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The Mile High Flight 18 newsletter is published quarterly in

 February, May, August and November.

(Next publication date approximately 1 Feb 2009)

Most recent newsletter

NOV 2008

Highlights:  Don Neary to take over as Flight Captain in 2009; Christmas party will be Thursday 11 Dec at the Tin Cup (clip-and-mail reservation coupon on page 2); Tom Martin's farewell column; Thompson praises sponsored vets' trip to DC, WWII Memorial; "Bridges at Toko-ri, The Real Story"; Bill Bower helps re-activate bomber group he commanded in  WWII -- coming back for space duty; see page 6 for clip-and-mail 2009 Flight Dues coupon; article "Off we go  Here we stay" about rapidly growing UAV pilot community; Joe Forster flies his damaged P-38 900 miles back to Pacific base on one engine; Final Flights - Dan Tauriello, Vic Buettell, Lynn Tate; Bill Axton and Rex Cox; Welcome Aboard Brian Patterson and Phil Ecklund.   

Previous newsletters

AUG 2008

Highlights:  August meeting will be at Wings Over the Rockies Air & Space Museum; "Aim high, run fast!"; Greatest Generations Foundations sponsors trips for veterans; "The Last Checkride"; "Eject! Eject! Eject!" - Bob Mock describes getting shot down over enemy territory in his RF-4C during the Vietnam War (article by Mike Daciek); "CHANGE: Hold your nose, it's in the air;" Mark Johnson is newest Flight Associate; Newest Flight Associate Mark Johnson loses his deHavilland Venom when engine quits near Platte Valley; Final Flights - Former Flight Captain Bob Mock, Bob "Bentley" Snider; Welcome Aboard - Stan Folker.   

MAY 2008

Highlights:  Platte Valley gathering on 16 May to feature roast pig and debut of Fokker D.VIII; Mark Johnson nominated for last Flight Associate slot - officers will vote on 20 June; Dave Trexler moves to N. Carolina, but first becomes a Life Member of Flight; Guest op-ed by Amir Taheri "The Iraq they won't talk about"; Bower attends Doolittle Raider 66th Anniversary Reunion in Dallas, but says he won't make the upcoming Raider Homecoming/Training Re-enactment at Eglin because 'flying commercial is too hard!' Dale Boggie to press for return of traditional Tenants and Objectives at this year's National Convention; Scholarships go to three ROTC cadets; Jack Wilhite completes 10th and possibly last Rockies Fantasy Camp; F-15 in-flight breakup; New fallback procedure for making meeting reservations; in rare appearance, the late Lowell Thomas will be guest speaker for 20 June luncheon; Bogus Email - "Jay Leno hits nail on the head;" F-117 Nighthawk retirement; Final Flights - John Foster and "Bud" Breckner.

FEB 2008

Highlights:  COANG 140th Wingers home from Iraq; Letter to Flight from 2006 ROTC Scholarship recipient; Flight Captain letter-need to recruit more members; Photos of 2007 Christmas Party; Mail-in coupon for 2008 Flight dues; Match aircraft photo to article; Next president may face Cold War II; War Story-"Night Flight Blues"; Wisdom of old Chief Two Eagles; Too many foreigners?; Questions that haunt me; 20 Golden Rules of the Joint Staff; Toilet Ordnance Humor; Final Flights - Dave Sneary & Ed Lange.

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NOV 2007

Highlights:  Current officer staff re-elected; Christmas party to feature music by The Osburns; "9/11 Post Script" by Ed Cutler; "The Pilot's Bond" by Daedalian Barry Goldwater; Daedalian blazer cost increase; No additional F-22s or C-17s in 2009; "Ten-foot Midgets" short story by Ger Spaulding; "Jeremiah Weed" - the tradition explained; 2007 Treasurer's Report; Bogus E-Mails: Is it a good idea to send a Christmas card to "A Recovering American Soldier" c/o Walter Reed? Meet Miss America; U-2 Trivia; USAF relying on Russian AN-124s to ship critical materials to Iraq; Welcome Aboard - John Walters.   

AUG 2007

Highlights:  John Thompson promotion ceremony, 58 years late; Flight Captain invites volunteers to serve as Flight Officers next year; Air Force discontinues use of base decals; too many members delinquent in Flight dues; Interim FLM funds report from Flight Treasurer;  New Airman's Creed, Naval Aviator's Code, great poem entitled "The Reunion;" Missing Man--Robin Olds; Final Flights Ben Colkitt, Ted Kuhlman, BG Williams; Welcome Aboard Warren Weikle and Al Sundine.  

