Lest we forget.

From the Lead by Col Randy Wilson Our next regular Wing meeting is next Thursday and due to the expected heat, will again be held upstairs in O’Brien Hall in the Commemorative Center. We do have a speaker and hope you will bring a covered dish or favorite deli item and join us starting at 6:00 p.m. for the social hour. I am very happy to report that the North American L-17A is now flying and the PT-19 is just about ready to fly! You can read more on both in Col Bill Coombes’ column. All of our other planes are being flown, too. We are also happy to welcome Col Brad Bond as the newest CAF and HSW pilot, having checked out in the Stinson last Saturday. We will also begin checking out pilots in the L-17 in the next few days. Col Steve Bolin’s column will tell you where we stand on raising money for both the L-17 and T-28A. As an update, I think we are now only about $800 short in signed pledges. Now is the time to step up and pledge if you want to see the Wing acquire the T-28A. On other Wing matters, a Nominating Committee has been appointed to find candidates for three Wing elected offices: Wing Leader, Adjutant and Finance Officer for 2011-2012. The committee is chaired by Col Blake Cowart, with Cols H. A. Tuck and Susie Day also serving. Due to personal demands on my time outside the Wing, I am not able to run as your Wing Leader for the next two years, however, I will still continue to be very active and help support the High Sky Wing. If you wish to put up a candidate for any of these positions, please contact one of the members of the committee. A slate of candidates will be announced and published at least thirty days before the election, which will be held at our December meeting. AIRSHO 2010 is only a few weeks away, so now is the time to sign up as a volunteer job. You can find out where help is needed by visiting with Cols Gena Linebarger or Clay Francell. One need that I am aware of is for additional escorts for ACAHOF inductees. If you would like to know more about these duties, contact me or Jennifer Coleman in the museum. Next Friday, the SNB (James Martin’s Twin Beech), Steve Bolin’s Baron and our SNJ, flown by Lance Sommers, will depart for Minnesota and CAF meetings there, then go onto AirVenture at Oshkosh. They will be back the next week but I should be back in Midland by late Sunday, due to other commitments. Hopefully we will have some great stories when they return from Oshkosh! The HSW Cadet Crew has begun a new project to restore the World War II vintage Sikorsky R-4B helicopter as a static display in the main CAF hangar. Hopefully, some of the cadets or adults will document the work with some photos and a story for the newsletter in the near future. I hope to see a number of you at the Wing meeting next Thursday or out at the hangar on Saturdays. We are also continuing our Monday and Wednesday work parties starting about 6:00 p.m. or earlier. As always, if you have any questions about the Wing or its activities, drop me a note or give me a call.