Comments from the Chair

November '06 

ISAP-VII is starting to gin-up and gather momentum. Those of us working on the agenda, the guest speaker list, and the field trip are starting to think this may be one of our best symposiums yet. Your board has been communicating with considerable regularity. Their input has strongly influenced the 2007 event's direction and content. As I write, we have firm commitments from Scott Kelby, Fred Hirschmann, Paul Bowen, Mariusz Adamski, Canon, and Nikon, and we're being given every 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