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SUMMER 2009

The Official Newsletter of County of San Diego AirportsThe Official Newsletter of County of San Diego Airports

From Military Parachutes to Private AircraftThe U.S. government con-

structed Gillespie Field in 1942,during the early days of WorldWar II, to be used as a trainingfacility for Marine Corps para-chutists. It was originally namedCamp Gillespie in honor ofMarine Lieutenant Archibald H.Gillespie. He served during theWar with Mexico from 1846–1847 and had a prominent rolein the effort to win California’sindependence from Mexico.

The parachute program wasvery popular, and there was nevera shortage of volunteers. Thiswas partly due to the fact thatenlisted men received an addi-tional $50 a month, and officersreceived an extra $100 a month(a substantial amount in thosedays). In the beginning, CampGillespie was graduating 70paratroopers each month; even-tually, this number increased to100 per month. During its 16months as a parachute trainingcenter, 3,000 military personnelreceived their airborne wings, and more than 20,000jumps were made without a single fatality. However, in1944, the Marine Corps parachute units were phased out,

and Camp Gillespie became an auxiliary airfield to theMarine Corps Station at El Toro.

Gillespie Field,1950. Photo courtesy of Bill Allen.

continued on page 2

The public was invited to a free vin-tage aircraft fly-in and classic car showat Gillespie Field on May 16 and 17.

Aircraft from the 1920s through 1950son display included the 1930 Stearman4E, 1931 Laird LBC 300, 1926 BoeingFB-5 Navy fighters and the late SteveMcQueen’s 1945 Boeing Stearmanbiplane. Classic cars such as Model Aand Model T Fords, as well as antiquetractors, were also on display.

A Vintage Fly-In atGillespie Field

continued on page 2

Classic cars on display. Photo by Michael Drake.

Plane NewsPlane News

Visit our webpage: http://www.sdcounty.ca.gov/dpw/airports.html2

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1928 Boeing 40Cmail plane. Photo byMichael Drake.

The journey of Gillespie Fieldfrom a military training facility toone of the largest and best gen-eral aviation airports in southernCalifornia continues. Over the lastyear there have been numerousongoing improvements; severalnew taxiway projects are in theworks as well as a preliminaryengineering design for the plannedCajon Air Center developmentinfrastructure. In addition, the Envi-ronmental Impact Report (EIR) forthe Weld Boulevard business parkis almost complete, and the publiccomment period for the GillespieAirport Land Use CompatibilityPlan EIR should soon be finished.

The business and economicbenefits of Gillespie Field, includingthe business parks, are significantand greatly add to East Countycommunity viability. Gillespie ishome to some world-class histori-cal aircraft and supported bypassionate aviation enthusiasts. Theyare committed to preserving gen-eral aviation’s history as well asinspiring the next generation bygenerously making their aircraftand tools available through commu-nity and private events.

With a rich history and a prom-ising future, Gillespie Field willcontinue its exciting, innovativejourney and exemplify the verybest that the San Diego Countyaviation and business communitieshave to offer.

COMPASSPOINTS

A major attraction was a Boeing 40C mail plane origi-nally used to deliver mail. It was one of only 82 thatwere built in 1928 and was fully restored by AddisonPemberton in 2008.

Free parking was provided at the Gillespie FieldTrolley Station. Approximately 5,000 persons, fromchildren to grandparents, attended the event over thecourse of the weekend. The Gillespie Pilots Associationreported that 14 pilots volunteered to fly for EAA’s YoungEagles program after 40 kids signed up at the fly-in.

Peter Drinkwater,Director of County Airports

Clear skies & happy landings,

Aerial view of vintage aircraft. Photo by Mike Le France.

Gillespie Field, 2008. Photo courtesy of www.sangis.org.

The facility was leased to the County of San Diego in 1947 and convertedto a general aviation airport. The federal government granted ownership to

the County in 1953. In theearly years of County opera-tion, Gillespie Field wasmainly used as a base forprivately owned aircraftand as a facility for flightschools.