MAY 2007

Highlights:  John Thompson's promotion to colonel will be 58 years late; Platte Valley preview; preview of and directions to 22 June BBQ picnic in Littleton; scholarships awarded to two CU ROTC students;  new prices for Daedalian blazers and crests; Bill Bower attends Doolittle Raiders' 65th anniversary reunion in San Antonio;  dues payment coupon provided for the 44 Flight members who are delinquent on their 2007 Flight dues; Mike Daciek takes to the air in a Stearman and announces that sales of Daedalian blazers are going well (making him very popular among Flight members' wives) despite a slight increase in the price of blazers and crests; essay "Exit strategy--a mere phrase, not a strategy;" Final Flights Phil Tague, Bill Hendrix. 

FEB 2007

Highlights:  Tom Martin's first column since '93; Daedalian Convention contacts in Flight 11; Flight Life Memberships popular in Flight 18; "Don't Need No Stinkin' Badges;" New By-laws approved; Bob Hoover Revisited; Jack Wilhite completes ninth Rockies Fantasy Camp; Phil Tague has cancer; George McCrillis comes off dialysis; Welcome Aboard Mike "Dice" Paradise.

NOTE: IF THE LINK ON PAGE 6 OF THE NEWSLETTER DOESN'T GET YOU TO THE HOOVER VIDEO, TRY THE ONE BELOW. IT FLIGHT TESTS A-OK. 

http://www.alexisparkinn.com/photogallery/Videos/2006-3-11_bob_hoover.avi

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NOV 2006

Highlights:  Tom Martin elected Flight Captain for 2007 - all other officers stay on; Christmas party will be 15 Dec at the Tin Cup; Mock 4: Bob Mock's final letter as Flight Captain; Flight 18 now offers Life Memberships; How to become a Flight 18 LM; 461st Test Flight Squadron Reactivated for F-35; Ed Huber flies SNJ in memorial fly-by; Use your car as burglar alarm; Flight's 1976 bylaws overhauled - approval referendum underway; Huber leads Spreading Wings Colorado Barnstorming Tour; A Different Christmas Poem; Navy retires F-14 - photo of final cat shot; Welcome Aboard Ed Benson and Al Vivona.

AUG 2006

Highlights:  Flight marks 41st birthday on July 4th; August speaker endured six years as POW in Hanoi Hilton; 19-20 Aug is Buckley Military Appreciation weekend; Jack Wilhite's Jeffco bash is Wed, 6 Sept; Many still owe 2006 Flight dues--delinquency notices enclosed in this issue; Air Force IFS goes to Doss Aviation in Pueblo; Anti-terror ship made of WTC steel; Flight Life Membership proposal; Global Hawk comes home alone; Flight member sick call; How to recognize a stroke; Richthofens mixed up in murder; Bogus E-mails: are on-line petitions legitimate?; F-35 Joint Strike Fighter dubbed "Lightning II;" Welcome Aboard Mitch Neff, Bob Ritter, Chuck Wilson, Larry Wagner, Bill Zinser.

MAY 2006

Highlights:  Mitch Neff of  COANG's 140th Wing named Flight 18 Distinguished Pilot for CY 2005; Platte Valley Rally set for 19 May; George McCrillis hospitalized; Flight Life Memberships proposed for Flight 18; Flight member Bob Beabout one of three Colorado pilots named Master Pilots by FAA; Flight grants four $900 scholarships; Ed Dwight, our April guest speaker, was America's first Black astronaut trainee, now a world-famous sculptor; Bill Bower attends Doolittle Raiders' 64 anniversary reunion; line-up of all Thunderbirds' and Blue Angels' jets; guest speakers for June, July; Wilhite does not fall off ladder; Bogus e-mail; eight new or prospective members introduced; Welcome Aboard Mike O'Dair.  

FEB 2006

Highlights:  Bob Mock takes over as Flight Captain, sets goals;  2006 schedule takes shape; Mainliner Denver; The Bombing of Flight 629; Snake-bit pilot; Hanoi Taxi (last C-141) to retire; Death of Margie Moss; Chuck Girvan on the mend; Kinder shows grit, courage; British Officer Fitness Report excerpts; Jack Wilhite misses Fantasy Camp; To those who flew behind round engines; Fickle Finger re-emerges; 9/11 refresher; Welcome Aboard - Greg Anderson, George Grieger and Tony Smith.  

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NOV 2005

Highlights:  Christmas party at Aurora Hills Tin Cup on 7 Dec. New officers elected for 2006; End-of-tour report from Yumper Black;  Meet new Flight Captain Bob Mock; All about Life Memberships, National and Flight dues; Dues payment coupon; Lockheed gets $3 billion to build more Raptors; Winning war story from 19 Aug meeting; Bird Flu symptoms; Progress in Iraq; Quotes of Note; Battle of Midway as reported by today's media; USS Ronald Reagan passes Arizona Memorial. FINAL FLIGHT: Carl Swartz; WELCOME ABOARD Early welcome for Greg Anderson, George Grieger and Tony Smith.

