Our Mission: To interpret aviation, particularly that related to New York State, with exhibits and programs which educate, entertain and excite the public

Volume 22, Issue 1 Winter 2011-12

AERONOTES

THREE VOLUNTEERS RECEIVE “ALEX” AWARD At the ESAM Annual Dinner on October 5th, Mardy Moore, Don Morrett and John Panoski received the “Alex” Award for their significant contributions to the development, operation and enhancement of ESAM and its mission. This was the first time since 2001 that three volunteers were recognized at the same time. Mardy Moore has led many of the museum's most critical efforts. She was the museum's point person for ESAM's success-ful effort to obtain its absolute (permanent) charter. For many years she served as the coordinator of the AIM HIGH program that provides an annual aviation-related learning experience for at-risk youth. Mardy worked with Schenectady County staff to meet their requirements for allowing ESAM to receive more than $40,000 in NYS State grants for physical plant improvements at the museum. She also worked with representatives of Schenectady County to establish a long term lease that provided a secure basis for ESAM's use of its current buildings. Annually, she has raised money from Schenectady County not-for-profit organizations to cover the cost of the program for the ESAM annual meeting. She has represented ESAM in joint and cooperative efforts among not-for-profit agencies in Schenectady County. Mardy has served on the ESAM Board of Trustees, as Acting ESAM Executive Director, as ESAM Director of Community Relations and on many diverse administrative and program committees. Willing to help out in all areas, Don Morrett has demonstrated outstanding dedication, integrity, en-thusiasm, reliability and perseverance in his work at ESAM. When it comes to automotive and mechani-cal issues, he has been Mister Fixit. Don has been the Crew Chief responsible for the operation of the Machine Shop and the operation and maintenance of all of the stationary equipment; tugs, fork lifts, snow removal equipment and mowers. He has taken upon himself the responsibility for organizing and storing the tools and power equipment in the Restoration Building. He was the Crew Chief on the restoration of the Gnat. He worked on numerous Air Shows, taking charge of golf car maintenance and distribution, and acting as a standby mechanic. Don has provided advice for repair and servicing on the M-42 Duster anti-aircraft gun. He is always willing to help cook and clean-up at ESAM breakfasts and special events. In the 15+ years Don has worked with ESAM as a volunteer, he has always been a person to see when help is needed to accomplish a task.

(continued on page 2)

Mardy Moore

Don Morrett

PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE Newly-elected Trustee President Ralph Rosenthal has made returning the classroom to operation after last year’s fire one of his top priorities. In pursuit of this priority, he reports that ESAM has chosen Legere Restoration to do the restoration work. In or-der to control the museum’s financial outlay while achieving the maximum benefit for the money available, most of the work will be accomplished under the “code upgrade” provisions in ESAM’s insurance policy. Ralph reports that work is expected to start in January 2012.

Winter 2011-12 Page 2

AeroNotes

Published quarterly by the

Empire State Aerosciences Museum 250 Rudy Chase Drive Glenville, NY 12302 Phone: 518 377-2191

Fax: 518 377-1959 E-mail: esam@esam.org Web site: www.esam.org

Editor

Lawrence McArthur

ESAM is a registered charitable organization chartered by the N.Y.S. Department of Education

BOARD OF TRUSTEES

President Ralph Rosenthal

First Vice President

John Panoski

Second Vice President Matthew LeClair

Secretary

James Liguori

Treasurer Marvin Weiss

Trustees Raymond Davis Gerard Dempster Robert Eggleston

Jamie Fuller Sharon Leighton James Liguori

Chester Matthews Michael Miller

Kevin Millington Joyce Newkirk

James W. Oxford Linda Sheridan Andrew Trainor George Yager

TRUSTEES ELECT OFFICERS FOR 2011-12 Congratulations to the new officers elected by the Trustees for 2011-12.

President: Ralph Rosenthal First Vice President: John Panoski Second Vice President: Matt LeClair Secretary: Jim Liguori Treasurer: Marv Weiss

(continued from page 1) John Panoski first became involved in ESAM through his leadership as an Air Show Director. He successfully directed five Air Shows for the Museum with total profits exceed-ing $1.2 million. His leadership in these shows allowed the museum to grow and flourish during its early years. John has served as the Acquisition Chair-person, being per-sonally responsible for obtaining many of the large aircraft currently in our Air Park, specifically the Vigilante and the F-5, as well as many pieces of equipment and parts used in the restoration of the aircraft in our collection. He has been and continues to be an excellent liaison with the 109th ANG Wing, obtaining the equipment and per-sonnel support for our many museum functions. He has played an integral part in the development of the outreach educational programs offered throughout our community both in developing and delivering those programs to our local schools. He has organ-ized and worked on many money-making activities such as the Flight for Freedom, National Aviation Day, Glenville Days, Glenville Oktoberfest and the many weekend Family Fun Days, and he serves as a Tour Guide for many of our museum tours. John currently serves on the ESAM Board of Trustees as 1st Vice President and has been the point person in charge of the clean-up and restoration effort following our fire last April. He is an energetic, strong, determined, and optimistic leader.

