LEADER'S WORDS

By Ron Dietes, Squadron Leader

    Time is sure moving swiftly.  It doesn’t seem possible it is time for the Temple Air Show already.  We had a really good trip to Holloman and other than the #6 cylinder exhaust problem, no problems with our trusty Rose.  Thanks to Jim Liles and the folks that showed up at the hangar on Saturday (04/23), the cylinder has been replaced and we’re ready to tackle the hydraulic reservoir.  Grant is planning to do his annual PPE ride and then we’ll be good to go for the rest of the air show season.

     We are still planning to have the pilot, co-pilot and flight mechanic safety meeting on Saturday April 30th.  Hopefully, we can limit the meeting to an hour so we will have time to finish the maintenance and wash the Rose in preparation for the Temple trip on May 6th.  Right now the plans are to take off for Temple around 3pm on Friday and return after the show on Sunday.  For those of you who don’t remember, this is the old Georgetown show that was moved to Temple several years ago.

     Thanks go out to Jerry Taylor and Mike Renck for painting the Sponsor names on the left bomb bay door.  If you get a chance the next time you’re at the hangar, take a look.  Not bad for our first attempt.  It’s not as easy to paint as it sounds due to the curving of the bomb bay door and the ever present rivets.  The names all fit on the left door and we even have some room for future sponsors on the left door before we have to start using the right bomb bay door.  Good job Guys.

     Don’t forget about the next Squadron meeting.  It is Tuesday May 10th at the usual place.

We’ll have the results from Temple and we’ll be getting ready for Tyndall AFB on May 14-15.

     I heard through the grapevine that McKee Avionics is going out of business.  That is sad as we had a good relationship with them and they did good work.  Hopefully, someone will take over their business and we won’t have to take the Rose off airport for radio work.

MINUTES of the April 12, 2005 Meeting of the Yellow Rose Squadron

By Dave Howard, Squadron Adjutant

The regular squadron meeting was held at San Marcos in the Centex Hangar Ready Room.  Squadron Leader Ron Dietes called the meeting to order at 1802.  Other officers present were XO, Maintenance, Adjutant, Finance, Safety, Publicity, and PX.  Nineteen members were present.  Guests introduced were Mike Knight and Tim Black’s father, Power Black.  Minutes of the March meeting were approved as printed in the last issue of Briefings.

 

REPORTS

 

Operations:  The Burnet show last weekend was safe and successful.  The PX brought in $535.  The flower drop ceremony for Howard Martin was moving and well-received.  A plaque arranged by Tim Black for Howard was passed around for all to see before being mounted for a year in the Rose cockpit.  Holloman is next weekend, followed in May by Temple, Tyndall, and San Marcos GOM.  Regrettably, the schedule now loses OK City, where financial problems cancelled the air show; and Little Rock, where we were underbid. 

 

Finance:                The March beginning balance was $12,722.  Net income and disbursements added $3,039, thanks to Brownsville income, dues, donations, and cockpit tours during Chamber of Commerce night.  This left a March ending balance of $15,761.  April activity to date has cost $85.  Payables are estimated at $3,000, including $2,500 for repairs and $500 each for PX stock and fuel.  Projected April ending balance, including payables, is $12,676.  Balance in the “hands-off” accounts is $46,337.  Judy also reported that she is accepting donations to cover the cost of the plaque made by Tim Black for Howard Martin.

 

Maintenance:       The Rose clean-up from Burnet will be done Wednesday evening to prepare for Holloman.  Our next big project is to organize the upstairs storage area.

 

PX:         Greg asked that we continue to think of unique items to add to our inventory.  He is re-stocking most of our regular merchandise from San Antonio sources.  The 50 caliber rounds are still big sellers, but he has to get those from Idaho via Little Rock.  Jim Liles’ eagle hats are sold out again, so we will try to buy more. 

 

Safety/Newsletter:              No safety issues have come up this past month.  Extra handouts are still available from the last ground school.  A standardization meeting is scheduled here for all required flight crew members on April 30 at 10 AM.  Jerry also reminded that the deadline for articles in the newsletter is the 25th of the month. 

