The Eagle. Inspiring The Future Remembering The Past. President Sherman Smoot. Happy New Year!

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1 P-38 The Eagle Estrella Warbirds Museum/Woodland Auto Display Vol. 22 No. 1 January, 2017 Photo Mike Levine F-16 Inspiring The Future Remembering The Past Winter Solstice December 21 Prez Sez President Sherman Smoot I m sure you are having a glorious Christmas and Holiday season with your families. It s been hectic around the Smoot Clan. Being married to a Swiss-Italian, there are no quiet holidays. We had a small group of 25 for Christmas. Wow! I usually try to get in my wife s way so she will ban me from the kitchen thus allowing me to settle in my favorite recliner to watch the various sporting events on the tube. (Don t tell her my secret) It has been another successful year for the museum. Visitors are up, we have 10 more acres to develop, and we keep looking for ways to improve our bottom line. The Christmas Dinner meeting was a sellout! A fun time was had by all. A huge thanks to George Marrett for his fantastic year of dinner programs. Happy New Year! The coming year will be a big and challenging one for EWM. We are planning more events to help raise money for our success. We will move ahead toward an approved audit to enable us to get access to more grant and foundation money. We will continue to look for ways to streamline our operation. So, batten down the hatches and hang on! REMEMBER, our next dinner meeting on January 4, 2017 and the new dinner price is $20. We have an Iwo Jima veteran for our guest speaker. See you then! Happy New year! My prayers to you and all in harm s way, BACK TO SQUARE #1 1

2 May, 2016 June 2017 Board Of Directors Sherman Smoot President Scott Steizle Vice President Rob Kinnear Treasurer Carol Verstuyft Secretary Margi Bauer Ron Brooks Kim Clarke Dave Highland Toni More Ren Stelloh Jerry Takier Advisors Veteran s Day Sky Parade Over Santa Barbara Starring Betsy s Biscuit Bomber...A Few Lucky Riders Get to Tag Along For A Great Ride. C-47 Skipper Shane Wallace and Co-Pilot Sherman Smoot Bank In Over Santa Barbara in Betsy s Biscuit Bomber for November 12 Veterans Day Parade Flyover. Text/Photos Dr. Jill Thayer Dick Woodland Betty Miller Mike Huff Ian Webster Mac Gleim Mike Kelley Staff staff@ewarbirds.org The Lucky 13 Crew: Shane, Sherm Scott,Mike. Riders: Jill, Bill, Toni, Jim and a few other lucky passengers Gary Corippo Acquisitions Sue Dollemore Fund Raising Tom Gorham Jerry Jones Mike Levine George Marrett James Messineo Library Museum Coordinator Information Officer Guest Speakers Transportation Red Stars Fall Into Formation over Santa Barbara Red Stars Flank C-47 Over Santa Barbara Nov. 11 Dr. Jill Thayer Curator FORD GT 05 Kudos to our stellar pilots at Estrella Warbirds Museum in the Central Coast Veteran s Day Memorial service flyovers. On Nov. 12, I was honored to be a passenger with pilots and crew on our C-47 in a flight over Santa Barbara. We took off in a flyover formation with several other warbirds including two B-25s and T-34s. Once airborne, we flew over the Channel Islands, made a few passes over the Santa Barbara Veteran's Day Parade down State Street, over the water, down the beaches, then back to EWM museum in Paso Robles. It was memorable day in honor of those who served. 2

