Read Your Memo

Saturday got off to a slow start, with not many Floridians braving the cool 15 mph winds until later in the morning.  In the monsoon of the previous day most of the gear had been tossed in the back of Jim Skelly's truck which had a cover. Not having to go up and down the stairs made set up a whole lot quicker and easier.  By mid-day we had a crew of 17 including the two singers and folks were lined up past the wing tip. Peggy's son, Will, who is a student pilot, was there for his first ever air show. Scott and Gladys also arrived. We were divided into two teams, each spelling the other and this worked well, giving everyone time off for meals and rest. Tony admonished anyone asking questions about schedules to "Read Your Memo."
 The Flagship was the hit of the show. We had lines all day past the wing tip, took in a very nice sum in donations and were inundated with requests for photos as we had two Captains and four Stewardesses in uniform. The people were genuinely interested in learning about it and appreciated its history.  Our singers, Judy DeSantis and Dick Grady, performed for much of the day and kept the crowd entertained while they waited. A sailor man showed up in white uniform and danced with Peggy in her stewardess garb for quite a while. This really looked like a vignette from WWII and entertained the crowd, as well as the rest of us.
We were served a nice lunch in the VIP tent. There was to be a "Chairman's Dinner" in the evening  just for performers in the show but Dennis attended a
briefing and wrangled tickets to the event for us. We went in two shifts and had an excellent dinner. It was also nice that being in the tent to get out of the relentless wind for a bit.
Will Fairchild never really knew much about what his mother,Peggy, did in her vintage stewardess outfit, but it must be something really nerdy. When he saw the Flagship, met the members of the team, and witnessed his mother in action, the light dawned and he saw her in a whole new light. Suddenly she was not just his mother, but a very interesting person. He beamed with pride as she danced with the sailor and proudly pointed her out to our patrons. The transition was visible and so fun to watch. Later in the evening Gene asked him if he knew what a cool person his mother was and he replied, "I think I found out today."
This was a really long day with half

of our people there for 14 hours. Early in the evening, as it got even cooler, we sent one van load of folks back to the hotel. We thought the wind would die at sundown, and it did, temporarily for an hour of so, then came right back. Nevertheless, a good show, a fun time.

Singing in the Rain??

It was not another sunny day in Florida when ten of us assembled at Stuart Jet Center for the trip to New Smyrna Beach. Weather was threatening to the north and our mission was to "shoot the gap" between two systems heading across the state. The passengers were warned to be prepared for a rough flight.  However, our Captains DeSantis and Christian presented us with a very smooth flight except for about ten minutes during descent.
We were met on the ground by Jim Skelly and Dave Buffington. After the usual herding of cats, we repaired to the Country Inn and Suites in Port Orange where the staff could not have been more accommodating.  They were extremely helpful with advice and directions and seemed genuinely happy to see us.  At times we could see they were just plain amused at the shenanigans that are inevitable when you have a dozen type A personalities trying to operate as a unit. Our scheduled membership flight had been postponed due to weather which was wise as shortly, it was truly  blowing a gale.
Since no one had eaten since breakfast, we headed to an early dinner at the Texas Roadhouse, where hotel staff had arranged for a large table for us.  Sheryl and Gene were celebrating their fifteenth wedding anniversary. This is starting to be a tradition since their 13th was celebrated in Los Angeles with the crew.
 Bright and early on Friday a gaggle of pilots and Peggy headed out to do the membership flight while the remainder rested for a later arrival, as  air show were 2PM to 10PM. We were now joined by Rick Smail and Donna and Gary Noviski, recruited by Tom Taff. This will be the debut of Alyse Grady in her stewardess garb and Captain Buffington is also in uniform.
 The Flagship was situated alone at the end of "Vendor's Row" very near the flight line with a good view of air show. The VIP tent was also very close to us on the flight line. The crowd was sparse when the show opened at two and so the off-duty crew headed up the midway in search of food.
Gene and I grabbed a burger, then went to explore a bit. A large black cloud approached but we did not see any rain falling from it. After the cloud passed, drops began to fall, quickly becoming a deluge.  We ducked into a rather large tent with some other folks and watched the rain and wind coming  in sheets for about  thirty minutes. We could see people desperately holding on to the four corners of their tents and the west facing food vendors were really getting hit with no way to cover the fronts of their booths. Many of these vendors did not return after that night.
Meanwhile, back at the plane, the remainder of the crew was scrambling to get Judy's sound equipment and all the other gear out of harm's way.  A wet crew ended up  huddled in the plane with part of the gear while the remainder was in Jim Skelly's truck. Thankfully, we had been able to keep our vehicles close to the plane. Though the rain moved out a high, very cool wind persisted.  After awhile most of our crew returned to the hotel as the evening performance was canceled and we were in no shape to show the plane. In short order, the whole show was shut down and we got an unexpected evening off
.

