Palm Springs Air Museum Program on African American Contributions

Include a 92nd “Buffalo” Soldier and three Tuskegee Airmen

On Saturday, February 20, 2010 at 1:00, the Palm Springs Air Museum is proud to present Tuskegee Airmen Rusty Burns, Dr. Robert Higgenbotham and Mitchell Higgenbotham plus retired officer George Edwards of the 92nd Buffalo Soldiers in a program focused on African American Heroes of World War II. The program will be followed by a Flight Exhibition by a P-51, the most recognizable plane piloted by the Tuskegee Airmen. The audience will be able to “Meet and Greet” the speakers after the Flight Exhibition.

The Tuskegee Airmen flew P-51 fighter support for heavy bombers.  Because of their flying talents and bravery,  with over 1,500 missions flown, not one heavy bomber was lost to enemy planes. Of the original 996 men who received wings at Tuskegee, about 96 remain, two of whom live in the Coachella Valley.  Mitchell Higgenbotham is 5 years older than his brother Robert and served in the first wave of Tuskegee Airmen overseas. The two share different perspectives of service in the same unit.

The 92nd Infantry Division was one of two all-black infantry divisions in WW2.  They adopted the name that was given to the black cavalry troops by the plain Indians in the 1880s.  The Buffalo Soldiers had served in World War I.

In World War II, the 92nd arrived in Italy in the summer of 1944 with the 370th Regiment and was placed in combat on August 24.  They were the only black infantry division to see front-line combat in Europe, as part of the 5th Army. The division suffered a set-back in December when the Germans launched an attack through their position.  The division was strengthened with the addition of the 442nd and 473rd Regimental Combat Teams.  In the Spring offense, they entered La Spezia and Genoa on the 27 April, 1945 and liberated several towns along the Ligurian coast. 

The Program is included with regular admission to the Museum, $5 - $12.  The museum is located at 745 N. Gene Autry Trail, Palm Springs.

 

The Palm Springs Air Museum is an educational non-profit organization whose mission is to Preserve, Educate and Honor.  Over 28 flyable planes and interactive exhibits are housed in 75,000 square feet of climate-controlled hangars.

PALM SPRINGS AIR MUSEUM

745 N. Gene Autry Trail, Palm Springs, CA 92262

(760) 778-6262 / www.PalmSpringsAirMuseum.org

 

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Pelosi's Monumental Abuse of Military Aircraft Privileges (Updated)

Rick Moran,Reprinted from the American Thinker

Doug Ross has been on this story and broke some news yesterday about the millions of dollars - that's right, millions - that Speaker Nancy Pelosi has rung up in travel using military aircraft.

Now we learn from Doug that it appears Pelosi is using military jets to facilitate the personal travel of her children and grandchildren. No member of congress involved, just the junketing of her kids:

    Since Nancy Pelosi took over as Speaker in 2006, she's rung up millions in military travel expenses

    Worse still, she also appears to have requisitioned entire flights for the personal use of her children and grandchildren. That is, unaccompanied by any member of Congress, her kids, in-laws and grandchildren are utilizing entire military passenger jets for their routine travel needs.

    Using the documents obtained by Judicial Watch's Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests, I have discovered the following manifests and travel requests.

    22-Feb-2007: A military jet is requisitioned for the sole travel needs of the Speaker's son, Paul Jr.

    13-Apr-2007: A military jet is utilized for the unaccompanied travel of the Speaker's daughter, son-in-law and grandson.

    30-Oct-2008: A military jet is requisitioned for the Speaker's daughter and a son-in-law, Peter Kaufman. to commute between San Francisco and Washington.

Military flights cost between $5-$20 thousand dollars per hour to operate. Pelosi only reimburses the government between $120-$400 per flight. You and I pick up the rest of the tab with our tax dollars.

It's all perfectly legal, of course - or is it? Even if it is, perhaps we should start asking why a politician's children and grandchildren should have their travel subsidized at taxpayer expense?

Update and Clarification:

I received an email from Tom Fitton of Judicial Watch whose FOIA request brought these documents to light.

He informed both Doug Ross and me that documents Judicial Watch received last year "seem to show that the Speaker was on most if not all of the flights in question."

