The 1940 Air Terminal Museum is now signed up with iGive.com. If you sign up with iGive.com, and designate The 1940 Air Terminal Museum as your cause, hundreds of participating online retailers will contribute to the Museum anytime you make a purchase. All you have to do is sign up and designate us as your cause. iGive and the retailers (including eBay, many major airlines, Expedia, Barnes & Noble, Borders, Best Buy and hundreds more) take care of the rest and update you on how much has been donated.

To sign up, click here: http://www.igive.com/welcome/warm_reg_promo.cfm?c=54649

Below are just a few of the photos, check out the rest of the photos from January’s Wings and Wheels!

Join us next month for Business Aviation day!

The 1940 Air Terminal Museum is going to host a presentation on general aviation efforts to provide Haitian disaster relief from 2-3 during tomorrow’s Wings & Wheels open house. We will post additional details as we confirm them, but will have information on the various GA relief efforts, what individuals and local businesses can do to help with those efforts, and a presentation on adopting Hatian orphans.

More information on general aviation assistance efforts appear here:

http://www.aopa.org/advocacy/articles/2010/100114haiti.html?WT.mc_id=100115epilot&WT.mc_sect=tts

and here:

http://www.nbaa.org/news/2010/haiti/

We’ve been really busy booking appearances for the raffle plane over the next several months.  As we receive confirmation for the various events, we post it under the “Events” category here in the blog, and under the “Raffle Plane 3.0 – N9379B” category as well.  If you want to see where the plane is going in the future so you can plan to come see us, click the link below to view all of our upcoming events.

http://www.1940airterminal.org/blog/?cat=3

Also, keep in mind that we are always looking for volunteers to help out with selling tickets at these events, especially the large, multi-day ones.  If you are interested in driving or flying out to volunteer and help sell tickets, or if you live in an area where we are going and want to come to the airport and lend a hand, please let us know!  We’d love the help and can certainly use it!

Anyway, whether you come to help or to just enjoy the event, please make sure you support our generous and gracious hosts and of course, purchase your ticket to win this fabulous airplane!

The 1940 Air Terminal Museum is participating in Disney’s Give A Day, Get A Disney Day promotion.  Our volunteers are eligible to receive a free day at Walt Disney World or Disneyland in recognition of a day’s volunteerism with the 1940 Air Terminal Museum.  Contact us for more details, or visit this Give A Day Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/pages/DC-Give-a-Day-Get-a-Disney-Day/247506873572?ref=search&sid=1439521685.51874295..1&v=wall#/pages/DC-Give-a-Day-Get-a-Disney-Day/247506873572?ref=mf

or the website: http://disneyparks.disney.go.com/disneyparks/en_US/WhatWillYouCelebrate/index?name=Give-A-Day-Get-A-Disney-Day

Check out the photos and summary of December’s Wings & Wheels event!

http://www.1940airterminal.org/WingsAndWheels/2009/12/

2009 has been the most exciting and most productive year in our museum’s short history. We are now looking towards 2010. Next year already promises many opportunities for us. In the coming weeks, we will be charting our museum’s course for 2010. We will be prioritizing opportunities and goals and planning how we want to realize such opportunities and accomplish our goals.

On Saturday, January 9, 2010, we will host our first annual museum planning seminar to brainstorm about our course for 2010. our board of directors will be there, as will many of our current lead volunteers. If you have considered volunteering with us, this is a great opportunity to meet our team, get involved and have hand in planning our upcoming year.

Here is what we have in mind for this action-packed day:

2010 Museum Planning Conference

9:00 Intro: Where we have been and where we are going
Background
Mission
Organizational History
Museum goals
Organizational structure: meet the Board and the Lead Volunteers

10:00 New volunteer orientation/veteran volunteer recurrent training
Our philosophy regarding volunteers
The volunteer/public interface
This is your museum
Special Events: Wings & Wheels, Pops & Props, Hobby Hangar Hop & other museum events

12:00 Lunch
Catered BBQ lunch

1:30 2010 Strategic Planning: Museum Goals & Implementation
What do we want to accomplish in 2010 and how will we accomplish it?
Museum Operations
Museum Funding
Collections management
Volunteer recruitment
Growth Area Targets

3:15 Aircraft Restoration Projects
DC-6 nose
Cardinal
Simulators
Biplane
Airstairs

4:00 Q&A

4:30 Conclusion

We invite you to be a part of our volunteer team. To participate in our planning conference, please RSVP by calling 713-454-1940, or email info@1940AirTerminal.org.