John Panoski

Winter 2011-12 Page 3

ESAM ELECTS NEW TRUSTEES At its Annual Meeting, the members of the Empire State Aerosciences Museum elected four new and three returning members to its 2011-2012 Board of Trustees. Congratulations to all of the volunteers elected. The new Trustees are Major Gerard C. Dempster, USMC, Mrs. Jaime Fuller, Mr. Chester “Bud” Matthews and Ms. Linda Sheridan. Gerard C. Dempster was born in Niskayuna and graduated from Fonda-Fultonville High School. He joined the United States Marine Corps in 1991, was selected for the Meritorious Commissioning Program in 1999 and graduated from Officer Candidate School in 2000. Since then he has served in assignments of increasing respon-sibility with First Battalion, Second Marines; Marine Corps Combat Service Support Schools; Marine Corps Base/Marine Corps Installations East, Camp LeJeune; Expeditionary Warfare School; First Battalion, Ninth Marines; Second Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion; and Fox Company, Second Battalion, Twenty Fifth Marines. During his military career he has served in Parris Island, Camp LeJeune, South West Asia, Somalia, Okinawa, Iraq and Quantico. He currently serves at Navy Operational Support Center Scotia located adjacent to ESAM. He is a graduate of Nassau Community College and the American Military University. Jamie Fuller is originally from Rochester, New York. She earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Hospitality Manage-ment from Keuka College. She has worked as a Catering Manager and an Operations Manager at Sodexho, and as manager and orientation teacher for Panera. She is a nationally-certified Food Safety Instructor. She is currently an Independent Beauty Consultant for Mary Kay Cosmetics. She was introduced to both aviation and ESAM by her husband who is a private pilot and a Staff Sergeant at the 109th Air National Guard Air Wing located at the Schenectady County Airport. She has been a very active ESAM volunteer serving as a docent, the museum’s grants administrator and the coordinator of major events such as the 2011 National Aviation Day celebration. Chester “Bud” Matthews is a graduate of Rochester Institute of Technology with a BS in Operations Manage-ment. He had a 28 year career with the General Electric Company in sourcing, manufacturing, sales and project management. As Global Commodity Leader, he integrated the Energy and Aviation procurement of tooling, raw material and facilities. As Program Manager he qualified alternative generator manufacturers during an unprece-dented growth period. He participated in the construction and start up of the world’s largest nuclear power plant and combined cycle projects in Japan. Bud is an aviation enthusiast and a licensed private pilot. He lives in Loudonville with his wife Kati and their three children. Linda Sheridan studied Engineering at Hudson Valley Community College. She is active in the Civil Air Patrol (CAP), serving in both administrative and operational capacities. Her CAP responsibilities have at various times included Administration Officer and Programs Director for the Albany Senior Squadron; Finance Officer for the Mid-East Group; Qualified Scanner, Observer and Air Operations Chief for emergency services; Air Force Evaluations and Guided Training leader; Flight Academy leader at the annual CAP encampment at Stratton Air National Guard Base; and emergency services mission participant. She has completed Incident Command System courses 100 through 800. She earned her private pilot’s license in 2000. She is a past membership chair for the New York Capital District Chapter of International Organization of Women Pilots. She works as an Operations clerk at UPS Freight. Trustees who were elected for additional terms are Robert Eggleston, Sharon Leighton and Kevin Millington. Bob Eggleston is Chair of the Restoration Committee. Sharon Leighton is a coordinator of major events at the museum. Kevin Millington is immediate past president of the Board of Trustees. Thanks to Trustee Jeanne Jadwin for coordinating the Trustee election process.

Winter 2011-12 Page 4

RESTORATION COMMITTEE HOSTS 8th TACTICAL FIGHTER SQUADRON PILOT WHO FLEW ESAM F-4D #626

by Steve Caine

On October 12 ESAM President Kevin Millington and the Restoration Committee hosted Colonel (Ret) Paul Raudenbush, and his wife Pat. Paul flew ESAM’s F-4D #626 in combat. The visit began with refreshments, and a very nice introduction by President Millington. Restoration Committee members then introduced themselves and shared some of their very rich experiences with the Raudenbushes. President Millington and Josh Nagy then accomplished an oral history interview with Paul before we all went out to #626 for pictures.

