Sierra Flt Feb 21st Luncheon

Rick Hatton ( Guest speaker ) – Flying the Ultimate Fire-Fighter ( DC-10 Air Tanker )

The 2018 air war against forest fires !!

Our National HQ has this to announce: Flight Manual under revision
The Daedalian Flight Manual is being revised for 2019. Members with suggestions for edits can send their input to communications@daedalians.org, with the subject line “Flight Manual update.”
That is all….AND have a Merry Christmas!…but get your dang suggestions for edits to HQ AFTER the 25th!

Our own Crawford Hicks was in today’s paper…below was the story published & we at the 39th have to feel proud of one of our own! And next time you are at the Museum of Aviation give them an extra contribution for paying for Crawford’s great day in the sky again!
HEADLINE: "His B-17 bomber went down in flames 74 years ago. His recent flight ended differently.
www.macon.com
Crawford Hicks’ recent ride on a B-17 Flying Fortress bomber ended better than one he took 74 years ago.
Hicks, 97, of Warner Robins, was a B-17 pilot in World War II and flew 10 missions before getting shot down over Germany and taken prisoner. Hicks and his crew bailed out as the plane went down in flames, then he was immediately captured.
But at DeKalb-Peachtree Airport on Saturday, he had quite a different greeting when he stepped out of the plane after about a 30-minute ride. This time, a small crowd of people standing nearby erupted in applause and whistles.
The Museum of Aviation paid for the ride for Hicks and 15 volunteers who are working on the restoration of the museum’s B-17. Also along for the ride was Hicks’ son, Rob. Getting into the cockpit requires walking over a narrow catwalk and through some tight spaces, so Hicks stayed in the rear, but he was happy.
“It was wonderful,” Hicks said after stepping off the plane. “It was noisy as always. It felt good. I knew what the pilot was doing when it landed.”
The plane was the Madras Maiden flown by the Liberty Foundation. It is one of just 13 B-17s still flying out of 12,731 built, and people were paying $450 each to go for a ride.
The museum paid for the volunteers to take the ride to thank them for their long hours working on the plane in the three years since it came to the museum in pieces.
Among the volunteers on the flight was Ron Barber, a retired Air Force colonel. He supervised aircraft maintenance workers in the Air Force but never did the work himself until he started volunteering on the B-17. He has been working on it for a year.
The flight was originally scheduled for Aug. 27, and Barber was heartbroken that he had another commitment that day. But then it was rescheduled due to weather.
“It’s once in a lifetime for me, and I am thrilled to be here,” he said before the flight.
Mike Wood, an Air Force retiree who flew on the AC-130 gunship and with the Joint Surveillance and Target Attack Radar System, known as J-STARS, works on the B-17 as a volunteer six days a week. He started out working seven days a week, eight hours a day.
“My wife made me take Sundays off,” he said.
He said it was his love of history that got him interested in the project.
“The B-17 was never built to last,” he said. “After the war they scrapped them all, so there’s very few left. That’s what makes it unique.”
The B-17 is a huge, four-engine plane and is one of the most revered in military history. Early in the war the loss rate on missions was high because fighters protecting the planes didn’t have the range to go all the way to the target.
Hicks told a detailed story of his career and his capture to his granddaughter, who transcribed the tapes and put it online. The story includes his first flight into combat.
“I was so scared I almost got sick when I saw the flak but was too busy flying to get sick,” he said.
Hicks’ plane was shot down on May 30, 1944, a week before D-Day. Hicks was in an 18-plane formation that successfully bombed its target in Oschersleben, Germany. They were on their way home when a German Messerschmitt 109 fighter came at Hicks’ plane head on and opened fire. The bullets set the two engines on the right wing ablaze. Hicks activated fire extinguishers in the engines, but it didn’t work.
The plane began to descend, and the fighter made another attack. This time the bullets hit and killed the bombardier as Hicks was talking to him. The alarms started going off, and the crew began to bail out. Hicks was captured soon after he hit the ground.
He spent 11 months in a prison camp and was freed by Gen. George Patton.
“I tried to kiss him, but he wouldn’t let me,” Hicks said.
The Germans surrendered a week later. Hicks continued to serve in the military, and after retirement he became an attorney. He practiced until he was 90.
Hicks put it simply when asked what it meant to fly on a B-17 again.
“Thank you for letting me be here, God,” he said.
The flight wasn’t just a fun ride for the volunteers but also a research trip. They are getting close to reassembling the fuselage and were carefully looking at how it is put together. The plane arrived at the museum three years ago and work began almost immediately. Although the restoration is expected to take another five years, people still can view the plane because work is being done in the Scott Hangar, which is open to the public.
The project is largely relying on volunteers and private donations. Anyone wishing to contribute can find out how at www.museumofaviation.org.