Context differentiates an artifact from a mere collectible and allows a photograph to become a window into the past. Context can knit together anecdotes and memories into History.

One of the challenges and most exciting aspects of the Museum is to put the artifacts, photos, documents and other parts of our collection into historical context. Some parts of the collection come to us with their complete history – in context. With other parts of the collection, we know little or nothing, but engage in historical detective work to put such items into context. It is exciting and rewarding, and for those who love history, one of the most fun aspects of participating with the Museum.

Early in our Museum’s existence, long before we had started actually restoring the 1940 Air Terminal, we were offered a set of negatives from photos taken by a prominent local photographer. They were offered to us by a collector, who had acquired them from the photographer’s estate. The photos were diverse and beautiful and gave us glimpses into Houston’s aviation history. They were too extraordinary to let pass, so we acquired them.

One of our favorite groups of images from this collection are photographs taken in front of the 1940 Air Terminal in what appears to be an orchestrated publicity photo shoot. The subject matter gave us some clues into the photos’ context: the aircraft in the foreground were all Eastern Air Lines aircraft. The lighting indicated the photos were taken in the early morning. The vintage of the aircraft, as well as the configuration of the 1940 Air Terminal, suggested the photos were taken in the early 1950s. In at least several of the photos, a flight crew is shown. An example is show in our website photo galleries, with the caption “Fair Skies”, here: http://www.1940airterminal.org/history/galleries/historical/FlightCrews/

Who were the crewmembers? Exactly when was the picture taken? For years we did not know.

Recently we were contacted by Jerry Griggs, whose dad flew for Eastern. Jerry provided us with first hand context for these photos, from his Dad’s friend and fellow Eastern pilot, Clint McHenry:

“It might be of interest that the only air-conditioned area in that terminal at that time was the control tower. The photo was taken in late 1952 when the DC-3’s were still being used and the Martin 404’s were being introduced in the southwest. The crewmembers, left to right, are Don Landry, Marcia Roeding, and Ed Wyrick.

The Houston pilot domicile was closed in October 1952 and most of us moved to New Orleans shortly after. Two years after Marcia and I were married we moved into Idlewood, a development entirely conceived and built by EAL pilots. We all stayed there until MSY was closed in 1964. The husbands, wives, and children grew almost as one large family. It was a delightful time. The residents were Jack Schlaffer, Tex Maxwell, Bill Moore, Don Landry, Gib Geurin, McHenry, Morris Hooton, Jack Rolfson, Fenwick Lind, Don Smith, Tom Yaeger, Ed Wyrick and Chancey Flint.”

Thank you, Captain McHenry, and thank you Jerry. You have helped us put these beautiful photos into context.

Come see the raffle plane and get your ticket for a chance to win it!

Max Tribolet and Blair McFarlain will be arriving tomorrow morning and will be out front selling tickets.

Come by and say hi!

Photos & information about this month’s Wings & Wheels is now up on the site.

There are 33 shopping days until Christmas. If you are shopping for fans of aviation and history (or want to provide a hint to your friends and family where they can shop for you), come visit our newly expanded Museum giftshop. We think its the best aviation shopping in Houston and one of the best aviation shops in the country. We have more interesting new items arriving over the next few weeks, too. And for a truly unique gift, how about buying raffle tickets for a chance to win our beautiful 1958 Cessna?

This weekend, museum volunteer Max Tribolet and I had a really good weekend with the raffle plane.  I got to Hobby Airport at about 1:45p and started packing up the plane.  Blair McFarlain, another museum pilot, had texted Max to tell him that the right main tire was low and needed to be filled, and Max forwarded that message along to me.  We did the pre-flight and I was going to use my emergency car air compressor to fill the tire, but it didn’t work.  So, long story short, I wound up taxiing it down to Million Air to get it filled (thanks for that, Million Air!), which caused Max and I to not get airborne until about 3:40p or so. 

We had a beautiful flight up there at 6500ft. with unlimited visibility and the air was as smooth as glass.  Max (who is also a licensed pilot) and I traded the controls a few times, and basically split the flight time up there.  It was dusk when we arrived, and we found the airport without a problem, then made left traffic for the runway, as directed.  On our base, they asked us to fly through the final approach path and make a right 270-deg turn back to final since a King Air that had been waiting there for 15 minutes just got their IFR release. 