After introductions, Paul was asked to share some of his experiences flying the F-84D, the F-100 Super Sabre, the F-105 and the F-4. Paul entered the Air Force after graduating from the University of Pennsylvania, and complet-ing Reserve Officers Training (ROTC). His first flying assignment was the F-84D the “Thunderjet.” With tongue in cheek, Paul noted the F-84 had a “dirt sensor “in the nose and always sought the end of the runway be-fore leaving the ground – it had an extraordinarily long takeoff roll. The Super Sabre was the first jet to fly super-sonic in level flight. Paul spoke of his experiences flying it while based in France before DeGaulle kicked NATO forces out of his country. He flew the F-105 in Germany. Paul was very complimentary of the F-105’s low level and high speed flying characteristics. Noting that it had a bomb bay for a nuclear mission and long coke-bottle design, he said you could hardly tell the high speeds you were achieving, the ride was so smooth. Paul’s last plane was the F-4 and perhaps the plane in which he had some of his greatest experiences. Paul first spoke about his combat tour as a “Night Owl” Fast Forward Air Controller, flying night missions over South Vietnam. Armed with rockets for marking targets and flares, he would patrol looking for targets, especially trucks that were bringing war materials south from North Vietnam. His mission was to find them, and then call in Air Force, Navy or Marine fighter-bombers to destroy them. He would mark the targets and then control the attackers as they made their runs on the targets. Paul’s second combat tour with the F-4 was with the 8th Tactical Fighter Squadron (TFS). He flew #626 on this tour. As one of the top two squadron leaders, Paul led an entire squadron deployment from Holloman AFB, NM to Thailand. During this deployment he and his squadron mates flew over 8,000 combat missions over South and North Vietnam, both during the day and at night. Paul noted that this was probably his most memorable experi-ence because the entire squadron deployed together, the unit accomplished everything that was asked of it, and did not lose anyone to enemy action. I can say, as a not-so-objective observer, that those accomplishments were, in very large measure, due to the outstanding leadership Paul provided.

Some personal history…Paul Raudenbush was my first boss in the Air Force fighter-world. When Sec-ond Lieutenant Caine first met him he warmly wel-comed me, telling me “we only work half a day here”, and that was the way it was for the rest of my career – 12 hours a day. I had just gotten to the 8th TFS (my first operational assignment) when the unit deployed to war. Along with two other new guys, I thought I would not go. The other three squadrons on the base did not take their new pilots. Not the 8th TFS. Paul fought to take his new guys, and he won. I ended up flying 110 missions, 243 combat hours and returned home combat savvy. It shaped my fu-ture in the Air Force in a very positive

(continued on page 5) Steve Caine (left) and Paul Raudenbush (right) pose in

front of ESAM’s F-4D, which they both flew.

Winter 2011-12 Page 5

LETTERS LIKE THESE WE LIKE

TO RECEIVE The card to the right arrived after a July tour for students from a Shaker High School summer program. The tour was led by volunteers Jamie Fuller, Kevin Millington and John Panoski.

(continued from page 4) way. Several months after returning to Holloman, the squadron deployed to Europe, and on Paul’s wing, I made my first ocean crossing (the first of 17) in the F-4, non-stop from Holloman AFB, NM to Hahn AB Germany – a 12 hour trip with seven in-flight refuelings. In Germany we underwent an Operational Readiness Inspection, passed with flying colors, and sat nuclear alert. We also experienced the pleasure of tasting German wine and the squadron flew home with over 4,000 bottles of German wine tucked in every cranny of our F-4s. This does not happen anymore. Before we parted ways, Paul checked me out as an F-4 flight leader and I went on to my next assignment, no longer a new guy, but one that could lead others on missions. I owe a lot to Paul Raudenbush, and I am glad after 30 years we still maintain contact. I am also very glad, thanks to the “Restoration Guys,” Paul could see #626 in the squadron colors of the 8th TFS Black Sheep. Thank you!!

Members of the Restoration Team pose in front of ESAM F-4D with Steve Caine and Colonel (Ret) Paul Raudenbush. Pictured from left to right are Bob Eggleston, Steve Caine, Paul Raudenbush, Al Petroni,

John Panoski, Dave Tripp, Fred Bloomstein, Joe Gullo and Aaron Lauber.

