Wings of Dreams November 2011 Newsletter

November 2011 Newsletter                                                                                                                      Vol 1 Issue 2 Wings of Dreams Fly-In Breakfast -  November 5 "Fly Into History" Program - "Liaison Aircraft: Eyes in the Sky" The next Wings of Dreams Fly-In Breakfast and "Fly Into History" Program will be on November 5, 2011, rain or shine, starting at 8 am with breakfast ending at 10:30. But please feel free to linger and engage in hangar talk, view our exhibits, speak with our guest World War II veterans and program speakers, and admire the many beautiful visiting general aviation and vintage aircraft on the ramp. This month's program will be "Liaison Aircraft: Eyes in the Sky" presented by Wings of Dreams Executive Director Bob Oehl and other guest speakers. We welcome any other L-Bird owners to display their aircraft and veteran reconnaissance pilots to share their stories. Wings of Dreams' L-4J Grasshopper, which was assigned to 12th Army Group, Third Army, 45th Unit, 35th Infantry Division during World War II, will be on display. "Gift of Flight" certificates will be available for sale. Give a "fun flight" with Capt. Bob in this aircraft to one of the special people in your life - a great holiday gift with proceeds benefitting Wings of Dreams. We would like to recognize our Guest Chef and Servers for our upcoming November Fly-In and thank them for their participation and support. Guest Chef - JW McNeal, owner of Tuffy Auto of Jonesville Guest Servers - Mary Lou Hildreth, Mayor of Keystone Heights Cherese Stewart, Clay County Commissioner Sara Matukaitus, Locker Room & Kiwanis, Keystone Heights VeRonica Owen, Attorney at Law, Keystone Heights Elvis! Also, a big thanks to our vendor and donor Cowboyz Catering; County Line Aviation and AirGroup International for the use of their hangar; and Keystone Heights Airport, Kiwanis Club of the Lake Region, Bud King, and Express Air Flight School for ongoing support of Wings of Dreams fly-in programs. Click on this link to access the Wings of Dreams Fly-In Page - http://www.wingsofdreams.org/activities-events/fly-in Donation of Douglas C-47 Wings of Dreams welcomes the arrival of its first large World War II-era aircraft - a Douglas C-47. Executive Director Bob Oehl, Director Greg Ashley and A&P/IA mechanic Johnny Arpen, who has special expertise in DC-3/C-47 inspections and maintenance, flew down to South Florida to inspect and plan for its transport to Keystone Airport this Fall. This C-47 will initially be a static display, then be restored to flying condition and painted to replicate and commemorate the Vietnam War – era AC-47 "Puff the Magic Dragon," aka "Spooky." A second C-47 in flying condition is expected to arrive in 2012. This aircraft will be painted with a D-Day/ Normandy Invasion paint scheme before placing it into service doing reenactment flights to commemorate our World War II veterans. Wings of Dreams is organizing a fundraising campaign to restore, maintain and fly these aircraft in commemorative flyovers, reenactments and air shows.  We need plane sponsors to help "keep them flying." This is a great opportunity to get involved and help restore and preserve these aircraft and their legacy for future generations. We are also looking for skilled volunteers to participate in the restoration projects. For more information and details on how you can help, contact Bob Oehl, 352-256-8037 or email: bob@wingsofdreams.org. We will profile the donors and history of these aircraft in upcoming newsletters. Space Shuttle Fuel Cell Arrives at Wings of Dreams Wings of Dreams received its first major space program artifact – a space shuttle fuel cell, which will be on display later this year. This artifact is the first of several artifacts to be arriving this fall.  More details on the operation and history of these artifacts will be posted on the website. A big thanks to Bob Oehl and Noel Thomas for transporting the fuel cell from the Kennedy Space Center to Keystone Airport. The Wings of Dreams team is also gearing up for the transfer of the Space Shuttle Guidance and Navigation Simulator (GNS) from the Johnson Space Center next year. This is one of NASA's full-scale simulators that were used to train astronauts during the Space Shuttle program. We would like to thank Dr. Rich Rogers, Dr. Ming Chow, and Joane and Elmer Parkin for their generous donations to support of GNS transfer from Houston and space exhibit at Wings of Dreams. Please click here to get more information on the GNS and how you can support this effort. We would also like to thank the owners of a local trucking company, who prefer to remain anonymous, for the donation of the transport of the disassembled GNS from Houston to Keystone Airport. The estimated weight of the GNS, including crew station, mid-deck, support structures, hardware and other components, is 75,000 pounds! Field Headquarters Almost Completed! We will reopen soon in our "Field Headquarters," our temporary home until our permanent facility is completed. Wings of Dreams Aviation Museum temporarily closed due to relocation, renovation, and planning and creation of new exhibits. We would like to thank the following individuals and businesses, who generously donated cash contributions, time, materials, or services to help with the completion of this project: Bud King, Noel Thomas, Greg Ashley, Don Cornelius/Acousti Engineering of Alachua, Brandon Reese, Fred Sofield, Randall Taylor, Marion McDilda, Jim Forseman and Susan Kadi, Ron Newman/Modular Design Group, Tim Johnson, Daryl Wilkins/Regional Electric, Ken Towle/1-Yard Concrete, and Home Depot of Gainesville. We also want to thank Brandon Betten, an Eagle Scout candidate, for spearheading a project to make exterior improvements to the Wings of Dreams Field Headquarters. Wings of Dreams Teams Up with Emmy Award-Winning Filmmaker to Co-Produce WASP Documentary Wings of Dreams and Bill Suchy Productions LLC are co-producing a one-hour feature documentary on the Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP) of World War II. Written by Susan King and Bill Suchy, this bittersweet story on the first women to fly U.S. military aircraft depicts a relatively unknown chapter of World War II and commemorates these pioneering women, who flew 60 million miles to serve their country. Click on this link to access the Work-in-Progress Demo of "Silver Wings, Shattered Dreams: The Long Road to Recognition." Wings of Dreams is honored to work with Bill Suchy, whose documentary and television programs have earned numerous national awards, including several Emmys and an Oscar nomination. We are seeking sponsors and underwriters for this documentary. Sponsoring historical television programs is a proven method of promoting your business to a demographic consisting of thousands of potential new customers. It also is a great way to help stimulate economic development and publicize your dedication to helping increase the quality of life throughout the community. For more information, contact: Susan King, 352.332.5297 susan@wingsofdreams.org or Bill Suchy 407.294.3456 bill@billsuchy.com www.billsuchy.com Our thanks to: Bobbi Nagle, Unicorn Web Development for assisting us with website management and newsletters. Contact Unicorn Web Development at 904.282.9338, or by visiting the website unicornwebs.com, for any of your website needs.