...and Wings for Doggedly Trying

April's dinner program was a video presentation from Mitch entitled "The Great Circle Air Safari."  Some nice shots of the outback and formation flying - thanks to Jessenia for editing the video down to a manageable length.  

Joe Cogan also made a presentation on the upcoming November trip to Alamos, Mexico.  If you were on the fence regarding this trip, Joe's presentation definitely made the case that this is going to be a unique, fun and relatively easy adventure.

Wings were awarded to Jerry Stephens for his determined efforts to get his medical certification reinstated.  After endless rounds of bureaucracy, Jerry received the FAA's blessing and is now back in the air.  Congratulations, Jerry!

Stormy weather on Friday, April 13 didn't deter a resolute group of DAFers from attending the April Fly-In to Cambria. The weather forced most of those who came up Friday to drive rather than fly. While the pounding rain would have convinced lesser folk to turn back, thoughts of a waiting Happy Hour at Lisa and Curtis' room kept everyone focused on the mission at hand.

Saturday brought much nicer weather and a chance to appreciate the magnificent scenery surrounding our hotel (which was also very nice). By Saturday afternoon, 32 DAFers in 11 cars and 4 aircraft had converged to attend the evening tour of Hearst Castle. After an earlier-than-usual Happy Hour, the group had an excellent dinner at the nearby Manta Rey restaurant and then proceeded to the Castle.

We reached the Castle just before a stunning sunset. Divided into three groups, we toured the pools, guest house and main house. The docents guiding us were quite knowledgeable and entertaining - everyone learned something. (On a personal note, this editor thought the decor was a little spartan. With all that money, you'd think that Hearst could've afforded to 'zazz things up a bit.)

Thanks to Lisa Hahn for all of the planning and organization that went into this. Everyone had a great time.

...and Name Badge Mystery

For our March dinner meeting, Jack Kenton presented a very interesting photo overview of "100 Years of Naval Aviation".  Jack highlighted quite a few novel aviation prototypes, dating from the early 1900's to near-present day.  Everyone learned a little something and enjoyed Jack's talk (unless you were a USMC aviator - in which case you were the brunt of a few jokes).  Nice job, Jack.  An otherwise perfect evening was flawed by the mysterious absence of the DAFer name badge locker.  Without name badges, people were very confused, and had to resort to calling people "Big Guy" and "Honey".  And as if this wasn't enough, the lack of name badges meant that there would no badge drawing for wine.  When President Joe Cogan made this announcement to the already surly crowd, a near-riot almost ensued.  It was only due to Joe's calming words, along with a promise to award four bottles next month, that disaster was averted.  Unfortunately, none of this was adequately documented due to the incompetance of the substitute photographer for the evening, Larry Chapman.

The gods smiled again on all DAFers as we flew out to Borrego Springs for lunch on March 3.  Twenty-seven people in 11 aircraft made the flight - all experiencing blue skies and gentle winds.  The restaurant was very hospitable and accommodating with everyone seeming to enjoy their meals.  Click to Watch Borrego Video

Afterwards, many of the participants were called upon be part of the first DAFer feature film - the exclusive preview of which can be found here.  All in all, a very nice way to spend a Saturday afternoon.  Thanks to Jodie Chapman for putting this together.