So, we landed, taxied in, tied down the plane, gathered our belongings and got a ride to the hotel from one of the line guys (thanks for that, Harrison Aviation!).  We were invited to a reception at the hotel that night with a bunch of the performers, so we went down there and had a good time hanging out talking airplanes and music.  Then, one lady brought out her cello, another got out her wooden flutes, and a guy got out his saw.  Yes, he brought out a wooden-handled, Stanley saw and a violin bow.  It made a really cool sound, and the three of them just had an impromptu jam session.  A couple of other people got out guitars to play along, so I couldn’t help myself and brought out my guitar to play with them for a while.

The next morning, we got out to the airport at around 7am. We got everything set up and started selling tickets.  Early indications were that the day would be very good as we had sold 5 tickets by 9:00a (doors opened at 8:00a).  My friend Troy Whistman from the Pilots of America forum (who we stayed with on Saturday night) came in early and spent a lot of time hanging out with us and even sold a few tickets throughout the day (thanks for that, Troy Whistman!).

We had a lot of people stop by and check out the plane, and sold a total of 24 tickets on the day.  People couldn’t believe that it was a 1958 model plane!  Interestingly enough (and I didn’t realize this), but the plane actually used to be based at Spinks airport, where this event was.  We had a couple of people come up who were familiar with the plane and the owner, and the guy who actually owned it and restored it came up to talk to us too!  That was really interesting, even though he didn’t take the opportunity to win his plane back for $50.  We did let him jump up into the plane for a minute for old time’s sake.  After the event was over, we packed everything back up, pushed the plane to its tie-down spot, and tied her down for the night.  Troy then took us on a tour of downtown Ft. Worth, drove us by Meacham Field, then on to his house, where we had a delicious dinner with him and his family (thanks for that, Teresa Whistman!).  We hung out for the evening telling flying stories with him and another friend of mine, Kent Shook, also from Pilots of America, who is an over-the-road truck driver and just happened to be passing through town that night.

Sunday morning we awoke to 500ft. overcast ceilings, so we went out for a great breakfast with Troy and two of his daughters before heading to the airport.  The original plan was for us to go to Cleburne airport to get some cheaper gas, then head to Hooks via the Waco VOR and the College Station VOR.  But, the Waco VOR is on the San Antonio sectional, which I didn’t have.  So, we went to Meacham to try to buy it at a flight school there, but they were sold out.  We went to another pilot shop, which was closed, then we went to another FBO, but they didn’t have any.  So, I went into the flight planning room where there were a couple of King Air pilots (who also didn’t have the VFR sectional), so I just printed the parts I needed off of SkyVector.com using the FBO’s printer (thanks for that, Texas Jet!).  While we were in there we sold a raffle ticket to one of the King Air pilots .

We finally got to Spinks airport and checked the weather forecasts, and decided to wait things out until conditions improved while we evaluated our options.  Troy had to go, so we bid him goodbye and thanked him profusely for all that he had done.  We then called up the tower on the phone and asked if we could come up.  They said yes, so we walked over there and went up to hang out with the two guys up there.  It was a pretty slow day, so we just watched football and they checked their fantasy scores between arrivals and departures.  Suddenly, around 1:15p, the ceilings lifted up and it got a lot lighter, so we figured it was our opportunity to go.  I called and got an abbreviated weather briefing and was told that the ceilings were anywhere from 1300 to 4300ft on a direct route from Spinks to Hooks.  Troy called me and said he checked METARS and if we went east to Corsicana before heading south, the ceilings were above 2500ft for the entire route.  So, we went with that option.

Initially, ceilings were high and visibility was >10 mi, so we went up to 2500ft.  There was even some blue sky visible through some holes in the clouds.  Early on, it looked like we could pretty easily climb above the clouds and cruise along in clear weather, but I resisted that urge because I didn’t want to get stuck up there without a way to get down.  In the end, I’m really glad we stayed low.  We stayed at 2500ft. until we got to about 10mi from Corsicana, when things started looking really good to the south. So we turned to go direct to Hooks.  As I flew, Max followed us on the charts, pointing out any towers and checking the weather at upcoming airports along our route.  We were on VFR Flight Following with Regional Departure and Waco Approach until we left their airspace, then were dumped off to our own devices since Houston Center had a low-level radar outage.  We traded the controls for a while and I followed our route and checked weather.  As we got further south, the ceilings got a bit lower, so we had to go down to 2000ft.  We got almost to Huntsville before we went down to 1800ft. However, visibility was still right around 8 mi or more, and I was ready to turn back to any of the airports we passed if things got too bad.  When we got past Lake Conroe, the visibility got down to about 5 mi and the ceilings forced us down to 1700ft. to maintain the legal cloud separation minimums, but we were on with Houston Approach by that point.  We were on a direct track in for a final to runway 17R at Hooks at that point, and we tuned in the localizer to help us stay lined up until we could see the airport.  We saw the airport about 5 miles out, landed without incident, and taxied in to the FBO.

