News

CAFSoCal members and friends may be interested to read an excerpt of an Email sent in to us from a recent Warbird Ride participant.

Just like to say a big thank you to all for such an amazing flight and day with the Socal CAF at Camarillo.
The family enjoyed the experience of the Airshow and long may it continue. A special thanks to Al Kepler my impromptu flight instructor and pilot.
I will make every effort to return in the not too distant future I wished we didn’t live so far away ….
Regards,

Peter H.

As you can see from the video below, Peter came a long way for his flight experience, and judging by the note we received, it was well worth the effort!

Thanks Peter!

All of the necessary parts have arrived at the engine re-builder.  We are expecting the engine to be completed and  delivered to us by the end of September.  After the installation of the engine and some test flying, we are expecting the Mustang to be available by November 1st.

The PT-19 will be unavailable for rides until November 1st.  It is down for planned maintenance.  You can still buy a ride and give the ride certificate to that special person on that special day (Birthday, Anniversary, etc.).  They can then call to schedule the ride for some time after the plane is due back in the air

Now Hear this….

The MilVet Expo (MVE) is a free annual event to introduce Active Military, Veterans and their families to emergency services, benefits, VA, counseling, legal help and family friendly fun available in Ventura County.

VCMilC, consisting of over 180 agencies who serve Ventura County Military, Veterans and their families offers a variety of free programs and events with the overall goal to improve services to the military community of Ventura County.

MVE is open to all branches of the military and veterans and highlights the many free programs, opportunities, agencies and employers who assist the military and veteran community.

Saturday
August 27, 2016
0945-1400
camarillo community center

The 2016 Wings Over Camarillo Airshow is in the books and what an airshow it turned out to be!

First – a great heap of thanks to ALL our numerous and tireless volunteers. Without you guys and gals this event would not have been possible. From ground crews, to PX volunteers, PA announcers, raffle sales folks, aircraft tour guides, FOD picker-uppers…. truly too many positions and people to mention. Thanks to all!!

In addition to being an awesome airshow, the event was a day of firsts for the CAF SoCal wing:

Two brand new aircraft made their flying debut at an airshow after their restoration process. Hats off to the PBJ and Fairchild F24 personnel.

The PBJ carried its first load of paid rides at the airshow! First of many to come, no doubt!

The weather was perfect, the aircraft were perfect (and spotless!), the food was great and the comradery was priceless! We hope you didn’t miss it. If you did, here’s a gallery of photos from the show, with more and videos to be added soon.

See you at Wings Over Camarillo 2017!!!

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A short video with a few snippets of the airshow:

Flight video from aboard the Mitsubishi A6M3 Zero:

Flight video from aboard the L29 Delfin Jet:

After a long and detailed restoration project which began back in 2004, the Fairchild F-24 successfully completed her maiden flight on Thursday August 18, 2016.

It is the testament to the meticulous workmanship of the restoration crew that the most difficult aspect of the maiden flight was the process of deciding where on the aircraft to apply the CAF wings logo!

Congratulation to everyone involved in bringing this beautiful aircraft back to the skies.

Below are a few images of the first flight, with video to follow soon.

The following video shows the takeoff by John Cutright, some in flight video from Mike Hohls in the PT19 chase plane and a brief post flight chat between Mike and Jason Sommes who flew the F24

The Southern California Wing of the CAF will have a War Bird Ride Booth at Wings Over Camarillo Air Show.  Rides in the PT-19, SNJ and PBJ will be available for purchase at the booth.
Rides will be given in the morning before the show begins and air space closes; also after the show, when air space opens to general traffic.

TWO HAPPY CAMPERS IN THE PBJ

Last week, Captain Charlie Plumb stopped by the CAFSoCal museum hangars to take his PT-19 for a flight.

He was gracious enough to give us a quick walk around his aircraft and discuss its origins and his experience with it. Charlie, kindly allowed us to video the chat so that we can share it here with you.

If you are unfamiliar with Charlie’s story, we encourage you to read up on him HERE and don’t forget to pick up a copy of his memoir “I’m No Hero: A POW Story as Told to Glen DeWerff”

After seeing the video and reading about the background of the airplane, we wouldn’t be surprised if the PT-19’s dance card gets filled out in a hurry! Checkout our warbird rides page or call the museum.

