June news		August news
BRIEFINGS
July, 2003	The Yellow Rose B-25 Squadron Newsletter	Vol. 06-07

LEADER’S WORDS

The Rose continues to purr, with some help from those who regularly come out to keep her running. With one cylinder replacement and main gear actuator repair, we continue to keep all our commitments on the airshow circuit. We had a great time at Alice and Sheppard (see articles) and are looking forward to the Fiesta Texas flyover and Bay City on the 4th and then Angel Fire in mid-July.

A few of us started on the strategic planning identifying who we are so we can identify future donors. Dave Howard is writing up the information from that meeting. We continue to grow the membership and sell posters. Our financials have been good at recent appearances. We took advantage of a last minute opportunity to fly a funeral service for a veteran in Ada, Oklahoma who was a very prominent member of the community and a 50 mission B-25 crewmember in the Pacific Theater in WWII. Keep up the good work and enthusiasm. I certainly enjoy the fun times we are having!

MAINTENANCE MATTERS

By Ron Dietes, Maintenance Offiecer

Well, the Rose continues to perform extremely well for an aircraft that is almost sixty years old. We still have the constant oil leak issues with the pushrod tube hoses, but we are now using Tite-Seal on the hoses to see if that helps. As of now the results are inclusive, but hopefully we'll be able to tell after we do more of them. Some of the weather seals are starting to show wear and will be replaced as the seals are made available and we have the time to install them.

The Left main gear actuator is still dripping a drop or two of hydraulic fluid, but parts are coming from AeroTrader to try and resolve that problem. The left inner brake housing that was overhauled by AeroTrader is here and we'll install it while we are doing the "A" inspection. We will begin the"A" inspection on Saturday (06/21) as we will run out of the 50 hours before we do the Angel Fire Airshow the middle of July.
Also, Jim Liles is taking our spare main wheel to have our spare tube installed so we have an available spare ready to mount should the need arise. The seals and snap rings for the spare wheel are on order. We also need to have the VOR receivers aligned. They are way out of legal tolerance and McKee has been contacted to align them when their schedule permits. With the use of GPS we don't use the VOR's as much but since they are installed, they need to be aligned. My thanks to all the folks that have come to the hangar and given their time to the cleaning and maintaining of the Rose. It really makes you feel good when a member of the CAF headquarters staff walks up and tells me how good the Rose looks and that he is not the only one that has noticed. Hey guys! This is what it's all about. Getting the Rose in front of the public and making a positive impression really does make a difference.

HYI STORM

Text by Mike Renck, photos by Grant Lannon

Late yesterday afternoon around 5pm,winds estimated at between 60 and 80mph hit the airport. These winds were horizontal, straight, line winds. If you have seen the Austin TV news stations, the pictures are horrible. There were at least four planes flipped over on the ramp. Rolled-up Skymaster Several hangars basically blew up as they rapidly pressurized as the wind blew the doors in, but didn't have a way out (until parts of the walls failed).
The good news is that the CAF hangar hardly had any damage to it, at least at first glance. The West end of the hangar had the most. Hangar damage from storm The door locker bay on the Southwest corner was almost totally ripped off. Two windows in the O'club were blown out, as were several windows or material taking their place, in the big hangar doors. We did sustain a major loss though. The Port-a-Port T-hangar out back, where we store oil, was blown through the fence and is at rest against a building on Gary Job Corps. The bad news is that even aircraft in hangars up the ramp were not safe. Southwest Texas Aviation (the Mooney place) had the side blown out and the roof damaged. Aircraft inside were blown into each other and two were almost standing on their nose. McKee Avionics hangar was packed with planes as well. The big doors blew in and through the hangar, aircraft that were spared the doors were blown into each other. Much of the roof was blown off and the steel beams now have a bow to them. Gafford Aero had doors on both sides of their hangar, all the doors failed. The wind blew one aircraft out of the hangar and turned it between the hangar row, shielding it. It only received minor damage. Two city Upsidedown airplanes T-hangars on that same row had doors blown in. The pressure made the roofs dome shaped. One of these doors blew over the other rows of hangars and ended up against the new dorm that Gary is building. The four rows of T-hangars had several doors blown off as well, but seem to not have much other damage.
The airport looks like a war zone right now. To prevent looting, the airport manager has restricted people from being on the property from dusk to dawn. I assume that will remain until some cleanup is done and tools and property can be secured. By sunset last night some power had been restored to the airport, but there were still phone lines, cable lines, and electric lines down everywhere. We can be thankful that the CAF hangar, that 60 year old wooden wonder, was built to last! I think the only thing that she has to fear is fire, and hopefully she won't have to face that again (remember she did back when Gary had her).

