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The Membership Newsletter for The Military Aviation Museum Winter 2011 B-17G “Chuckie’s” Arrival at Sunset by Ed Laskowski Visitors to the Military Aviation Museum (MAM) re- ence with “Chuckie” rode along after having worked cently had the opportunity to get the taste of a very, on the plane for over 25 years at Meacham. He added rare vintage. Circa 1944, full-bodied, and chilled to that he would surely miss the plane, but realized that it perfection. would be in excellent hands here at MAM. On Saturday, January 22, 2011 “Chuckie” the only fl y- By 4:00 that Saturday afternoon, hundreds of museum able B-17 Pathfi nder in existence affectionately nick- visitors were already on hand for this special event, named after Charlyn ”Chuckie” Hospers, wife of the with many waiting patiently outside in the 18-20 de- late Dr. William “Doc” Hospers, the plane’s prior own- gree frigid conditions. In anticipation, MAM vol- ers, left Meacham Field in Fort Worth, Texas bound for unteers monitored Flight Aware on-line to track the Military Aviation Museum its new home at the Military Aviation Museum in Vir- planes anticipated arrival. Outside preparations were www.MilitaryAviationMuseum.org ginia Beach. The museum recently acquired the plane being made by museum staff for the B-17-G’s landing. from the Vintage Flying Museum with plans to fully Virginia Beach Airport restore the aircraft. Standing next to the landing strip, ex- www.VBairport.com cicitement increased as it was announced The B-17 G “Flying ththat “Chuckie” was inbound and had Fighter Factory Fortress” started out jjustu fl own over Lake Drummond. early that morning on www.FighterFactory.com SShortlyh thereafter, two silver lights its 1079 nautical mile cocould be seen moving eastward over fl ight with a crew of ththe tree-line just south of the airport. three including; Bob TThe P-51 Mustang, “Double Trouble” Hill (Pilot), Don Anklin cocould be seen taking the lead and es- Inside this Issue: (Co-Pilot) and Patrick cocorting the huge bomber to its new MaHaffey (3rd Pilot). Introducing New Museum hohome. As the B-17 turned and made its Director 2 Mahaffey, having the most technical experi- “Chuckie”“Chuckie” arrives at the museum Continued on page 2 Pearl Harbor Attack Survivors Speak 2 1940’s Valentine’s Day Hangar Dance 100 Years of Shipboard Aviation 3 Back by popular demand, is the Valentine’s Day Han- to play all your favorite swing tunes that’ll get you out on the dance fl oor. Trains and Planes 4 gar Dance. February 12th, the museum is holding their annual Valentine’s Day celebration with an old Chris, Ed and Boom’s fashioned, hangar dance. What’s a hangar dance? Don’t think you have to be a couple at this Valentine’s Excellent Adventure 4 During WWII, dances were held in airplane hangars dance, there will be plenty of singles there out to meet and they were usually new people. B-17G: A Short History 5 put on as fund-raisers Letter from Santa 5 for the war effort. A There will be hors d’oeuvres and hangar dance is like a cash bar. Break out your favorite WWI Hangar Almost stepping back in time, vintage clothing and join us at the Complete 6 join us for a memora- Military Aviation Museum, Satur- ble Valentines evening day, February 12th from 6:00pm- Upcoming Events 7 fi lled with music, ro- 10:00pm. Get your tickets now, they New Volunteer Class 8 mance and history. are going fast. Contact the museum at 757-721-7767 or email us at events@ In the Press 8 The Terry Chesson Or- aviationmuseum.us. chestra will be on hand Last year’s dance crowd PAGE 2 VOLUME 4, ISSUE 1 Chuckie Arrival..Continued from page 1 each of the four mammoth Wright R-1820- Pearl Harbor Attack 97 engines shutting down. After landing and approach, cheers arose and cameras readied taking its place, throngs of military veterans, for the initial fl yby directly overhead. aviation enthusiasts, museum volunteers and Survivors Speak many families with young children moved by Rob Sidner Just under seven hours, they landed at the Virginia Beach airport. Members of the fl ight forward to welcome the crew and admire the museum’s newest resident. For the second consecutive year, the Mili- crew described the trip as smooth and un- tary Aviation Museum was honored to have eventful, with pleasant weather conditions. At that point one could not help but think three Pearl Harbor survivors as our guest All the while, temperatures inside the cabin about the closing scene in 1989’s “Field speakers on December 11, 2010. Mr. John hovered around minus 25 degrees