NEWS BRIEF Vol 07-08
DATE: 15 April 2007
TO: AAHF MEMBERS, PROSPECTIVE
MEMBERS, DONORS ETC.
SUBJECT: SKY SOLDIERS/ARMY AVIATION HERITAGE
FOUNDATION (AAHF) NEWS
BRIEF Vol 07-08
PURPOSE: To Periodically
Inform the Membership of the Activities of
the
Organization
I. MAINTENANCE:
We are still working on
Huey 426 - help is needed for those who have
time. Inspections are
always due on any of the aircraft, come watch,
lend a hand, maybe even learn
something new.
II NEAR TERM EVENT SCHEDULE (APRIL):
DATE
LOCATION PURPOSE
19
– 21 Apr 07 Louisville, KY Air show
III. AAHF
COORDINATING EVENTS (Not Listed Above):
DATE
TIME PURPOSE
2 Jun
07 0930 Monthly Meeting
21 Jul 07 0930 Monthly Meeting
18 Aug 07 0930
Monthly Meeting
15 Sep 07 0930 Monthly Meeting
20 Oct 07 0930 Monthly
Meeting
8 Dec 07 TBA Christmas Party
IV.
ADDITIONS/DELETIONS:
N/A
V. RECENT ACCOMPLISHMENTS:
A
winter's worth of work and the Punta Gorda, Florida Air show.
VI.
ADMINISTRATIVE MESSAGES:
(1) WHAT'S HAPPENING by Jeff Moss
Good
Things are Happening around the Hanger, Where are YOU?
For those members
who live away from the Hanger and those who have not
been around in some
time, you are missing out on something really
special as good things are
happening at the Army Aviation Heritage
Foundation. Our contract with
the United States Army has opened up
some very special doors, doors that are
benefiting our foundation as a
whole.
Let me give you some insight in
to some of the very positive things
that are going on. The Army
Contract has generated a lot of corporate
level interest in our
Foundation. Although the United States Army is
the primary sponsor of
the United States Army Sky Soldiers
Demonstration Team, we are also able to
offer other Corporations
Sub-Sponsorships. The Sub-Sponsorships are
offered at various levels
from Platinum to Bronze. I would like to give
you a few examples of
how this opportunity has benefited our Foundation as a
whole.
Some of the first sub-sponsors to come on line were Bell
Helicopter,
TESLA Industries, and Smiths Aerospace. Bell Helicopter
helped us in
painting several of our new Cobra Helicopters. Having one
of these
beautiful Black and Gold Cobras ready for AAAA in Nashville last
year,
was paramount in helping the Army "see" the benefit of sponsoring
our
team. TESLA Industries is an aircraft battery manufacturer.
They
have provided to us at no charge, enough batteries to outfit all
of
our Huey and Cobra Helicopters. These batteries do not
require
thirty-day inspections and charge via 110V AC…..plug it in, and
it's
ready to go when you are. Smiths Aerospace makes the AVA or
RADS
rotor smoothing systems and engine vibration analysis test kits.
Last
year, Smiths Aerospace donated an AVA system to the foundation and
we
are presently using it to do rotor smoothing and engine
vibration
analysis on our Huey and Cobra Helicopters. This equipment is
capable
of dialing in a rotor system in approximately two test flights
thus
cutting down on fuel and flight time. In addition, the same test
set
is capable of doing engine vibration analysis tests.
Just this
past week, we were able to sign a deal with MASCO. MASCO,
which is
located in Texas, repairs gauges and flight essential
equipment such as
Vertical Speed Indicators and Artificial Horizons,
etc. From N1 Gauges
to TGT/EGT indicators, MASCO can make the
repairs. In accordance with
our arrangement with MASCO, they will now
offer all repairs to us at no labor
costs, provide at cost parts, and
when needed, they will exchange parts
immediately to keep us in the
air and on time. This benefits all of our
aircraft, both rotary and
fixed!
Add in an 18 Wheeler Tractor donated
by Volvo, and our new 48' trailer
leased from SPEVCO for pennies a day, you
can clearly see that we have
certainly moved up from the trailer and borrowed
truck that got us
from one air show to the next. These are just a few
of the major
enhancements that have come to us as a direct result of the new
Army
Contract!
Our Huey ride program provided the foundation we needed
in order to
make the Army Contract a reality. Mike Brady's vision would
not have
become reality had the financial basis not been there from many
years
of hard work from the Huey Ride Team and the workhorse of the
Vietnam
War, the UH-1 Huey. Now we are in a transition time. The
Cobras,
after eight years of having the Huey carry the load and pay the
bills,
are coming on line to help solidify our foundation's financial
basis.
With this proof of concept year in play for the Army Contract, we
are
in a position to not only do something that has never
been
accomplished in the history of this county; we are going to make
more
history by exceeding all expectations. What do I mean by
this? First
of all, this is the first time in the history of our
Country that
Veterans and Veteran Aircraft have been utilized purely to
assist our
armed forces in recruiting. Second, following our first show
in Punta
Gorda, FL, we are breaking Army Recruiting records. In fact,
we
exceeded their expectations in Punta Gorda by 200% in
delivering
qualified recruiting leads. As the premier act, we delivered
the same
attendance that the Blue Angels and Thunderbirds have delivered
in
years past.
