NEWSLETTER FEBRUARY, CANDLER FIELD MUSEUM PRESENTS OUR 1940's HANGAR DANCE SATURDAY MARCH 24th

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1 NEWSLETTER FEBRUARY, 2012 CANDLER FIELD MUSEUM PRESENTS OUR 1940's HANGAR DANCE SATURDAY MARCH 24th

2 Social time begins at 6 PM A full dinner will be served at 6:30 PM The Modernaires, an 18 piece orchestra performing in the Atlanta area for over 50 years will again be playing for our entertainment. A silent auction will also be part of the program. Come and dance to the music or simply sit and enjoy listening to the orchestra. Tickets are $50 each with proceeds going to benefit the Candler Field Museum.

3 Tickets may be purchased online by clicking here and going to the Join Museum tab. You may also buy your tickets at Barnstormer's Grill, Antique Griffin, or by calling CANDLER FIELD MUSEUM UPDATE CONSTRUCTION BEGINS ON DOUG DAVIS HANGAR Site preparation. Picture by Ron Alexander

4 Concrete being poured on February 1, Picture by Brian Karli We are very pleased that progress is being made on our new. Famous 1920's race pilot Doug Davis was born and raised in Griffin, GA a few miles away from the museum. This hangar will be a replica of the first hangar built by Davis on Candler Field in It will be used to display museum artifacts, aircraft, and vehicles. We still need to raise over $40,000 to complete the hangar. If you would like to help us with a tax deductible donation please click here and go to the Join Museum page. We encourage you to become a member of Candler Field Museum. We need your support - both financial and volunteer time. This is your museum. Please take a minute to click on the link below to join the museum or renew your membership. To join Candler Field Museum click here Follow the Candler Field Museum on Facebook! We update the page regularly. CLICK HERE for this page.

5 Please become a friend of the Candler Field Museum. FLABOB NEWS (news from our sister airport in Riverside, CA) USAF Nieuport 28s and F-22 Raptors: the Flabob Connection by Jon Goldenbaum One of the oldest existing USAFs fighter units is the 94th Hat in the Ring squadron, made famous in WW I by Eddie Rickenbacker. The 94th has a historic lineage, Nieuports and Spads in WWI, P-38s in WWII, later F-86s, F-4s and F-15s, and now the F-22 Raptor. For over 25 years, the 94th displayed a full scale Nieuport 28 replica outside their squadron building in honor of their first combat fighter. Last summer a freak windstorm destroyed the Nieuport, and a saddened squadron vowed to restore it. Donations flooded in from 94th alumni worldwide; only problem was that the current F-22 maintenance guys didn t know much about working on 1917 wood and fabric aircraft. Several contractors offered to replace the replica at inflated prices but their quotes were well beyond the squadron budget. Jon Goldenbaum, president of Flabob s Poly Fiber heard of the disaster. Goldenbaum was a member of the 94th when the replica was originally built, at the time he was an F-15 pilot whose hobby was antique/classic aircraft. In those years, he owned and maintained a Taylorcraft that he flew at Langley when he wasn t in an F-15. Since Goldenbaum was the only pilot in the unit who knew anything about fabric aircraft, he wound up assisting builder Ken Kellett assemble and install the airplane in front of the 94th.. Later, Goldenbaum gave Kellett a ride in an F-15, a memory they share when they meet at air shows today. Since the windstorm, Goldenbaum coached the 94th F-22 maintainers on antique aircraft restoration via and phone. The 94th guys installed a wood shop in an F-22 hangar then launched out with enthusiasm on new skills, cutting wood, welding steel, and forming aluminum. In January, Goldenbaum and top Poly Fiber technician Hualdo Mendoza flew to Langley to help finish the restoration and teach the high- tech F-22 guys how to cover a 1917 WWI fighter with fabric. Over 20 Air Force technicians worked on the project, soon fabric components were in the paint shop receiving an authentic WWI camouflage paint job with the proud hat in the ring emblazoned on the side. The replica will be re-dedicated in February, then installed in its place of honor in the front of the 94th. If you get a chance to visit Langley AFB, don t miss seeing the 1917 airplane completely restored by 2012 F-22 maintainers, with a little help from the past and Flabob.

6 F-22 Raptor maintainers try fabric covering The 94th Nieuport 28

7 The Nieuport project's F-22 hangar mate. For more information go to AIRPARK UPDATE A big "Thank You goes to Bill Hammond, who is responsible for building this picket fence along the entryway to Barnstormer's Grill. Bill along with volunteers John Kuck, Brian Walljasper, John Hofeling, and Andrew Walker

8 took several back breaking days to build the new fence. It will serve to keep spectators away from the runway during our events. The gate in the middle will be used to allow people easier access to the biplane rides airplane when it is in service. For those of you who do not visit Peach State regularly here is a recent picture of the complex. As you can see a lot of progress has been made since There is a total of 29 residential lots in the Airpark with 10 having been sold. If you have any interest in purchasing a lot please Ron Alexander at ronalexander@mindspring.com For pictures and more information please click here. NEW WEBSITE FOR PEACH STATE Museum member and flying club member Mike Cone has just completed a move for our website to a new provider. This will allow us to make our own changes more easily to keep the website up to date. We will be adding new sections to the website including a section dedicated to the DC-3 and another listing all of our airplanes and vehicles with pictures and their history. Please go to and look around. Visit it regularly to

9 see changes. Thanks to Mike for making this happen. CURTISS ROBIN PROJECT Progress is being made on the Candler Field Museum Curtiss Robin. This is the OX-5 powered Robin that was donated to the museum by Jack Barbery a few years ago. Leo Roberson is pictured below with the newly powder coated fuselage and the newly built center section. The blasting of the fuselage and the powder coating was donated by Performance Coatings of Jonesboro, GA. Mr. Jerry Mobley and his brother Terry are helping Leo with this project. Our thanks to all of them.

10 PICTURES FROM EARLY YEARS AT CANDLER FIELD Mr. Lee Chalmers sent me a large number of pictures most of which were taken at Candler Field during the 1920's and 1930's. Lee's grandfather, Mr. George Reed, worked as a mechanic on Candler Field during the 1930's. He also took flying lessons there. We will post more pictures in future newsletters.

11 An Eastern Air Transport Ford Tri-Motor at Candler Field Eastern Air Schools student mechanics working on a Wright J6. Eastern operated a school for mechanics during the 1930's. The aircraft is some sort of Waco (I think) that we can't identify. CANDLER FIELD FLYING CLUB

12 UPDATE By Glen Marsh, President January has been a busy month at the Candler Field Flying Club. We have had fairly mild weather for this time of year and have been able to fly a little more than normal. Several members have achieved milestones. Kiefer Pirrung passed his instrument check ride, and Brian Walljasper had his first solo flight. Congratulations to both and the instructors who made it possible. We are updating both of our 172's to IFR certified GPS, the first will be in the Radio Shop this week. This will be a nice improvement to both airplanes for both training and cross country flying. Only one more month to March and the beginning of really nice spring weather. We invite everyone to come on down, have a great burger at the Grill, and see how inexpensive flying can be in a Club. Please go to for more information! FEBRUARY SPECIALS Oyster Appetizer - $6 Prime Rib for 2 - Our Valentine's Day special $26.95 Spicy Tilapia and Shrimp - $15.75 Seasoned Salmon Salad - a new dish - $11.75

13 Four oz Filet and Shrimp - $10.75 Don't forget our great breakfast every Saturday morning beginning at 9 AM Also, make sure you join us on Sunday for our buffet. For more information go to or call