Xmas 2016

The days speed by, until they become a blur. That's what I said last year. Still the same. No. It's getting faster. We can report we are well and as busy as ever. Dot celebrated a big Milestone in May.

Our celebration was a low key event as she wasn't too keen to make a big deal about it.

In the last month, she passed her medical checks with flying colors. It marked 9 years since her lymphoma diagnosis.

Much of this year revolved around our airplane and my myriad Museum of Flight activities. The two are fairly intertwined, since I use my airplane for as much Museum work as possible. The alternative is an all day trip with two expensive ferry rides.

The airplane takes only 12 minutes to do what takes 3 hours by surface transportation!

Starting about this time last year, I put my life on hold for several months as we made the big push to restore the first Boeing 727 for her final flight to the Museum - 53 years after her first flight. She had been sitting for 25 years in Everett, and convincing the Museum's management and Board to trust me to bring home the bacon on this was worthy of a novel all by itself.

Beginning on January 8, I put in over 1000 hours directing the activities to make her flight-worthy -- after a Quarter-Century. That doesn't leave much time for sleep - and I found out I wasn't 23 anymore!

Lots of local and world-wide media coverage as well - including capturing the front page of the weekend Seattle Times - "above the fold", as they say!

On March 2, after 8 weeks of hard work, we finally taxied out and took to the runway at Paine Field in Everett, to lift majestically into the sky.

Not many thought, that after 25 years, the old girl would ever fly again, but our great team of volunteers and supporting companies proved them all wrong.

Airplanes are living things and she proved she was just sleeping for a quarter century, returning , for one last time, to her home in the sky.

The full story can be found on my website, along with my remarks to the hundreds gathered, along with myriad pictures and videos. About 6 million people were following this restoration from all over the world.

In July, Boeing celebrated it's 100th Birthday with a big 3 day bash. at the Museum.

Then, in November, after 8 months on display outside the Museum, she moved across the street into the Museum's newly completed big building - the Aviation Pavilion. Click here for the story. It's her final location - but remember, she's just sleeping. The Miracle of Flight still resides in her graceful wings. And we proved it.

The day after the 727 was moved to Boeing Field, I turned attention to another project - saving another 727! I negotiated the donation of our "other" 727 to the the National Airline History Museum in Kansas City (our Museum had planned to scrap it. Too painful to contemplate.) Spent over a year doing the "negotiating", then a fair amount of time working on restoring it - it had been sitting "only" 13 years. It has been brought back to life successfully, but a number of hurdles still need to be overcome for its return to the skies. Hopefully, it will fly down to K.C. sometime in the next few months.

In August, we took our airplane down to San Francisco for a once-in-a-lifetime chance to fly a Curtiss P-40 - a famous fighter plane from WW II, flown by (among others) the famed Flying Tigers in China. My friend Chris Provost has one, and during a visit here, offered me a chance to fly his "N" model - a two-seater. Of course, being one of my favorite airplanes (I have so many) - I jumped at the opportunity! Our beautiful RV-12 took us down there in 6 hours with just one stop for a great afternoon flying the P-40, a great dinner in Sonoma, and then back home the next day. Not something I could do in a car - or even flying commercial.

A month or two later, I hopped over to Sandpoint, Idaho to visit my friend Jon Proctor - retired from TWA and a famed aviation author and editor. A little over two hours compared to 8+. Man, I love that airplane!

In October, we made our first trip across the border into Canada. After about six months of working on permits, stickers, regulations - including one aborted attempt - (they don't make it easy) - we flew deep into the Fraser River canyon to Hope, B.C. It was a beautiful Fall day, and a chance to relive a 46 year old bit of Boeing 737 flight testing history.

Chris Prevost from Sonoma, California. As mentioned above, Chris has a P-40, and a bunch of other classic airplanes, AND his own airport in Sonoma. Here he's checking out a Super Corsair in the Museum's collection. Chris would like to get it!

Louis and Jocelyne Cormier (Dot's nephew) from Montreal. Louis owns Dot's former house in the Magdalen Islands - the house she was born in; he is a lawyer and a judge in Montreal and Jocelyne is a doctor.

Jerome Cormier (another nephew) and his wife Francine all the way from Havre-St. Pierre, Quebec on the eastern north shore of the St. Lawrence River. They arrived with their travel trailer and camped out in our driveway for a few days. Dot has 37 nieces and nephews. I have two.

Kevin Lacey ("Tin Man") my "Bro" from near Syracuse, NY. Kevin was in charge of restoring my Connie from 2007-2009 and has since retired. He's an expert sheet metal mechanic, and his nickname, appropriately, is Tin Man.

He had wanted to come see me (actually, he wanted to come see his Connie), and rode his Harley all the way out here! One heck of a long trip, especially for a "geezer!" He stayed a week.

Dan - AL7RT - is a long time good friend. AL7RT is his ham call - that's what we all know each other as. We have been friends for many years, but as with many of my ham radio pals, had never met face to face. Actually, in most cases, we don't even know what we look like! Dan has lived in Fairbanks, Alaska for years, and this past year, moved back down to the Lower 48 - to Kalispell, Montana. His son graduated from engineering school and got a job with a company in the Seattle area. So - a long preamble to say, Dan came with his lovely wife Pat and beautiful dog, to see us while visiting his son. Here we are taking a walk on the beach by the Lighthouse. Hopefully, we'll be seeing a lot more of each other.

Friend Dan Dierdorf came for a few days all the way from Florida. Dan wrote a book on the history of the Boeing 737, and I helped with some parts about the airplane's early days. Dan is a 737 Captain with Southwest Airlines. Of course, we went flying too.

