EDITOR: CAROL & GERRY HAMPTON AV8RGNH@SBCGLOBAL.NET 530-676-7755
The Fly-in and Air Show season has kicked off to a great start with Swift National at Bowling Green, KY a great fly-in along with a wonderful time at Diamond Point, WA with a record number of Swifts attending. The next major Swift fly-in is the West Coast Swift National at Westover Field, Jackson, CA, 24-27 Sep.
Westover 2015 Sept 24-27
Brad Stahl is well into planning for a “traditional” West Coast Swift National. The fly-in headquarters is still the Best Western Amador Inn and the rate is still $69 with a block of rooms reserved. Please call and get your reservation—209-223-0211. On 1 Sep the price goes to $99 per night and no rooms may be available. Incahoots will be doing the Friday night BBQ and it will be held in a hangar, not at the gazebo. Saturday night banquet will again be at Thomi’s. We are planning on wine tasting—leaving earlier than we have in the past so we can hit a couple more wineries. We will have a formation school if there is a demand. All in all, a normal “fun” event.
WESTOVER 2015
SCHEDULE OF EVENTS
THURSDAY SEPT 24th
EARLY BIRD ARRIVAL
DINNER-UNSTRUCTURED @ Thomi’s/Mels Diner
FRIDAY SEPT 25th
SWIFT STORE & REGISTRATION
OPEN 10:00AM TO 3:00 PM
FORMATION SCHOOL-10:00
FORMATION PRACTICE AFTERNOON
Lunch on field- 12:00 NOON
EVENING ACTIVITIES IN HANGAR ON FIELD:
DONATION BAR 6:00 PM ON
BAR B QUE DINNER – 7:00-10:00 PM
HOSPITALITY ROOM OPEN AT BEST WESTERN INN
AFTER DINNER-FRIDAY & SATURDAY
SATURDAY SEPT 26TH
SWIFT STORE & REGISTRATION
OPEN 10:00 AM TO 2:00 PM
FORMATION PRACTICE
LOCAL WINERY TASTING—11:00AM, Lunch at a Winery?
SEE REGISTRATION
SHOPPPING TRIP TO SUTTER CREEK & LUNCH
Lunch on field
FLY OUT – GOLDEN GATE AREA SAN FRANCISCO
Lunch @ Half Moon Bay or?
Don Thomson/Tom Numelin lead
VIEWERS JUDGING OF AIRCRAFT UNTIL 2:00 PM
Viewer’s Choice ballots must be turned in to Registration by 2:00 pm
DINNER – 7:00 PM
OPEN BAR – 6:00PM-7:00PM
THOMI’S BANQUET ROOM
SUNDAY SEPT 27TH
HAVE A SAFE FLIGHT HOME !
Swift National 2015 June 10-14
Swift National at Bowling Green this year was once again a smashing success. Jerry Kirby and his volunteers planned and executed an exceptional fly in with excellent facilities, hangar space for many, fine food. We were treated to very interesting tours to the Corvette Museum and Production facilities plus the visit to the local Aviation Heritage Park that provided insight to the local efforts to recognize and preserve the lore of local aviators and the aircraft they flew.
Getting Started: By mid-afternoon Wednesday, when I arrived at Bowling Green I was somewhat amazed at the number of Swifts already on the ramp…at least 20 or so. This number would grow to more than 40 by Friday and counting some who flew in but could not stay the number tallied near 45 for the week. We headed over to Rafferty’s for dinner and enjoyed their excellent restaurant. In fact we enjoyed Rafferty’s food all week as they catered all of our meals. Well done and no complaints from anyone.
Thursday featured the Formation Clinic, Swift Board meeting, tours of Heritage Park and the Corvette museum. Excellent facilities and enjoyed by all. The four days rapidly flew by as the events unfolded with large Swift participation in all events.