After gassing up and coordinating with Museum President Drew Coats for hangar space (we decided it wasn’t a good idea to get back in the air to try to make it to Hobby, and he has a hangar at Hooks) and called my girlfriend Heather Gould to come get us from Hooks and bring us to Hobby, we walked out to the plane to taxi it to Drew’s hangar.  Just then, two Army Blackhawk helicopters came in to land on the helipads at the FBO.  We watched them land, then we walked over to introduce ourselves and ask if they would like to come to Wings & Wheels in a couple of weeks.  After that, we hopped in the plane, taxied to Drew’s hangar, put the plane away, and drove off into the sunset with Heather.

Big thanks to Max Tribolet for being such a great co-pilot, Million Air at Hobby Airport, Harrison Aviation at Spinks Airport, and Texas Jet at Meacham Airport for their assistance, Troy Whistman for helping us out so much while we were there, The Whistman Family for their hospitality, John Zapp and Aileen Hummel of the Flying Musicians Association for allowing us to come sell tickets at their terrific fly-in, Heather Gould for coming to our rescue at Hooks Airport, and to everyone else who helped make our weekend so great!

Our Museum is honored to have one of a handful of surviving Boeing B-17 Flying Fortresses as a neighbor. The Commemorative Air Force’s Texas Raider has undergone a long restoration at multiple locations around Hobby Airport, but is now hangared just south of the Museum’s hangar, and a few buildings north of the 1940 Air Terminal itself.

Fresh off her first flight in 8 years, Texas Raider was the star guest at our recent innaugural Hobby Hangar Hop. Standing in the fading autumn light that evening, I reflected on the emotional response B-17s generate. While almost any aviation or history aficianado enjoys being in close proximity to sleek fighters, like the P-51 Mustang, the Mustang is a combination of adrenaline, chivalry and testosterone: a 20th Century suit of armor for dueling warriors. The B-17 is different. On the one hand, the B-17’s purpose is obvious. It bristles with guns and its design is obviously intended to hoist the maximum destructive payload in its bomb bay and facilitate its delivery to an intended target. Yet, for all its destructive might, the B-17 is fragile and delicate. I cannot stand next to a B-17 without thinking of the ten young men riding aloft through skies filled with danger. It’s probably human nature to picture oneself in a given situation when trying to imagine what a historical event would have been like, but at 42, I would have been decades too old to join such a crew. Rather, the vast majority of such crews were comprised of scared, brave teenagers. So I think of the young men I consider friends, volunteers at the museum and otherwise, who are at the stage in life where they are now obtaining drivers licenses, pilots licenses and deciding on colleges, and imagine them aloft in subzero temparatures, guiding one of these machines towards Germany as the entire Luftwaffe tries to kill them.

These young men died in atonishing numbers trying to accomplish their mission. But they succeeded and played a vital role in defeating Nazi Germany. Without their sacrifice, the world would be very different today.

If you are not familiar with their history, read some of their literature and see some of their experiences in any number of excellent books and movies about their effort. And most of all, if you have a chance to meet any of these heroes, don’t pass it by. Shake there hands and tell them thank you.

Today, after the Wings over Houston airshow, I had the honor and privilege of taking Captain A.J. High with me on the return flight of the raffle plane to Hobby.

I had to move the raffle plane back to Hobby, and was just going to go solo, but then someone told me that AJ was in the Heroes & Legends tent right next to us, selling books and signing autographs.

So I headed over and asked him if he’d like to fly with me over to Hobby. He said “YES”! I could tell that he was very excited, and so was I!

I planned to fly out VFR to the north, fly around the San Jacinto monument, and then north around downtown, and come back in to Hobby.

