THIS MONTH I AM GOING TO START OUT BUY REMINDING ALL THE CREW AND SUPPORT MEMBERS THAT WE ARE NOW LESS THAN 350 DAYS AWAY FROM LANDING THE "City OF YUMA" AIRPLANE ON THE 50^th ANNIVERSARY OF THE WORLD ENDURANCE RECORD THAT IT SET ON 10/10/49. CREW, WE NEED LOTS OF SUPPORT AND HELP TO MAKE A SOFT LANDING ON A LONG RUNWAY WITH THE MEDIA CHASING US DOWN. (THE 1949 CREW CAN RELATE TO THAT!)

SINCE THE LAST NEWSLETTER WE’VE COME A LONG WAY TO MAKING THE AIRPLANE READY FOR THE 49^th ANNIVERSARY AT BET-KO-AIR.

• JIM GILLASPIE INSTALLED NEW WINDSHILDS IN THE BACK TWO WINDOWS. AND, THANKS TO GREG GARDNER AND HIS WIFE MARILYN, WE NOW HAVE TWO NEW WINDSHIEDS INSTALLED IN THE FRONT.
• THE FRONT COWLING AND NOSE BOWL IS NOW IN PLACE WITH LOGOS. RON CONTRERAS FROM PENN SIGN TOOK HIS TIME TO PAINT THE PILOTS NAMES ON THE FRONT COWLING. AGAIN, IT IS NO SUPPRISE THAT IT LOOKS AS ORIGINAL AS IT DID IN 1949. THANKS RON!! FOR ANOTHER GREAT JOB.
• THE NEXT TIME YOU SEE THE PLANE, TAKE A LOOK IN THE BACK COMPARTMENT. WE NOW HAVE THE NEW FLOORBOARDS IN. THE WOOD WAS DONATED BY FOXWORTH-GALBRAITH AND THE WORK TO CUT THEM TO FIT WAS DONE BY GARTH WORTHEN. THANKS TO BOTH OF YOU.

• I TOLD YOU LAST MONTH THAT WE NOW HAVE JERRY McGUIRE WORKING WITH US ON THE UPHOLSTERY. BUT BEFORE JERRY CAN DO HIS JOB, WE NEED TO TELL HIM WHAT WE WANT IT COVERED WITH. BE PATIENT, JERRY. WE INTEND TO MAKE A DECISION ON THE COLORS AT THE NOVEMBER 12^TH MEETING.

AND THE ENGINE…

• NOTHING HAS CHANGED SINCE THE LAST NEWSLETTER. ED DUPPSTADT MADE AT ‘LAST DITCH EFFORT’ AT TELEDYNE CONTINENTAL ENGINES BUT, IT MUST’A GONE OUT THE DOOR WITH THE PARACHUTE. WE ARE ACTIVELY PURSURING ALL SOURCES TO FIND A SPONSOR FOR ENGINE. LETTERS HAVE BEEN WRITTEN. THE ESTIMATED FIGURE TO MAKE THE ENGINE FLIGHT WORTHY AGAIN IS BETWEEN $6500 AND $7000.

49^TH "City OF YUMA" ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION

• HOW MANY WERE AT THE 49^th ANNIVERSARY CELIBRATION AT BET-KO-AIR ON 10/10/98? WE EXPECTED MORE, BUT THE 150 TO 200 THAT SHOWED WERE GREAT SUPPORTERS AND WERE TREATED TO A VERY ENTERTAINING EVENING. LEADING OFF WAS A PERFORMANCE BY THE YUMA HIGH CHORALAIRS. (THEY WERE OUTSTANDING, AS ALWAYS!) AND THEN, DAN MARRIES PRESENTED HIS DRAFT OF THE KYMA DOCUMENTARY INCLUDING INTERVIEWS WITH BOTH PILOTS AND OTHER MEMBERS OF THE 1949 PROJECT. DAN IS VERY DEDICATED AND HE DID AN EXECELLANT JOB. OUR THANKS GOES OUT TO DAN AND KYMA FOR ALL OF THEIR SUPPORT AND DEDICATION TO THE "City OF YUMA" PROJECT. AND, THANK YOU, JOHNNY GRABLE FROM JOHNNY’S TV FOR PROVIDING THE BIG SCREEN TV.

• IF YOU WERE NOT THERE, YOU MISSED " MISTER INSTIGATOR" HIMSELF, RAY SMUCKER. AS ALWAYS, RAY WAS VERY ENTERTAINING AND WE WERE HONORED THAT HE AND NADINE PARTICIPATED IN OUR EVENT.

• BOB AND BERTA WOODHOUSE ALSO ATTENDED. BOB RELATED SOME OF THE ADVENTURES THAT HE AND WOODY SHARED THROUGHOUT THE HISTORICAL FLIGHT IN 1949.
• WHAT A NIGHT!! TICKET #1 FOR A ‘FLIGHT OF FAME’ IN THE RESTORED 1949 "City OF YUMA" AIRPLANE WAS PRSENTED TO DAVID SCHUMAN FOR REACHING ‘CREW MEMBER’ STATUS WITH HIS GENEROUS DONATION. DAVID ALSO RECEIVED A SIGNED COPY OF A 1949 PHOTO AND A BOMBER’S JACKET.