3 Mustering Airplanes Into A Flying Unit Requires, At Very LEAST, A Pre-Flight Plan Flyers Know It By Heart Prior To Take Off DASH Drones Doing Defense Dirty Work Fifty Years Ago Freedom Flight Estrella Warbird Museum Veterans Day Friday, November 11, 2016 Crew positions: Eagle 1: Cessna 172 Eagle 2: J-3 Cub Eagle 3: L-16 Ben Heaston-(lead) Sherm Smoot & Scott Steizle-(right wing) Bob Kelly-(left wing) Briefing: Museum Hangar 0945 Takeoff: Start engines at 1025 hours, takeoff at 1030 hours on Unicom. After takeoff flight leader will transmit on radio for change of frequency to Flyby: Proceed to Atascadero Veteran s Memorial via Santa Barbara Road/Hwy 101 intersection at 2,000-feet and depart intersection on heading of Northwest and descend so as to arrive overhead memorial at exactly 1100 hours. Eagle 2 will make the Missing Man pull up at each site. Flight will rejoin and head south to San Luis Obispo. Flight will switch to (SBP tower operator Ric Johnson, phone number ) and fly South just West of Monterey Street overflying the Veterans Building at 1120 hours. Flight will then proceed Southwest bound to Los Osos Valley Road and overfly Los Osos Memorial Cemetery from East to West at 1125 hours. Flight will return to and head North to the Paso Robles Cemetery. Flight will fly North down Highway 101 turning 45-degrees left at the fairgrounds to cross over cemetery at exactly 1145 hours. Return to Paso Robles airport: Climb and proceed East bound to the Paso Robles airport. Leader will call frequency change back to before entering pattern. Landing: Flight will enter pattern as individual aircraft. Each pilot will call on radio that they have landed and clear of runway. After last aircraft has stopped, all aircraft will taxi to fuel pit or museum. Emergency procedures: If leader aborts, Eagle 3 will take over lead. If either Eagle 2 or 3 aborts, formation will continue with remaining aircraft. Emergency Radio procedures: If Eagle 1 s radio fails, Eagle 3 will take over communication. If Eagle 2 or 3 has radio problems, continue flight as briefed using hand signals. Debriefing: Museum hangar, 15 minutes after landing. GYRODYNE QH-50C DASH SUB HUNTER Cr Courtesy Air and Space Mag. Air And Space To counter increasing Soviet sub activity in the Cold War, the U.S. Navy recommissioned WWII destroyers which were too small to carry crewed helicopters. Solution: The first rotary winged remotely piloted aerial vehicle, DASH (Drone Anti-Submarine Helicopter). Developed by Gyrodyne Co. of Long Island, NY, the DASH had two rotors opposing each other, eliminating the need for a tail rotor. Seen above in business attire (two Mark 44 torpedoes) the high cost of building and operating these drones changed their mission from sub hunting to target towing or, like a lot of things that don t work out: targets themselves. Ok Members, What Is This? Answer Page 6 COSWORTH 3

4 RESTORATION CORNER Updates From Dennis Johansen F-9 Completion/ Gun Truck/Firebee Drone COMPLETED F9F COUGAR AWAITS PERMANENT PLACE IN ESTRELLA COURTYARD EWM The F9F Cougar is now complete and has joined the display near the rear of Thompson Hall. Many visitors have commented about the replica aerial camera mounted in the camera bay in the nose of the airplane. Apparently most of the other F9F reconnaissance versions on display at other museums are devoid of cameras. Our camera is a replica of a Fairchild K-19 hand-held camera that would have been modified to fit and work in the Cougar camera bay. The rear camera position for the K-19 is unique because if all the parts of the mounting system were still in place, the camera would have been able to photograph to either side of the plane plus complete vertical mapping. Unfortunately, the mounting system is long lost and cannot easily be duplicated. F-9 STAGES, DETAIL Continued Page 7... Old Stearman Wing Struts Stuff In New Permanent Hangar 1 Spot About 230 Hours of Resto Time Involved EWM A team of Restos risked life and limb, to lift a 40 pound piece of history onto the East wall of Hangar 1. The wing strut in question was donated to the museum by Ms. Barbara Plaskett of King City, CA. Painstaking restoration was headed by Brad Eaton, a Stearman pilot, owner and member at EWM. It s not easy to handle such a delicate piece (see photo above). That s 5 men in the picture. Another few were behind the camera supervising from a safe distance. Interesting pieces like this wind up in the trash too often. There is a history behind everything at EWM. This piece carried a young cadet into the air for the first time some 75 years ago. And this article is being written on December 7 at a time of day when the attack was ongoing. Who knows how this small hunk of history helped us gain the inevitable triumph back in (Thanks to Dr. Jill Thayer) Photos Steve Lochen Left to right: Strut Hangers Tom DeVaul, Ron Boyte, Brad Eaton, Charlie Harber, Mike Brophy and Carl Robbins photo Steve Lochen 4

