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1st Quarter 2008
Hi
Twirly Birds,
It
is time to
give you the details of our annual reception and meeting in Houston, TX
on Sunday,
February 24th. We will meet at 5 P.M. in room GBA, which is on level 4
in the
Hilton Americas Hotel, at 1600 Lamar Street. Escalators and elevators
are
located adjacent to our meeting room, so it should be easy to find. It
might be
wise to double check with the concierge upon arrival, just in case they
change
the room at the last minute.
Perhaps some of
the Founding Fathers of the Twirly Birds may recall the events as
presented in
a recent article from the Naval Aviation's Foundation magazine.
However, as for
me, and perhaps most of the later-on Twirly Birds, the story of the
beginning
(and almost the end) of the helicopter industry is absolutely
incredible. The
story is so fascinating that I approached the Naval Aviation Foundation
for
permission to reprint the article for the Twirly Birds, pointing out
that
personnel in the article became the original Founding Fathers of the
Twirly
Birds. I hope you enjoy this exciting salvation of the helicopter
industry in
the attached article entitled, "FLUTTER-BUGGY" as written by
Lieutenant Commander Barrett T. Beard, USCG, Retired.
(Web Masters
note: Article is not on-line, hopefully
you have received a hard copy with your mailed newsletter, if not
please contact
Jim Hamilton if one is desired.)
We don't usually
ask the Twirly Birds to help the industry with any particular projects,
but we
pioneers have been asked to help with ideas that will help the HAl
Safety
Committee achieve their targeted goal of reducing accidents by 80% in
ten
years. Mr. Alex Holiday, Chairman of the
Safety Committee would welcome any thoughts and/or comments that we
old- timers
(from our extensive experience) may have to help achieve this goal.
This obviously
is a most worth-while project, so forward any thoughts to Alex ASAP.
Alex's
phone is: 250-769-4111 and any input would be appreciated.
It has been
suggested that the newsletter include short stories (vignettes) as
experienced by
our Twirly Birds. There is no doubt that most all of us have had
experiences
(some hair raising, some spectacular, some funny) that would be of
interest to
the membership. Along with this line of
thought, I would like to re-issue my previous challenge to all Twirly
Birds:
"WRITE/RECORD
YOUR OWN HELICOPTER ADVENTURES"
Your
Grandchildren
and their descendants will love you for the memories.
Must
close this
for now and get the letter in the mail so you can complete your plans
to join
us at the annual Twirly Bird event in just three weeks. Bill Yarber,
our
tight-fisted Treasurer has been working with the HFI and the Hilton
Americas
Hotel to ensure a pleasant place to meet and greet all your old friends
and
acquaintances. In addition, he has assured me that refreshments, adult
and otherwise,
will be available to all members and guests. Looking forward to seeing
you in
Houston!
Jim
Hamilton, Gallant Leader
P.S.
Our
tight-fisted, high pocketed Treasurer has reminded me to remind you
that he is
looking forward to seeing and/or hearing from you with your '08
dues---still at
the depression era price of $10.
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