Today, Gillespie Field isthe oldest and largest of theeight County airports. Ithas grown to include aterminal, two industrialparks, three museums, arestaurant and severalflight schools. It’s alsohome to aviation-relatedbusinesses such as repairand maintenance shops,

aircraft sales and rental services, instrument and avionic shops, fuel, aircraftstorage and much more. Over the years, Gillespie Field and its business parkshave developed into a very important part of the community, pumping hun-dreds of millions of dollars into the local economy and employing thousandsof East County residents.

Gillespie Fly-In continued from page 1

From Military Parachutes continued from page 1

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Get to Know County Airports:

GILLESPIE FIELDMANAGEMENT

What do two of Gillespie Field’sairport management staff have incommon other than being San Diegotransplants? Their jobs are integral toGillespie’s daily operations. Air-port Manager Roger Griffiths andAssistant Manager Marc Baskelprovide information and support toGillespie’s pilots, tenants and localresidents, often working as a liaisonbetween the three communities.

Roger and Marc have managed Gillespie during the largestincrease of operations the airport has seen in the last 30 years.

Roger GriffithsRoger was born and raised near Manchester, England; he

spent many family holidays camping in Switzerland near anairport. As a youngster, he’d sit and watch the planes comeand go; from that point on, aviation was in his blood. Aftergraduating from Nottingham Trent University, he joined theRoyal Air Force where he worked as an operations andintelligence officer for eight years. He met “the one,” fellin love and moved to California to marry her. His first job inthe U.S. was a management position at a local Albertson’s.A year later, he got a job at Palomar Airport as operationscoordinator, then assistant manager; in October 2004, hemoved to Gillespie as airport manager.

Roger finds that running a sizeable business in the midstof a large built-up area can pose unique challenges. With somany tenants and pilots on the field, as well as severaldensely populated communities around the airport, often-times there are conflicting needs, wants and personalities.

Roger has watched Gillespie greatly improve. Massiveamounts of pavement have been replaced in the time he’sbeen airport manager. He’d like to see the airport infra-structure continue to improve, as well as the successfuldevelopment of the airport’s 70 acres.

Roger is a true family man—he loves spending time withhis wife and two children. When he’s not attending waterpolo games or open house nights, he’s driving around inhis sports car or building model airplanes.

Marc BaskelMarc was born in a small town outside Atlanta, Georgia,

where he lived for 20 years. When he was young, hisdad would take him to Peachtree-Dekalb Airport towatch airplanes take off and land. Similar to Roger, thesetrips sparked his fascination with aviation. After graduatingfrom the Arizona State University with a degree in aviationmanagement, he worked for Scottsdale Airport. Later, heworked at Dallas/Fort Worth Airport as an assistant airfieldofficer before being promoted to terminal managementcoordinator—complete with a sixth floor corner office witha view. He turned down another promotion and insteadcame to San Diego to be with his longtime girlfriend (nowhis wife). In November 2005 he began working as theoperations coordinator for Gillespie Field, and in 2007 hewas promoted to assistant airport manager.

Marc says his favorite part of his job is the freedom itprovides. Because he has office work as well as field work,he’s not trapped in a monotonous day-to-day routine. Oneof the many challenges he faces is noise complaints. Marcwalks a fine line when explaining to the community howthe airport works, gingerly telling them they live next to afacility that’s been here since World War II. Where doesMarc see Gillespie Field in five years? “We’ve done so muchwork in the last three years; I’d love to see the infrastructureand taxiway for the 70 acres done.”

Marc is crazy about the water—he loves swimming andsurfing. He’s also an avid golfer who adores FantasyFootball and spending time with his wife.

SDSU SEP members (l–r) Kyle Rabiyan & Adam Beller with Alfonso Freyjesof Airports Maintenance installing kiosk. County Airports photo.