ANOTHER VIEWPOINT

THE WINDS OF FATE

JUNE ROSE TRAVELS

3^rd Coast Squadron Airshow

Alice, Texas, June 7& 8

By Mike Francis

Alice, TX is located 50 miles NW of Corpus Christi. Ron Dietes was PIC and Howard Martin in the right seat. We had a full crew of eight and this was my first air show in the Rose. Needless to say I was excited, as was the rest of the crew. Alice is known to be a fun trip. Everyone arrived early Friday afternoon to help load up for our 2:30 departure. Jim Liles had already prepped the Rose so it was just loading the PX and our luggage, preflight check, and go. We were wheels up just after 2:30 for a 45-minute flight and a good tail wind. Arrived over the Alice airport 45 minutes later and gave a low pass then wheels down. The Third Coast Squadron is stationed in Alice and gave us a warm welcome with beer ice cold. Ron and Howard and Phil had to wait as PR flights were arranged. You could see Howard’s hand cramping up. Once back a good time was had with Barbecue and beer at the hanger and finding the motel, (we took the long way).

Next day rested, (some not so rested) had breakfast at the Kettle and compared rooms. The Alice Motel is very old but only $25 dollar rooms made up for it. Once at the airport Ron Dietes, Howard Martin, William Foster, and Dave Howard manned the cockpit tours, while Jim Liles, Phil Lockett, JoAnn Kronschnabel and I manned the PX. Wasn’t long before the South Texas sun made for a hot day. The Rose was center of attention and cockpit tours did well. The PX did well and in the lulls JoAnne did some organizing of the PX. About noon it was time to Prep the Rose and clear the ramp for the 1:00 PM air show start. Phil took William and I out to start our pre-flight training. And of course we had prime seats out on the ramp for the show and shared space with the A-26 Spirit of Waco. First was some acrobatic flying then a WWI mock dogfight. Then Grant in his T-6 and Karen in the O-2 started the pyro demo setting off a grass fire that made for a delay. We all blamed Karen for that. That O-2 is bad. With the fires out and losing a dozen charges the show resumed with Tora group, Pat McClure in the Kate and Billy Parker in the Zero with a Corsair and TBM to battle. Then it was time for the Rose, Spirit of Waco, and Corsair perform. A lesson on pre flight was engrained for all Rose crewmembers. “Check for oil rags in the exhaust stacks before startup”. The Spirit of Waco was reminded of that when she blew hers out across the ramp at startup. Ron Dietes graciously returned the Spirit of Waco crew its “dirty underwear” after the show. But all was in fun. The Blastards had managed to save some pyro for the Rose’s part of the show. The show ended with the missing man formation of the Rose, Spirit of Waco and Corsair. Then some more PR flights, Gas, oil, and pack up the PX and it was well past beer thirty. Back to our luxury suites, change and dinner. Mexican food was the choice and it was good South Texas style. A few opted to hitch a ride to Corpus Christi for seafood. Sunday morning we all packed up and headed back to the Rose and the T-6 for a 10:00 departure. Ron, Howard, and Grant decided to take the long way home via Corpus Christi and the carrier USS Lexington. Grant and his passenger would fly formation with the Rose with a perfect photo opportunity. The weather was beautiful and winds calm so the bay was smooth as glass. Once out over the bay we dropped to 500’ and set up for a fly by over the Lexington. Steve and William got some amazing shots of the Rose with downtown Corpus Christi and the Lexington as a backdrop. Then Back to 4700’ and a northerly heading home. I got to spend the remaining flight training on Flight Mechanic duties in the cockpit with Jim.