Florida International Air Show-Punta Gorda

 It was yet another sunny Florida afternoon when the Flagship departed from the Stuart Jet Center and glided into Punta Gorda, Florida on March 22 to begin her appearance at the Florida International Air Show.  After reaching our parking space, we found charming former stewardess Valerie Brodeur Hill, who had waited patiently for our arrival with her friends Dick Lyons and George Gaviria.   Valerie, who will be 90 on April 17, and her sister Suzanne Brodeur Wright, had both been AA stewardesses.  Suzanne, who unfortunately was unable to join us, had flown from 1942 through 1947, and Valerie flew from 1946 through 1950.  She brought her wonderful scrapbook, with mementos from her incredible career, flying in those exciting times immediately after WWII.  She got to meet Charles deGaulle when AA sent her as a representative of American Overseas Airways to the first Paris Air Show after WWII.  There were many rare photos, including one that looked extremely familiar. We soon realized that it was the original photo of the one that we have displayed on our galley for some time now, of a beautiful, smiling stewardess holding a food tray.  "Oh yes", said Valerie, "that's Eileen Henkel, she was a roommate of mine".  Below Eileen's picture in the scrapbook was her wedding invitation.  What a thrill for those of us who love Flagship history to know who our formerly unidentified stewardess is, and that the picture was taken between 1947 and 1949.

Bill Brooks, Jim Skelly and Dennis Pugsley

  Valerie then told about meeting her husband-to-be on Beacon Street in Boston.  She was on her way to the airport and missed the streetcar by a few minutes.  "We were always broke, and I was worried about how I was going to pay for a taxi, when a convertible stopped and the man inside asked if I was going to the airport.  I thought it was probably safe to accept a ride since he had a convertible and people could see me if I needed help.  Well, it turned out he was a Harvard man and a lawyer, and was working at the airport tower.  He asked me out to dinner and then I think he took me to play golf.  He was a great golfer.  One thing led to another and we were married."  Her first comment upon entering the Flagship was that "it looks just the same, and it just doesn't seem like such a long time ago."  We could have talked to Valerie for hours.  She was a delight and it was a privilege to have her visit the Flagship.

 

Worn out Captain

The air show provided a great pre party on Friday night, complete with fireworks, and wonderful lunches all weekend.  There were lots of volunteers from local schools and sports teams and they couldn't have been nicer.   Everyone enjoyed the town of Punta Gorda, in spite of the tropical rains that hit on Friday night.  The town was devastated during Hurricane Charley several years ago, and has been working to rebuild.  There is a great new indoor/outdoor mall called Fisherman's Village with nice restaurants and shops. Sunset views were magnificent.  The crew enjoyed  Sunday night dinner at a really nice downtown restaurant called River City Grill.  Also, Shorty's became a gathering place for the pre and post dinner crowd.  For further review on this spot, contact Dennis Pugsley.

 

The weekend was full of wonderful friends, both old (well, relatively speaking) and new. Judy DeSantis was a huge hit with her medley of big band favorites, and many visitors commented that it really "made" their day.  People were very patient, as the afternoons grew warm and even our tireless crew started feeling the heat.  (See Captain Tony on his crew rest break.) Gary Noviski was a welcome

Hard working crew member Michelle Brooks

addition to the crew and it was a pleasure to meet his wife Donna.  Lynn and Dave Buffington flew in to Orlando and were chauffeured over to Stuart by Jim Skelly.  Dennis Pugsley and Bill and Michelle Brooks were invaluable as always.  Scott Main and his son Russell were with us.  Many congratulations to Russell as he just found out that he has been accepted in to Air Force flight training after his graduation from the ROTC program at the University of Central Florida.  Steve Jacobson flew in to TPA on Friday night and braved the torrential rains to join us till Sunday.  Peggy Fairchild played stewardess as only she can do it, to the nines. Flagship pilot member AJ Jackson flew his Stearman over and Jim Kilpatrick, also a pilot member, brought his Yak 52.

 

It was another successful weekend for the Flagship and wonderful memories for all involved.  We hope to see you in New Smyrna Beach, April 5-7.