New Kiosk at Gillespie’sWest Transient Ramp

San Diego State University SEP (Suc-cess Enable Pilots) members AdamBeller, Carrie Davis, Adam Oehmke,Kyle Rabiyan, Samantha Stoneman and

Christy Whitman built and installed a tiedown collectionand information kiosk at Gillespie’s West Transient Ramp.Rabiyan completed a landscape project at Fallbrook Airparkseveral years back as an Eagle Scout. Please visit the club’swebsite at:

Gillespie Field AirportManager Roger Griffithsat left & AssistantManager Marc Baskel.Photo by Sarah Solis.

www.sdsusep.org

Visit our webpage: http://www.sdcounty.ca.gov/dpw/airports.html4

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HISTORY ALIVE at GILLESPIE FIELD

Warbirds West, located at 1942 B Joe Crosson Drive,was founded in 2003 by owner and operator Jim Ostrich.It will be featured in an upcoming documentary on theDiscovery Channel thanks to their L-29. They teach theBoy Scout Aviation Merit Badge Program at their hangaron a quarterly basis and offer a free flu clinic to the pub-lic each fall.

Warbirds West is open to the public most Saturdaysfrom 9:00 a.m.–4:30 p.m. and upon request for events.They invite you to check out their:

• Beech T-34A Mentor (USAF/USN primary trainer)

• North American T-28C Trojan (USAF/USNadvanced trainer)

• Beech C-45H (USAF/USN navigation trainer/passenger transport) built in 1943 (WWII heritage)

• North American L-17A Navion (post-WWII liason/passenger transport)

• Aero L-29C Delfin jet (early Czechoslovakianpilot trainer)

• MiG-21 cockpit

• Assorted military ground vehicles

For more information, call (858) 414-6258 or check outtheir website:

Warbirds West

Allen Airways Flying Museum, located at 2020 NorthMarshall Avenue, held a vintage fly-in at Gillespie Field(see pages 1–2, this issue) in May. Throughout theyears, the museum has hosted many famous pilots andastronauts. Currently under restoration are a 1940 RyanSTM-2 and a 1929 Boeing F4B-1 Navy fighter that willbe the only one of its kind flying in the world.

Allen Airways Flying Museum is available for corpo-rate events, fly-ins, and school group tours, seniortours, the Boy Scouts and Civil Air Patrol cadets uponrequest. Current aircraft include:

• 1926 Boeing FB-5 Navy fighter, one of only two

• 1930 Stearman C3R Business Speedster (the onlyone of 38 restored to perfection)

• 1942 Ryan PT-22

• 1945 Boeing Stearman N3188, the last airplaneowned and flown by the late actor SteveMcQueen

• 1919 Stakebed Model T truck

For more information, call (619) 596-2020

Allen Airways Flying Museum

Many people know that San Diego Air &Space Museum has a hangar at GillespieField; but did you know there are two othermuseums located on the field?

Photo by Reggie Angquico

For more aviation history, visit the San Diego Air & Space Museum at335 Kenney Street. This museum is open to the public Monday,Wednesday and Friday 8 a.m.–3 p.m. Please call (619) 258-1221 formore information.

Photo courtesy of Jim Ostrich

www.wwam.org

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The newest member of the Airport’s Real Propertyteam is Real Property Agent, Patrick “Joe” Ryan. Joe isinvolved in the daily management and leasing of Air-ports property. He brings his many years of experiencein real estate and real estate finance to the Real Propertyteam. Joe is an Army veteran and San Diego nativewith a bachelor’s degree in business administration.Away from work Joe enjoys spending time with hiswife Gillian, riding motorcycles, and going to thedesert.

Yavonka Burks joined the Airports financial team onJanuary 2. She previously worked for the Auditor &Controller for nine years and has a strong background incapital projects. She graduated from SDSU with a bachelor’sdegree in finance and worked for the Department ofEnvironmental Health while attending school. Yavonkais currently studying for the CPA exam. Born in LosAngeles, she is a native Californian, but grew up in sub-urban Chicago. In her spare time she enjoys reading,visiting museums, listening to live music, hanging outwith her friends and traveling.