AUG 2005

Highlights:  Beer call at Richthofen Castle on 2 Sept to celebrate 60th anniversary of Japan's surrender, view surrender document; Photos, description of surrender ceremony on board USS Missouri on 2 Sept 1945; Vietnam ace Steve Ritchie to be guest speaker at 16 Sept luncheon; The Last Mission of WWII; Popular Myths; "Sumo" Dunstan is Flight 18's Distinguished Pilot for 2004; Wayne Kinder rehabbing in North Carolina; Airline, pax honor returning soldiers; FAA High Flight Supplement: "Slipping the surly bonds of earth;" FINAL FLIGHT Rod Rawlinson; WELCOME ABOARD Don Mobley, W.R. Koger.   

MAY 2005

Highlights:  Platte Valley, Jeffco previews; VE Day 1945; Action in the Pacific 60 years ago; Crash of two B-17s locked together; Military bomber crashes into Empire State Building; Colorado legislature recognizes Tuskegee Airmen; P-8 replacing P-3; Flight 18 scholarships go to three ROTC cadets; Jim Harrison's winning war story; Maps, driving directions to Platte Valley & Jeffco; Bogus e-mails; Home Depot's CEO wins MOAA award; T-Birds, Blue Angels Colorado appearances;  FINAL FLIGHTS Noel Bullock, Bill Skinner; WELCOME ABOARD Lew Moir.

FEB 2005

Highlights:   Mike Bertz is Flight Associate nominee; guest speaker BG Carl Miller joins Flight; sailor describes abandoning ship when USS Hornet sunk during Solomons Campaign; F-22 funding in jeopardy;  I Want to Be a Naval Aviator/Prospective Naval Aviator; Jack Wilhite completes 8th Fantasy Camp; Bogus E-mails; FINAL FLIGHT Jim Forbes; WELCOME ABOARD Dan Hingley.

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NOV 2004  

Highlights:    2005 officer election results; preview of Christmas party at Gov's mansion; new Associates policy OK'd;  Flight 18 members Bill Bower, Morrie Quick and Jack Wilhite inducted into CAHS; Boggie splashes bogies in F-22 simulator; Tom Martin's winning war story "Snakebit Navigator;" Battle of Midway vet Jim Forbes feted in Chicago; Butch O'Hare article; Tuskegee Airmen mark anniversary; short story "Inaugural Ball;" FINAL FLIGHT Robert Akers; WELCOME ABOARD John Stewart.

AUG 2004

Highlights:    Flight 18 named Order of Daedalians best overall in 2003; Boggie flies with Benjamin Foulois; USAF/USN joint flight training; Bogus E-mails; FINAL FLIGHTS John Cannon, Byrd Ryland and Lyall De la Mater; WELCOME ABOARD Bob Beabout and Frank McCurdy.

MAY 2004

Highlights:       Flight 18 named Category C Distinguished Flight for '03; LTC Mike "Fer" Loh is first recipient of annual Distinguished Pilot Award; Platte Valley preview; three ROTC students win Flight 18 scholarships; thumbnail history of Flight 18; featured Flight member Russ Tarvin; Dave Trexler's winning war story "Bombs Away;" D-Day plus 60 years;  Bogus E-mails;  National WWII Memorial about to be dedicated; FINAL FLIGHT Charlie Cox; WELCOME ABOARD Jim Collins.

FEB 2004

Highlights:    Plans for the Distinguished Pilot Award and display case; Jack Whilhite attends seventh straight Colorado Rockies Fantasy Camp in Tucson; Rick Reilly of Sports Illustrated describes his F-14 ride; Descendant's Scholarship Program announcement; Bogus E-mails; F-86 and FJ-4 trace heritage to the FJ-1 Fury.

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NOV 2003

Highlights:    Preview of Christmas Party at and brief history of Denver's Richthofen Castle; Mel Eisaman's winning war story, "The real secret of the flyin' saucers;" announcement of the Wright Stuff (a toast to Orville and Wilbur) at the Wings Over the Rockies; 3-year 50th Anniversary Korean War Commemoration period ends;  Distinguished Pilot Award proposed; "Look Ma, No Hands!" a short story by Bob Swanson; why airplanes are easier to live with than women; one-vote myths; National Air & Space Museum Annex opens at Dulles Airport; FINAL FLIGHTS Andy Riddle, Tom Green and Ed Potter; WELCOME ABOARD Dennis Kaan, Joe Niemeyer, Lucile Wise, TenEyck LaTourrette and Lew Radeff..

(more to be added to the archives as time permits)