The Heritage tour was very interesting in that it featured many local aviators and revealed the depth of commitment to insuring the preservation of local aviation lore. Bowling Green has many aviation luminaries from WW I to the present, from Spads to the Space Shuttle and almost everything in between. Bob Fisher is the President of the Heritage Park and under his leadership they have managed to take this non-profit organization to a prominent place in Kentucky and national aviation. It was interesting to note that some of their members have.
included a member of the Lafayette Escadrille, a space shuttle pilot, WW II pilots, a past commander of Strategic Air Command General Russell Dougherty, BG Dan Cherry whose F-4 from Viet Nam days now sits in the airpark and others too numerous to name in this space. Interesting aircraft included an F-111, NASA T-38 flown by every man who has walked on the moon, T-33, F9F Panther which was one of the original Blue Angel aircraft over 50 years ago and others. This is indeed a very impressive memorial to aviation. Well done.
Corvette Museum.
A large contingent headed out to the Corvette Museum on Thursday to see the over 60 years of production Corvettes. These were magnificent vehicles and if you like sports cars this is a must see museum. You might recall that a short while ago a large sinkhole opened up right in the middle of the museum which damaged several vehicles including a new vehicle on display. Little vestiges of this catastrophe remain and construction is under way to shore up the facility. The artifacts, vehicles and story boards told the story of Corvette in great detail and the walking tour was fascinating. If you haven’t been and you are in the Bowling Green area this is a must see museum.
Corvette Production Facility. Jerry Kirby managed to get 72 of us a tour of the Corvette factory on Friday. It was what you might expect from a prestige vehicle assembly line. We were not allowed to take any pictures but the automated process was very impressive. The assembly line never stops and runs at .6 mph (that’s point 6) with teams doing specific jobs along the way as the Corvettes take shape. They start with the basic frame and just keep adding components as it rolls through the line. Each Corvette is already sold before it is built but as a future owner you may accompany your car through the production process and on some areas you may actually take part in the build. Some owners pick up their cars in Bowling Green on a scheduled date and time. If you like production techniques this too is a must see attraction in the Blue Grass State. Beautiful automobiles….just like our Swifts….in fact…a nice pairing.
Forums: A maintenance forum covering a wide variety of subjects was also held Saturday morning. Bo Mabry and Dave Carpenter presented material, fielded questions and discussed the many aspects of Swift. Jerry Mahoney also presented valuable information on “Determination of Maximum Range Glide Speed for the Swift”. This is a really detailed methodology for determining your Swift’s glide speed. Using Gerry’s methodology in conjunction with Johnny Summers charts you can determine what your Swift will do in an engine out or partial power situation via a precautionary landing.
Northwest Swift Fly-in Diamond Point, WA July 3-5
Thanks to Don Thomson for the following report.
Final approach to the Diamond Point Airport in Sequim, Washington is somewhat akin to flying over a Claude Monet landscape painting. The airport is nestled on a bluff, 263’ above the Strait of San Juan de Fuca. It is surrounded by trees and is host to a large population of black tail deer. The water surrounding the airport is deep blue and filled with buoys marking the crab pots of many fishermen.
The sky was clear and the winds light as a total of 33 Globe and Temco Swifts, manufactured between 1946 and 1951, arrived to enjoy what has come to be called the Diamond Point Swift Gathering. This is the 8th time that Swifters from across the United States and Canada have gathered to celebrate at Diamond Point.
Our hosts, Swifter Gerry Mahoney and Jean Takahashi, opened their beautiful hangar home to us and served as “Swift Control” for the 3-day event, which began on July 3rd. Enthusiastic pilots who all share in their love of the Swift represented the states of Tennessee, Texas, Arizona, California, Nevada, Oregon, and Washington.
Twenty-six Diamond Point airpark residents hosted the Swift pilots and crew, graciously opening their homes and providing a comfortable bed and ground transportation.
The gathering was very organized, but also very relaxed. Pilots were offered a number of daily fly-out opportunities to the San Juan Islands and some made the short flight to visit the Boeing Museum in Seattle.