5 Monthly Meeting/Dinner Menu Wednesday, January 4, 2017 $20.00 (regular fare starting now) Baked Chicken Roasted Red Potato Seasoned Veggies Green Salad Rolls Desert Cash Bar, local wines Social 6pm Dinner 7pm Reservations : Phone On Line Hot Wheels Galore! Donation Stacks EWM Gift Shop Shelves With Inventory Built For Movin Out! Thank-You Letters, Art Work Speak For Themselves On Friday, November 4th, 15 members of Escuela Del Rio adult center in Atascadero visited the museum. Jerry Jones set up the event and George Marrett was one of the hosts. The group truly enjoyed their visit and sent George a "thank you" card. Contact Escuela Del Rio: escueladelrio.org Phone: (805) Icy Estrella When Is WWW? EWM Remember the airplane models a year ago? Hundreds of plastic models still in the box, some were over 50 years old. A collector took almost the whole batch! Well look at the Gift Shop s new acquisition: about 700 new Hot Wheels ready for eager young gearheads. This donation courtesy of Martin Wright, the original Gift Shop s proprietor and EWM member. Next boss was Jackie Brooks. Toni Moore says the New Car Business is pretty good these days. Thank you, Mr. Martin. (Hey, which ones are RARE?) A-6 Intruder 5

6 Dates To Consider: Winter Solstice Dec 21, 8:28am Lessons In Flight Mechanics, Aeronautical Engineering, Stellar Navigation, Physics, All Included With Just One EWM Visit! EWM Monthly Meeting/Dinner Jan 4 6pm Social, 7pm Dinner Morro Bay 2017 Winter Bird Festival Jan 13 Thru 16 Everywhere. So Be Careful.. Friday The 13th Photo Steve Lochen Martin Luther King Day Jan 16 American Heritage Girls troop #CA0411 Top Row: Karen, Camille, Bernie, Steve Mowry and Sandra Hill, The Group s Leader. Middle row: Rachel, Sophia, Ali, Georgia, down in front: Grace Inauguration Day (Don t miss this one) Jan 20 EWM Board Meeting Jan 18 6pm Thompson Hall Beer Can Appreciation Day (yes, really!) Spouse s Day Jan 24 Jan 26 What Is This. This is: Window cluster in the nose of the newlycompleted Grumman F-9 Cougar reconnaissance jet. Inside are the HD cameras (sophisticated indeed for the 1950 s) used to photograph potential targets and after-action results). Inspect the jet closely outside in the display area. Note the detail. Why the word Life? Ask a Restoration Worker. Photos Steve Lochen Estrella/Woodland played host to a group of young ladies from the American Heritage Girls. AHG is a national character development organization for young women. It embraces Christian values and encourages family involvement. Their mission: building women of integrity through service to God, family, community and country. The girls earn badges, and they learn to serve in their community, and to honor and respect our active military and veterans. The group was escorted around the museum by Steve Mowry, who helped explain the basics of how airplanes actually fly. Ms. Hill summed it up: The museum coordinator Mr. Jerry Jones was very helpful in organizing the perfect tour guide for us. The girls were able to complete the requirements for their Aviation badge with the excellent information and hands-on tour Mr. Mowry provided for our group. Per Rachel, age 11: "We saw lots of fascinating things while our tour guide, Mr. Mowry, explained how everything worked. He was an excellent guide and I really liked him. We also got to go into a helicopter, a simulator and the biggest plane ever built in the 1930s, which is still seen today. I had a ton of fun and learned lots of facts too. And I hope I'll be able to go again soon. Sandra Hill added.. We are so grateful for all the hard work that has gone into making this museum so successful. The girls were able to learn so much about the aeronautical history of our military men and women and appreciate their sacrifice. Sign these kids up! Contact via troop ahgtroop0411@gmail.com 6