Winter 2011-12 Page 6

ROADTRIP On Saturday September 10th, volunteers Ray Davis, Larry McArthur and Bob Vore took a road trip to the Old Rhinebeck Aerodrome. It turned out to be an excellent day to be at the Aerodrome. Not only was the weather clear and warm, but also the Aerodrome was hosting an R/C model event. Because of the presence of the model-ers, the Aerodrome presented both its regular Saturday acts and also some of its Sunday acts. The road trippers saw an air race, aerobatics, a Liberty engine run-up and tug-of-war, a couple of barnstorming performances, a fashion show with volunteer models in vintage cars, a flying ‘jail break’ skit, and some straight ahead flights/taxis by very early planes. Before and after the show there was time to walk the line of the vintage planes on display at the airfield, go through the display hangars on the hill across from the airfield and get some good eats. Thanks to Ray for driving on this enjoyable road trip.

Bleriot XI 1910 Hanriot

Sopwith Camel Fokker DR-1

Curtiss Jenny MB-1

Winter 2011-12 Page 7

ESAM PARTICPATES IN SMITHSONIAN FREE MUSEUM DAY

In the spirit of the Smithsonian Museums, which offer free admission every day, Museum Day is an annual event hosted by Smithsonian maga-zine in which participating museums open their doors to anyone present-ing a free Museum Day Ticket obtained from the Smithsonian website. ESAM is proud to have participated in the September 24, 2011 Smithsonian Museum Day by offering free admission.

GRUMMAN F-9 PANTHER & COUGAR by Kevin Millington

In a state which has been home to so many aviation companies perhaps the most well known and largest was the Grumman Aircraft Engineering Corporation, founded by Leroy Grum-man in 1929. From its production and development facilities on Long Island in Bethpage, Farmingdale, and Calverton, Grumman turned out thousands of aircraft and was one of the State’s largest corporate employers from World War II through the Cold War. Grumman was famous for producing carrier-based aircraft for the U.S. Navy, particularly fighters known as the “Cat Series”, from the bi-plane F-3F to the recently-retired F-14 Tomcat. The first jet-powered fighter produced by Grumman, and the most successful of the first-generation of Navy jets, was the F-9F Panther, which was first flown in November 1947. As was typi-cal of Grumman-built aircraft, the Panther was renowned for its rugged construction and reliability, qualities nec-essary for the demanding nature of carrier flight operations. When production of the Panther ended in 1953, 1,385 had been manufactured, virtually all of which served the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps. The Panther distinguished itself during the Korean War, where it was the Navy’s most widely used jet, flying over 78,000 sorties. While it did not possess the high performance of the North American F-86 Sabre or the Soviet MiG-15 necessary for air-to-air combat, the Panther proved excellent in the air to ground arena, particularly in the interdiction role, attacking equipment en route to the battlefield. For these missions, the Panther typically carried up to 2,000 pounds of unguided air-to-ground rockets or bombs, as well as its four internally-mounted 20mm. cannon. The Panther was powered by a single Pratt and Whitney J42 turbojet, which gave it a top speed of 575 miles and a range of 1,100 miles. The last Panthers were retired in 1958. Building on the success of the straight-winged Panther, Grumman developed a swept-winged version for im-proved performance, and designated it the F-9F Cougar. With its swept wings and uprated Pratt and Whitney J48 turbojet, the Cougar could achieve a top speed of 647 mph. First flown during 1951, the Cougar entered opera-tional service too late for combat operations during the Korean War. From 1951 to 1960, Grumman produced 1,988 Cougars. While most were single-seat fighters, 377 were manufactured as two-seaters, and these Cougars went on to have a long career as the Navy’s standard advanced trainer, serving in that role until 1974. I recall that at ESAM, long-time volunteer and newsletter editor Larry McArthur mentioned that he trained on the Cougar, prior to flying the A-4 Skyhawk and A-7 Corsair II attack bombers.

A swept-wing F9F-6 Cougar (foreground) and a straight-wing F9F-5 Panther in flight

At right, Apollo 11 Command Module as it appears on the Smithsonian website.

Winter 2011-12 Page 8

ESAM E-NEWSLETTER ESAM thanks those of you who have agreed to receive the newsletter by email. For those of you who have received this issue by email, you may still also receive the issue by regular mail. If so, you will receive only an email newsletter starting with the next issue. Because we are still lacking a number of email addresses for members, we continued to have to send out a signifi-cant number of this issue by regular mail. If you have received the newsletter only by regular mail and would like to receive it by email, please contact Vina at 518-377-2191, extension 10 and give her your email address.