Highlights of the weekend included a 13-ship formation flight to “open” two local parades over Sequim and Port Angeles, and a missing man formation flown to honor the mother of Swifter Nate Andrews.
The DP Swifters provided all meals. From the pancake, egg and sausage breakfasts to the halibut and salmon dinners, Swifters were treated like royalty. The fish was flown in from Alaska and donated by Swifter Darryl Fowler. It was caught by his son Ray and Swifter Johnny Johnson.
We also enjoyed some freshly caught, chilled Dungeness crab provided by Swifter Gary Eklund and his wife, Claudia. Claudia spent the days before the event setting and retrieving her crab pots as she has done every year we’ve come to Diamond Point. What a treat!
Door prizes were awarded at the Saturday night dinner and a silent auction conducted to help offset the cost of the event. Limited reproductions of aviation art were donated by a local community member and donated aviation supplies were among the items auctioned.
On Sunday morning, folks gathered to say their good byes and bring to an end another great time at Diamond Point. One by one the Swifts departed and gave the traditional fly by before turning to their homeward headings.
Everyone who helped to make this event special should be proud of his or her work! Hopefully, the tradition will continue and we’ll be back in 2017!
Red River Swift Wing Gathering Oct 22-25
The RRSW is going back to Pecan Plantation for its fall fly-in. More info to follow.
WCSW Fly-ins
Bill O’Connell reports that there were 2 Swifts on display at Dream Machines, Half Moon Bay Airport, April 26. Vern Rooze had 80737 and Bill O’Connell brought over 853D. He also reports that Harris Ranch had Denis Arbeau, Kyle Arbeau, Erin Oliver, Frank Silvera, Bill Gass, Richard and Arlys Clinton, Frank Gagnon, Bill O’Connell and Angelo Lombarde (RV-2). 4 Swifts total.
3 Swifts were present at the Nut Tree Airport, Jimmy Doolittle Museum pancake breakfast on Saturday, 25 July. First there was Tracy Rhodes from Reno NV, followed shortly by Gerry Hampton from Cameron Park, CA and lastly Bill Gass from Frasier Lake, CA. There was a very nice turn out of aircraft overall.
2015 WCSW SWIFT FLY INS
Sep 25-27 Westover Field, CA West Coast Swift National
Oct 17 Santa Maria, CA WCSW
Oct 22-25 Pecan Plantation, TX RRSW Gathering
Nov 15 Palm Springs, CA Palm Springs Air Museum
2015 OTHER FLY INS/AIR SHOWS
Aug 22-23 Camarillo Camarillo Air Show
Aug 22-23 Minden Tahoe Aviation Roundup
Aug 22-23 Santa Maria Thunder over the Valley
Sept 16-20 Stead Field Reno Air Races
Sep 26-27 Santa Rosa Wings over Wine Country
Sep 26-27 Salinas Calif Int’l Air Show
Oct 3-4 Mather Field California Capital Airshow
Oct 3 Livermore Airport Open House
Oct 11-12 Watsonville Fly-In & Air Show
Oct 17 Marysville Golden West EAA fly-in
The above information is accurate as far as we know it, if we receive notification of changes to date, time, locations, etc. we will update you.
The ANNUAL DUES for 2015 for a newsletter sent by e-mail is $5.00 and you must provide us an email address. If you want it mailed, US Post office, the dues remain at $15.00 – we still have to offset the expense of printing, mailing labels, stamps, etc. For our Canadian friends, we must continue to ask for $20.00 because of the higher postage fees.
**** IF your annual dues are up for renewal, please send your check to Gerry Hampton, 3195 Bonanza Dr, Cameron Park, Ca 95682. Make the check out to Gerry or Carol Hampton, WCSW. If you have already renewed, please disregard this notice. HOWEVER, all correspondence should be sent to Gerry Hampton either at the home address or to the e mail shown on page 1 of this newsletter. ****
Happy Skies
Carol & Gerry Hampton ☺