Vero Beach Aviation Day

The Flagship Detroit was the hit of the day at the Vero Beach Aviation Day last Saturday.  We had a large crew, some who flew over from Stuart with the plane and some who drove. Stuart locals Tony and Judy DeSantis were there, as was Dennis Puglsey and Bill and Michelle Brooks who made a brief appearance in spite of having a recent spell of illness. Stewardess Peggy Fairchild was up from Jupiter, Gene and Sheryl Christian were down from Georgia, and Jim Skelly was over from Tampa. We welcomed several newcomers to the crew. Scott Main, a new pilot member, was everywhere, helping in any way he could. His energy, piloting and mechanic skills will be a great addition to the crew. His Aero Commander was on display just on the other side of the Flagship.  Gladys Goedhart, American Airlines flight attendant, debuted her stewardess uniform and was a big help giving tours. Dick Grady came and spelled Judy's singing performance with his baritone. His wife, Alyce, also an American Airlines flight attendant, will soon join the stewardess line up.
We were surprised at the turn out for the event in light of the fact that the predicted high of 68 only made it to 57, cloudy and very windy.  For south Florida in March, this is tantamount to a blizzard in other parts of the country. In spite of the chill, folks were lined up well past the wing length all day, waiting patiently for the chance to see the interior of the 1937 vintage restored aircraft. We met many interesting people who had a history with aircraft like ours. One woman was mother-in-law to the granddaughter of C.R. Smith. Mr. Smith was the president of American Airlines in the early 30's who convinced Donald Douglas of Douglas Aircraft to modify the DC-2 to create the legendary DC-3.
There was a large selection of aircraft on display. Rides were being offered in a vintage bi-plane, as well as in a helicopter. There were also some aerial demonstrations.
The next public event for the Flagship is the Florida International Air Show in Punta Gorda March 21-24, followed by New Smyrna Beach Balloon and Skyfest April 4-7.

We Meet People

We have a great time traveling the country with the Flagship Detroit and telling her story.  But the real joy is hearing your stories. You, the people who come to see the airplane who find a connection to her in your lives.
Jim and Evelyn Skelly, Tampa members of the foundation, put together a membership flight on January 19th.Capt. Bob Gross and Co-pilot Skelly were cockpit crew with Denis Pugsley in the cabin.  We gained twenty members and heard a lot of new stories.
Pictured above, is Raleigh Evans and his friend Maria Matinez.  Back in the day, Evans was a 19 year old C-47 crew chief and mechanic in Post War Europe.  In May of 1949 he joined Capital Airways where he worked on the DC-3 and 4, and the Viscount. Then it was United Airlines  and the planes were the DC8, 720, 727, 737, and the DC10. He retired in Tampa in 1982.  Raleigh really got a kick out of seeing our Flagship.
The next photo shows (l. to r.) Ron Elwood, Ray Dresch, Holly Hons and Tim Pieper really getting into the spirit of things by dressing the part. I really like Ray's Indiana Jones depiction. Notice the whip at his right side.
On the return trip to Stuart, the crew made a stop in Sebring to see Sport Aviation Expo.  They followed a B-24 in for landing. Everyone enjoyed seeing all the aircraft in attendance there.

Ray Dresch and Mike Fleck rode bact to Stuart with the plane and were helpful in putting her to bed upon arrival. All in all, a fun time.

Keeping Up The Pace

The Flagship Detroit is certainly not resting on her laurels in sunny Florida this winter.  You might call this a working vacation as she is earning her keep.  On January 19th and 20th she made a trip to Tampa where Flagship member Jim Skelly had arranged for a membership flight. More details of this trip to be published later.
Then on January 24 she appeared for the second time at La Bella Macchina in West Palm Beach at Jet Aviation on static display with other airplanes, glamorous women and expensive Ferrari automobiles. The picture at the top shows our intrepid crew along with an unidentified flapper and fly-boy. From left is Steve Jacobson, Tony DeSantis, our two visitors, Peggy Fairchild, Judy DeSantis, and Bob Gross. This year our own songbird, Judy DeSantis entertained with a medley of period melodies.
 The cute little Davis biplane pictured at right was also featured. Word is it was once flown by Howard Huges.
Rounding out the month, the Detroit made a day trip to Palatka for a fly in/air show. Flight crew were Captains Tony DeSantis and Bob Gross. Stewardess was Denis Pugsly, who was called "Denise" while in character. Bill and Michelle Brooks were there to man the sales table and Steve Jacobson was charged with crowd control. Eight new members made the trip along with several existing members. There were many vintage aircraft on display but the Flagship was the hit of the show. (Of course, we all knew that!) A free barbeque lunch was served by friendly locals. Tours of the plane were given to an interested group of visitors.And with this, the Flagship rounds up a fun and profitable January. Stay tuned, lots more to come in Florida in the next few months.