Touchdown was around 11:40. We cleaned up the Rose, played musical planes and cars, and ended a very rewarding trip.

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Sheppard AFB Airshow

Wichita Falls, Texas, June 13, 14, & 15

By Paul Moore

Rose was loaded up and launched into the wild black yonder at approximately 2:00 pm Friday June 13th. Our trusty pilots, Ron Dietes and Howard Martin studied the sky as we headed towards Burnet. I can still hear the AWOS, “lightning all sectors”, coming over the headset. Why this station was left on for fifteen minutes is beyond me. It seemed like they were going to try to get through this mess since they were still tuned into it. Not what I wanted to listen to. Anyway, we beat a hasty return to San Marcus to let the cells pass. We again launched at about 6:30 and had an uneventful flight around what was left of the weather.

Upon arriving at Sheppard, we studied the ramp layout for proper aircraft/PX positioning. We had the perfect spot as indicated by the financial results of the weekend. We checked in and were put up in very nice accommodations on the base.

There was a party for the graduating pilots Friday night. It was interesting to meet Germans, Dutch, Italians and it seemed just about any make and model of European.

The weather co-operated and a great show was enjoyed by all. Those folks working Rose: Ron and Leti, Howard, Mike Colaluca, Brenda and Tom, Don Luttrell, and Paul Moore were busy most of the time. When Rose was static we were giving cockpit tours as fast as we could load um in and load um out. The PX just about ran out of merchandise to sell. Attendance on Saturday was fair but Sunday after church the ramp overflowed with people.

NOTE: On Saturday, after a couple of PR rides, the Rose flew formation with the T-6 on the left wing and the P-51C on the right. The next day, she flew with the bombers and made a late, uneventful return after staying later than any other aircraft. This resulted in a good financial return on the work of the people who went. We also ended up with leftover oil that will be sold within the hanger and the money put in the Rose financial account. Because of the extra flying and long attendance, we have been told we will be invited back next time. We also took up a gaggle of Air Force pilots for a ride in Rose. I think that this PR ride was very well worth the trouble.— Grant

Minutes of the June 10th 2003 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. Jack called the meeting to order at 1802 and presided so that Grant could attend the Centex board meeting. Officers present were XO, Maintenance, Treasurer, Adjutant, Publicity, PX, and Safety. Twenty-one members attended. Minutes from the May meeting were approved as printed in the newsletter. Visitors present were Carolyn and Cory Leist, and the Koepkes' grandson, Adam Taylor.

Reports

Adjutant: Membership level remains at about 50 members in the squadron.

Operations: The next Rose appearance is at Sheppard this weekend. Lack of response from Cape Girardo makes it seem doubtful. July 4th is Bay City, with a Fiesta Texas flyover with Spirit and the Dog. The West Houston flyover on the 5th is uncertain at this time. Angel Fire is 18-20 July. Kansas City, 15-17 August is uncertain, but Dyess looks OK. Reminder, Midland is September 27-28. Oklahoma City is firm on 3-5 October, as is Wings Over Houston on the 18-19th. N'awlins is confirmed on 1-2 November, and Corpus Christi is a possibility in November as well.

Finance : May's beginning balance was $14,723. The net of deposits and disbursements was -$326 leaving an ending balance of $14,397. June activity to date has cost $772. Payables are $664, including Sales Tax and PX stock, so the projected June ending balance is $12,961. The balance in the Aircraft Account is $35,776. At Alice, we took in $640, including about $100 in cockpit tours. Judy observed that revenue is down from last year due to air show cancellations.

