's Mystery Fly-in was a real head scratcher this year. Our elite group of test subjects spent the first part of the morning mulling over the devious questions our fly-in committee came up with. It became clear that they had taken obfuscation to a new level as groans were heard from the crowd. After working through the test and unscrambling the airport name to find our destination, the intrepid group headed out to lunch at San Gabriel Valley Airport (better known as El Monte Airport). THe usual Mystery Jinx showed up as well; Kelvin had a bum brake in his 150 that kept him grounded, and Robert's group in the Bonanza did a return to base with a power issue. For the 12 people that made it to lunch it was a nice flight over and an excellent lunch. The flight back was hazier, as the smoke from the Woolsey fire had started to blow in. Otherwise, another great flight and fly-in!
For our October Fly In, 27 DAFers, 9 planes and 2 cars joined up in Williams, Arizona. With weather threatening to move in before the departure on Sunday, there were only 6 cancellations. One group drove their car all the way and 2 planes landed in Bullhead KIFP and drove into Williams. 3 planes landed at Williams KCMR and 4 chose to use Flagstaff KFLG.On Friday night after Happy Hour, we had a group dinner at Rod’s, a local steak house that has been in Williams on Route 66 since 1946.
On Saturday morning before the train ride to the Grand Canyon, we watched a short poker game gone wrong western shoot out. We then boarded the train for the trip to the South Rim of the Grand Canyon. Because it was the first Saturday of the month, we were being pulled by a steam locomotive. As we traveled, we were treated to fruits, pastry and drinks. Many of us enjoyed the ride from the outside platform of the Parlor Car.
As we neared our destination, it began to rain. Many of us went on a bus shuttle tour of the canyon and some others went hiking. Spectacular rainbows developed over the canyon as the rain subsided. After lunch we boarded the train for the return to Williams. On our way we were treated to local guitarists and our train was robbed.
Back in Williams, we all gathered for Happy Hour as thunder storms were moving into our area. Afterwards, small groups gathered for dinner. As the evening progressed, the thunder and lightning were giving us quite a show.
We woke up on Sunday morning to a blanketing of snow. Peter and Rick wisely arranged to have their planes in hangars for the night. The weather broke long enough that we were all able to depart and make it home.
Thank You for attending our Fly In and making our trip to Williams and the Grand Canyon a fun and memorable experience. A special thank you to Craig and Jody Narr for organizing
a terrific fly-in. Everyone had a terrific time.
Where to? Join us at the Torrance General Aviation Center at 10:00 Am on November 10th and find out!November 10th is the Del Amo Flyer's annual Mystery Fly-in, to points unknown (at least as of yet)! We'll meet at the GAC, where there will be a little quiz to test your aeronautical, historical and local knowledge. As usual, your work on the quiz will provide the location of our destination. Once the tests are in, we'll head out for a group lunch. The tests will be scored by our dedicated mystery fly-in committee, and the winner will be announced at the next dinner meeting!
In case of bad weather, we'll be rescheduling to the 17th; check with Mitch (treasurer @ delamoflyers.org) if it's marginal for notification of the change. Don't miss out on the fun!
It's been several years since the last DAF Group Photo, so it was time to do an update. Saturday, 50 members (plus two dogs) showed up to get in on the fun. 11 aircraft were arranged for the backdrop and new photos were shot. After that, everyone headed over to Pacific Skies to lunch on hamburgers and hot dogs. It was a great day for the shot, with perfect weather and not too much wind. A big thanks to everyone who worked to pull this off. Special thanks to Gary for coordinating with the TOA staff and Pacific Skies, Robert for help setting up, Linda for cooking up all the burgers and dogs, and Al Gibbs for bringing the bucket truck. Also, a big thank you to David Nicholson of David Nicholson Photography; his help getting the shot was a lifesaver!
Click on the photo to open the full size image.
Eight airplanes and sixteen DAFer’s enjoyed a colorful and scenic fly-in to Bryce Canyon. While many enjoyed the fascinating and informative park sponsored tour that took in the spectacular views of the entire park others enjoyed hiking or horseback riding down hundreds of feet among the hoodoo formations. The hardy ones were up before dawn for sunrise photo opportunities at the rim of the canyon. Of course, dining and refreshments are always part of the fun of socializing with the fly-in participants. Friday’s happy hour entertainment included watching the later arrivals on skirt the clouds on Robert and Mitch’s devices. Another bonus of this fly in location was the various flight seeing routes the flyers chose to take including Lake Mojave, Boulder Dam, Hurricane airport (Hi Jennifer!) Lake Powell, Monument Valley, and others. Thanks Steve and Nancy for organizing this event!