Three Fun Flights

The Detroit had another banner weekend in south Florida.  It started very early Saturday morning, January 5, when twenty excited new members and their friends and families met at the Stuart Jet Center at 7 a.m, where Dennis Pugsley  efficiently checked everyone in. Our destination was a monthly fly-in charity breakfast sponsored by Lo Presti Aviation in Sebastian, FL where we had been invited to appear.  Sebastian is about 40 nautical miles north of Stuart, and everyone was treated to a magnificent view of the beautiful Florida coastline and palatial waterfront homes.  Lo Presti donates the proceeds of their monthly fly-in breakfast to charity, and the Detroit was the grateful recipient of those funds this month.  Captains Tony DeSantis and Bob Gross manned the cockpit.  Upon arrival,  we were met by Bill and Michelle Brooks who work tirelessly as ground crew members. Tony gave an informative presentation of the Flagship's history and mission and Judy DeSantis entertained everyone vocally with a fabulous 50 minute nostalgic program of big band standards and hit songs from the 30's and 40's.  All the breakfast attendees were eager to see the Flagship, and stewardess Peggy Fairchild, with Bill Brooks manning the cockpit, gave tours to a very enthusiastic group.

 

Due to extensive publicity from newspapers, TV, and radio stations throughout Martin and Palm Beach counties, many people heard about the Detroit's winter home in Stuart.  Many of those contacted Tony DeSantis and joined the Foundation as holiday gifts for their loved ones.  On Sunday, January 6, we flew two membership rides from Stuart to Vero Beach and back.  Not only were our new members treated to panoramic views and perfect weather, the early group had breakfast and the late morning group had lunch at CJ Cannon's at the Vero Beach airport.  Cannon's is located right on the field and offers great food, friendly service and lots of nostalgic memorabilia lining its walls.  It's very popular with the locals and had a brisk crowd for Sunday brunch. Tony had arranged for our groups to be seated in a private dining room, with a specially arranged buffet breakfast and then lunch served from the extensive menu.

After lunch, some of us walked next door to the Legacy Flight School where David DeSantis, Tony and Judy's son and a pilot member of the Detroit, is a chief flight instructor.  The school has two full motion Redbird simulators and is a state-of-the-art training facility for advanced Piper aircraft.  David teaches ground school, simulator, and flight training to Piper Meridian and Mirage pilots who are going through initial transition and recurrent training.  These airplanes are manufactured right there at the Piper Aircraft factory, so it's a fascinating place for aircraft enthusiasts.

One of the most rewarding parts of being involved with the Detroit is meeting new members and hearing their stories about their interest in  the DC-3.  We had two fascinating pilots, 97 and 91 years old, who retired from National and TWA Airlines, respectively. Both began their careers on the DC-3, and were thrilled to be back on board.  One of our new members, whose mother had been an American Airlines stewardess in the 1940's, showed us beautiful pictures of her mother in the uniform of the day. It was a great weekend for everyone.

Playing Doctors

fThe Flagship took to the air again last weekend on two important missions.  The first was the annual  Office Christmas party of  Drs. Shawn Engebretsen and William Lippisch on Friday night.  The good doctors are both pilots themselves and Shawn is already a member of the Foundation. The staff and their guests were instructed to show up at Stuart Air Center with no idea of what would transpire.  Once there, they learned they would become members of the Foundation and fly to Vero Beach for dinner at C.J. Cannon's, a restaurant at the airport. While folks were given the option to drive in case anyone was averse to flying, the whole group opted to fly. This completely filled the plane to the extent that the hosts and a few others had to fly up in Dr. Lippisch's personal plane.

The Flagship took off in waning daylight and the passengers witnessed a gorgeous sunset over South Florida from the air.  The plan was to detour over the homes of some of the party goers and also to circle the Jupiter Lighthouse on the way. After a delightful dinner, the happy passengers were treated to a nighttime flight over the sparkling lights and shimmering water back to Stuart. Someone referred to the evening as a "Casablanca Moment." What an exciting evening for these folks!
The next mission was for Tom Taff to secure his type rating in the DC-3 at long last. Tom was supposed to do this last year until a freak injury resulted in delicate hand surgery and a long rehabilitation. Thankfully he is as good as new.  On Saturday morning Tom, Tony and Gene flew up to Melbourne to meet the examiner and Tom got to shoot two IFR approaches as the visibility was low and it took two tries to get in. Then Tom got to do it four more times as part of his exam.  It seemed to be a day of delays, but at long last, Tom became the newest Captain of the Flagship Detroit.
By this time, it was iffy as to whether Tom would make his 6PM flight out of West Palm Beach, but the Flagship delivered him with 5 minutes to spare and by a miracle, he did make the flight. Stay tuned for  the further adventures of the Flagship as she winters in Florida.