Welcome Aboard to New Airports Staff

New employees (l–r) Patrick “Joe” Ryan, YavonkaBurks & Julie Paulsen. Photo by Sarah Solis.

Fred Breise and Carl Johnstonmoved Breise & Johnston Flying Ser-vice to Gillespie Field in 1954. Fred’sson, Wayne, started working at thebusiness at the age of 15 pumpinggas (getting paid five cents per gal-lon). Wayne became full-time in 1964after receiving his CFI rating and hisbachelor’s in business managementfrom SDSU.

Wayne’s daughter Cynthia alsospent her childhood at the familybusiness. She was one month old

In July of this year Julie Paulsen will have completedone year of service with the County of San Diego. Shestarted her GIS/engineering career 12 years ago withthe City of San Diego upon graduation from SDSU. Her

current task isto analyze theCounty airports’spatial data asan engineeringtechnician.When she’s notworking, hertime is spent atrehearsals forthe upcomingmusical produc-tion of Senior

Follies. Las Vegas is her destination of choice as often aspossible—not because of “The Strip,” but because it’swhere her daughter, son-in-law, two granddaughters andgrandson live. She hits “the jackpot” every time she visits!

The BreiseTradition—Soloing at 16

when she enjoyed her first flight. Shebegan formal flight lessons at theage of 15, and soloed on her 16thbirthday before taking her drivingtest. Cynthia easily passed herflight test but almost failed her driving

test the same day. She joined herdad at Gillespie in 1998 and managesthe operation.

Cynthia’s son Jeff began workingpart time at Gillespie at the age of13. He began his formal flight instruc-tion at the age of 16 and soloed in2008; his instructor said that of allhis students Jeff was the best. He willbe attending college in northernCalifornia this fall and is hoping hisgranddad will provide air taxi servicefor visits home.

Wayne soloed on August 20, 1957;Cynthia on January 7, 1980; and Jeffon October 31, 2008. All were 16years old, and all soloed at GillespieField. More than 20 Breise familymembers over four generations havesoloed at 16 years old.

ASTREA Safeguards Communities from 500 Feet

Soloists at Gillespie (l–r) Jeff, Cynthia & WayneBreise. Photo courtesy of Wayne Breise.

ASTREA helicopters. Photo byDan Megna.

The Sheriff’s ASTREA (AerialSupport to Regional Enforce-ment Agencies) unit beganoperations at Gillespie Fieldin 1972. From 500 feet in theair, they cover all 4,200 squaremiles of San Diego Countyassisting city, county, stateand federal agencies as well asassisting Orange, Riverside andImperial Counties as needed.

ASTREA lends a hand to ground officers in pursuit ofcriminals as well as search and rescues for missingchildren, lost hikers and Alzheimer’s patients. ASTREAalso assists lifeguards during big surf or during cliff res-cues; the FAA during searches for downed aircraft; andCalFire during firefighting operations. The unit operates24/7.

“If there’s a need and we can do it safely,there’s no reason not to try.”

—Lieutenant Jon Shellhammer, ASTREA

Visit our webpage: http://www.sdcounty.ca.gov/dpw/airports.html6

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Ramona photos by Julie Clevenger.

Borrego Open House & Fly-In

Fallbrook Open HouseOn Sunday April 19, in conjunction with the Fallbrook Chamber of

Commerce’s 23rd annual Avocado Festival, Fallbrook Airpark hosted itsannual Open House. In spite of temperatures near 100 degrees, several thou-sand visitors and aviation enthusiasts attended the event.

The Airpark provided satellite parking for the festival with shuttle serviceinto town. The Friends of Fallbrook Airpark served hamburgers, hot dogs anddrinks. San Diego County Sheriff’s Copter 12 (based at Fallbrook) conductedwater drops; and the Palomar RC Flyers gave an air show. There were also dem-onstrations by Mercy Air, a fly-by performed by a squadron of T-34s from MarchAir Force Base and a formation low pass by WWII Skyraiders from RamonaAirport. Dozens of Fallbrook-based aircraft were on display. There were alsofree flights in a professional simulator, giving very realistic flight lessons tovisitors over 12 years of age.

