Presidents Message for Sept. 2009 Welcome to the September newsletter, which means fall is here and summer break for the society's activities is over. As this newsletter fills your mailbox, many of your fellow members have just enjoyed the P-51 Mustang gathering at the Nut Tree, and others are at the National Championship Air Races in Reno. And that means it's time to make your reservations for the October educational program. For the October meeting, we're proud to have BC Thomas as our speaker. Thomas has more time in the SR-71 than any other pilot, and is also the only pilot to fly all three U.S. Air Force high-altitude reconnaissance aircraft (U-2, RB-57F, and SR-71). His list of accomplishments is long and varied including combat missions in Vietnam, test pilot for Northrop flying the B-2, a full career at United Air Lines, and he taught high school mathematics before "officially" retiring! For those of you with Internet connections, Thomas was kind enough to send links to short clips of some of his flying that have been posted on YouTube: BC Thomas lands his SR-71 at the 1983 International Air Tatoo at RAF Greenham Common: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9pedZz5VLcs Delivering a 727 to the Museum of Science and Industry by landing on Meigs Field's 3,900-foot runway: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NV4tgjSPgks&feature=channel SR-71 heavyweight takeoff from Air Force Plant 42, Palmdale: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QtNoY5lABnE&feature=channel_page Remember that the October meeting is our canned food drive. This will be our third year, and 2008's donations were more than double that of 2007. We appreciate your support, and all of the donations are delivered directly to the Second Harvest Food Bank in San Carlos for distribution around the Bay Area. December is the society's annual meeting, which signals it's time for our annual elections. We currently have one seat open on the board of directors, and are looking for someone to join our ranks. Please speak to one of the current board members to volunteer. Please feel free to review our society's bylaws, which are posted on the web at: http://www.sfahistory.org/bylaws.htm We're also looking for volunteers to serve on the video committee to videotape our meetings. Roger Cain has loaned his video camera and tripod and Andy Melomet has been doing an excellent job transferring our tapes to DVD. When you see them, please thank them for their generosity! If you have a video camera, or would like to assist in taping a meeting, please talk to Roger Cain. One additional position that needs a volunteer is the chair of our tours committee. There are several ideas and locations on the table, but we need someone to assist in coordinating the events. As always we strive to deliver the best value for your membership fee, and we hope you'll introduce a friend to the Society for Aviation History. See you in October! - Nick Veronico
Past President Messages are linked below:
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