Palomar Lunch Fly-in
After overwhelming the KCRQ tower and forced to circle a bit, everyone finally landed and had an outstanding lunch on the Landing's outdoor patio. The staff at the restaurant were great in accommodating our large, mostly well-behaved group.
It was great to see some of our newest members join us - we hope they make it a habit. It was also very nice to see Jerry and Mary Stephens flying their own airplane. Its been a while, Jerry. Congratulations!
Thanks to Peter and Liz Broen for organizing another fun event.
LAX Flight Path Museum Report
The organizers of the event, Wayne and Maria Grau, brought in and served wine and beer, as well as a great selection of appetizers. Thanks to the very hospitable museum staff and to Wayne and Maria for making this fun event happen. Click on photo above to see all of the pictures.
Dispatches from Mexico
January's dinner meeting program featured our own Joe Cogan, who gave a photo presentation of his extended trip to Mexico last November with the Ekbergs and Fords. Joe covered takeoffs and landings in Mazatlan, San Miguel de Allende, Zihuatenejo, Ixtapa and Puerto Valarta. However, most of the pictures seemed to involve people sitting and drinking tequila. January's dinner was also the first occasion for new board members Lori Delane (Decorations) and Anne O'Brien (Photographer) to perform their official duties. Congratulations to Lori and Anne, and thanks to Joe for an intoxicating presentation.
Del Amo Flyers Annual Holiday Party
November Dinner Meeting
During the Del Amo Flyers last regular dinner meeting of the year, Mitch Taylor (substituting for still-in-Mexico Joe Cogan) presented the Wings Award was presented to Stacy Moulton and Chuck Livergood for helping to promote general aviation at TOA by hosting a weekly getogether at their hangar on Sunday afternoons. Congratulations, Chuck and Stacy.
Our speaker for the evening was Dan Delane, who presented an excellent program on his personal experiences flying F-15's in the Aggressor Squadron in Operation Red Flag at Nellis AFB, and subsequently in the Georgia Air National Guard. Dan's presentation included some vintage video of him flying in the Guard, as well as swilling champagne with his fellow pilots in front of their F-15 squadron (it was not made clear whether this was a pre or post flight ritual). More photos here.
Alamos, Mexico
I think I can speak for everyone who had not stayed previously at the Hacienda de los Santos in saying that it greatly exceeded all of our expectations (which were already pretty high based upon Joe and Craig's descriptions). The rooms were incredible, the grounds were stunning, and the staff could not be more accommodating. After checking in, we all gathered at Zapata's Cantina for drinks and appetizers, where Jim Swickard presented each of the pilots who had flown in an official "Club Pilotes of Mexico" ballcap. We then moved to the terrace for a great dinner, and were entertained by both a talented guitarist/singer as well as special music by the group "La Estudiantina". (Click "Read More" below for a full trip report).