Maintenance: We are planning to put a tube in the spare tire and mount it so that it will be available if needed. Jim Lyles has fixed more oil leaks. Varsol followed by soap and water seems to be the best cleaner. We are going to replace the o-rings again in the Left Main gear actuator. The hydraulic reservoir continues to leak, so this time we will test the replacement before installing it. There are still some outstanding invoices expected for parts from Aerotrader, due to their erratic billing system.

PX: Tom reported the boxes are restocked and ready for Sheppard.

Announcements / New Business

Strategic planning for continuing funding will begin with a meeting at the hangar on the 18th. Grant will distribute a kickoff questionnaire.

We have added 8 members since instituting the "free t-shirt" incentive.

By vote of the members present, a discount price to members of $7 was set for the Nose Art poster. Also resolved by vote, at each air show the designated PX manager will set the poster price to fit the market.

Bob Gardner discussed some poster and general PX sales techniques. Answers to often- asked questions about Rose operations revealed that our annual expenses are about $50K, and our flights are worth about $94K, based on a typical rate of $1000/hour.

Howard Martin suggested that we consider doing military air show bookings at the ICAS convention this winter. He will investigate the cost.

Don Luttrell has had little response to his offer to print Yellow Rose Squadron cards for members. Contact him at planenutz32@aol.com.

Sick Call

Jerry Taylor will have cataract surgery this week. John Parrish is in the hospital with a heart problem. Jack Reeves expects to be in St. Louis for a while helping his step-mother who has cancer.

The meeting was adjourned at 1847.

John Parrish Update

Editor's note: On June 16, 2003, John Parrish underwent triple by-pass surgery in San Antonio. The following is an open letter regarding his progress.

Dear Friends and Family,
Once again we send you our extra special thanks for all of your loving thoughts and kind words on John's behalf. As you no doubt know, none of this is easy for the patient, however those of us who are living these days, one at a time, and taking what each new day brings are grateful to know we have a wonderful blanket of caring wrapped around us, as well, as we go about the meaningful job of making him feel special and loved!
John came home from the hospital today (yeh, we busted him out of jail) and has been home since 2:00p.m. The doctors saw no medical reason why he should remain cooped up there since he had such "good" care waiting for him at home and he didn't need oxygen any longer to feel comfortable. After triple bypass, his lungs make him feel like he is drowning and it hurts so bad to cough therefore, flem gets trapped as in so many other procedures. Most of you probably know he has a scar from his adams apple to his belly button.........not to mention the ones on his legs from removal of the veins to graft to the heart. If this is more than you wanted to know, I apologize! In today's world it is a fact of life that many of us will certainly face these things with a loved one and modern medicine is a miracle of great proportions...........with a little help form above. The first bypasses were done by stopping the heart completely and draining the blood, rerouting. Now the wonderful invention of the heart bypass machine gives surgeons a break in that they can now work on a beating heart while the blood gets circulated continually.........therefore no damage.........except to the ego!
If I were to tell you John was comfortable tonight, it would be a lie. He is miserable! This will not be a slam-dunk recovery. Now I'm the one who could use your good thoughts, as well.
Thank's in advance...........
More later
Love, Dennie

Memorial Flight Dr. Ray L. Stout, standing, right

Yellow Rose Bids Farewell to WWII B-25 Navigator

From Grant Lannon

On Monday, 16 June, I opened an e-mail from Frank Stout of Ada, Oklahoma which said:

" This is an unusual request which you may or may not get often. My father, Ray Stout passed away on 6/14/03. His funeral is set for Tuesday, 6/14/03 at 2:00 p.m. in Ada, Oklahoma. In short, my father flew on a B-25 in the pacific in WWII for over 50 missions. Since that time he has actively studied, participated in airforce related activities, including writing about his missions, one in particular over WEWAK. He retired as a Lt. Colonel. He is having a full military funeral. I was wanting to know what it would take for a flyover at the funeral of the B-25. You may not receive this in time, but if you could reply I would appreciate it. It may be an impossible request, but I thought I would try anyway. "