Celsius as of Dreams”, as cars streamed down Prin- Delia, Mr. Frank Chebetar, and Mr. William the plane fl ew between an altitude of 7,000 to cess Anne Road with headlights on and Temple spoke of their friends, remembranc- 8,000 feet. into the MAM’s parking lots. In the movie es, and the sting of battle. They brought Ray Kinsella, portrayed by Kevin Costner With a wingspan of 103’9 feet and a length of hears voices saying “if you build it they with them their individual collections of 74”4 feet the Boeing B-17 G easily dominat- personal Pearl Harbor memorabilia such will come”. And come they did that day ed the airstrip. Poetry in motion could only to MAM to see one of the fi nest vintages in that the Museum’s visitors of that morning describe the movement as many watched could examine the maps, newspaper clip- existence… and how sweet she is. pings, and aging photographs. For many of *See page 8, In the Press, for the guests and docents, the most poignant articles and videos associ- of all was a small, carefully sealed bottle ated with the arrival. containing “Black Blood”. For those not familiar with this term, “Black Blood” is a mixture of Pearl Harbor seawater and the black fuel oil that to this very day is leaking from the sunken USS Arizona (BB-39) and The B-17 bomber landing just after twilight rising to the surface. On the surface it is known as “Black Tears.” Introducing the New Museum Director Each of these distinguished veterans had The Military Aviation Museum is pleased to dustry during the summer months and with a unique stories to tell. Mr. Temple is the announce the appointment of Gary Powers ski resort during the winter. Virginia state chairman of the Pearl Harbor as its new Museum Director. Gary has as- Survivors Association and a former P-40 sumed this leadership position and began his In 1992, Gary relocated to Virginia to fur- crew chief. He regaled the audience with responsibilities as of this past January 18th. ther his education. This was actually the stories of a near brush with death by ma- He was selected from a broad group of over home state of both his parents. In 1995, chine gun fi re from a Japanese fi ghter and one hundred candidates from the local com- he received his Masters Degree in Public later arming one of the few US fi ghters to munity, within the state of Virginia, and Administration and Certifi cate of Nonprofi t get airborne which shot down a Japanese throughout the country. The museum is still Management from George Mason Univer- aircraft. Mr. Delia was assigned to a small relatively new and has actually been only in sity. During his time in Virginia, he has ship at Ford Island and patiently explained public operations for less than three years. worked as the Assistant Registrar for the to all of the confusion and horror of the He brings a wealth of experience to this or- City of Fairfax, Executive Director for a attack and the dreary aftermath. Mr. Che- ganization and will be an important addition small nonprofi t dedicated to the historical betar explained that he was so moved by to the staff and its many volunteer members. revitalization of Old Town Fairfax, market- the dastardly attack that he decided to serve ing representative for a home inspection more than his original tour and remained in Gary was born in Los Angeles, California, company, and from 2001 to 2005 as Presi- service to our country for 30 years, retiring and in 1990 received his undergraduate de- dent/CEO for the Vienna Tysons Regional as a Navy Chief Petty Offi cer. gree in Philosophy from California State Uni- Chamber of Commerce. versity Los Angeles. While living in South- While President of the Chamber, he over- If you missed these inspiring talks, we are ern California, Gary worked for a variety saw the day-to-day fi nancial, business, and most pleased to announce that each gentle- ofo contractors human resource operations. In order to grow man has stated that they will be glad to re- anda real estate chamber membership, he successfully im- turn to the Museum for talks on 10 Decem- developers.d Af- plemented the 2003 campaign to incorporate ber 2011. terte graduating college,c Gary Tysons Corner into the name of the organiza- livedli in Mam- tion. As a result of the name change, he over- mothm Lakes, saw the development of the Chamber’s new website, increased sponsorship revenue, and Gary Powers, the new CA,C where he expanded circulation of its monthly newslet- Museum Director at the worked in the Continued on page 3 Military Aviation Museum construction in- VOLUME 4, ISSUE 1 PAGE 3 New Director..