After the show, we packed up, and were selling tickets until the very end. We sold 47 tickets today, and had a total of 96 for the weekend. It was a good event for the museum.

Anyway, we got the assistance of HPD and pushed the plane out to the ramp, but then HAS operations stopped us, and told us we couldn’t get out, and had to wait until the notam was lifted. All we could do was pull it off to the side, and then wait.

About 5 minutes later, a police helicopter was being rolled out. They opened the gate for them! And also let us out, as well as one other aircraft. We pushed it out on to the ramp, and started it up. We waited for the helicopter to depart, then we headed out.

On ground frequency, I could hear the blue angles getting their IFR flight plans activated and getting ready to go.

We taxied up to taxiway C and did our run-up. Called up tower, and departed. We climbed into a golden sky.

We flew over to the San Jacinto monument, then headed west toward downtown. I called up Houston approach and asked for clearance to circle downtown, and come in to Hobby.

We had to wait a bit to hear the magic words “Cleared into Class Bravo airspace”, and remained north of I-10 until we did. They had a few Southwest 737’s coming in to 12R. Once we got clearance, we flew closer to downtown, and got handed off to tower.

Approach told us to head for 12L, but I requested 17 with the tower, and they gave it to us. We came in to Hobby just as the sun was setting.

The landing was probably one of the best I’ve ever done. Basically the definition of a “greaser”. Captain High said only one word after we touched down. “Slick”.

I just smiled, as we taxied off and headed for the hangar.

After we put the plane away we were waiting on his wife to come pick him up, and we were in the hangar looking at an old aerial photo of Hobby. He mentioned that he had not flown a single engine plane since 1946!

This flight now sits on the top of my list of my favorite flights. It tops hanging outside the door of a DC-3 to do photos.

I am deeply honored to be the one to get him back in the air. I don’t know how long it’s been since he’s flown, but I know he enjoyed it, and of course, so did I.

This will not be our last flight together!

Captain High was a B-25 Pilot during WWII, beginning the war in the Aluetian Islands and later served as a B-17 and B-29 instructor. In 1947 he was one of the first sixteen pilots hired by Trans-Texas Airways, and his career spanned the evolution of commercial airline passenger service in Texas from its beginnings to the modern era.

With more than 40 years and 40,000 hours of flight time, he has witnessed quite a few historic moments. Captain High flew many types of aircraft, from converted Army C-47 prop planes, to jet engined DC-9s, and was the pilot of the first plane to land at Houston Intercontinental Airport when opened in 1968. He can be found volunteering at the 1940 Air Terminal Museum at Hobby Airport.

Museum volunteers Blair McFarlain and Mike Kelly flew the raffle plane into Ellington on Friday afternoon. Saturday and Sunday were beautiful days!

Volunteers Bernard Morris, Diana Morris, Megan Lickliter-Mundon, Tim Mundon, Ross Simons, Blair McFarlain and Gene Bursick were also on hand to help sell tickets on Saturday. On Sunday Bernard Morris, Blair McFarlain, Elaine, and John Kaltenbach were on site selling tickets and telling people about the museum.

We sold 49 tickets on Saturday and 47 tickets on Sunday!

THANKS to all volunteers who came out to help sell tickets, and THANKS to all who purchased tickets. The museum appreciates your assistance!

Captain A.J. High was also on hand in the Heroes & Legends autograph tent signing copies of his book and enjoying the show.

A.J. High was a B-25 Pilot during WWII, beginning the war in the Aluetian Islands and later served as a B-17 and B-29 instructor. In 1947 he was one of the first sixteen pilots hired by Trans-Texas Airways, and his career spanned the evolution of commercial airline passenger service in Texas from its beginnings to the modern era.

With more than 40 years and 40,000 hours of flight time, he has witnessed quite a few historic moments. Captain High flew many types of aircraft, from converted Army C-47 prop planes, to jet engined DC-9s, and was the pilot of the first plane to land at Houston Intercontinental Airport when opened in 1968. He can be found volunteering at the 1940 Air Terminal Museum at Hobby Airport.

Sunday morning, Francisco & I got up, ate breakfast, checked out and expected to catch the “bus”.

It was supposed to leave at 8:30 and we were downstairs at 8:00. I will say the Holiday Inn Express had an excellent breakfast buffet both days.

Anyway, we finally called the ranch, and no one answered. We gave them more time, but no one answered. We finally had to call on our friends who took us home on Friday night to see if they could give us a ride.