Ramona Flying ClinicClassic Fighters of America hosted a Formation Flying Clinic at Ramona

Airport March 19–March 22. The clinic consisted of ground school classes aswell as in-air instruction and practice. This training is required annually bythe FAA for pilots who fly in formation at air shows across the country. Pilotsat the Ramona clinic came from Chicago, Denver, Las Vegas and all overSouthern California. Ramona Airport is the new home for this event, whichwill be held four times a year.

Borrego Valley Airport’s Open House and Fly-In on February 21 was agreat success. A final gate count showed that 1,438 people attended and therestaurant served 784 patrons. One hundred and six aircraft flew in at varioustimes during the day; 78 aircraft fueled up using 3,217 gallons of aviationfuel from the new fuel pump system. A dozen antique cars were on display,the oldest being from 1936.

County Airports photos

The event garnered a great deal of media coverage by local TV stationsand newspapers, which resulted in hundreds of members of the public com-ing to the airport to view vintage aircraft and witness the pilots’ skills. Thepublic was admitted free of charge. Featured were aircraft the public rarelyhas the chance to see up close or watch fly, such as a P-51 Mustang, one ofthe nine remaining WWII Corsairs (16,000 were built originally), Yaks, T-6s,Skyraiders and Navions.

“We love this airport, andwe love their hospitality.”

—Ramona Flying Clinic participant

“A Piper Cub is the safestairplane in the world: it canjust barely kill you.”

—attributed to Max Stanley

Photo courtesy of www.adampass.com

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Sarah Solis,Very ProudMilitary Wife

Semper Fi!

Letter from the Editor

Photo courtesy of RachelMacGowan.

Job Coach Chris Carson (second from right)with Arc groundskeepers (l–r) John Fisk, HenryDelmar, Raquel Salazar & Nick Mitzel. Photo byReggie Angquico.

Arc’s Groundskeeping with a SmileA white van approaches Gillespie

Field’s terminal building parking lot;the Arc crew is ready to start anotherday of grounds maintenance at theairport. Groundskeeping services areperformed by The Arc of San Diego(Arc), one of the region’s largesthuman-service agencies. They are aprivate, not-for-profit organizationthat assists people with developmen-tal disabilities. Arc has been leasingland from County Airports since 1982,where it operates one of its trainingand production facilities known asthe East County Training Center.

Arc faced a challenge to provideservices to the disabled while payingtheir lease rent. So as a solution, RealProperty proposed that Arc couldprovide ground keeping servicesoutside Gillespie Field’s fence—themonetary value of which would beequivalent to Arc’s rental obligations.In June 2003, the Board of Supervi-sors gave approval, and soon afterthat Arc’s first eager crew arrived atthe airport. Currently, the four-personcrew consists of Henry Delmar, JohnFisk, Nicholas “Nick” Mitzel, andRaquel Salazar, and is supervised byJob Coach Chris Carson.

Raquel, a veteran crew member,has been here from the beginning.She is very proud that her effortshelp to beautify the airport. Raquelis actively involved in the Special

Olympics program and participates ina multitude of sports. John is anotherveteran member of the crew; he enjoystalking to people and never runs outof topics for conversation. He likeswatching sports and truly appreciatesthat Airports staff treat the Arc crewas one of their own.

Nick has been on the crew forabout two years and enjoys makingthe surroundings at Gillespie Fieldlook nice by keeping it trash-free.Nick’s hobbies include surfing theInternet, playing video games andgoing to Disneyland. The newest addi-tion to the Arc crew is Henry Delmar.A mild-mannered gentleman, heimmediately became an integral partof the group. Henry is fascinated withplanes and likes the friendly atmo-sphere at Gillespie.

After many years of coaching theArc crew, Rosa Acuna changed posi-tions within the Arc organization inearly 2009. New Job Coach ChrisCarson knows his way aroundGillespie Field; his dad has been incharge of Airports Maintenance foryears. Gillespie’s groundskeeperslove what they do and take greatpride in their work.

