On the Fly! November 2016 Editor in Chief: Marc Wentnick Club Meetings are held at the Sir Pizza in Randleman the 2nd. Tuesday of every month AnnualAnnual X-masX-mas unless otherwise noted Party!Party! Order food at 6:00 Meeting start at 7:00 Saturday December 10th. Hillsville Community Center 9078 Hillsville rd. Trinity, NC $15.00 adults $5.00 children* RSVP by Dec. 5th. To be included in the dinner. Make reservations: Make reservations: R 0 336.847.2828 af 5 fle 0/ [email protected] s! e Board meetings are t 5 y l e v i t st held every 1 . Tuesday. *kids under 12 BBQ Joe's Buffet Time and location to be announced. Please contact: New Member Tim Holland 336.508.5596 [email protected] DerrickDerrick Ronnie Garris 336.906.0565 PattonPatton [email protected] Under the watchful eye of Wayne McMasters, Derrick solo'ed last month. When Derrick isn't flying he can be found riding his classic Harleys. Good Job!! It's so easy to notice and This month in judge what you don't Aviation History have. Try taking a moment and take notice We hear it, we see it. The of what you have . In 1783… The 1st free or Do this often. untethered human flight takes place message is everywhere this when Jean Francois Pilatre de holiday season. But do we A song lyric says, Rozier flies as high as 500 feet and actually give thanks, take travels 5 miles over Paris in a Montgolfier hot-air balloon. stock or count our You don't know what In 1897… The 1st all-metal rigid blessings? you got till it's gone. airship is tested in Germany. It uses wafer-thin aluminum, a major innovation, but crashes soon after Make sure you do know. taking off. s some of you may AA In 1910… The 1st use of an know last month I lost my airplane to carry commercial freight father. He was a veteran is the Wright Company’s airplane of Korea jumping out of that flies from Dayton to Columbus, Ohio carrying 10 bolts of silk to the planes for democracy. Morehouse-Martens Company. He was a hugh fan of In 1915… The 1st catapult military aviation. We often launching of an airplane from a would watch war movies moving ship is made from the USS and he would explain the North Carolina in Pensacola, meaning of uniform Florida. … Captain Charles patches or squad and In 1926 Lindbergh jumps from his disabled division markings on airplane during a night airmail flight, vehicles. We were close. OUCH! making this his 4th time he has had to use his parachute to save his life. In 1945… The 1st jet plane to land I give thanks for the on an aircraft carrier is a Ryan FR-1 piloted by U.S. Navy Ensign Jake times we shared. I give West. thanks for the first rifle he In 1953… The 1st man to exceed had given me at age 8 a Mach 2 (twice the speed of sound) is Ithica 22 cal. that he had American test pilot Scott Crossfield to cut the stock so it in a Douglas D-558-2 Skyrocket. would fit. I give thanks for the countless mileage we rode on the Harley's. This is what happens And I give thanks to the when you change expo to day he said we were 120+ accidentally knowing going to the Old you should have your Rheinbeck airdrome to reading glasses on! watch the airshow and see radio control planes Visit Our website! fly. I was six. www.ccrcm.com I'veI've been here for eight WWaiting for debriefing is not months and the states seem unlike waiting for a death like a dream. I count the days sentence. Is this the mission until I can leave this god that ends it? Or worst come forsaken place and get home home in pieces or pieces to Brooklyn. Gee, who thought missing. The old-timers say I would think Brooklyn a safe mathematically it's just one refuge. I certainly wouldn't but Mission Peenemunde more step to getting home. I the army had different ideas. I always hated math but hate being here in England Operation Crossbow knowing there are old timers even on the best days the air somehow put my mind at rest. smells, the barracks stink, and Editor's note: the chow is bad. TThe story you are about to AAnd despite of what any one read is part fact and part fiction. believes being a pilot stinks. I My fictional hero in our story is guess I shouldn't complain the American but in reality the RAF guys in the infantry have it was responsible for Operation hard too. They are really in the Crossbow. As were Canadian shit as we say. Literally. At bomber groups. Mustang’s, least my Tempest’s, Mosquito’s and opponent is usually a Spitfire’s were indeed used to nondescript entity unless some Kraut gets too close. accompany bombers and take he worst is the shrill of the out ground targets. TT alarm. A 60 ft. pole with a loud try not to make many I try not to make many mouth that plays Glen Miller or a usual day in I Artie Shaw when it’s not ItIt isis friends here but unless you screaming it's time to go. Downham or what I came to have friends being up alone When the alarm sounds the except as usual. The daily surrounded by 109's, 110's faster you move the slower morning clouds and fog and 190's is no picnic. My best time seems. departed early to allow a deep friend and the only one I rely I keep thinking how a blue sky dotted with wispy on is a 9200 pound metal Brooklyn boy and his buddy white cotton candy clouds. The monster I call, Heaven's Hope. from North Carolina got here. air had a slight chill and was The army calls her serial It seems this mission is a first deceptively quiet. That number 3645s P-51B. I get it for the RAF. The limeys are unsettling suspicious type. because the army calls me getting tired of the bombings G.I.02486752. And just like he ground is muddy and the in London and the Polish T my Mustang Mk I. P51-B I’m T underground has traced the only grass left alone to grow property of the United States rockets doing the damage to a was fighting its own war to Army Air Force. I guess writing place called Peenemunde off stay alive around the barracks Capt. Frank Collins is too long the Baltic. and off the runway. for the those terrible telegrams your loved one receive if things go bad. I’ll stick with names his mission is a two day that’s why I named my ship TT Heaven's Hope in the event I event for the Brits and then don't make it back. I hope that our boys will take over the if things do go bad… well you daytime raids. A couple of us get the idea. “yanks” are along for the ride so to speak as well as 62 Canadian bombers. The seems those crazy Krauts are Operation Hydra. Limey's call us tourists. To get building rockets that have a used to each other I have strange habit of falling into already been on many sorties England. with these fellas. Targets of opportunity we call them. But this is different. My time here has led up to this day. This will be the largest bomber sortie ever assembled to date. Only the best of the best are he primary target is a big assembled here. V1 Buzz bomb TT hanger that stands out on the small island. Northside is a TToday we received our couple of large square pads off in a field. To the west are orders. The 83rd. squadron buildings identified as power lead by Capt. Searby will be plants, living quarters and a heading into Germany. Group landing field with 109’s sitting Captain John Searby is a waiting. These will be our meticulous man. He has an air secondary targets for today. of authority that comes with We should arrive at approx. respect and experience. His V2 * 0:15 for the first wave, 0:30 uniform is crisp with sharp for the second and finally 0:45 edges and you could read the hey call them for the third. Each wave is NY Times off the reflection on TThey call them made up of approx. 200 his shoes. He lays out the Vergeltungswaffen or aircraft. They want us to attack mission last minute as usual Vengence-weapons. Polish under the full moon to help armed with maps from intel underground Intel reports insure pin point accuracy. We with the finesse of a fine some rockets may contain never raid by light. Bombing orchestra leader. We all erupt chemical or biological will be done by all waves at an in cheers and high fives. He warheads. We will escort them altitude of 7000 ft. These guys interrupts and we get the 1250 miles over the Danish normally bomb from 18- usual, “This one’s not going to countryside and over the 20,000 ft. be a milk run.” “Keep northern part of the fatherland formations tight.” “Expect continuing to the Baltic. Time all look at each other fighter attacks.” “Flak corridors of travel 7 hours.