Young Eagles

The Flagship Detroit happily accepted an invitation to take part in a Young Eagles event at Stuart Jet Center in Stuart, FL on November 17. Young Eagles is an organization that fosters interest in aviation in young people. There were 217 young people there being treated to free rides by local pilots and EAA members. There are many pilots and aviation enthusiasts whose interest was sparked by a Young Eagles flight. Most of these aspiring aviators and their parents toured the Flagship. Fostering an interest in aviation is a big goal of the Flagship crew and we have done our part with several of our young passengers in the past. As usual our tireless Stuart crew consisting of Dennis Pugsley, Judy and Tony DeSantis, and Bill and Michelle Brooks were there to show the plane, eagerly accept donations to keep us flying and sell our merchandise. They were joined by new Foundation members Jim Brown, Bob Shurts, Alan Simon, Joe Jeransky and Frank Belsky.  The Florida Fan Club continues to grow.
Along those lines, the membership flight scheduled for Jan 5th from Stuart to the LoPriesti Charity Fly-In at Sebastian airport is full and reservations are being taken for another flight the next day with a stop in Vero Beach for breakfast. If interested, contact Tony DeSantis at 772-486-2831.

The Party Never Ends

Ah, Stuart, Florida where the road goes on forever and the party never ends. The adventure started with a media flight early Friday morning featuring Tony and Sheryl in vintage uniform and Gene as co-pilot. We had 18 passengers and a windy, but sunny day. The result of this was that Gene and Tony were featured on the front page of the Stuart News the next morning at the controls in living color.
Later in the day more of the crew gathered as Jake and Peggy arrived about the same time as Evelyn and Jim Skelly motored in from Tampa. Then off to the motel to check in quickly as the plane still needed to be spiffed and moved from one side of the airport to the side where the show will take place. And the Dirty Flight Suit Party starts at 4 PM.

 Someone snagged two tables for 8 in a prime location and the traditional parachutist with the flag was coming down as we arrived. We were served a very nice dinner and this year they increased the serving lines so that folks were served in a timely manner instead of a line snaking all around the tent. This is a fund raiser as well as a party for all the participants of the show. There were some nice and some amusing acts in the beginning, but there is nothing to compare to what happens at sundown and after. A Beech-18 covered in lights and billowing smoke trails performed a stunning routine accompanied by dramatic music and at the end of the song, doused the lights and disappeared into a cloud. Wow!  Later a helicopter launched fireworks from the air.  The wonderful Aero Shell aerobatic team of four did their act with lights on their planes and it is ten times better that way than in daylight. At the end there was a fantastic finale with scads of ground based fireworks and the huge line of fire at the end that reverberates in your chest with the explosion and warms your face with the heat.  What a party!  Thanks, Stuart Air Show!!

For the next two days we greeted hoards of happy people to our airplane. We had about 13 crew with the addition of the Chadwick family who joined at Stuart last year.  Bob Gross and his son,Riley were also there.  Many, many thanks to tireless worker Dennis Pugsley who also joined last year. Dennis has provided business cards for our captains, complete with photos of the Flagship on both sides, plus donated a 5 ft tall banner and luggage tags for us to sell. This year he donated stickers that we could give to the children and was the first one on the scene to help with unloading and set up. Judy DeSantis, decked out in vintage style, presented vocal accompaniment by singing many love and patriotic songs from the 1930's and 40's. New member, Gladys Goedhart, Bogota flight attendant, was there with a friend in tow, dancing with her boyfriend, Scott, who was showing President's Eisenhower's Air Force One. But we were by far the most class act on the tarmac.

Rosie the Riveter came by to count our rivets.

Saturday night, Tony and Judy DeSantis hosted the crew and many military men to a party at their lovely home.  This has become a tradition and this year featured a cake with a photo of the Flaghip on it. Almost too pretty to cut....ALMOST.
Sunday night 12 crew members gathered again at the DeSantis  Manor to work on party leftovers and have our first meal together of this weekend. There was a lot of lively debate, laughter and bonding. And many of us said our farewells to one another.
Bright and early Monday, we were on the move again. Our amazing Dennis Pugsley had booked a membership flight almost on his own.  The flight was totally full. Captains Bob Gross and Gene Christian were in the cockpit and Jim Skelly took the role of Stewardess.
After the flight, our remaining crew began to wend their ways back to their respective homes. This is the last mission of the year for our beloved Flagship and we will miss her and the camaraderie of her crew until we meet again.