• MANY THANKS GOES OUT FOR MAKING THE 49^th ANNNIVERSARY CELEBRATION A SUCCESS. FIRST, WE MUST START WITH MARTHA TAYLOR AND HER EXCELLENT CREW AT BET-KO-AIR FOR PROVIDING THE HANGER AND SETTING THE EVENT UP. WE THANK COCA COLA, CRYSTAL WATER, JOHNNY’S TV, FISHER CHEVROLET, PLAZA AUTO CENTER, SUN VALLEY BEVERAGE, YUMA CROSSING RESTAURANT, TODD PINNT AND HIS CIVIL AIR PATROL CADETS, AND ALL OF THE COMMUNITY SUPPORTERS THAT ATTENDED THE CELEBRATION.

• I ALSO THANK ALL THE HELPERS THAT STAGED THIS EVENT: THE JAYCEE FOUNDATION MEMBERS, JAYCEES, AND JR. JAYCEES, WHO WERE THERE FRIDAY, SATURDAY AND SUNDAY, TO SETUP AND STAGE THE AIRPLANE, HELP WITH GREETING THE PUBLIC, TAKING CARE OF THE 49 ENDURANCE FLIGHT MERCANDISE, AND SETTING UP THE SOUND SYSTEM. THANK YOU ALL!!!

THE INTEREST IN THE PROJECT IS FAST SPREADING THOUGHOUT THE COMMUNITY. BOB WOODHOUSE, DAN MARRIES AND MYSELF WERE ASKED TO GO TO CARVER SCHOOL TO GIVE A PRESENTATION TO ONE OF THE GRADE SCHOOL CLASSES. I DIDN’T DO MUCH. DAN SHOWED HIS DOCUMENTARY AND BOB SPENT 30 MINUTES TALKING TO AND ANSWERING QUSTIONS FROM COURIOUS 4^th GRADERS. THE NEXT DAY THE SAME CLASS SCHEDULED A FIELD TRIP WHICH INCLUDED A STOP AT THE AIRPLANE. AGAIN, JIM GILLASPIE AND BOB WOODHOUSE ANSWERED ENTERTAINING QUESTIONS.

AS SOON AS THE 4^th GRADERS, LEFT SOUTHWEST NEWS TEAM CHANNEL 13 SHOWED UP AND SPENT TIME FILMING THE AIRPLANE AND INTERVIEWING BOB, JIM, AND MYSELF. DO NOT BE SURPRISED IF YOU SEE A PROGRAMMING ON THIS EVENT ON CHANNEL 13 SOMETIME IN NOVEMBER. THANKS FOR THE COVERAGE CHANNEL 13.

• AIRPLANE INTERIOR UPHOLSTERY COLOR AND TYPE
• BALLOON FESTIVAL NOVEMBER 20-22. 1998
• 50^TH "City OF YUMA" REUNION DINNER AND AUCTION

• 50^TH "City OF YUMA" ANNIVERSARY AND DEDICATION CEREMONIES

(THESE ARE BUT A FEW OF THE ITEMS FOR DISCUSSION. DECISIONS WILL BE MADE. PLEASE MAKE ALL EFFORTS TO ATTEND THIS MEETING.)

THAT’S ALL FOR NOW. I HOPE EVERYONE CAN ATTEND THIS WEEK’S MEETING AT THE YUMA LANDING THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 12th AT 7 PM (SHARP!). WE NEED YOUR SUPPORT AND ACTIVE PARTICIPATION TO START PLANNING OUR 50^th ANNIVERSARY OCTOBER 8^TH THROUGH 10^Th 1999. AS WELL AS, ALL THE OTHER RELATED EVENTS BETWEEN NOW AND THEN. THIS PROJECT WILL ONCE AGAIN "TURN ALL EYES TO YUMA". THERE IS NO DOUBT THAT WE WILL HAVE NATIONAL COVERAGE. IF WE CANNOT GET MORE PARTICIPATION FROM THE JAYCEE FOUNDATION MEMBERS AND THE JAYCEES, WE MAY HAVE TO TURN TO OTHER COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS FOR SUPPORT. AND, THAT MEANS SHARING THE CREDITS. THE SPIRIT OF THE YUMA COMMUNITY IS WHAT MADE THIS PROJECT SUCCESSFUL IN 1949. WE NEED THAT SAME DEDICATED SPIRIT FROM YOU NOW! WE ONLY HAVE 11 MORE MONTHS TO MAKE THIS PROJECT REACH IT’S POTENTIAL AND TO BE A SUCCESS.

CAPTAIN RON

OTHER UP-COMING EVENTS:

February 6, 1999 Silver Spur Rodeo Parade

February 12-14, 1999 Silver Spur Rodeo

February 20, 1999 MCAS Air Show

March 5-7, 1999 Midnight at the Oasis