The Scuttlebutt Official Publication of Air Group One Commemorative Air Force March/April 2011 1905 N. Marshall Ave. Hangar 6 * El Cajon, CA 92020 * 619.259.5541 * www.cafairgroup1.org * [email protected] Welcome to the New Scuttlebutt You may have noticed you didn’t receive a January/ e-mail address to me at [email protected]. If you do February edition. Don’t worry; you didn’t miss anything. not have e-mail capability please call me at We decided to skip an edition to attempt to get caught 619.890.7340 and we will attempt to accommodate up. you. If we do not have your e-mail address and we don’t hear from you one way or the other you will be You may also notice a new format with this edition of dropped from our newsletter mailing list. If you no The Scuttlebutt. Well, the format isn’t all that is new. longer desire to be on our mailing list, please let us Primarily in an effort to trim costs by reducing the print- know that as well. ing and mailing of our newsletter, but also to make pos- A larger, full-color version of this edition, and all future sible the use of color, Internet links and other enhance- editions, will be available on our Web site. If you desire ments, the Air Group One staff has decided to switch a printed copy you can print it on your home printer. to an electronic format. Accordingly, in the future The Scuttlebutt will be available in digital format only. We The Scuttlebutt has been produced for the last sev- will, however, try to keep a few copies on hand at the eral years by long-time Air Group One member Bob hangar. Constantine. It was a very labor-intensive operation, and we all owe Bob a huge debt of gratitude. Bob will If we do not have your e-mail address, you received continue to be an important source of material and this edition via “snail mail.” If you received the printed guidance. Thanks Bob! version and have e-mail capability, please send your 2 The Scuttlebutt March/April 2011 Notes Maintenance from the Officer Cockpit Report Col. Howard Merritt Col. Bob Simon, Wing Leader Lots of things are starting to happen around the Air The SNJ is still a “work in progress.” The left stabilizer Group One hangar! As we start to move into spring, purchased from Lance in Texas has finally arrived in we’ll be planning more excursions. The last one to the Ramona. Tony Wiser will check it out and send it on to Yanks Air Museum in Chino was interesting for a num- us where it will join the flaps, rudder and left elevator ber of reasons. First, it was a great day for a flight up for painting at Aero Paint. They will then go back to Tony the coast to Chino to see an extraordinary example of and we will assist him during installation. Sassy should how to display old airplanes. Second, we made some be back by the end of March. valuable contacts and connections. I’m sure that we We are still building the attachment angles for the L-5 will see more of those folks. wing and have over half of the required 80 feet fabri- Wings Over Gillespie planning is in full swing and it cated. A gallon of West System epoxy has been pur- hopes to be bigger and better than ever with more for chased to continue angle fabrication and attaching the the kids and moms and bigger airplanes for the dads. plywood spar material. The acts will change slightly and more displays are Progress on the blue tug continues with the donation planned. of parts from the old Ramona tug. We have two extra We have some great new members added to our ranks. geared hubs, rims, instrument panel and assorted other When you see one at our pancake breakfast, please parts. Darrel Cook has rebuilt the brake calipers and make them feel welcome. As a volunteer organization, left axle. We are in the process of installing them now. we are all looking for a way to make a difference and to It will be up and running by Air Show time. contribute a skill or talent. Find out what they are and We still need some help clearing out the pile of stuff in put them to work (only a suggestion, of course). the corner near the oil barrels. See you at the hangar. Carry on and keep the blue side up! Air Group One Staff Members Wing Leader Bob Simon Maintenance Officer Howard Merritt [email protected] 858.254.3036 [email protected] 619.820.5359 Executive Officer Jim McGarvie Safety Officer Warren Thomas [email protected] 619.890.7340 [email protected] 858.382.9919 Finance Officer D’Marie Simon Scuttlebutt Editor Jim McGarvie [email protected] 