7 Another Marine Reporting, Sir George Marrett Brings Joe Hale To EWM. Accounts of Iwo Jima and The Pacific In WWII Lewis Middle School Outside on a Thursday! For the new year we get to sample the real thing again. This time from Iwo Jima. Sample from Joe s story: We arrived at Iwo Jima before dawn on Feb. 19th, Watching a full blown amphibious assault is like having a front row seat to the greatest show on earth. Eight battleships were firing broadsides of 16 inch shells. Dozens of cruisers, destroyers, LCTʼs(Landing Craft Tank), converted into rocket firing boats, were firing thousands of shells at the Island and the landing beaches. This had been going on for three days nonstop. I thought, good Lord, the Japanese must all be dead by now, Capt. Stephen Pawloski and Pfc. Joe Hale because there was no Iwo Jima 1945 return fire coming from the Island. In fact, we were told that this would only be a five day operation. Well, we all know that the operation was to last a bit longer than 5 days. But this is just part of his story. Listen to a true accounting of a Marine runner, working for an admired Captain, seen in the photo above, and other exploits you simply can not make up. January 4, 2017, the monthly meeting/ dinner at Thompson Hall. Do not miss this one. Mr. Whit Donalson (rear left) manages to get 32 Lewis Middle School students to stand for a photo prior to being escorted around EWM/WAD by Peter Snyder and Betty Miller on Dec 8. Only thing lacking on this wonderful day OUT of the classroom was sunshine. Photo Steve Lochen Restoration.cont. from page 4 A lot going on in Restoration: The Firebee drone inside the Restoration Hanger is receiving it s second coat of primer before final painting probably next month. Bill Lander continues the finishing touches on his Vietnam era Gun Truck. He has tentatively identified the Snoopy cartoon character as having graced at least four of the original trucks in Vietnam. Gary Corippo, Estrella Warbirds Acquisition Manger has raised enough money to purchase the main parts of an M-2 Ma Duce.50 caliber machine gun and two M caliber machine guns which will outfit the truck. Mounts still have to be purchased or fabricated to fit the guns to the truck, but the heavy lifting regarding the sourcing the guns is accomplished. All of the above plus the H19 and H54 helicopters are keeping the Restoration crew on their game. It just gets better! 7

8 ESTRELLA WARBIRDS MUSEUM WOODLAND AUTO DISPLAY 4521 DRY CREEK ROAD PASO ROBLES, CA Non Profit Org. PAID Permit 163 Paso Robles, CA THURSDAY SUNDAY 10:00AM - 4:00PM Volunteers Wanted... GIFT SHOP: Thursday through Sunday, 10am until 4pm. Call Toni Moore at LIBRARY: Open when the Museum is open. Contact Tom Gorham at tag2878@cox.net or call the museum at MUSEUM GREETER/DOCENT: Open when museum is open. Meet and Greet. Call Jerry Jones, Museum Coordinator at RESTORATION: Hands On! - Get Dirty! Just show up Monday, Wednesday or Saturday. starting at 9AM. Gourmet Lunch on Saturday provided by Wayne Rice. See Ron Boyte or Anyone in the Shop. From The Editor: If you see or experience anything concerning planes and/or automobiles that you think may be of interest to our membership, send it to me via steve@lochenphoto.com Send by the 12th of the month deadline. Everything will be considered. Send names with photos. Easy as that! Thanks! Steve Lochen 8