 

Publicity:              Bob reported that the Squadron is providing hosts for the honored guests during the GOM weekend.  Please see him to volunteer and take this opportunity to visit with a hero.  The video from the nose camera of Howard’s flower drop flight turned out even better than expected.  The members present signed a Rose photo for display at the Fredericksburg airport.  The handout material for our fund raising campaign continues to be developed and polished.

 

Adopt-An-Airport:               Mike Colaluca needs help to do some airport flower bed work this Saturday. 

 

Announcements:

 

The latest Texas Monthly magazine has a nice photo of the Rose on page 187.  She also appears in one of the 2005 warbird bookstore calendars.  On April 23rd, there will be a Young Eagles event hosted at the hangar.  On April 30th, the Austin Scale Model Society is hosting a model show at the Crocket Center on N. Lamar.

 

Sick Call:

 

Bob Gardner is having his other wing restored, so try to stay on his “good side”.  

 

The meeting adjourned at 1834.

SAFETY FIRST

By Jerry Taylor, Squadron Safety Officer

   The air show season is in full swing.  The next few weeks have three shows scheduled on back to back weekends, so we are going to be busy.  This is not the time to lower our guards and become careless.  Here are a few items that have been said before, but cannot be stressed too much.

     LADDERS: What can I say about our ladders that has not been said over and over.  First, is the ladder in good condition?  Is it designed for the planned use?  Never climb a ladder without someone there to hold and steady it.  Remember that our handy folding ladder we keep in the plane can cause you a lot of harm when opening, folding, or climbing it.  When someone else is using the ladders, be watchful of them to be sure they use caution and are safe in their use of the ladder.

     ON THE WINGS:  Take the time to clean your path while on the wings or on top of the fuselage.  Most of the accidents we have experienced in the past have been falls from these high places.

     PASSENGERS:  Most of us are privileged to have flown before and know what to expect.  However, many times we invite passengers who have no idea what they are going to experience.  Even though there is a preflight briefing, this can be so overwhelming that these people do not realize what is in store for them.  Help them and in turn be helping yourself.

     Make sure that there are no loose objects which can fall out of their pockets.  These can cause them to be distracted in either going into the nose or crawling along the bomb bay.

     Show them the emergency exits and should the occasion arise, help them to use them.

MAINTENANCE MATTERS

By Jim Liles, Squadron Maintenance Officer

     We have had a busy month, so far.  We were at the Bluebonnet Air Show in Burnet on the weekend of April 8th through the 10th.  On the 14th, Julie, Pat and I cleaned the Rose for the trip to Holloman.  On return, we began to tear down for the replacement of the #6 cylinder on the left engine, which was completed on the 23rd. 

     On the weekend of the 30th, we plan to finish up any pending problems and get ready for the Temple airshow on the weekend of May 7th and 8th, Tyndall AFB the weekend of the 14th and 15th, and the Gathering of Memories on the 21st and 22nd  Help will be needed at various times to keep the Rose ready for these trips.

     Thanks to all of you who have come out to help, both on the Saturday work days, and during the week when the need arises.

ROSE TRAVELS AND ACTIVITIES

 

BURNET AIR SHOW
April 8 - 10, 2005

                      By Curtis Hall

     As the "Newby" on this trip, I was given the assignment of reporting my views of the Burnet Trip as a crew member of the "Yellow Rose".  I was, of course, very excited to be on the manifest for this tripand was looking forward to actually being able to fly on her as a member of the crew.
     The Crew was made up of Ron Dietes, Tim Black, Mike Francis, Paul Newkirk's son, David Cleaver, an Air Force officer and myself.  We loaded up Friday afternoon under partly cloudy skies and departed at approximately 15:30 for the quick 30 minute flight to Burnet in formation with Grant Lannon in his T-6, the P-39 and another plane I never had a chance to see in formation with us.

