to Colonel Ettinger for his service and sharing his amazing survival story!

You could cut the tension with a knife as DAFers waited to hear the results of the October 10 Mystery Fly-In at the October dinner meeting on October 18. Many DAFers had been preparing themselves for many months to face the grueling written test that would reveal the mystery fly-in location.

But before fly-in czar Mitch Taylor revealed who would win the coveted Mystery Fly-In trophy, fellow DAFer Dave Hopkins delivered a comprehensive update on the status of Santa Monica Airport. He noted that closure of the airport would set up a dangerous precedent that could affect TOA’s future. And even if SMO’s closure didn’t directly threaten TOA, the increased traffic directed from a closed SMO would certainly complicate and add to congestion at TOA.
Mitch then provided an overview of the fly-in test and provided the correct answers to both the difficult and not-so-difficult questions (the long-standing rule that anyone who contested a question would be response for organizing the following year’s fly-in kept challenges to a minimum). Finally, Mitch revealed the team with the highest test score: Team Hahn.  Congratulations to Curtis and Lisa!

And none of this would have been possible without the hard work of Mitch, Steve, Nancy, Robert, Dan, Bob and Lynn in creating and helping to administer the test. Thanks, DAFers.