Wings

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.

Mission Accomplished

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.

Happy Bottoms!

The January dinner meeting's presentation featured a documentary which chronicled the thrilling life and extraordinary times of aviation pioneer Florence Lowe "Pancho" Barnes, an accomplished pilot and entrepreneur of the early 20th Century. In the 1920s and 30s, Barnes broke Amelia Earhart's air-speed record and became Hollywood's top woman stunt pilot. In the 1940s and 50s, she owned and operated the famous "Happy Bottom Riding Club", a fly-in resort located near Edwards Air Force Base and immortalized in the book and film "The Right Stuff." The award winning documentary gave great insight into the life of one of the most colorful and accomplished women pilots of the early 20th Century. Thanks to Larry Chapman for editing and setting up the program.

Showtime!

The first fly-in or rather drive-in of 2015 was a lot of fun! Good thing we did a drive-in because the weather was overcast and rainy.   We had a great turn out with about 50 DAFers going to see the movie "Unbroken" and 37 dining at the Red Onion.  The movie was really hard to watch but I think we all were glad we saw it.  There is absolutely no doubt that Louis Zamperini was a  hero.  The Mexican dinner was very good and I think we all had a great time.  Thanks for coming!  Liz and Peter