CARS, FOOD AND PLANES - A GREAT COMBO
Our January drive-in was well attended with 34 DAFers showing up to Automobile Driving Museum in the pouring rain! It was a great day for a museum drive-in as a fly-in would not have worked out so well though it did clear up later. We learned much on our tours from docents Dick and Maurice, who were educational and quite passionate about the antique, muscle and vintage cars there. We even saw electric cars from 1922 and 1975! Who knew? This museum is a little gem in an industrial part of El Segundo and even includes an old-school ice cream parlor and event space for 300. After getting our fill of these unique cars, the group met at the nearby Proud Bird Food Bazaar and Events Center where we had lunch from the Food Bazaar, which offers many different varieties of delicious food. We dined together with a view of planes taking off rather than short final due to wind conditions. After lunch 15 of us took a docent led tour by Jacob who eagerly shared history of the restaurant, interior displays and aircraft on display outside of the restaurant. Some of us relaxed for a bit more after the tour, chatting, enjoying the view and the beautiful, but still cloudy day after the rain passed.
Dinner with Barbara H. Schultz, Aviation Historian
We started the year off with a terrific program in January from Barbara H. Schultz, Aviation Historian, Author and Speaker. She presented research from her book, Cliff Henderson: Visionary Leader. Her passion for her research is quite evident as she shared fascinating details about this extraordinary man who seized opportunities and turned them info reality. A tremendous amount of time was also taken in her research. Cliff was Managing Director for the National Air Races, entertaining thousands each year with thrills along with new records being set under his guidance. In 1945 Cliff founded the city of Palm Desert, a vision he had for 20 years. Cliff's "town of promise and expectancy" was a reality. Barbara has written four other aviation related books, again capturing great detail in her research. More info on her books can be found at littlebuttesbooks.com. We appreciate Barbara taking the time to present her research for this book to the club.
The Holiday party was a smashing success
The Del Amo Flyers Holiday Party was a smashing success with a good time had by all! Everyone cleaned up quite nicely for this festive occasion. We enjoyed wonderful fellowship, delicious food, along with terrific entertainment by the In Contempt Band who kept the dance floor full. An added treat was the live auction of the Mos Eisley Cantina sign created by Mitch Taylor for our Star Wars themed August Hangar Potluck. Tom LaGrelius served as auctioneer and a bidding war took place with the winning bid being $500 from Larry Chapman. This sign will make a nice addition to Larry and Jodie's new hangar in Placerville. Thanks for the nice donation to DAF Larry and Jodie!
Patti LaGrelius handed off the presidency to Steve Sappington who appears to be up for the challenge! The old Board of Directors was thanked and the new Board of Directors was introduced. There was some juggling around of positions, with Maggie Smith stepping down from the board (thanks Maggie for your four years of service!) and the addition of Larry Weinstein who will photograph our exciting activities. Welcome Larry!
And the Winner Is...
For November, we had a "two fer" program. First, there was the exciting conclusion to the DAF Annual Mystery Fly-in. Mitch went through the test in excruciating detail, only breaking things up with a scene from "Flying Down to Rio" showing a bevy of beauties wingwalking (and wingdancing) in a musical interlude. (For those who missed it or just want to see it again, the link is here). The results of the test were surprisingly close, with only 10 points seperating the best and the worst. However, the bar was set fairly low: the high score was 71 out of a possible 285! It's good that we were grading on the curve. The coveted Myfy Trophy went to Lambi Haralambos and Craig Narr; way to go, guys!After the presentation, there was a short inspirational video by Janine Shepherd. As a cross country skier headed for the Olympics, she was hit by a truck while on a training bike ride. Her injuries were so severe that she was told she would never walk again, and even her survival was called into doubt. She decided to become a pilot, and used flying as an inspiration to drive her rehabilitation. She worked at physical therapy to not only become a pilot, but recover the use of her legs and become an aerobatics flying instructor. It was a great video and a remarkable story. Thanks to Maggie and Laurice for showing it!