They agreed, even though they weren’t planning on going back on Sunday! They were in the hotel right next door, and so we walked over and hopped in the suburban.

They were very gracious, and drove us right up to the plane!

It was about 9:45 at this point, and everyone was leaving. So, we decided to pre-flight and pack up, and head on home. One last guy walked up to us and asked “Are you guys still selling tickets.” To which I said “Yes Sir!”

Our official ticket count was 38 for the trip. I know what you’re thinking… 7 on Friday, and 30 on Saturday doesn’t make 38. Well, we ended up giving our friends who gave us a ride, a ticket for their troubles. They were very appreciative and we will keep in touch with them, they live up in Oklahoma.

As people started to depart, we gathered up all our stuff, and stuffed it into the plane. It’s amazing we got all that stuff in the back of the plane and back seat!

We took off using only about half the runway. It was a very fun trip, and one I intend to repeat next year.

We had only used 1/4 of the fuel on board to get up there, so I decided to fly straight to Hooks where the museum has an account that we can get the plane filled up, and also get some food, before heading back to Hobby. We can get fuel at Hobby, but it’s cheaper at Hooks & West Houston.

After we ate lunch, we headed down to Hobby, and flew the “Rick Sharpe” approach into Hobby, which is to come into runway 12, and then switch to runway 17. It was gusting to about 22 knots, so I decided to do a no-flap landing, and came in pretty good, right on the centerline, and even still only used half the runway, mostly because of the headwind. (I’ve got video of this too, will post it soon!)

We taxied to the hangar and put the plane away. We also spent a little time cleaning it and wiping the bugs off of it before going home.

We plan to be at Reklaw again next year!

A big THANKS to David & Marcia Mason for letting us attend. We had a blast!

On Saturday morning, we got to sleep in late! PJ, Mark and Bernard drove up early, and got to the airport at about 8am.

PJ dropped Mark & Bernard off, and headed up to the hotel to come pick up Cisco & I.

Once we got there, we helped them get set up, and started to watch everyone arrive.

There were lots of campers. Once the morning got going, many people were arriving and flying and going around the pattern, making low high speed passes. It was fun! I could have just sat there all day watching it!

There were many different types of planes there. This one looked like fun!

Here are our intrepid volunteers, doing what they do best!

The Antonov AN-2 made an appearance around lunch time, and did a few fly-bys. It would come down low and slow, and smoke the place up! the entire runway turned white for just a minute, it was awesome!

Clint was also flying around with his other Cub buddies.

It was a fun day of watching planes and selling tickets. We sold 30 tickets on Saturday!

Once it started getting dark (and cold) we packed up everything for the night. PJ, Mark and Bernard were ready to head back. PJ drove us back up into Jacksonville for dinner at a mexican restaurant and then dropped us off at the hotel.

PJ and crew then loaded up for the long trip back to Houston. Francisco & I decided to watch the video I had got from Friday and Saturday. I’m still processing the video, and will have it posted soon!

Cisco had confirmed that the “bus” would be running in the morning…

Next installment: the trip home!

Reklaw has become an annual tradition in Texas.  It is the largest fly-in in the state!

Museum volunteers Blair McFarlain (myself) and Francisco Guiterrez played hookey from work on Friday and flew the raffle plane down to the annual Fly-in / Camp out known as “Reklaw” (www.reklawflyin.com)

We started up at about 7:30 and were in the air at about 7:45 after getting our clearances and taxi.

The morning was spectacular, and it was VERY clear. I had decided to try to resurrect my old Sony video camera with a new battery. I’ve had issues with it in the past, but figured Reklaw was worth buying a new battery for it.

Turns out, everything came out great! Video to come soon!

We departed with our squawk code and got routed to the west a little bit before being allowed to proceed on course.

Once we were past Hooks, we got a direct routing. Reklaw was not in the database on the plane’s GPS.

However, I have a GPS program on my phone that I was able to use and type in the Latitude / Longitude coordinates for Reklaw and take us right to it.

Anyway, I will admit that I messed up and didn’t write down the unicom frequency for Reklaw. It’s not on the sectional, we asked two different center controllers to look it up, and they came up empty. We decided to divert to Nacogdoches to look up the frequency. We didn’t want to go into there without a radio.

We landed and saw a Falcon 50 on the ramp, and once we parked, it taxied out and was doing engine run ups.

