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Aprilfly-inThe April fly-in to Placerville was a victim of the weather. As Friday approached, the forecast was for rain and possible thunderstorms for the Placerville area, from Friday afternoon on through Saturday. After careful analysis of the outlook, Larry and Jodie made the call to cancel the fly-in, and put Placerville on the list for another day. 

April Dinner reportThe April dinner meeting's presentation featured author Richard Foss who entertained us with both the history of Ballooning and Zeppelin travel as well as the dining while aboard these airships. It was fascinating to learn about the technology that enabled the dining experience during the glamorous days of the early air travel era of giant airships. If anyone is interested exploring air dining further, Richard will be giving a free program on "Food in Outer Space - From Tubes and Cubes to Space Espresso" for a meeting of the Culinary Historians of Southern California (Mark Taper Auditorium, L.A. Downtown Central Library) on June 13th at 10:30 AM.

Future Programs: If you have any ideas for a program or you would like to present a program, please email or contact Steve Sappington and Nancy Schunke at 310-375-6598.

The March dinner meeting's presentation was about how Southern California won the battle for the skies in WWII. Local historic military aircraft production was the topic as the speaker, author Dana Parker, shared historic photos and insights from his new book, "Building Victory,: Aircraft Manufacturing in the Los Angeles Area in World War II." Parker extensively researched the numerous Southland aircraft factories which employed thousands of local residents in the early 1940's.

Our March flypin was a lunch fly-in to Santa Ynez airport, with a catered BBQ. Larry and Jodie did a great job of planning and arranging, and the weather cooperated as well, although a bit sullenly. The overcast at Torrance cleared just in time to get everyone there before the food had a chance to cool, while the weather at Santa Ynez was just about perfect. 30 people made the trip, in about 12 aircraft. Good food, good company, and a great day all around.

The dinner meeting's presentation was "Wings: Grandeur In The Sky," a documentary that highlights the aerial and cinematic achievements of the 1927 film "Wings," the first film to win an Academy Award for Best Picture and a triumph of silent cinema. The documentary gave great insight into the difficulties in making the film and how they achieved the aeronautical stunts and filmed the amazing aerial sequences. The movie "Wings" will be playing at the Old Town Music Hall in El Segundo with live organ accompaniment March 13-15. If you would like to join Steve and Nancy at the OTMH, Saturday 14 March, give them a call.

Our February Fly-in was a complex operation, with airport transportation, a buffet lunch, and tours of the Mission Inn all combined with uncertain weather. The DAF came through with flying colors (or in some cases, driving colors), with more than 35 people arriving at the Inn on time for the buffet lunch (with some amazing desserts!). Peter did yeoman's work as chauffer, shuttling the people who made the flight from the airport to the Inn. Our tour guides were extremely knowledgable about the long and varied history of the Mission Inn, and provided an excellent perspective on the Inn and it's guests. Many thanks to Liz and Peter for all their work.