     Burnet was clear and temperatures were in the high 70's but there was a fairly strong wind fron the South.  We got our gear and went in and met up with the others who had driven up for whatever reason.  Bob Gardner and his wife who acted as drivers for Grant, Tim and myself because we were all staying at the "Hill Country Lodge" which in itself is another story.  We met everyone for dinner, at a nice place in Marble Falls.  Later Grant, Tim and I ended up at the " Saxon Inn" which was having karoake night.
Grant, Tim and I ended up plugging the airshow.      Saturday, the weather was beautiful and the PX was busy all day and the others in the crew reported brisk sales of cockpit tours.  All in all, it was a good trip.  The Memorial Flight for Howard Martin was very moving and was uneventful, except for the Apache helicopter that was showing off while we were waiting for the "Rose" to return from her mission.  We met later for Dinner and Drinks at Chili's and returned to the "Lodge" for an early  flight home on Sunday.

    Sunday morning was rainy and we departed at about 9:30.  Grant flew back in formation with his T-6 and we arrived at San Marcos at about 10:00. 

 

 

HOLLOMAN AFB

April 15 - 17

By Greg Young

On April 15, the Rose set out on her longest mission of the year so far which was to the home of the F117 Nighthawk, Holloman AFB, New Mexico.  Her crew consisted of Ron Dietes, Grant Lannon, Jim Liles, Ken Udcoff, Bob Gardner, Dave Howard, Curtis Hall, and myself.  Ron correctly predicted the weather in making a decision to leave Friday afternoon instead of the originally scheduled Saturday.  At approximately 1430 we mounted up and headed west over the vastness of West Texas and into New Mexico mostly at an altitude of 10,500 feet.  We passed over Carlsbad caverns and the mountains around Cloudcroft New Mexico before a spirally descent into the Alamogordo airport where the Rose was to spend the night as Saturday would see several promo rides given.  The people at the Alamogordo airport were very helpful and excited to have the Rose there, in particular Ed's Flying Service and the Alamogordo airport cafe.  Our crew piled into an Astro van with yours truly as the driver and we headed into the metropolis of Alamogordo to secure our lodging for the next 3 nights.  Alamogordo itself is small but the backdrop of the mountains on one side and the White Sands monument on the other do lend itself to beautiful scenery.  On the way into Alamogordo, Grant and Judy's dream house was spotted; an adobe double wide.   Needless to say, I don't think Grant will really feel complete until he buys it for Judy.  Saturday morning we headed out to the Alamogordo airport for the 2 scheduled promo rides which Ron, Grant, and Jim flew.     Watching the Rose do the promo rides reminded me of what barnstormers used to do in flying over a town and attracting attention.  When the smoke was turned on for the right engine it and the unique engine sound attracted a lot of attention as people the next day were regularly mentioning that they noticed the Rose over town and a few people were attracted to watching the smoke demo.  While the Rose was doing the promo rides, several of us visited another memory from my younger days, a well worn probably never to fly again P2 Neptune.  I remember those birds taking off with props and jets burning, a smaller version of the prop and jet B36.  Saturday also saw the arrival of several more Rose people including Pat Jopling and Paul Newkirk and his family.  I drove the van over to Holloman while the Rose made a skip and a hop from the municipal airport to Holloman, a ground distance of 3-4 miles.  Those in the van arrived before the Rose at Holloman which afforded a short opportunity to look at the aircraft on display with few people around them.  Highlights included the F4 Phantom (yes it is now a classic), a humpback F16 with the United Emirates Airforce and of course the Luftwaffe Tornados.  Holloman is a unique place in that part of the base is considered German territory as the Luftwaffe has a permanent training group here and in fact just recently retired the F4 and now use the Panavia Tornado.  The Rose landed and was secured for the night which later turned out to be temporary.  Our crew also visited Ron Dietes' dream airplane, the P38 Lightning from the Planes of Fame museum.  After a sojourn into Alamogordo to freshen up, the crew returned to Holloman for the airshow group party which was held in a wooden hangar.  Thunderstorms were building up and a threat of heavy rain and hail existed. The airshow staff started to move aircraft into hangars....the initial hangar picked for the Rose was too small (2 Thunderbird F16s landed up there but they just don't have the grace and dignity of our ole Gal).  So the Rose was moved into the hangar party and became the star of the show along with the P38 which was pulled in afterwards.  It was great to watch the crowd's faces when the Rose came out of the darkness into the lighted hangar, it was like it had been planned all along.  Several of us gave impromptu cockpit tours which lasted for about 1 1/2 hours.  There was never a shortage of people wanting to see the Rose until the party was over.  There was heavy rain but hail never materialized fortunately.  Sunday morning was nice and refreshing and sunny as the crew headed out to Holloman.  Jim and I headed out to the airplane which had been moved back out onto the tarmac.  The other crew members went for the crew briefing and a Nighthawk tour. Initially the area around the Rose was roped off and a nightmare of a potential "sanitized flight line" existed which would have precluded cockpit tours and hampered PX sales.  Fortunately Jim and I talked to Lt. "Crusty" who said we could have the ropes moved away.  Jim and I unloaded the airplane and no sooner had the ropes been moved and the people swarmed around the airplane.  I was selling PX items as I removed them from the PX boxes and before Jim was able to retrieve the cash box.  Shortly afterwards the rest of the crew arrived and the PX and cockpit tours were in full swing for the rest of the show.  This continued uninterrupted until it was time for the Rose to show off during the flight demo with Grant, Ron, and Jim putting the Rose through her paces.  The airshow commentator did devote a considerable amount of time to talking about the Rose so the spectators were able to hear much about her.  The other flying hightlight of the show for me was the Heritage flight of the P38, F4, A10, and F15, seeing the Phantom and Lightning was a treat for me.  The Rose crew was the last to shut down operations as usual and we headed off to the beer garden garten hosted by the Luftwaffe.  Later, we headed back to Alamogordo only to find that alcohol could not be sold in restaurants on Sundays; oh well, the crew still enjoyed the camaraderie and good feelings of having done a successful airshow mission.  Monday morning we headed back to Holloman and did the hop and skip in reverse into the Alamogordo airport for fuel.  That completed, we took off, circled a couple of times and headed back east over the mountains at about 9500 feet.  Between 2 1/2 and 3 hours later, the Rose was landing back home.....a very successful trip was over.

