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.