DR. HEIDI DEBLOCK SPEAKS AT ESAM ANNUAL MEETING Did you know that any astronaut who might go on a space flight to Mars will not have his or her ap-pendix, gall bladder and tonsils? Did you know that Mars astro-nauts will spend months under-ground on Mars before the plan-ets are aligned so that they can return to Earth? Did you know that women are more likely than men to experience nausea after a stay in space? If you had been at ESAM’s Annual Dinner on October 5, 2011 you would have had the opportunity to learn these and many other interesting things about the effects of space travel on the human body from Heidi DeBlock MD, FCCM. Dr. DeBlock, was the guest speaker at the dinner and spoke on the topic “Interplanetary Travel: Lessons Learned from the Space Shuttle Missions”. Dr. DeBlock is an Associate Professor of Surgery at the Albany Medical Center. She is an attending physician in the Surgical Intensive Care Unit and teaches at the Albany Medical College. She attended the University of Rochester where she earned a degree in Astrophysics. She then attended SUNY Buffalo School of Medicine and completed her residency in Internal Medicine and Fellowship in Critical Care Medicine at the University of Roch-ester's Strong Memorial Hospital. Since 1990 Dr. DeBlock has been a Visiting Research Scientist at NASA's Johnson Space Center in the Cardio-vascular Physiology Laboratory. She has studied arrythmogenesis and orthostatic hypotension and was the recipient of NASA's " Special Space Flight Achievement Award" in 2002 for her research in cardiovascular physiology. At NASA, Dr. DeBlock is currently studying physiological concerns associated with potential space flights to Mars. Dr. DeBlock also serves as President of the Challenger Learning Center. The Challenger Learning Center is one of a network of similar Space Education Centers throughout the United States, Canada and the United King-dom. The Challenger Learning Centers were created as a memorial to the astronauts lost in the Challenger disaster. The Tech Valley Center will reach students throughout the 19-county region that includes the Capital Region, Mid-Hudson Valley, North Country to the Canadian border and Western Massachusetts.

Dr. Heidi DeBlock addressing ESAM’s Annual Meeting

Winter 2011-12 Page 9

ESAM OFFERS NEW AIRPLANE MODEL BUILDING CLASS STARTING JANUARY 31ST Aviation history enthusiasts, hobbyists, crafters, woodworkers or anyone looking for a great way to chase away the mid-winter doldrums are invited to take part in a new model airplane building program beginning January 31 at the Empire State Aerosciences Museum (ESAM), 250 Rudy Chase Drive, at the Schenectady County Airport in Glenville. Participants will learn the basics of scratch-building scale model airplanes from wood, using simple plans and templates, elementary woodworking techniques and common household tools and materials. Scratch-building is the art of creating models from basic materials rather than assembling them from prefabricated commercially made kits. No prior experience or expertise in woodworking or model-building is required. During class time, instructors will demonstrate the procedures and techniques involved. Students can then perform the procedures in class, with each student working at his or her own speed, and instructors on hand to advise and assist. Students also may choose to perform the required tasks at home and bring their projects back the following week for inspection and advice. In keeping with ESAM’s historical mission, the program will use as a starting point a program the U.S. govern-ment promoted during World War II which encouraged schools, model-building clubs and community groups to carve and build 1:72 scale solid wood models of Allied and Axis aircraft. These models were made from simple, non-rationed materials, helped young people learn basic woodworking skills and gave them an opportunity to contribute directly to the U.S. war effort, because the models produced were used to train naval and military per-sonnel, aircrews and civilian aircraft spotters in the identification of friendly and enemy aircraft. The program is open to anyone age 13 and older, although those under age 16 must be accompanied by an adult. Cost is $30. Classes will be held on six consecutive Tuesday evenings beginning Jan. 31 from 6:30-9 p.m. in the museum’s Exhibit Shop, adjacent to the main Gallery One building. At the conclusion of the class, participants may choose to have their models judged competitively and displayed at the museum. For registration information, a course outline and list of materials, contact the Empire State Aerosciences Museum at 230 Rudy Chase Drive, Glenville, (tel.) 377-2191, extension 10. y - 12 Noon - 4 P

OUR VOLUNTEERS

VINA KACZMARCZYK IS RECOGNIZED FOR HER SERVICE TO ESAM At ESAM’s Annual Dinner, Vina Kaczmarczyk was recog-nized with an Award of Excellence for her devoted service to the Empire State Aerosciences Museum. Any of you who have called the museum have probably spoken with Vina. She is, to a large extent, the day-to-day voice of ESAM. She runs the activities of the ESAM administrative office where her presence, organizational skills and commit-ment provide a firm foundation for the museum. She keeps the schedules, manages the correspondence, handles the phones and is the institutional memory for administration of the mu-seum. In addition, Vina can regularly be found volunteering and help-ing out at special events that the museum puts on. Thank you Vina for all that you do for ESAM.