Wings Over Camarillo Air Show Media Day

Update – August 16, videos and photos:

Avery Willis introduces Maj Keith Smith and Antonio Fucci on 2016 Wings Over Camarillo Media day

Member volunteer Trace Eubanks introduces his father,  2016 Wings Over Camarillo Grand Marshal, Bob Eubanks

On Thursday, August 11, 2015 from 9:00 am to 12:00 pm, the Camarillo Wings Association, in collaboration with the Commemorative Air Force (CAF) Museum Southern California Wing, Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA) Chapter 723, and the Ventura County Ninety-Nines, is sponsoring a Media Day for the Wings Over Camarillo Air Show, being held this year on August 20^th and 21^st.

Intended to accommodate press interest prior to the airshow, this event is closed to the public.

The Media Day event is scheduled a week prior to the air show to accommodate press interest and weekend press deadlines. The first flyby starts at 9:30 am at the CAF Museum. Members of the press can look forward to the following:

• Meet our 2016 Grand Marshall, Bob Eubanks.
• Meet several military veterans, including Major Keith Smith, USAF (Ret.), who flew 1000 hours in a B-25 during WWII and will be taking a flight in the B-25-PBJ.
• Meet performers including Judy Phelps and Tim Just.
• Take photos of a variety of planes and classic car displays.
• Photograph low passes from Tim Just and Judy Phelps, an experimental formation flight, and a flight of CAFSoCal’s newly restored B25-PBJ.

on July 8th, warbirds from CAFSoCal wing in Camarillo made the two hour flight up to the Truckee Airport for the 2016 Truckee Airfestival.

Making the flight were the wing’s SNJ “290”, Bearcat, Spitfire, and the Zero along with the P51D “Bunny” from the Palm Springs Museum which flew escort on the PBJ’s wing.

It was an exciting event for the PBJ’s flight crew and the lucky few ground crew and museum personnel who had the privilege to make the flight and witness the grand lady’s first airshow after the 23 year long restoration project.

The flight to Truckee went smoothly and the crew arrived at a beautiful and friendly airport setting in moderately strong winds. Winds that unfortunately got stronger as the event progressed.

The fighter aircraft and pilots performed beautifully to the thrill of the crowd and the PBJ was the Belle of the Ball. Constantly surrounded by the interested crowd who had many questions and stories of their own to tell. “Why is this B25 blue?” was the frequently heard conversation starter.

Mixed in with their marshalling and maintenance duties, the crew delighted in educating the public about our wonderful PBJ and it’s long journey from “Old Brew” to “SemperFi”

Added to the excitement of the airshow was the high winds and a mild case of aircraft gremlins. The strong winds only got stronger as the show went on and decided to carry away the PX pop-up awning, which effected our sales potential, and prevented us from offering warbird rides on the SNJ. And the PBJ’s port engine starter decided it would not allow the PBJ to fly during the airshow at Truckee. Many mitigation procedures were considered, but ultimately the crew awaited delivery of a replacement starter from our friends, the American Aeronautical Foundation’s spares for “Executive Sweet”, delivered via personal courier in the persons of Gary Barber and Dan Newcomb. Mike, Marc and Russ worked late into the night to replace the starter and the crew was able to fly back home the following day as planned.

The show was a complete success and we left the organizers with the promise that CAFSoCal would be back next year, and for many more years to come – no doubt.

This Accomplishment of the PBJ’s airshow would not have been possible were it not for the meticulous work done by all involved during the restoration process of this warbird as well as the careful planning prior to the show by Mike Hohls, Marc Russell and the crew.

We are happy to take a moment to enjoy the success of this airshow and then to carry the experience gained to future events.

Until then, be sure to attend Wings Over Camarillo, our home base airshow, on August 20th and 21st.

Below are perhaps too many pictures from the airshow, mostly of our aircraft, and the transit flights.

Thanks to all who contributed image files and/or made themselves available to be included in the photos.

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A short video with snippets of views from the event

Cockpit Camera footage from the Zero fighter of the B25-PBJ during it’s flight to the Truckee/Tahoe Airshow, July 8, 2016
Shaky footage is due to poor camera mount hard-point.