A Few Flying Pictures - among my many thousands

This - is why I fly!

2016 Passings

Joe Blank was a jack of all trades at Vans Aircraft in Oregon - manufacturer of my kitplane. He was a test and demo pilot, and ran the customer support hotline. Joe gave me my Demo ride in the RV-12 back in 2011, which led to my building the airplane. And, we stayed friends ever since. His loss to cancer at a much too young age is so painful to all who knew him.

April 6 was the 50th Anniversary of the death of my High School friend Tom Blevins. He died in combat in Viet Nam. I've dedicated my website to his memory.

The whole story can be found in my tribute to Tom. You can read it here:

http://www.rbogash.com/Stories/TomBlevins.html

Jess Wallick was a Boeing Test Pilot and Flight Engineer, and a big supporter of my #1 727 restoration activities. His brother, Lew, was the pilot of the first flight of our 727 in February 1963. Here, Jess can be seen on the right as Flight Engineer of the first flight of the 747 in February 1969.

Obit below.

Capt. Garnet Godfrey - Maritime Central Airways (MCA) and Eastern Provincial Airways (EPA), (Dot worked for both) passed November 5, 2016 in Souris on Prince Edward Island. I used to fly with him on 737s beginning in 1969. He was the last of the MCA pilots and was in his 100th year.

Jim Jackson was a fellow volunteer at the Museum of Flight. He was a machinist by trade and could work wonders re-creating ancient airplane parts on his tools. He was remarkably self-sufficient and drove himself to the Museum for his work shifts. During WW II, he was an aircraft mechanic working on B-29s in the Pacific; flew over Tokyo in the nose of one on V-J Day. He had recently bought himself a fancy new metal-working lathe for his home workshop. He was an optimist who clearly looked to the future. He died after a short illness.
Jim was 101 years old.
More about Jim on my Tribute page here.

Kenn Finister

Kenn was one of the two managers from SOAR (our contractor for the 727 refurbishment.)

He was extraordinarily knowledgeable, competent, and hard working. He died unexpectedly on October 10, from complications from a bried hospital stay.

Kenn will be missed.

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Jesse A Wallick
Sunday, June 5, 2016 10:00 AM

Jesse A Wallick,82, passed away on Tuesday May 24, 2016 at the St. Mary’s hospital in Tucson, Arizona from complications following a heart attack. Jesse, with wife Annette, had been living in nearby Green Valley AZ for the previous twelve years.

He was born on the family farm two miles east of Sycamore, Kansas on January 8, 1934 to Samuel L. and Ethel Wallick. Like his older siblings Eva, Lew, John and Ed he was busy with school, chores and farming from a young age. He attended grade school in a one room school near the family farmstead and graduated from IHS class of 1952. While continuing to work on the farm Jess attended Independence C.C., graduating in June of 1954.

From an early age Jesse, like his older brothers was drawn to airplanes and flying, He started flying in a Piper Cub at Independence airfield as a teenager. After graduating ICC he enlisted in the US Air Force with dreams of becoming a military pilot and an astronaut. It was not to be. He had been accepted into the class of ‘55 air cadet school but before he could start, the Korean war ended he was failed on his physical on account of his right leg having been broken twice as a daring kid. Jess continued in the USAF working with aircraft as a load master. After completing his two years of service and an honorable discharge, he focused on becoming a pilot through civilian routes. Jess attended Kansas State University and graduated in with a degree in mechanical engineering while flying airplanes as finances allowed.

After KSU, Jess obtained an internship at the Boeing Aircraft Co. in Seattle. His oldest brother and mentor, S.L. (Lew) Wallick was already working for Boeing as a test pilot and made sure his application reached the proper desk. After his internship Jess was hired by Boeing Flight Test as an engineer. In 1962 he married Annette Morss of Stockton, KS. He continued to spend spare time and money towards pilot training and received a promotion to flight engineer and later was chosen for the maiden flight of the Boeing 747. On February 9, 1969 history was made as the jumbo jet made a successful first flight. The original 747 is retired at the Boeing Museum of Flight where Jesse’s name has been painted just below the cockpit window.

Jess continued to invest extra time and money towards pursuing the skills and licenses necessary to move up to the pilot’s seat. It’s a tribute to his perseverance and hard work that he was able to do so, first working up to copilot and then pilot. In the 1980’s Jesse was pilot on much of the initial flight testing on the Boeing 767 while also owning one tenth of a home built aerobatic biplane, a Christen Eagle II, that he successfully flew in aerobatic competitions. After 34 years working at Boeing Jesse retired.

Retirement allowed Jess and Annette more time for a favorite hobby, power boating in the Puget Sound, British Columbia, and Alaska on their live aboard motor yacht. Jesse belonged to the Independence VFW, Q B’s(Quiet Birdmen), & American Legion among others.

In 1986 Jesse purchased the farm near Sycamore that he grew up on. Since the early 1990’s Jesse and Annette have returned to the farm every May and October to see friends and family and to work on a pecan orchard that they started.

Jesse is survived by wife Annette of Green Valley AZ, sons Todd of San Diego and Brett of Barcelona and brother John of Independence. A celebration of life will be held at the Museum of Flight in Seattle on August 13th. Remembrances can be made to the Independence VFW or the Museum of Flight.
- See more at: http://indydailyreporter.com/Content/Obits/Obits/Article/Jesse-A-Wallick/22/881/25845#sthash.EgmRTY4P.dpuf

Peace.......... Bob and Dot

Peace..........

Bob and Dot