Vina Kaczmarczyk (right) receives an Award of Excellence from ESAM President Kevin

Millington

Winter 2011-12 Page 10

OUR VOLUNTEERS ESAM PARTICPATES IN SCHENECTADY COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY’S

“FESTIVAL OF TREES” Volunteers from ESAM again deco-rated a tree for the Schenectady County Historical Society’s annual “Festival of Trees”. The tree was festooned with airplane models, lights and ribbon, and was topped by a model of the Space Shuttle. ESAM’s tree and volunteers were high-lighted in the Gazette paper’s Thanks-giving Day article about the event. ESAM was the only organization to have its tree pictured twice and the only organization to be quoted in the article. Yvonne & Dan DeBellis organized ESAM’s participation, while Bob & Joan Crandall, Dorie & Larry McArthur, Ronnie Quinn, Al Petroni and Joe Nicolella did the decorating. ESAM thanks Hewitt’s for lending us the tree.

Pictured above from left to right are Larry McArthur, Bob Crandall, Joe Nicolella, Al Petroni, ESAM’s Christmas tree, Joan Crandall,

Ronnie Quinn and Dorie McArthur

ESAM PARTICIPATES

IN WATERVLIET

ARSENAL FAMILY DAY

ESAM volunteer and master simulator instructor Dennis Cusano (seated at left) guides fledgling pilots through simulator flights at this past sum-mer’s Watervliet Arsenal Family Day. Flight simulators are favorite attractions at outreach events in which ESAM partici-pates.

Winter 2011-12 Page 11

The Empire State

Aerosciences Museum is supported in part by :

Business Benefactors All Seasons Equipment Curtis Lumber Co., Inc.

1st National Bank of Scotia Hannay Reels

LoDolce Machine Company Price Chopper

Wal-Mart

Business Patrons Allen Organ Co.

Richmor Aviation USS Albany NCC-587

Business Supporters CME Trucking Gil’s Garage

First New York Federal Credit Union

Microsoft Sunmark Federal Credit Union

Zonta Club of Schenectady

Friends of ESAM

The Family of Carl Battaglia*

Raymond Davis Robert Eggleston

Mr. & Mrs. John Ericson James Gargiulo

Mr. & Mrs. Roger Hannay Chester & Ann Matthews

David Montana *Mrs. Charles Moore

Mr. & Mrs. Robert Newkirk Mr. & Mrs. Maurice York

Galaxy Club Members Edward Barili Frank Hackert John Hackert

James LoDolce Kevin Millington Ralph Rosenthal

*Mr. & Mrs. Jansz VanderVeer

* ESAM Charter Member

OUR VOLUNTEERS

LIBRARY REACHES A MILESTONE The ESAM Library has reached a milestone in creating its DVD collection. The collection now contains 100 items. Each item has either been converted from a VCR format or burned from another DVD. Library volunteer Jack Keem is carrying out this project using equipment that the Library purchased over the past few years. Jack says, “One hundred down and about 500 to go.” After making the DVD, Jack assigns an inventory control number, enters the number and other appropriate information into the Past Perfect collections soft-ware, labels the DVD, prepares a written description of the item and files the item in the Library. The items in the collection have either been donated to ESAM or created by ESAM. For example, the collection includes interviews (with ESAM members such as Earl Slanker and Walter Bardsley, and with ESAM guests such as Tony Germann and Paul Raudenbush), instructional presentations, documenta-ries and movies. Soon to be added are tapes of past ESAM Air Shows.

ESAM WEBSITE IMPROVEMENTS AND FACEBOOK FUN Have you been to ESAM's website recently? ESAM volunteer Josh Nagy has led the way with a new round of updates to improve our page! Among his most recent additions are a great intro video for our main page, featuring some of the museum's highlights and a page dedicated to our Restoration Committee's latest project the Nieuport! Check out the great article on the history of the Nieuport, written by another great ESAM volunteer, Jim Atkins. You can sneak a peek at both these great updates at www.esam.org. Did you know that in addition to our website, ESAM maintains a Facebook page? We have 68 followers and our fun, aviation-related posts have got people talking! If you haven't "Liked" us yet, come see what you're missing at http://www.facebook.com/pages/Empire-State-Aerosciences-Museum/208103179224289. Want to get involved? We're always looking for new ideas and ways to improve our online presence. If you have something you'd like to see featured on our website or Facebook page please email us! Submit your suggestions to esam@esam.org anytime!

SRV ATTRACTS ATTENTION AT THE TOWN OF GLENVILLE OKTOBERFEST

ESAM’s Simulated Reality Vehicle (SRV) attracted a lot of attention at the Town of Glenville’s annual Oktoberfest celebration. The Oktoberfest was held near the main entrance to the Schenectady County Airport. Under the direction of volun-teer John Panoski, the SRV was set up at the Oktoberfest site and provided hundreds of rides to children and adults attending the event.

