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Our fighters have returned from last weekend’s March ARB 2016 Airfest and the museum is back to normal operation.

Many thanks to Dan Newcomb for the following report and images from the airshow:

Here are some photos taken last Thursday of the flight to the March AFB air show. It was a very long day. Most of us got to CMA in the morning and started to get the planes ready. The PT-19, Mustang, Bearcat, Hellcat, Spitfire, Zero, L-29 and Charlie’s T-34 were scheduled to go. We had to be at March by 6PM. We launched the PT early and then the rest of the fighters with the exception of the Mustang took off at 4PM. Charlie and I in the T-34 took off first and flew out to the Reagan Library where we would meet up with the boys for some photo work.For most of the flight of about an hour we flew at 160 kts. And a bumpy ride.
Also included are photos from the trainer parade and a few shots of Sunday’s performance. After we finished as we walked by the crowd a spectator yelled, “Great show guys!” and several of them cheered! Kind of makes you proud……..
Luck was on my side yesterday. I flew home in the jet. I was dog tired and glad it only took 30 minutes to get home. The rest of the birds showed up about 15 minutes after we landed. We squared away the planes and put them in the hangars then headed for home. I slept 9 hours last night. Amazing week end! Amazing airplanes. Great show except for the wind. Fantastic crew!

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CAF SoCal is proud to have been invited to participate in the Airshow at the March Airfest, this weekend, April 16 and 17 in Riverside, CA.

Please note that while the museum is still open and you can visit to see our aircraft undergoing restoration and our artifacts, most of our fighter aircraft will depart for March ARB on Thursday April 14th,  and will return on Sunday, April 17.

We look forward to a successful representation of CAF and its historic warbirds at our second airshow of the 2016 season and will post some photos and videos of the event here.

Usually, the Warbirds ride program at CAF SoCal serves to fulfil the desires of us wanna-be fighter pilots, or provide a high octane thrill to the amateur history buffs amongst us.

That’s all well and good. It helps promote the wing and keep history alive.

However, every once in a while we get the pleasure to witness someone not only experience a thrill of a life time, but to also connect with a special piece of their personal family history. That’s when “keeping history alive” takes on it’s true meaning for us.

Last Saturday we had a P51 ride participant share with us what the experience truly meant for him. Michael got to see what 40 minutes in a P51 feels like, and also got an opportunity to bridge the expanse of time to his father’s time with the Mustangs of the US Air Force.

It may have been his pleasure, but it was our privilege to help Michael, and also us connect with the “Greatest Generation”.

Thanks to Dan Newcomb for sharing the following Email from Michael sent to the wing.

Dear [CAF SoCal],

I wish I had the words to express the thanks for helping me to fulfill one of my dreams. Attached is a picture of my Father shortly after the Army Air Corps became the Air Force and one that my wife took of me on the day of the flight.

Again, thank you all for giving me the memory of a life time.
Sincerely,
Michael Frisby

Michael Frisby’s Father ca. 1947

Michael Frisby with Man’O’War 2016

On Saturday March 26, we were thrilled to have a record number of participants in one day for the wing’s warbird ride program at our Camarillo facilities.

It was a beautiful day for flying and you would have been hard pressed to find anything other than broad grins on our ramp.

The rides started shortly after 10 am and carried on without interruption to late in the afternoon.

A huge word of thanks to our tireless maintenance personnel for making sure the PT19 and the Man’O’War were in excellent flying condition prior to the event, and to our pilots who gave our customers an unforgettable experience with their usual skillful flying and hospitable attitude.

And a special note of praise for our Cadets who managed the entire process and made sure we had a safe and efficient ramp all day long!

Our riders were not all local residents. We had participants come to Camarillo for their special day form as far as San Diego, Reno, Denver and Sheffield, England!

The enthusiasm with which these supporters of our rides program arrived  and their delight following their experience was contagious to us all. We look forward to more days like this and know that some of our new friends will return to experience our other Warbirds.

It was the Wing’s honor and privilege to be included in the annual airshow at the Naval Air Facility El Centro, home of the Navy’s Blue Angels.
Our pilots put on a great show with our warbirds and ended the event with rides to sponsors of the airshow.

