It was an overcast sky today with scattered ceilings at 1000 ft and occasional rain. Despite this, approximately 55 folks showed up at Jim and Barb Wiebe's to enjoy a lunch of lasagna and other treats. Phil Ciholas was the lone eagle to brave the weather, finding a break long enough to fly into the High Point airport. His beautiful 1946 Cessna 140 is pictured on the left, looking very much at home on the well trimmed grass.

The pictures center and right show the 1938 Howard DGA-11 Jim Wiebe is in the process of restoring. We enjoyed checking out the progress.

The new name tags provided by Hardy Aviation arrived, so now we can know who everyone is. Special thanks to Randy Hardy for this donation. Please remember to wear your name tag to future MAAG activities. We also had some new members join today; Hugh and Merry Beckham and Mark and Kathy Wood. Welcome!

The next MAAG meeting will be at Halstead on June 19 as we celebrate Gus Wiebe's anniversary of his 65th birthday (just what number we are not sure). There is also a fly-in at Stearman Field in Benton that same day. In addition, don't forget the fly-in at Rucker Field on Memorial Day previously posted. Lastly, the local EAA chapter (88) will be holding their annual fly-in and banquet at the Newton airport (EWK) on July 3.

After snagging the car and checking into the hotel we made our way to the Chino airport. A friend of mine has an awesome hangar on the field (pictures to come) so we said a quick hello to him. One of the goals for this trip was to shoot pictures of the Curtiss Robin at The Yanks Air Museum. Thru a friend I made contact with the director of the museum who let me take some detailed photos of the Robin. Our friend Alan was due to arrive in his Super Swift in the early afternoon. So walking the field, visitig the museum and watching airshow practice made for a very nice afternoon. The three ship Mustang acro act, The Horsemen flew a great practice show. Sounded great and was very tight formation. To many Warbird aircraft types to name now but I counted 13 Mustangs on the show line. My first time to see the award winning Happy Jacks Go Buggy! Can't wait to see the freshly restored A36 Mustang! Weather looks good and the Warbirds seem ready!



Alan made it in his Swift after some scheduling issues with the airshow practice. We looked over some of the show line and then went to dinner. Good to catch up on flying stories with him. Winding down the evening and looking forward to the show tomorrow!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

We recently received a bunch of pictures and a great story from one of our most active volunteers here at the museum. Kerry Sim is a veteran pilot who has been helping out here in Concrete for a while now, and last fall he started bringing his 15 year old son Cameron along.

Cameron is a great help whenever he’s here and doesn’t just sit around looking at the airplanes. Every time he is at the airport he’s hard at work helping with the basic maintenance and learning about the airplanes. He’s worked on a lot of the planes here, but he’s really getting to know the PT-19. It’s really great to see a teenager changing the oil in a World War II trainer, and even better to see him going for a flight in one!

Since Cameron started volunteering, he’s worked on a variety of the airplanes  here and seems to have fun even if it’s just inflating a few tires. Hopefully this summer we’ll see a lot more of him, and hopefully we’ll be able to get him flying a lot more too!

We would also like to see more kids here at the museum and if you know any students who want to spend some time enjoying aviation like Cameron does, please contact us. We’re in the process of developing some summer camps for kids, and will be sure to post our plans as soon as we have them finalized.

Here’s the story and more pictures from Cameron’s dad Kerry sent in after their visit last weekend.

One Boy’s Education by Museum

by

Kerry D. Sim

Since the word “Education” is  a significant part of the name of the Skagit Aero Education Museum, it seems appropriate to recognize the participation and contribution of perhaps the museum’s youngest volunteer. At fifteen, Cameron Sim of Comox, British Columbia spent some time recently learning about the innards of a seventy-one year old airplane.

When Cameron spends a few days with me it generally results in a trip to Concrete to work on projects at the Museum. His first hands-on experiences were in Sept. 2009 as he was introduced to a variety of basic aircraft maintenance items.

It is now May 2010,  and he finds himself once again working on the PT19. His assignment, help with an oil change, and removing, cleaning and replacing spark plugs on the PT-19’s Ranger Engine.

And one final note: The next day, as I delivered Cameron to the ferry terminal to return home to  Vancouver Island, he said; “Thanks Dad, I enjoyed this trip. It was really great working on the PT-19 and learning about changing spark plugs and oil and stuff.” For me, as somebody who has been around airplanes since I was a teen, it was a weekend to be remembered. Sharing time with my fifteen year old son working on a seventy-one year old airplane, and getting some stick time in a Cub. Not much in this life could top it.

I can’t help but conclude that this weekend experience of ours is a very clear indication that it – the word “Education” in the Museum’s name – is working just fine.

Jim and Barb Wiebe will be hosting the May MAAG at their home at the Highpoint Airpark (3KS5). Everyone is welcome to fly or drive. The address is 20 Hawthorne, Valley Center, Kansas. They are just east of Valley Center, North of 85th and Seneca. They will be making lasagna, and ask others to bring something, if they'd like, that complements that dish. The Wiebes will also be providing beverages. The fun begins at 1:00 PM on the 16th. Hope to see you there and guests are always welcome