The DAF returned to Agua Dulce for the biggest Flaming Brisket Fly-in ever. 51 DAFers and 99s brought 18 aircraft and 2 cars to the picnic. The weather was warm, with some wind gusts, but with the trees and the umbrellas it was quite pleasant in the shade. The folks at Agua Dulce were friendly and very helpful; you couldn't ask for a nicer place. The arrivals got a little hectic, with quite a few aircraft arriving at the same time, but everyone kept up the communications and there weren't any problems. Mitch brought about 20 pounds of brisket, and there wasn't much left; at least the aircraft was lighter on the way back! All in all, a great day, and we hope the 99s will join us again for more fly-ins.
Larry and Jodie went all out for the DAFer's Placerville fly-in, and it was a wonderful weekend. From the welcome party and dinner at their new digs to the wine tasting picnic Saturday, they had things organized perfectly. 26 Flyers made the trip, arriving to perfect weather Friday afternoon. Larry's ferry service down to Enterprise went off well, and his foresight in leaving an extra car at the airport paid off for Mitch, Jan and Nancy. The barbeque dinner that night was excellent, and the evening was warm enough for sitting around the fire into the night. Saturday's picnic lunch at Sierra Vista Winery kept everyone happy for hours. The tasting included every wine they make, which was quite a long list. The DAFer's reciprocated the hospitality by stocking up, and quite a few aircraft needed new weight and balance calculations for the trip home. The sandwiches had some unique combinations of ingredients, and were very tasty. That evening, a slightly more muted group headed out on their own for dinner. Fortunately, there were plenty of local options for dining.
Sunday morning, most of the group headed up to the Gold Bug mine and park for a tour of the mine and a look at the stamping mill and blacksmith shop. Some new dents and scratches were put in the hard hats during the mine tour; tall people were at a distinct disadvantage as miners! After the park, people headed back to the airport for departure. Once again, Larry went to work ferrying people from Enterprise back to the airport. The weather for the flight back was great, and everyone returned safely.
Thanks to Larry and Jodie for their hospitality and hard work. They went over and above to make it a fantastic weekend!
On Saturday April 14th 31 DAFERS in 13 aircraft flew out to Delano Airport in clear blue skies and light winds.We walked to the Aviator Casino Restaurant and had lunch. The restaurant had extra staff on hand to handle our large crowd and the food and service were excellent.After lunch a group of DAFERS went to the casino to try their hand at cards. It couldn't have been all bad for Liz, as Peter still had enough money to buy Avgas before departing for home.
All in all a great day for flying with perfect clear weather, a really good lunch and excellent company!
TERRIFIC TUCSON WAS THE PLACE TO BE…..
Oh what a weekend!! After wondering for several days about the weather, 11 of us arrived at Marana Regional Airport on Friday, March 16th, to begin a busy weekend. Between us, we saw 80 acres of aircraft at the Pima Air Museum and visited Tubac, a town with over 100 eclectic shops and world class galleries. One of our members “turned the key” as the Missile Combat Crew Commander of the Titan Missile, while others learned from a docent, all the ins and outs of life as a prairie dog, at the Sonoran Desert Museum.
Poor weather led half of the group to cancel, but those who came laughed till we cried at “The Lone Stranger,” a melodrama where we ate ice cream, booed the bad guys, and laughed at some redneck jokes that came shamefully close to identifying with a couple of us. The Lodge on the Desert was a welcoming venue with a southwestern theme, beautiful grounds, a lovely breakfast each morning and room for a dinner together one evening. Our rooms were spacious, perfect for our happy hour get togethers! It was a really nice time to hear from each other about new places discovered, tasty food enjoyed, and the unusual beauty of the desert.
We will not soon forget the towering Saguaros, the colorful sunset, or the time together with friends in this diverse and entertaining city.
A special thanks to Eric and Sally Kinder for organizing such a terriffic fly-in.
Click on the register button below for more details on this fly-in:
{igallery id=8022|cid=161|pid=2|type=category|children=0|addlinks=1|tags=|limit=0}40 DAFers in 13 aircraft descended into Chino on a warm and beautiful Saturday to visit SkyTypers, the nation's premiere skywriting company. Stephen Stinnis, grandson of the company's founder, along with his colleague Darwin could not have been more hospitable to our group. They had chairs and water waiting for us along with a fascinating display of SkyTypers history. After spending quite a bit of time answering many questions from the attentive DAFers group, Stephen let us view a recent video profile of SkyTypers produced by a German documentary company (the film is now making the rounds at various film festivals and receiving great reviews). After a few more questions, DAFers were given the opportunity to have a close-up inspection of the specialized aircraft used for sky typing. Our fly-in ended with a nice lunch at Flo's Airport Cafe. A beautiful day for flying combined with some aviation education and a great lunch - who could ask for more. Thanks to Larry Chapman for putting the event together.