Leaving our ramp empty for the weekend, in addition to the fighters, the PT19, Aircoupe and a T6 Texan, were flown from Camarillo to El Centro on Thursday for practice flights on Friday in preparation for the airshow on Saturday. The fighters  put on a great aerial display and the rest of the aircraft were used for static displays as well as sponsor rides on Sunday prior to departure for the trip back to base.
Thanks to our dedicated ground crew and our pilots, the event concluded smoothly and the spectators and warbird enthusiasts enjoyed an unforgettable day.
What the public does not get to see, and perhaps cannot appreciate is the amount of dedication and work it takes to put on such a display with these vintage and highly tuned warbirds. In addition to the usual maintenance work, preparation and practice, it takes a lot of attention and worry over details like oil, fuel, wind, air temperatures, etc to make everything seem as easy as get in-switch on-and go!
We hope you enjoy seeing some of the behind-the-scenes footage and images from the airshow here.

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CAF SoCal is proud to have been invited to participate in the Airshow at the Naval Air Facility El Centro, this weekend, March 11 and 12.

Please note that while the museum is still open and you can visit to see our aircraft undergoing restoration and our artifacts, most of our fighter aircraft will depart for El Centro on Thursday and will return on Sunday, March 13.

We look forward to a successful representation of CAF and its historic warbirds at this, our first airshow of the 2016 season and will post some photos and videos of the event here.

On Tuesday March 1, 2016 we were honored with a visit to the wing by Verne Horton.

Verne is a veteran of WWII fighting in the Philippines with Marine squadron VMB 611 and has been a long time supporter or our PBJ restoration efforts.

Verne Horton, Deby, John and Marilyn photographed with PBJ restoration crew members Marc Russell (l) and Michael Hohls (R)

Accompanied by daughter, Deby and son, John, Verne was under the impression that he was visiting Camarillo for an easy lunch with the restoration crew on “his dime”. Little did he know that we were ready to give him a taxi ride aboard the PBJ followed by an unexpected bonus ride aboard a PT17 Stearman with Randy Sherman.

Following the thrill ride (his first in a biplane!), this spry and energetic Marine honored us with a quick interview session which is included in the video playlist here.

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Video playlist of Verne’s visit

Scale model enthusiast from the area gathered at the CAF SoCal Museum Hangar on Sunday February 28 for Modelfest 2016.

Sponsored by Ventura Hobbies this is an annual event held at the CAF hangar facilities. A long time supporter of the wing, Vernon Morseman of Ventura Hobbies declared the 2016 Modelfest “our best ever!” and plans are already in place for the 2017 event.

The event included a competition in various categories and a swap-meet of rare and collectable model kits of all varieties, books and other related items.

We at CAF SoCal are happy to make our facilities available to so many diverse interests in our community and we are grateful for the continued support of our sponsors such as Vern at Ventura Hobbies. If you missed this year’s Modelfest, make plans to be here next year, and visit Vern at the hobby store.

Saturday February 27 was a special day for the visitors, volunteers and staff at CAF SoCal as the wing hosted a visit by aviation legends Si Robin, David Price, Bob Hoover and Clay Lacy.

Si Robin, Clay Lacy and Bob Hoover in front of the PBJ

It was a privilege to meet these icons of aviation history and a moment of great pride for all the staff and volunteers a CAF SoCal to see them show so much interest in our wing.

You could not miss the arrival of Clay Lacy’s beautifully restored and maintained  DC-3  on our ramp with Clay Lacy and our own Randy Sherman at the controls and Si Robin enjoying the luxury of the historic airliner.

We were fortunate to be able to get a few aerial photos of this magnificent DC3 on it’s return trip to Van Nuys.

We look forward to future visits to our wing by these remarkable gentlemen.

The following is an excerpt from a note and a photo by CAF SoCal volunteer Dan Newcomb, which expresses the feelings of all of us at the wing:

“For me it was a big thrill to see Clay Lacey, Si Robin, David Price and Bob Hoover together on our flight line. Four icons. Four legends in aviation. When men like this are interested in what we do at our wing I have to think that we must be doing something right! With the continued support from people like this anything is possible. We keep moving forward. The dream is becoming reality. I’m very proud to be a member of the SoCal Wing.

David Price and Emma McNay – Photo by Dan Newcomb

I was blessed to witness one of life’s sweet and tender moments yesterday and I would like to share that moment with you. As many of you know David has been very generous and supporting of our wing. Also David is the reason one of the finest grade schools in the nation, Oaks Christian, exists. Cadet Emma McNay is a senior at Oaks Christian. Emma had the wonderful chance to personally thank David. She told him that she was a cadet at CAF and that her attendance at Oaks was, for her, life changing. She has a 4.0 GPA and is well on her way to a career in aviation.”