I called fellow museum volunteer Emily, and she was able to get online and look it up.

With the frequency in hand, we got back in the air and headed to Reklaw. I used my phone’s GPS and we went directly to it, but didn’t see it until we were just about on top of it. We entered the pattern via the left crosswind and flew downwind and base, then turned final. There was about 5 or 6 other planes in the pattern.

They have a hump in the middle of the runway…

I had put in 20 degrees of flaps to get us down over the trees, then had asked Francisco to “dump the flaps” after we touched down, meaning to just put them all the way up. This reduces lift, and gets the full weight of the plane on the wheels as soon as possible, so you can get on the brakes and have them be more effective.

There are several positions where the flaps will click into, and Francisco thought he had them all the way down, but only went down to 10. Anyway, we touched down, and we were just about stopped when we hit the hump, and took off again, just a bit, and landed just a bit down the hump. I was able to stop it and turn around to taxi. In the end, we only used about 1/2 of the available runway.

We taxied back and just picked a spot. PJ had spoken to Marcia (wife of the owner of Flying M ranch, David Mason) and she said we could park next to the registration booth, so we could get lots of foot traffic when people walk by to register and sell tickets.

We didn’t want to park there without speaking to her first, so we just parked in any old spot.

After we got out, we spoke with the local Sheriff who was just sitting back enjoying the show, and he said he’d buy a ticket from us. We had our first sale!

After Francisco spoke with Marcia, we were able to move next to the registration booth.

We got set up, and started to sell tickets. We ended up with 7 tickets for the day. We knew Friday would not be as busy as Saturday, but we wanted to get in before the crowds on Saturday.

They didn’t have lunch on Friday, so we had to fend for ourselves. We brought food to make sandwiches, snacks, and drinks. There was a taxiway right next to us that was in a low spot between two trees. The low spot held some water, so people going by kept getting stuck! They (tricycle gear pilots) were not operating properly by holding the elevator up and keeping the plane rolling. They’d come up to it, elevator down, and stop and evaluate, then creep up to it, and get stuck. :facepalm:

I have video of a few of these planes. Some would have the elevator up, some wouldn’t, some would go through faster, but not have the elevator up.

There were LOTS of incredible planes. I wish I could have just walked around shooting photos.

This Pietenpol is owned by Mike Hergenrather who lives across the street from our favorite retired Continental pilot, Mike Kelly, and is a good friend of the museum.

Some of you may recognize this Cub, it belongs to our ATC buddy, Clint. He showed up about 3 hours after we did, even though we actually left at about the same time!

Once it was getting dark, we tied it down, and packed everything up.

The local EAA chapter provided dinner for $7 per person. We headed to the main hangar to line up for food. We stood in line for about 30 minutes before we got our food. It was COLD. I could no longer feel my toes!

After dinner, David announced that they lost the keys to the “bus”. They run a bus to take people to / from the area hotels who don’t want to camp out. Yeah, I was a wuss, I didn’t want to freeze my nuts off, and Drew said he’d pick up the tab for the hotel, so we decided to do that. Well the “bus” wasn’t a bus at all, but rather a 10 person van. Since they had no keys to the van, we had no ride to the hotel 30 miles away.

He made an announcement with a megaphone and a very nice couple who had driven down from east of Oklahoma city offered to take us and two other people in their suburban. They were going to the hotel right next to ours. We were very appreciative, because we would have been stuck out there with no tent!

We got to the hotel and checked in, and cleaned up and went to sleep. PJ, Mark and Bernard would drive up in the morning, and PJ would come pick us up.

Stay tuned for the next installment of Reklaw 2009!

The raffle plane will be on display Saturday and Sunday at the Wings over Houston airshow, come by and visit us, and check out the plane that you could fly away next July!

The 1940 Air Terminal Museum is looking for new volunteers to help with our raffle ticket selling and PR efforts at the Wings Over Houston Airshow. This is going to be a really exciting event. If you are interested in helping us on Saturday and/or Sunday, please call or email the Museum.

Museum volunteers Blair & Francisco have arrived at Reklaw for the 3 day fly in.

We will be on site selling raffle tickets.  We are positioned near the registration booth, and will be here until Sunday afternoon.