Several years ago, we made a commitment to work with
the Make A Wish
Foundation in delivering a wish to severely ill
children. At Punta
Gorda, our pilots visited the Make A Wish tent to
visit with the
children, but we also made a specific wish come true for
a
fourteen-year-old boy named Tom. Tom, an aviation enthusiast,
was
diagnosed earlier this year with a severe brain tumor.
Following
several operations, chemotherapy, and radiation, Tom's ability
to
enjoy a full day of activities was very limited. That didn't stop
the
Sky Soldiers. Tom and his Grandfather, a Vietnam Veteran, were
given
a ride in one of our Historic UH-1 Huey Helicopters. Following
the
ride, Tom and his family joined us in the Army Chalet
for
refreshments. They received VIP treatment at the Chalet and a
special
opportunity was given to Tom. He was able to sit in the
backseat of
one of our new AH-1F Cobra Helicopters. A picture with the
Sky
Soldiers, autograph cards, and hot sun, wore Tom out and he would
most
likely have to leave for the day and miss the show. Not if we
could
help it! We fired up one of the Army Tractors and set Tom up for
an
air-conditioned nap in the tractor's sleeper! Re-energized, Tom
was
ready for a front seat in the Chalet for the air show. Tom's
father
was so moved by his son's experience, he sent LTG Van Antwerp a
letter
last week highlighting Tom's experience with our Team….Our
ENTIRE
Team!
If you haven't been around the hanger for some time, you
are missing
out. The items mentioned above are just a few of the
"upgrades" we
have made in 2007, there are far too many to mention. I
have had the
opportunity to wear many hats for our foundation over the last
several
years. One of those hats is the Membership Chairmen. I am
asking all
of you to consider these highlights above as a sampling of the
good
work we are doing at the Foundation. I am asking you to re-engage
and
get involved. We need your help in order to meet all of
our
commitments and we cannot get it done with the main stays.
Please
dedicate yourself to come out at least once/month and help around
the
hanger. You don't have to be an aircraft mechanic to pitch in;
there
is a lot of work to do just to prepare for each airshow. You
are
really missing something very special! I invite you to email me
if
you have any specific needs, or if there are any issues I can help
you
address.
Jeff Moss
Director, Membership, Marketing &
Contracting
Army Aviation Heritage Foundation
jeff.moss@skysoldiers.org
(2)
Membership Dues by Shanda Elkin
To all members I'm way behind in sending
out renewal invoices, you
know when you joined feel free to send in your $36
membership renewal
to 506 Speedway Blvd, Hampton, GA 30228 - Attn:
Shanda - I will take
care of it from there. Thank you for your
help.
(3) News Letter Input by Shanda Elkin
I'm looking for folks
who would like to write stories, articles, or
take pictures to get the
quarterly newsletter back up and running.
Just send your ideas, stories, etc
to me and I will get things rolling
again.
(4) Check out this
web page for news of the Punta Gorda Air Show.
http://www.floridaairshow.com/
Another site is:
http://www.heraldtribune.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070325/NEWS/703250321/-1/Help0530
(5) Membership News: If you have made changes to
your contact
information, email address, or simply have news or questions,
send to
our new email address: membership@armyav.org. Don't
forget that
membership applications, as well as a link to our new email
address,
are available online at www.armyav.org.
(6) If you have constructive criticism or suggestions for
improvement
to the news brief, you can also contact membership@armyav.org.
(7) Photo Locations:
a. For the Foundation's
Photobucket site, go to this link:
http://photobucket.com/albums/v202/armyav/. If this direct link will
not work, you can access the site at
www.photobucket.com and
the
Foundation album is "armyav". Some folks have had trouble in
getting
into the album. The block to enter the Album name of "armyav"
is in
the upper RIGHT corner that is the search block. DO NOT use the
area
that requests a password. No password is needed to view our
photos.
b. There is another Photobucket site with pictures of the
Foundation. Go to:
http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v700/elp999/SkySoldiers/?start=all
Thanks to Jack McCormick and Ed Bearden, we now know this was
our Macon show.
c. In addition, there is another very interesting
photo site to visit.
http://sunbirdphotos.com/ Once there, navigate to the following area:
all galleries
>> Air Show Stock Photo Galleries (13 Air Shows plus ALA
Miami 2003
Aircraft Static Display) >> 2006 Blue Angels Homecoming
60th
Anniversary Air Show at NAS Pensacola Stock Photos Gallery.
Some great
shots of our Cobras at the Pensacola NAS Airshow. >
Army
Aviation
CURRENT AIR SHOW SCHEDULE
DATE LOCATION SHOW
NAME HUEY RIDES
May 8 Atlanta, GA AAAA Convention
Flyby/Display
May 19 Ft. Campbell, KY
Week of Eagles No
Oct 20-21 Augusta, GA Boshears Skyfest 2
Hueys
SKYSOLDIERS DEMONSTRATION TEAM SCHEDULE
DATE LOCATION
EVENT
May 4-6 Ft. Lauderdale, FL air show**
Jun 15-17
Pittsburgh, PA air show
Jul 20-22 Selfridge ARB, MI air show
Aug
24-26 Indianapolis, IN air show
Aug 31-Sep 3 Cleveland, OH air
show
** Over Water