The Yellow Rose in the hangar at Holloman AFB during thunderstorms

Photo from Curtis Hall

---

The Yellow Rose and Triple Nickel enroute to Burnet

Photo from Pat Jopling

WARNING

Copied from the internet

This new scam is being pulled mainly on older men

What happens is when you  stop for a red light a young, pretty nude woman comes up and pretends to be washing your windshield.

While she is doing this, another person opens your back door and steals anything in the car.

They are very good at this!

They got me 7 times Friday and 5 times Saturday.

I wasn't able to find them on Sunday...

2005 Airshow Schedule

 

Mar 12-13	Brownsville, TX *
Mar 19-20	Luke AFB, AZ  Cancelled
April 9	Burnet, TX *
April 16-17	Holloman AFB, NM *
May 7-8	Temple, TX *
May 14-15	Tyndall AFB, FL *
May 21-22	San Marcos, TX *
June 3-5	Minden, LA
June 25	Dyess AFB, TX
The Yellow Rose is scheduled to be in Midland on rotation from mid-July through early September
Sept 9-11	Cannon AFB, NM
Sept 28	Tucumcari, NM
Oct 1-2	Midland, TX *
Oct 8-9	Houston, TX
Oct 22-23	New Orleans, LA

Editor’s note:

Due to the high cost of fuel, many marginally profitable or budgeted airshows are beginning to cancel or become questionable.  We try to keep the schedule up to date and the membership informed of the changes.

2005 Yellow Rose B-25
Squadron Staff Officers

Squadron Leader - Ron Dietes

dietes.ron@heb.com

Executive Officer - Tim Black

tangblack@austin.rr.com

Finance Officer - Judy McMillan

heyjude@texas.net

Adjutant - Dave Howard

dave.howard@baesystems.com

Operations Officer - Grant Lannon (interim)

glannon@texas.net

Maintenance Officer - Jim Liles

james.liles@tstr.net

Safety Officer - Jerry Taylor

james_j_taylor@msn.com

PX Officer - Greg Young

tbolt52@hotmail.com

Publicity Officer - Bob Gardner

bob@rhga.com