The 4th ofJuly is a veryspecial datefor me andcountlessothers.

Not only isit a time tocelebrate thebirth of ourbrave newnation; it’syet anotherreason torecognize allthose who

have fought to protect the “unal-ienable Rights” the Declaration ofIndependence proclaimed as oursthose 233 years ago.

To our readers who are veterans,active duty or in the reserves, pleaseallow me to wish you a belatedHappy 4th of July! It’s because ofyour bravery and dedication thatwe continue to enjoy the free-doms we have today, and it’s to youthat I offer my sincerest gratitude.

Get Involved!Come to your Airport’s

next DevelopmentCouncil or

Advisory Committeemeeting!

Palomar AirportReceives Green forGoing Green

Lianna Rios & Marianne Sy (second andfourth from left) of SDG&E present Savingsby Design Award to (l–r) Willie Vasquez,Peter Drinkwater & Tony Dos Santos. Photoby John Otto.

McClellan-Palomar Airport’s newterminal is the recipient of a Savingsby Design rebate and award of excel-lence from San Diego Gas & Electric.Both were received for installingcomputer-controlled, high-energyefficient systems in the new terminalsuch as the roof and windows.

The award was received on April20, 2009, by County Airports DirectorPeter Drinkwater, Senior Civil Engi-neer Anthony Dos Santos andMcClellan-Palomar Airport Manager

Willie Vasquez. It will be proudly dis-played in the terminal’s ticketinglobby. This award symbolizes thelevel of excellence that County Air-ports is constantly striving to achieveand maintain.

Visit our webpage: http://www.sdcounty.ca.gov/dpw/airports.html8

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MARK YOUR Calendar…

Ramona AirportOpen House

Saturday,September 12, 2009

Pancake Breakfast

Carne Asada Lunch

Historical AircraftDisplay

“Tricked-Out”Big Rig Truck

Show

& More…

For moreinformation, pleasecontact Bo Donovan

at (760) 788-3366

Display your antique or classicairplane: The second Sundayof the month from 1 p.m. to 2p.m. For more information, con-tact Viki Cole at (760) 767-7415.

McClellan-PalomarAirport (CRQ)

Palomar Airport AdvisoryCommittee: Meets the thirdThursday of most months. Allmeetings take place at 7 p.m.in the Carlsbad City CouncilCham-bers, 1200 CarlsbadVillage Drive, Carlsbad. Formore information, call (760)431-4646, extension 5.

Experimental Aircraft Asso-ciation, Chapter 286 (NorthCounty): Meets the first Thurs-day of each month at 7 p.m. inthe County AdministrationBuilding at McClellan-PalomarAirport, 2192 Palomar AirportRoad, Carlsbad. For moreinformation, call Bob Wilsonat (760) 489-9031.

Palomar Chapter of 99’s:This organization of womenpilots meets the second Tues-day of each month at 7 p.m.For meeting location or moreinformation, contact RobinGartman at (760) 931-0546or palomar99s@gmail.com

Ramona Airport (RMN)

Classic Rotors HelicopterMuseum: Open to the publicFriday through Monday from 10a.m. to 4 p.m. Open Tuesdaythrough Thursday by appoint-ment: (760) 803-0244

Display your antique or classicairplane: The third Sunday ofeach month from 1 p.m. to 2p.m. at Chuck Hall Aviation,Cruiseair Aviation and PacificExecutive Aviation. For moreinformation, call Chuck HallAviation at (760) 789-8178,Cruiseair Aviation at (760)789-8020 or Pacific ExecutiveAviation at (760) 789-6384.

Jacumba Airport (L78)

Associated Glider Clubs ofSouthern California (AGCSC):For meeting schedule andother information, call RolfSchulze at (619) 286-3855 orvisit: www.agcsc.org

and fourth Wednesday of everymonth at 7 p.m. at the “ScoutShack” (Fallbrook Fire Depart-ment conference room andcommunity meeting center),231 East Hawthorne, Fallbrook.For more information, pleasecontact Jim Redmon at (760)728-5388 or Jerry Rohles at(949) 369-9425, or visit thesquadron’s web site at http://sq87.cawg.cap.gov/.