The Hobby Hangar Hop was a great success! As Houston temperatures dropped into the 50s on a gorgeous evening, the CAF’s B-17 Texas Raider provided a perfect backdrop for this magical event. Expect pictures in our galleries soon. Special thanks to our table sponsors, guests, the Barnstorming movie producers, the Gulf Coast Wing of the CAF and to Megan Lickliter-Mundon and our terrific volunteers for making the evening such a success.

Our friends at the Gulf Coast Wing of the Commemorative Air Force are planning to make high speed taxi tests at Hobby Airport today with their B-17G “Texas Raider” after an 8 year restoration. If all goes well and the weather holds, they may actually fly her today! We will have an excellent vantage point at the Museum. Come out and join us as we watch history return to the skies!

We are pleased to welcome the producers and director of Barnstorming (see www.barnstormingmovie.com) to the museum for the Hobby Hangar Hop. We will preview the movie at 11 am on October 17, during our Wings & Wheels Hobby Hangar Hop Preview Party, then host the Houston premier of Barnstorming as dinner is served during the Hobby Hangar Hop. Don’t miss this great opportunity to see the movie, visit with the producers and director and take home an autographed DVD. If you have not purchased your table or tickets for the HHH, call the museum today!

We are restarting our home school aviation education program this Sunday. The redesigned program is a two semester program, which will be tailored for grades 3-6, but is open to kids older and younger. We will meet monthly, on the fourth Sunday afternoon of each month. Each class will run about 2 hours. We will generally start about 2, but the subject matter of certain classes may dictate a later start time on occasion. While we understand that participants may miss a month here and there for vacations, family commitments, etc., the program is designed to have participation for all nine months, not just an occasional class. The cost will be $250 per participating child, payable $125 per semester, which covers all expenses related to the class. The fees go to the Museum. At least one parent should attend with their participating kid(s). There is no separate charge for parents or for non-participating siblings. If you would like to participate, please email Coats@1940AirTerminal.org.

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Fall

September 27:
Introduction of aerodynamics: how a plane works Airplanes at Hobby Airport Flying paper planes

October 25:
Navigation
The history of the airplane
A tour of the museum – scavenger hunt

November 22:
Fly Day – plane rides (weather permitting)

December 27:
Family cookout
Plane watching

January 24:
Careers in aviation

February 28:
Field Trip

March 28:
Weather
Communications
Interesting ways planes help us

April 25:
Field Trip or Fly Day – to be determined

May 23:
Introduction to aviation education, including college aviation programs, flight schools, aviation maintenance schools, and air traffic controller training End of class party

There is a terrific set of Life Magazine photos from 1956 on the Sunshine Skies website, depicting various aspects of airline travel in the age of the giant propliners.  While these photos were taken in Atlanta, it is very easy to imagine the same scenes, involving many of the same aircraft, at the 1940 Air Terminal just a few years earlier.  Take a look and enjoy: http://www.sunshineskies.net/life.html

For years, we have struggled to get the word out about the Museum. While there is still lots of work to do, it seems that our young and growing museum has turned a subtle corner. As a case in point, I was in a very non-aviation location this past week, but happened to be wearing one of my museum t-shirts. An individual I had not previously met asked, “Have you been to that museum? It’s great! I have been several times.” The implication was that he assumed I had not been there and wanted to share what a neat place he thinks it is.

Then, while flying to Museum for Wings & Wheels this past Saturday, I heard the pilot of an aircraft check in with Houston Approach Control, calling from near Navasota, Texas, and indicating that he was inbound to the Museum.

While we are making great strides in publicizing our unique museum (new website, Face Book, etc.), one of the best mechanisms for PR remains word of mouth. If you enjoy the museum (on site or on the web) please tell your friends to come visit, visit the website, become a Face Book fan, etc. Thanks to all of you who are already doing this!

The raffle plane will be flown by museum volunteers PJ Gustafson and Bernard Morris to the EAA Chapter 1347 BBQ in LaGrange, TX (3T5) this Saturday, September 5, from 11:00a – 1:00p!

Come check us out!

This was a fantastic and record-setting Wings & Wheels event! It was described by many as one of the best we’ve ever had! We set a new record with 22 fly-in aircraft on our ramp at the same time.

In addition to the museum’s raffle Cessna 175 (which could be yours for $50!), we had two Cessna 172’s, a North American Navion, a Navy T-34C primary trainer aircraft from the Naval Air Station in Corpus Christi, TX, and 17 RV aircraft of various models.

View photos & recap here:

http://www.1940airterminal.org/WingsAndWheels/2009/08/