(Journal 617) February, 2011 in THIS ISSUE President's Message Page 3
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IN THIS ISSUE President’s Message Page 3 Articles Page 4-15 About the Cover Page 4 Letters Page 17-33 Help Wanted Page 4 In Memoriam Page 33-35 Local Reports Page 5-13 Calendar Page 36 Volume 14 Number 2 (Journal 617) February, 2011 —— OFFICERS —— President Emeritus: The late Captain George Howson President: Captain Ron Jersey ...................................................... 207-839-6943 ........................................ [email protected] Vice Pres: Phyllis Cleveland ......................................................... 831-622-7747 ................................... [email protected] Sec/Treas: Leon Scarbrough ......................................................... 707-938-7324 ...................................... [email protected] Membership Bill Richards .............................................................. 813-938-5509 ..................................... [email protected] —— BOARD OF DIRECTORS —— President - Ron Jersey, Vice President - Phyllis Cleveland, Secretary Treasurer - Leon Scarbrough Floyd Alfson, Rich Bouska, Sam Cramb, Milt Jensen, Milt Jines, Howie Jundt, Bruce McLeod, Walt Ramseur, Bill Smith, Cleve Spring, Arvid von Nordenflycht, Larry Wright —— COMMITTEE CHAIRMEN —— Convention Sites. .......................................................... Ron Jersey ............. [email protected] RUPANEWS Manager ............................................. Cleve Spring ......... [email protected] RUPANEWS Editors................. Cleve Spring & Bruce McLeod .................. [email protected] RUPA Web Master ................................. Arvid von Nordenflycht ................ [email protected] WHQ Liaison ............................................................... Milt Jensen ............ [email protected] Widows Coordinator .............................................. Carol Morgan .................... [email protected] ....................................................................................... Patti Melin ..................... [email protected] RUPA WEBSITE ........................................................................... ................. http://www.rupa.org —— AREA REPRESENTATIVES —— Arizona Illinois Phoenix Road Runners ............................... Ken Killmon Chicago ....................................................... Bernie Sterner Tucson ...........................................................Randy Ryan McHenry ...................................................... Claude Nickell California Nevada Dana Point ..................................................Ted Simmons Las Vegas High Rollers ............................. Andy Anderson Los Angeles South Bay ..................................... Rex May Jerry Johnson Los Angeles San Fernando Valley ....... Don McDermott Reno’s Biggest Little Group ............................. Gary Dyer Monterey Peninsula ............................ Phyllis Cleveland New York San Diego Co. ............................................... Bob Harrell New York Skyscrapers ............................... Pete Sofman San Francisco Bay ........................................ Sam Cramb Oregon San Francisco North Bay .......................... Bob Donegan The Columbia River Gezzers ............................. Ron Blash Colorado Tony Passannante Denver Good Ol’ Boys ............................. Ted Wilkinson The Intrepid Aviators of Southern Oregon .. Bob Niccolls Florida Ohio N.E. Florida ................................................ Steve Moddle Cleveland Crazies ................................. Richard McMakin S.E. Florida Gold Coast .............................. Lyn Wordell Washington Ned Rankin Seattle Gooney Birds ............................... William R. Brett S.E. Florida Treasure Coast Sunbirds .... Bob Langevin Brent F. Revert S.W. Florida ......................................... Gary Crittenden Washington D.C. Tampa ............................................... Matt Middlebrooks Washington D.C. ........................................ E.K. Williams J Hawaii Hawaiian Ono Nene’s ................................... Larry Becker The renewal date for dues is your birthday and is printed in the back cover address box. Send your $25 renewal check (made out to RUPA) and/or your updated information to: RUPA, PO BOX 400, VINEBURG, CA 95487-0400 E-mail: [email protected] Change your mailing address for any reason, permanent or temporary, advise RUPA at the above address or email. You can even phone: 707-938-7324 DO NOT forget to fill out the Post Office mail forwarding postcard!! The P.O. will only forward the “NEWS” for 60 days, so tell everybody! RUPANEWS (USPS 017-562) is published monthly for members for $25 per year by the Retired United Pilots Association, 1104 Burke Lane, Foster City, CA 94404-3636. Periodicals POSTAGE PAID at San Mateo, CA and additional mailing offices: POSTMASTER: Send address changes to RUPANEWS, P.O. Box 400, Vineburg, CA 95487-0400 2 February, 2011 RUPANEWS PRESIDENT'S LETTER It seems like just yesterday that we were ringing in 2010. Where did the year go? It started out with rumors abounding about a merger between UAL and CAL. By mid-year, the rumors became reality. The impact on UAL, the employees and the retirees has yet to be ascertained, but representatives from each group are keeping an eye on the unfolding events. As of Jan 8, the results of the travel survey have not been published. I am not too optimistic about the results but, then again, I am a glass half- empty kind of a guy. Concerning 2011, we have reached a fork in the road to the long-term survival of RUPA as a national organization. The editors of the RUPANEWS have repeatedly asked for volunteers to take over the management of the magazine. As of January, they are still waiting. The RUPANEWS is the most important aspect of keeping the membership informed on national events such as the cruises and conventions. Without the ability to reach the membership, it will be impossible to advertise any upcoming events. The editors tell me that the job of getting the magazine ready for publication has become a lot easier since a company in Denver has taken over the printing and mailing. Cleve and Bruce will be happy to assist anyone who wishes to volunteer. Another event coming up in 2011 is the election of new Officers. My term of office ends on Sept. 1st. I will go out on a limb and say that Phyllis Cleveland will move from her position as V.P. to become your next president. If anyone is interested in volunteering for the 2 year position of V.P., please notify me. Our current Sec/Treasurer has done a wonderful job for the past 2 years. I have not discussed his willingness to continue the job after Sept. It is a time consuming job but vey necessary to our survival. Please do not let our national organization fly off into the sunset due to a lack of interest. If we do, the only things holding us together are the local luncheon groups. While this may be enough for some of us, I feel the loss of our national organization will be felt deeply by the majority of our membership. Happy New Year, Ron Do not send money here, letters only, please RUPANEWS Editors--- Cleve Spring & Bruce McLeod ---E-mail: [email protected] or Cleve Spring (RUPA) 1104 Burke Lane, Foster City, CA 94404-3636 Telephone: (650)349-6590 (Cleve) or (650)712-1532 (Bruce) Address changes, Dues, Snowbirds & Others: The Post Office will forward the RUPANEWS for only 60 days. We can keep two addresses in the database for each member. If you want your address changed, just let us know by one of the following methods: RUPA, PO Box 400, Vineburg, CA 95487-0400 — or — E-mail: [email protected] Check your RUPA Directory to make sure we have the correct information February, 2011 RUPANEWS 3 ABOUT THE COVER Another beautiful sunset just before an all-nighter ABOUT THE RUPANEWS EDITOR’S JOB By this time, you should all be aware that Bruce and I will be stepping down from our job as editors of the RUPANEWS. We published our intentions to step down about four months ago and have printed it in every issue of the magazine since them. WE HAVE HAD NO VOLUNTEERS!!! I know the majority of members do not want to see the magazine just disappear, as it is really the glue that holds this organization together. Since we have no volunteers, I suggested to the Board of Directors that we pay $1,000 a month to a retired pilot, who is a RUPA member, to take over the job. The Board unanimously voted in favor of the suggestion and that information was disseminated via email to the Area Reps and many others. We have had very favorable comments from many of our members since then. If you don’t do emails, this will be the first you have heard about this. Bruce and I have agreed to stay on and edit the March edition, but a replacement must be found for the April magazine. Time is of the essence as we cannot go even one month without publishing or we lose our contract agreement with the Post Office. A new editor will not be chosen until every member has had a chance to read this notice. We would really prefer to have a volunteer again, but times are different and if we have to pay someone we will. Several members have asked what the job entails. I will try and cover the basics here, but anyone interested should call and we can explain in much more detail. The first question everyone wants to know is how much time is involved. Bruce and I have discussed this and feel that it can be easily accomplished in forty hours a month. Once you are familiar with the