EAA Young Eagles Days:Three times a year on Saturday.For more information, contactDon Evans by e-mail:zc112-g@sbcglobal.net

Display your antique or classicairplanes: the last Sunday ofeach month from 12 p.m. to 2p.m. The displays will be locatedon the transient ramp. The pub-lic is invited to visit, and ownersof antique aircraft from otherairports are welcome to dis-play their aircraft. Contact BoDonovan at (760) 723-8395.

Gillespie Field (SEE)

Gillespie Field DevelopmentCouncil: Meets the third Tuesdayof most months (2008 schedule isposted on the Gillespie Field webpage). All meetings begin at 6p.m. and are held at the El CajonCity Council Chambers, 200 EastMain Street, El Cajon. For moreinformation, call (619) 956-4800.

Photo by Matt Wenhardt

Air Group One, Commemora-tive Air Force (CAF): Join the“Air Force No One Ever HeardOf” Saturdays at 10 a.m. at1860 Joe Crosson Drive. Pancakebreakfast on the last Saturdayof each month at 8:30 a.m.(bring a warbird, eat free). Formore information, call (619)448-4505.

San Diego Chapter of 99’s:This organization of womenpilots meets the fourth Satur-day of each month at 10 a.m.For location or information,call Frankie Clemens at (619)449-0670.

Civil Air Patrol Squadron 57:Meets Thursdays at 7 p.m. atKetema Aerospace, 790 Green-field Drive, El Cajon. For moreinformation, please call TomCharpentier at (619) 818-4011.

Air & Space Museum: The SanDiego Air & Space MuseumHangar at Gillespie Field is opento the public Monday, Wednes-day, Thursday, Friday and someSaturdays from 8:30 a.m. to 3p.m. For more information,Saturday hours and tours, call(619) 258-1221.

Display of historical aircraft:Second Sunday of every month

from 1 p.m. to 2 p.m. Only forthose based at Classic Hangars.For more information, please callLen Buckle at (619) 449-0539.

Safari Aviation West: Thefourth Saturday of each month,from 11 a.m. to 12 p.m. SafariAviation West hosts an aircraftdisplay at Gillespie Field. To dis-play your plane, bring it toSafari Aviation West at 1905North Marshall at the east endof the hangar complex. Formore information, call DickMcDowell at (619) 448-2360.

Gillespie Pilots Association:Meets the first Saturday of eachmonth at 9 a.m. in the GillespieField Administration Building.For more information, visit:www.gillespiepilots.org

Display your historical aircraft:First Sunday of each month from1 p.m. to 2 p.m.at the GillespieField Administration/TerminalRamp. For more details, contactthe Assistant Airport Managerat (619) 956-4810.

The Wing Is The Thing (TWITT):Meetings are held on the thirdSaturday of every other monthbeginning in January at 1:30p.m. at Hangar A4 on Skid Row.For more information, pleasecall (619) 980-9831 or visit:www.twitt.org.

Display your historical aircraft:Fourth Sunday of each monthfrom 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.; Sky Har-bor Hangars. For more informa-tion, call Phil Yoon at (619)449-9464.

Fallbrook Airpark (L18)

Fallbrook Airpark AdvisoryCommittee: Meets the firstMonday of the second monthof every quarter at the Fall-brook Public Utilities DistrictPublic Meeting Hall, 990 EastMission Road, Fallbrook. Formore information, call BoDonovan at (760) 723-8395.

Coyote Country Chapter of99’s: Meets the third Tuesdayof each month. For time andlocation, visit:www.sandiego99s.org

Civil Air Patrol Squadron 87:Meetings are held the second

Borrego Valley Airport (L08)

Borrego Springs Chapter of99’s: This organization of womenpilots meets the second Saturdayof each month at the BorregoValley Airport. For meeting timesor more information, call LouisePhillips at (760) 767-4378.