That may be true. But as a commenter points out at Doug's site:

    ":Even if these were scheduled flights, the individuals are not dependents of the Speaker. While they may be her children, they are grown adults, and do not meet the eligibility requirements of DOD 4515.13-R. Her son and daughter should not be flying on military aircraft at all.

The idea that any of her adult children should be subsidized by the taxpayer for anything is ludicrous. Pelosi's husband owns real estate worth as much as $25 million:

    The Pelosi family has a net worth of nearly $12.5 million as of 2008, largely from investments. In addition to their large portfolio of jointly owned San Francisco Bay Area real estate, the couple also owns a vineyard in St. Helena, California, valued between $5 million and $25 million. Pelosi's husband also owns stock, including $1 million in Apple Computer, and is the owner of the California Redwoods of the United Football League. Pelosi continues to be among the richest members of Congress.

Read More at the American Thinker

Orders up for Duluth's Cirrus aircraft

February 1, 2010, Reprinted from Duluth News Tribune

Duluth, Minn. (AP) — The economic future looks bright for Cirrus Aircraft in Duluth, which has hundreds of orders for a single-engine jet still in development.

Plans for the new jet took a hit last year due to the lagging economy. Shipments of new planes at Cirrus dropped to 270, the lowest point since 2001.

Cirrus executive Todd Simmons says the company has nearly 430 orders for the new $1.7 million jet, which will be produced in 2012.

The Duluth News Tribune reports those orders are backed with a $100,000 deposit. The new jet seats five to seven people and can fly at fairly high altitudes for corporate travel.


Information from:

Duluth News Tribune

Crownair Aviation Appoints New Director of Maintenance

Bill Rohde to lead strategy for Crownair’s maintenance and avionics business with a
commitment to superior safety standards and world class service
San Diego, Calif.; January 27th, 2010.
 Crownair Aviationan aviation fuel sales, maintenance and avionics service
company, is pleased to announce the appointment of Bill
Rohde as Director of Maintenance. Rohde will be
responsible for all maintenance, repair station, parts, and
line service operations and personnel. In his role, Rohde
will initiate new business opportunities, standardize bases,
and contribute to long term sustainable growth, while
ensuring continued safety and service reliability.

“Crownair’s reputation for world class service is due to the high caliber staff we have on board. Bill’s
wealth of experience in aviation and drive for customer satisfaction make him an excellent addition to
our team,” says Ray Richmond, General Manager of Crownair Aviation.

Rohde brings over 28 years of aviation experience working in Corporate, Repair Station and OEM sectors
of the industry, and has held various technical, leadership, and managerial positions throughout his
career. In addition, he has served on several industry committees, including the NBAA Learjet Technical
Committee and NBAA Honeywell Mechanical Technical Committee. Rohde holds a degree in Aviation
Maintenance Technology from Eastern New Mexico University.

“Crownair is positioning itself to have a greater presence in the industry,” said Bill Rohde, Director of
Maintenance of Crownair Aviation. “As the economy regains momentum and personal and business
flying activity increases, Crownair Aviation will be ready to meet the maintenance and FBO needs of our
customers.”

Rohde’s first exposure to business aviation came as a Maintenance Technician for Kal Aero, located in
Kalamazoo, MI. After 11 years of moving up the ranks at Kal‐Aero, Bill spent ten years as a Chief of
Maintenance at Eaton Corporation, overseeing maintenance of a fleet of business jet aircraft.
Most recently, Rohde held the position of Field Service Representative for Bombardier Business Aircraft.

During his tenure there, he assisted Bombardier operators in resolving technical and non‐technical
issues regarding the safe and efficient, and economic operation of their aircraft. In addition, Rohde
supported new aircraft operators with deliveries and entry‐into‐service, as well as provided guidance on
an advisory level to executive operators, completion centers, and service organizations.
About Crownair Aviation.

