Warbird Information Exchange

Hey Eric, Dan, JDK, I really meant my comment just as an observation on how it was a little similar to what happened at my old museum. I really don't know anything about this event and was just trying to show how a museum sponsored aircraft and a museum need eachother. Every organization has it's arguements, but that doesn't make them bad. We just have to be careful as the politics at my old place just about ended the museum. I hate to see that more than anything. Even though I give them a hard time on stuff like the tramp stamps and some paint schemes, I am a fan of the CAF, and a supporter. People can say what they want, but when you walk down to the warbird area at Oshkosh, and there is a F6F Hellcat there, or a red tailed Mustang, well, you just got to love the CAF at that point. The CAF is the group that started it all , and they should be proud of that. It is easy to bash a big group as they are a big target. Trust me I know ha ha, but at the end of the day the CAF keeps 'em flying and for that I am thankful.
Eric I don't think that CAF is a flying club in the least, as when I was a CAF Col. the rule was we had to get clearance from Texas to even move the L-5. The problem with my old museum (not the CAF) was that they were taking money that we needed to do things like patch holes in the roof, and keep the lights on, and using it to go and fly without the museum approving it. Heck I don't even have a problem with flying clubs as I am a member of one.

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Chris Henry
EAA Aviation Museum Manager

I like the CAF museum, and even though it is not the biggest, I think it is well done. There are some good displays of what it was like in WWII and the part about Geo Bush,senior, is concise and good.

But I would not have become a life member if it was only a static museum and there was no flying. The planes and the chance to fly them or fly with them were the selling point for me, and I enjoyed a lot of the people. Lot's of laughs and fun times in the old days.

I wish I was one of the members that fly some of the CAF planes, I've never gotten too far when I inquired about this, except for requests to send money.

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Bill Greenwood
Spitfire N308WK

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Scott Apple
Experience on the following aircraft: B-17, B-25, He111, T-6/SNJ, C-45/D18S, O2A, L-19, Various General Aviation, and Corporate Aircraft.

The CAF is just a flying club. They have no assets. Look at the end of the year balance statement sometime. I don't know about this year, but I do recall one year that the total assets were $57,000. When the formation of three new corporations came up, to protect the CAF assets, we were told that the three new corporations would be subsidiaries of the CAF. That we would still control our assets. That's why we voted to create them, and gave the new bodies all of our assets...the Life Member funds, to the Foundation, the planes to the Flying Museum, and the artifacts to the Museum. If the by-laws were changed, as proposed, we would no longer have control over the artifact assets. What next? The Flying Museum board votes for the same action? Our General Staff no longer makes up the majority, so the Flying Museum board is courted by another group, say the Yankee Air Force (just as an example, not that they would) with an offer to operate the aircraft, or a few of them. Far fetched, but possible.

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Mike

It seems like there are some scare tactics being used by the museum. As the article points out there has been NO CHANGE to the bylaws that were in place when accreditation was given. I would say that if there is a challenge the accreditation it would be a result of the museum drawing attention to this matter, almost cutting off their nose to spite their face.

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“Words are never enough . . . words do not exist to make us see, or know, or feel what it is like, what actually happens."

I think you nailed it.

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Blue Skies,
Doug

www.cavanaughflightmuseum.com