February 28, 2013 Vintage AirMail

Welcome to Vintage AirMail, the newest Member benefit from the EAA Vintage Aircraft Association (VAA). I hope you enjoy our all new Vintage AirMail e-Newsletter. The intent here is to keep our membership up to date on the goings on of the Vintage Airplane movement during the off month, when the magazine is not being distributed.

Thanks for being a Member. I want to also mention here that our newly revamped Vintage Aircraft web-site (www.VintageAircraft.org) has now also been officially launched. Please stop by and check it out, and be sure to provide us with any feed-back you care to offer. It is always welcome!

Be assured that we carefully listen to the Membership and their concerns. For example, when the “Mystery Airplane” feature disappeared from Vintage Airplane magazine a good number of you made it known to us that you really missed that feature and asked that we bring it back.

So, when you get your April Vintage AirMail newsletter look for the “Mystery Airplane” feature in there and submit your answers to us per the directions. I know a lot of you took pride in regularly providing us data on mysterious aircraft, so please feel free to resume submitting this data for all to enjoy. Please contact VAA Director Wes Schmid at 414-771-1545 to submit your idea for the Mystery Plane. Thanks for participating!

I want to thank VAA Board member Ron Alexander for his efforts on the Vintage AirMail newsletter. Many thanks are also due to those responsible for the new website design & site content.

The design work was a group effort that includes VAA Volunteer Earl Nicholas, VAA Director Tim Popp, and our Executive Administrator Theresa Books. I want to invite any of the Membership to feel free to provide us with relevant and timely information for both the Vintage AirMail newsletter and the website. We would also love to hear from the Chapter Members and Officers, as well. So let us know what’s going on in your Chapter.

I also need to offer thanks to those members of the VAA Board of Directors who collectively donated the money needed to see the new website designed, developed and launched.

A thanks also goes out to the The Carolinas – Virginia Antique Airplane Foundation (EAA Vintage Aircraft Association Chapter 3) for their very generous donation to this important effort as well. You folks are all awesome, and I hope you all agree that the new website and the Vintage AirMail newsletter will prove to be valued enhancements to the VAA Members’ benefits.

The adventure lives on!

Geoff Robison
President, EAA Vintage Aircraft Association

P.S. I hope to see you all at AirVenture 2013!

The EAA Vintage Aircraft Association (VAA) is rolling out the red carpet for all round engine aircraft owners at AirVenture 2013. Under the banner theme “Round Engine Rodeo” all round engine aircraft owners are formally invited to fly their big beautiful round engine airplanes to Oshkosh this year… (read more)

Vintage Launches Expanded Website

Oshkosh: February 26, 2013 – The EAA Vintage Aircraft Association, the Antique, Classic and Contemporary community of EAA, formally announces the official launching of its new and expanded website today…
(read more)

Airport Action:
Flabob – an Airport with a History and a Mission

By Ron Alexander

A highlight of each issue of Vintage AirMail will be to focus on one of the many antique aircraft havens that exist throughout the country. There are numerous airports that provide a home for a large number of antique and classic aircraft. One such airport – and the first to be featured – is Flabob Airport located in Riverside, California. Flabob is touted as the “Little Airport That Time Forgot.” Flabob is the seventh oldest surviving airport in California. It was founded in 1925 as Riverside’s first civil airport.

The original Riverside Airport was washed away during a flood in 1938. A few pilots who stayed moved their airplanes a few hundred yards downstream where a leftover WPA tool shed provided some shelter. They were able to house their airplanes in that tool shed and fly off of a makeshift strip. The location of this shed is now home to Flabob’s Hangar One…
(read more)

2013 AirVenture Vintage Volunteer Work Weekends Announced

April 19-21, May 17-19, and June 21-23. If you are interested in helping out and getting to know some great people, contact Chairman Mike Blombach…
(read more)

Some Features of the New Website

We have tried to redesign the site for easier navigation and better viewing throughout.

• For those of us with failing eyesight, notice the three white A A A on the bottom right of the site header. Clicking on these icons will magnify the content text for easier reading.
• You will find several features to assist you in navigating our new website:
• When you explore pages beyond the main menu, a gold navigation bar will display at the top to show you where you are and how to get back where you were.
• Photos on all pages are clickable. They will either take you to the referenced page or expand for easier viewing.
• We have expanded from a dozen photos in our gallery to multiple galleries with hundreds of photos. If you have vintage photos to share, please send them to us.
• PDF documents will open in a book-style reader. You can click on the top left icon to expand the book to full screen.
• There is an email form on the Contact Us page. Please send us your comments and suggestions.

Discover and Learn: 2013 EAA Homebuilding Workshops

Building or restoring isn’t daunting as long as you have the basic skills and confidence to do it right. That’s where EAA’s SportAir Workshops are perfect. Master instructors help you discover your own abilities in a variety of aviation skills from welding to fabric covering.

View the 2013 schedule

Helpful Website Quick Links:

• Friends of the Red Barn
• Vintage Chapters
• Type Clubs
• Vintage Store
• Aircraft Categories and Judging
• VAA at AirVenture

The Adventure Lives On…