Winter 2011-12 Page 12

OUR SUPPORTERS

VIP SUSTAINING ($500)

Bud Matthews

VIP SUPPORTING ($125)

Jim & Sandra Buhrmaster Raymond Davis Peter Fischer

Marion Hackert Donald Ingraham Steven Largeteau

Matthew Mendleson Richard Peacock

SMALL BUSINESS ($100)

Esperance LP Gas Inc.

VIP CONTRIBUTING ($75)

Dan & Yvonne DeBellis John Dupier Michael A. Kozak

Eleanor & Gerry Pierce Mr. & Mrs. Stephen Ruggles Francis Miner

Mark Shalonis

FAMILY ($50)

Frederic & Joy Bloomstein James & Delores C. Carter Mr. & Mrs. Robert Cheesman

Mr. & Mrs. William Clasen Robert Crandall Mr. & Mrs. Robert Eggleston

James Ferrick Roland & Gail Gerber Diana Ham & Tom Nobles

Paul Hubbell & Family Brian & Roberta Kelly Kinderhook Memorial Library

James Liguori Nancy Michela & Jon Miles William Morris

Bernard & Susan Pasquariella Alexandra & Joaquin Pinhereo Robert Posson

David Prew Thomas Samuelson James H. Shaw, Col. AUS (Ret)

Dan Sliva Jason P. Thomas Wattenberg Family

Marvin Weiss

INDIVIDUAL ($35)

William Brosnan Albert Falcone Robert L. Ford

Jamie Fuller Charles H. Huppert Jeanne Jadwin

Michael Moore Paul Morrett W. Drew Peregrim

Linda Sheridan

We are pleased to acknowledge and welcome the following NEW and RETURNING MEMBERS

Winter 2011-12 Page 13

OUR SUPPORTERS

PLEASE GIVE TO THE ESAM ANNUAL APPEAL You should have recently received a letter from ESAM asking you to contribute to the museum’s annual appeal. We sincerely hope you will take this opportunity to support your museum. The annual appeal is a significant part of the museum’s fundraising and is critical to our ability to maintain and improve the operation of the museum. Thank you for any contribution you can make in response to the annual appeal. A Word From the Annual Appeal Team: You may have noticed when your annual appeal letter arrived that your address included the line "or current resident" under your name. We appreciate how impersonal that appears and would have strongly preferred not to include it. Unfortunately, recent changes to the post office's policies and procedures regarding business mail-ings instituted an additional charge for failure to include that statement. We could not justify the spending of extra opera-tional funds to pay that surcharge, and appreciate your understanding in this matter. Thank you!

SENIOR/STUDENT ($30)

Leonard Alexander Fred Anderson Walter Bardsley

Milton Barton Dr. Levon Bedrosian John Benuscak

William B. Bibb Dominic Carnibucci John Caufman

Michael Claps Lonnie Clar Paul J. Czesak

Michael J. DeCata John Gilrein RDML Harold J. Goldman, NYNM

Peter Herman Thomas Hopkins Francis J. Hopper

Frank Jones Donald P. Kleiber Leonard Kilinski

Theresa Lozier Michael Maddalone James Mahoney

William J. Maetta Chester Matthews Paul McCarthy

Earl Molloy David Nash Joe Nicolella

James E. Panton Aldo Petroni Evelyn Piecuk

Veronica Quinn Robert Raber Francis Reed

John Ross Major August W. Roth USAF (Ret)

Anthony Russo

Peter J. Ryan Wyatt Smith Owen D. South

Assemblyman James Tedisco Duane C. Van Patten James H. Wallace

George H. Wiederkehr Raymond Zimmons Anthony Zuelsdorf

ADDITIONAL DONATIONS TO ESAM Thanks to the following people who have made donations to ESAM. Bob Eggleston: GE match donation for Restoration Joshua Nagy: new membership cards Mary Predel: cash Stanley & Joan Szablewski: book sale