I started putting the mission together for the next day. A year ago, this would've been impossible because we were so limited on pilots. Howard and Tim were busy but Ron became "sick" the next day and Jim Liles was flight mechanic with Clint Epley as our PR person (and relief pilot at altitude). It was two hours up and back and the weather, amazingly, cooperated. We had lunch at the church with the family, gave tours of the Rose to all who were coaxed to the airport by the amazing sight in the sky, and flew over the burial ceremony. We returned with three members of the family, and Rayda, Ray's daughter wrote the following article from her viewpoint.

In My Father's Footsteps

By Rayda Santrach

June 14 is Flag Day. It is the day my Dad, Ray L. Stout, passed away. During the graveside ceremony, the B-25, Yellow Rose, could be heard circling-awaiting its turn to pay respect to an old airman. He was laid to rest while the Tinker AFB Honor Guard honored him with a 21-gun salute. Off in the distance a lone bugler played taps. At the moment a carefully folded flag was presented to my mother, the Yellow Rose made the first pass. The second pass ended with a climb.

My Dad flew 59 combat missions as a B-25 Bombardier/Navigator with the 405th Bombardment Squadron (BS), 38th Bombardment Group. The crews that flew with the 405th BS were known as Green Dragons. The roughest combat missions my father flew during WWII were to Wewak, New Guinea. On August 21, 1943, he was on board one of the eight B-25s that strafed and bombed, at low level, the Dagau Airdrome on Wewak. At some point during the encounter he was wounded. The scar from that wound was a constant reminder the rest of his life of how fortunate he was.

He did return to the states and marry my Mother, Betty Hopkins. I eventually had five brothers and sisters. We were the fortunate ones. We had a wonderful father. I aspired to emulate my father. His flying stories encouraged me to take flying lessons and earn my single-engine-land rating in 1972. I later joined the USAF as a Communications-Electronics Officer. I had a flying assignment on board SAC's Looking Glass. There were times when I had the opportunity to sit in the left seat and log some time. I shared a love of flying with my Dad.

After my Father's funeral, the Yellow Rose took up several members of my family, including my Mother. My Dad would have been so proud. When time came for the Yellow Rose to return to San Marcos, TX, my brother, Kelly Stout, and I as well as my son Ray (named after my Dad), were on board. That two hour flight on the Yellow Rose was the smoothest I've ever been on-bar none. I spent a good portion of the flight in the nose were the view was unbeatable. I recalled the pictures my Dad took (ever the avid photographer) while under enemy fire. Never before had he looked down the barrel of a gun being fired! I was following in my Dad's footsteps again. Sitting in solitude in the nose of the Yellow Rose I recalled lines from Magee's High Flight : … And, while with silent, lifting mind, I've trod the high untresspassed sanctity of space, put out my hand, and touched the face of God. My Dad was there with me. Thank you Yellow Rose.

2003 Airshow Schedule

July

4 4th of July Airshow
Bay City, Texas

5 West Houston Fly-Over
Sealy, Texas

18,19,20 Wings Over Angel Fire*
AngelFire, New Mexico

August

15,16,17 KC Aviation Expo
Kansas City, Missouri
Expo is on, Airshow is out

16-17 Dyess AFB*
Abilene, Texas

September

20-21 Autumn in the Air*
Wichita, Kansas

27-28 Airsho 2003*
Midland, Texas

October

11-12 Amigo Airshow
El Paso, Texas

3,4,5 Aerospace America*
Oklahoma City, OK

18-19 Wings Over Houston 2003*
Houston, Texas

November

1-2 N'awlins Airshow*
NAS New Orleans, LA

* Indicates Confirmed Appearance