858.829.4736 [email protected] 619.890.7340 Adjutant Linda King Assistant Scuttlebutt Editor Bob Constantine [email protected] 951.966.4090 [email protected] 619.546.7080 Operations Officer John Telles Webmaster David Hanson [email protected] 760.458.4230 [email protected] 619.698.8335 March/April 2011 The Scuttlebutt 3 Air Group One Joins the Air Force! By Col. Tom Valenzia is akin to attempting to drink out of a fire hose or, better yet, living with a perpetual helmet fire! Well, not exactly. Through the efforts of Col. Martin Wojtysiak, Commander, Detachment 075, Air Force IFS, by design, is challenging. This is where the rubber Reserve Officer Training Corps (AFROTC), at San meets the road. You either pass or wave your flight Diego State University (SDSU) and in combination with career goodbye. Col. Wojtysiak stated that about 30% the generous members of Air Group One, a decision of the cadets would fail! was made to provide mentoring assistance to the next This is where we came in. Wouldn’t it be great if the generation of military aviators. cadets were given a little head start in preparation for SDSU is an AFROTC magnet school. For those stu- IFS? Gosh, what if us “old farts” (that covers most of dents interested in pursuing an Air Force career, that us) could dust off our flight manuals, don a girdle (we’ll goal can be achieved by completing a four-year pro- call it a “G” suit), slip into a flight suit (a little WD 40 gram offered through SDSU. The AFROTC program might help), polish our shoes, get a haircut, trim off all is made available to over 14 area colleges and univer- the ear and nose hairs, and present ourselves, our life sities, utilizing the SDSU facilities. experiences as aviators and our mentoring services, to the next generation of military aviators? The current enrollment of students in the program is approximately 130. Applications have been flooding in Well, the “what if” to the above question was quickly and as a result, the bar for acceptance into the pro- answered at the 18 December meeting and BBQ at Air gram has continued to rise. Group One. With Col. Wojtysiak and Cadets Martin and Marco present, a call to action was made! Among the many disciplines that may be pursued as an Air Force Officer, among the most highly coveted Ladies and gentlemen, I am most proud and humbled positions is to be selected as a “Rated” candidate. by the response received by the members of AG-1. A Rated candidates are those officers selected to attend ten-sortie training program, to include a full private pilot fixed-wing pilot training and/or enter the “RPA” (remotely ground school, was proffered up. Flight training starts piloted aircraft) track. To be selected for either track on 29 January and ground school starts on 30 January. infers that you have been thoroughly screened, prod- I would like to recognize the AG-1 member and non- ded, tested, re-prodded, re-tested, and just in case, member contributors to the program: re-screened! It is a major accomplishment to have survived the process and to be declared a “Rated” can- • Col. Bob Simon (passed out soon after the word didate. “liability” was mentioned) Col. Wojtysiak is proud to introduce to AG-1 five rated • Col. Martin Wojtysiak: For caring and wanting to give candidates slated to receive their 2nd Lt. Air Force com- his cadets the best possible opportunity for success. missions on 18 June and then it is off for them to fulfill their dreams of becoming a military aviator. • Col. Darrel Cook: Offering flight training in a Cessna 172 Upon spring graduation, the cadets will be scheduled to enter the next major screening hurdle. The process • Dave Derby: Offering flight training in a Citabria will continue at “IFS” and, you guessed it, that is the • Col. Jack Draper: Offering flight training in his A-36 Initial Flight Screening program. IFS is conducted Bonanza through a civilian contractor, Doss Aviation, out of Pueblo, CO. The training aircraft will be the Diamond • Col. Joe Graham: Offering an introductory ground 20 (DA-20). school and flight training in his Cherokee 140 IFS will be the cadet’s first introduction into formalized • Col. Pete Hunt: Offering flight training in his RV-6 flight training. By formalized I mean to learn through • Col. Jack King: Offering flight training in his V-35 drowning; that is, to learn, assimilate, and master the Bonanza necessary skills, within a highly time-compressed and dynamic program of flight.