Fall 2008 Page 14 Summer 2010 Page 14 Winter 2011-12 Page 14

THE CANDY BOMBERS: THE UNTOLD STORY OF THE BERLIN AIRLIFT AND AMERICA’S FINEST HOUR, by Andre Cherney

Reviewed by Jamie Fuller Five stars

Andre Cherney has a gift. Combining extensive research, fastidious attention to detail and a passionate under-standing of the human condition he created a tour-de-force that brings vividly to life the chaos, passion and terror that was the Berlin Airlift. He introduces readers to all the key players and masterfully connects the dots between the gallant US Airmen who flew the tricky runs, the decimated but determined people of Berlin who chose free-dom at the risk of starvation over captive comfort and the embattled members of the US government who fought to balance the demands of the public at home against the volatile, potentially disastrous standoff in Berlin from an ocean away. Most aviation and history buffs are at least peripherally aware of the story of the Candy Bombers, the US Airmen who dropped candy to starving children during the famous Berlin Airlift immediately post World War II. Some even know that it was the most technically advanced and brazenly audacious airlift the world had ever seen. But few are aware of the far reaching web of famous (sometimes infamous) individuals and circumstances that shaped the epic saga and kept the world from dissolving back into all-out war. Cherney's deeply emotive writing creates connections between readers and the characters; by the end of the book, you feel as if you know them personally. You may also find yourself shocked by all the things you didn't learn in school – I learned more about both national and international history as a side effect of reading this book than I did in all my high school and college history classes combined! Though I read this book months ago, I still often catch myself eagerly telling people about it when giving tours at ESAM. I cannot recommend strongly enough that you add this to your reading list – whether you read it for the planes, the people or just to pass the time you will not be disappointed! Editor’s Note: ESAM has an exhibit commemorating the Berlin Airlift and the story of the Candy Bombers.

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Winter 2011-12 Page 15

FLIGHT FACTS In the last issue of AERONOTES, we posed this question: The photo to the right is of the Cosmic Muffin. It was once an airplane. What type of plane was it and what well known Hollywood personality once owned it? Answer: The Cosmic Muffin was once a Boeing B-307 owned by Howard Hughes.

The Boeing 307 Stratoliner was the first commercial pressurized aircraft, but only ten 307s were built in the late-1930’s. Production of the aircraft was abruptly stopped when war broke out in Europe.

The airplane destined to become the Cosmic Muffin was originally bought by industrialist and aviation pioneer Howard Hughes in 1939 as part of his purchase of Trans World Airlines (TWA).

Deemed un-flyable in 1969, Hughes’ former ‘flying office’ was rescued from a landfill by Fort Lauderdale Real-tor and pilot Kenneth W. London who then spent the next four years transforming it into an exotic houseboat.

Based in Ft. Lauderdale, FL, the Cosmic Muffin is truly one-of-a-kind.

Our next Flight Facts question is: The photo to the lower right was taken by ESAM Trustee Ray Davis during a trip to the Old Rhinebeck Aerodrome. What is the name of the plane in the photo? (Note: Ray is not eligible to participate in this Flight Facts ques-tion!) If you know the answer to this question and want to be eligible for a free pass to the museum, a free ticket to ride the SRV, and a gift from the ESAM library, submit your answer either by e-mail to news@esam.org using a subject line of "Flight Facts", or by letter to ESAM Flight Facts, 250 Rudy Chase Drive, Glenville, NY 12302. Answers must be received by February 28, 2012 to be eligible for the prize.

NEW ACQUSITIONS The following items were recently donated to ESAM. We thank the donors for their generosity. • A World War I gas mask, dog tags and whistle donated by Joann V. Blake • A Joint Strike Fighter Martin-Baker Ejection Seat patch donated by Larry McArthur • A set of dog tags donated in honor of Earl Maturin Ballou • A B-47 model and an Me-163 model donated by Robert Pollack • A PBY Catalina model and a Stearman model donated by Earl Stewart

Empire State Aerosciences Museum 250 Rudy Chase Drive Glenville, NY 12302

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MUSEUM HOURS – Friday and Saturday 10 AM to 4 PM/Sunday 12 noon to 4 PM

Jansz Vander Veer Research Center/Library Hours – Friday & Saturday 9AM to noon General Museum Admission – $8 per adult; $6 per senior and military; $5 age 6-16; under 6 free when accompanied by an adult

Simulated Reality Vehicle (SRV) – Ride: $5 Jan 16, Monday - Board of Trustees Meeting: 7PM. ESAM classroom Jan 31, Tuesday - March 6, Tuesday - Model Building Class: 6:30pm-9pm for six Tuesdays, Exhibits Shop Feb 20, Monday - Board of Trustees Meeting: 7PM. ESAM classroom Mar 19, Monday - Board of Trustees Meeting: 7PM. ESAM classroom Apr 16, Monday - Board of Trustees Meeting: 7PM. ESAM classroom

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PROCTORS CHALLENGER LEARNING CENTER

SCHENECTADY SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA THE DUDLEY OBSERVATORY THE EDISON TECH CENTER

THE SCHENENECTADY MUSEUM ZONTA CLUB OF SCHENECTADY

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HAPPENINGS AT THE AIR MUSEUM

Winter 2011-12 Page 16