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9

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by Plane News Staff

aiLSection

We’ve written before about how great we thinkGillespie Field Cafe is, but they’ve kicked it up anotch! Paul Craig, operator and cook, has added a tonof new items to his menu as well as a fish fry everyFriday evening from 5:00 p.m.– 9:00 p.m. (for those ofyou who haven’t been taking notes, that means he’stacked on six more operating hours per week). SarahSolis of Airports Administration stated, “I can person-ally vouch for the fish and chips. The fish was moist,the batter was crispy and Paul didn’t skimp on thechips.”

Grab the kids and head over to 2015 North MarshallAvenue at the base of the control tower and try outone of the new items:

Friday Fish Fry Now at Gillespie Field Cafe

On January 13, 2009, County of SanDiego CAO (Chief Administrative Officer)Walt Ekard and Assistant CAO HelenRobbins-Meyer went on an orientationflight to view improvements being made

at several County Airports and tour McClellan-PalomarAirport’s new terminal.

Meeting at Palomar were (l–r) CAO Walt Eckard, Director of CountyAirports Peter Drinkwater, Assistant CAO Helen Robbins-Meyer& Palomar Airport Assistant Manager Olivier Brackett. CountyAirports photo.

Gillespie Field Cafe

2015 N. Marshall Ave.El Cajon, CA 92020

(619) 448-5909

Monday–Thursday7 a.m.–3 p.m.

Friday7 a.m.–9 p.m.

Sunday8 a.m.–2 p.m.

Photo by Reggie Angquico

• Fish and/or shrimpand chips

• Steak, shrimp &fries with yourchoice of sidesalad or a cup ofchowder

• Fish or shrimp tacoplate

• Fried shrimp salad

• New England clamchowder

• Spaghetti & meatballswith salad and garlictoast

• Kid’s corndog withfries and a drink

• Bean & cheeseburrito with riceand beans

Gillespie Field Cafe—where you don’t have to be

a pilot to enjoy the ambienceof the Field!

Plane News Please send my free subscription to my address below.

Please e-mail my free subscription to my e-mail address below.

Please discontinue my subscription to Plane News.

Please change my mailing address.

Name __________________________________________________

Address ________________________________________________

City/State/Zip ___________________________________________

E-mail address __________________________________________

Mail form to: Plane News Editor (MS S-119)County Airports Administration Building1960 Joe Crosson Drive, El Cajon, CA 92020

or

e-mail Sarah Solis: sarah.solis@sdcounty.ca.gov

The Official Newsletter of San Diego County Airports

9

Return Service Requested

PRSRT STDU.S. Postage

PAIDPermit #571

San Diego, CA

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Summer 2009Plane News is published quarterlyby the County of San Diego

Department of Public Works5555 Overland Ave. (MS O332)San Diego, CA 92123-1295

County AirportsAgua CalienteBorregoFallbrookGillespieJacumbaMcClellan-PalomarOcotilloRamona

Board of SupervisorsGreg Cox

Dianne JacobPam Slater-Price

Ron RobertsBill Horn

Chief Administrative OfficerWalt Ekard

Department of Public Works Websitewww.sdcounty.ca.gov/dpw

San Diego County Airports Websitewww.sdcounty.ca.gov/dpw/airports.html

Many thanks to those who helped research, compile and write stories for this issue—Editor

Director of County AirportsPeter Drinkwater

Public Information OfficerMichael Drake

Phone:(858) 495-5736

E-mail:michael.drake@sdcounty.ca.gov

Plane News EditorSarah Solis

Plane NewsDesign & Production

DPW Carto Services

County of San Diego AirportsGillespie Field

Administration Building1960 Joe Crosson Drive

El Cajon, CA 92020

Phone: (619) 956-4800Fax: (619) 956-4801

Photo by Matt Wenhardt

Director of Public WorksJohn L. Snyder