39th, At our recent meeting the flight voted to begin involvement with the following scholarship. We need all members to get the word out & look for a college student that we will mentor towards the military as a career and for becoming a military aviator!
JOHN AND ALICE EGAN MULTI-YEAR MENTORING SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM​
GENERAL: The Egan Multi-Year Mentoring Scholarship Program is for flights willing to commit​
$500 annually to a three-to four-year mentoring program. Freshmen are not eligible. For an​ individual student, the Foundation will supplement this $500 with at least $2,000. (This scholarship​ is not tied to the Matching Program, i.e., it is an additional program and a student may be submitted​ for both programs.) This program is conducted in three phases.​
DESCRIPTION: The Egan Scholarship Program is open to all flights to submit one applicant per​ year and any recertification’s. The program is intended to incorporate the following features:​ mentoring over time to influence the student, more meaningful dollar scholarship awards, flight​ participation, flight vested interest in program success and goal oriented program structure.​
The Foundation’s Scholarship Committee will determine the recipients. Duration will be determined​ by the length of the student’s undergraduate program, i.e., four or five years; however, the student​ must apply for follow-on funding for re certification each year.​
Here are the instructions for applicants:​
1: The 39th will have a 23 July deadline for postmarked applications, Subsequent year applications also have a 1 August deadline for Fight submissions in order to ensure Foundation approval by 15 August.​
2:FLIGHT ACTIONS: The student must provide a complete scholarship application and arrange for the university to send a transcript​ directly to the Flight that includes all courses taken through the Spring Semester each year. The​ Flight will include the student’s application along with this Re-certification input and mail to (This will be accomplished by the 39th staff):​
Chairman, Daedalian Foundation​
PO BOX 249​
Randolph AFB, TX 78148!

Lt. Col. Dwight Calvin McDowell, USAF (Ret.)
September 3, 1924 – June 22, 2018
Warner Robins, GA- D.C. McDowell, 93, passed into the hands of his Lord on the morning of Friday, June 22, 2018.
D.C. was born in Liberty, Missouri on September 3, 1924 to the late Orlando and Nancy McDowell. In the winter of 1951, he proudly enlisted in the United States Air Force where he served his country as a pilot and later as a comptroller staff officer. D.C. retired from the military with the rank of Lieutenant Colonel in August of 1975 while serving at Robins Air Force Base. After retirement, he utilized his handy skills in building and construction. He was an active member of the Order of Daedalians, which is a professional order of American military pilots. D.C. was also a Mason, a Shriner, and member of First United Methodist Church of Warner Robins. He was an avid reader and together with his wife, Margie, he greatly enjoyed traveling.
D.C. was preceded in death by his children, Chris McDowell, Beth McDowell, Marilyn McDowell Hendrix, and Alan Rushing, as well as his parents and several brothers and sisters.
His memory will forever be treasured by his loving wife of 18 years, Margie McDowell of Warner Robins; children, Susan Carpenter (David) of Elko, Bob Rushing (Susan) of Warner Robins; son-in-law, Charles Hendrix (Mary Ellen) of Savannah; grandchildren, Brad Carpenter (Megan), Amanda Carpenter Kay (Jacob), Whitney Socarras (Keith), Holli Figueroa (Al), Kit Jordan; great-grandchildren, Hayden Socarras, Anna Kate Carpenter, Lee Ann Carpenter, Gabi Figueroa, Jordan Figueroa; and nephew, Don Rounds (Jan).
The family will greet friends during a visitation to be held on Monday, June 25, 2018 from 1:00 p.m. until 2:00 p.m. at McCullough Funeral Home. Funeral services to celebrate his life will immediately follow at 2:00 p.m. in the chapel at McCullough Funeral Home with Reverend Missy Blumenthal officiating. Full military honors will be rendered.
The family will accept flowers or donations may be given in memory of D.C. McDowell to First United Methodist Church Food Pantry at 205 North Davis Drive, Warner Robins, GA 31093.
Friends may go to www.mcculloughfh.com to sign an online registry for the family and to view the memorial video once it has been finalized. McCullough Funeral Home has the privilege of being entrusted with Mr. McDowell’s arrangements.