Crownair Aviation has a history of customer satisfaction that spans more than five decades. Crownair
provides a wide range of aircraft services including a dedicated fuel station, pilot and passenger
amenities, personalized concierge service, hangar space, and two class‐leading maintenance and
avionics service centers. As one of the most experienced and respected names on the West Coast,
Crownair has been serving the aviation community since 1951 with integrity and professionalism.
Crownair Aviation services single‐engine piston through high‐end business jet aircraft with full
maintenance, avionics equipment upgrades, installation and repair, as well as fuel sales and service. For
more information on Crownair Aviation, visit www.crownairaviation.com or call any of our locations:

Crownair Aviation‐MYF: 858‐277‐1453
Crownair Aviation‐CRQ: 760‐431‐5315

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Sen. Begich co-chairs Senate caucus on general aviation

Robots May Soon Be Doing Our Killing

One moment there was the hum of a motor in the sky above.  The next, on a recent morning in Afghanistan’s Helmand province, a missile blasted a home, killing 13 people.  Days later, the same increasingly familiar mechanical whine preceded a two-missile salvo that slammed into a compound in Degan village in the tribal North Waziristan district of Pakistan, killing three.

What were once unacknowledged, relatively infrequent targeted killings of suspected militants or terrorists in the Bush years have become commonplace under the Obama administration.  And since a devastating December 30th suicide attack by a Jordanian double agent on a CIA forward operating base in Afghanistan, unmanned aerial drones have been hunting humans in the Af-Pak war zone at a record pace.  In Pakistan, an “unprecedented number” of strikes -- which have killed armed guerrillas and civilians alike -- have led to more fear, anger, and outrage in the tribal areas, as the CIA, with help from the U.S. Air Force, wages the most public “secret” war of modern times.

In neighboring Afghanistan, unmanned aircraft, for years in short supply and tasked primarily with surveillance missions, have increasingly been used to assassinate suspected militants as part of an aerial surge that has significantly outpaced the highly publicized “surge” of ground forces now underway.  And yet, unprecedented as it may be in size and scope, the present ramping up of the drone war is only the opening salvo in a planned 40-year Pentagon surge to create fleets of ultra-advanced, heavily-armed, increasingly autonomous, all-seeing, hypersonic unmanned aerial systems (UAS).

Today’s Surge

Drones are the hot weapons of the moment and the upcoming Quadrennial Defense Review -- a soon-to-be-released four-year outline of Department of Defense strategies, capabilities, and priorities to fight current wars and counter future threats -- is already known to reflect this focus.  As the Washington Post recently reported, “The pilotless drones used for surveillance and attack missions in Afghanistan and Pakistan are a priority, with the goals of speeding up the purchase of new Reaper drones and expanding Predator and Reaper drone flights through 2013.”

The MQ-1 Predator -- first used in Bosnia and Kosovo in the 1990s -- and its newer, larger, and more deadly cousin, the MQ-9 Reaper, are now firing missiles and dropping bombs at an unprecedented pace.  In 2008, there were reportedly between 27 and 36 U.S. drone attacks as part of the CIA’s covert war in Pakistan.  In 2009, there were 45 to 53 such strikes.  In the first 18 days of January 2010, there had already been 11 of them.

Meanwhile, in Afghanistan, the U.S. Air Force has instituted a much publicized decrease in piloted air strikes to cut down on civilian casualties as part of Afghan War commander General Stanley McChrystal’s counterinsurgency strategy.  At the same time, however, UAS attacks have increased to record levels. 

The Air Force has created an interconnected global command-and-control system to carry out its robot war in Afghanistan (and as Noah Shachtman of Wired’s Danger Room blog has reported, to assist the CIA in its drone strikes in Pakistan as well).  Evidence of this can be found at high-tech U.S. bases around the world where drone pilots and other personnel control the planes themselves and the data streaming back from them.  These sites include a converted medical warehouse at Al-Udeid Air Base, a billion-dollar facility in the Persian Gulf nation of Qatar where the Air Force secretly oversees its on-going drone wars; Kandahar and Jalalabad Air Fields in Afghanistan, where the drones are physically based; the global operations center at Nevada’s Creech Air Base, where the Air Force’s “pilots” fly drones by remote control from thousands of miles away; and -- perhaps most importantly -- at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, a 12-square-mile facility in Dayton, Ohio, named after the two local brothers who invented powered flight in 1903.  This is where the bills for the current drone surge -- as well as limited numbers of strikes in Yemen and Somalia -- come due and are, quite literally, paid.

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