indication at this time that the Lockheed Martin
F-35 photography team as well as F-35 first flight pilot Jon Beasley
will be available. Several other guest speakers are being invited as
I write, and I suspect that by this time next month, I'll be able to
provide you with information about them as well.
Banquet speaker for ISAP-VII is noted astronaut and Reno Air Races
pilot (he flies a modified Hawker Sea Fury), Robert "Hoot" Gibson.
With five Space Shuttle missions - four of which he commanded - in
his log book, Hoot is one of the most accomplished members - now
retired - of NASA's elite astronaut corps. Hoot was chief astronaut
for NASA before he departed. October, incidentally, also marked
Hoot's retirement from the commercial airline industry. He made
national news a few weeks back as a result, and because of his well-
known dislike for the "sixty-and-out" mandatory retirement rule.
Field trip, even in consideration of the recent and horrific "PhanCon" accident, is starting to come together. The National Museum
of Naval Aviation is a given starting early on Friday morning, and it
looks like we'll bus over to the USAF Armament Museum for lunch.
After that, I'm currently working with the Air Force folks at
Hurlburt Field to see what might be done for a full-up Bell/Boeing
CV-22 demonstration that would include a tour of the special forces
facility and its various (and rarely seen) aircraft. As these words
are written, my associates at Bell and Hurlburt are working on a
CV-22 flight demonstration with photo ops specifically for our group.
More on this, of course, as it develops.
Finally, just a reminder that hotel rooms are limited in quantity.
Please call now to make a reservation! Information can be found here
in our web site, so do not delay. Every year a number of ISAP
attendees procrastinate - and every year they regret having done so!
Call now!
Back with more next month!
Jay |
