Boeing Company Salutes Military Veterans During Ceremony at St. Louis Campus

By Carmelo Turdo

The Boeing Company held their annual Veterans Day Recognition Ceremony November 5 at the St. Louis campus in advance of the national Veterans Day holiday approaching next week.  The St. Louis facility was once the McDonnell Douglas world headquarters, and still manages the operations of the Defense, Space and Security Division of the Boeing Company.  The company facility not only supplies military hardware and support services to the U.S. armed forces and those of allied nations, it also recognizes the current and past military veteran employees several times each year.  The recognition events are organized by the St. Louis Veterans Task Force and involve other organizations from the local area, as will be illustrated below.

Mr. Dave Thomas, U.S. Marine Corps Veteran and President of the St. Louis Veterans Task Force, was the host of the event that brought several hundred veterans and family.

The St. Louis Boeing Concert Band provided patriotic music:

 

Ms Georgia Barnett, long-time employee and member of the St. Louis Veterans Task Force, provided the Invocation:

 

Mr. David Wegan, U.S. Marine Corps Veteran and member of the St. Louis Veterans Task Force, introduced the American Pride Tribute provided by the Joint Service Color Guard, UTRANSCOM at Scott AFB, Patriot Guard Riders and bald eagles from the World Bird Sanctuary:

 

Featured speakers were: Mr. Jim O'Neill, President of Global Services and Support at Boeing Defense, Space and Security; Mr. Gilbert Dieckhoff, World War II veteran and crewman/mechanic aboard U.S. Navy PBY Catalina; and Major General Michael S. Strough, Director of Strategic Plans, Requirements and Programs, Air Mobility Command, Scott AFB, IL:

 

Boeing St. Louis campus is host to two memorials to veterans outside the headquarters building.  The Boeing St. Louis Employee Veterans Honor Wall was dedicated on November 11, 2005 and contains the names of local McDonnell Douglas and Boeing employee veterans on the wall identified with each service's flag.  The unique aspect of the memorial is that it honors living veterans as well.  Also, there is a memorial to McDonnell Douglas veterans that was installed prior to the Honor Wall.  Here are some views of both memorials:

 

Special thanks to the Boeing St. Louis Veterans Task Force for recognizing our veterans and for their hospitality.

Interstellar Movie Screening Brings Past and Future Space Travelers Together at St. Louis IMAX Event

By Carmelo Turdo

The new move, "Interstellar," is poised to launch nationally in a few days, in 70mm IMAX in some areas.  The Aero Experience was privileged to attend a screening sponsored nationally by Aerojet Rocketdyne and locally by the Challenger Learning Center St. Louis.  Our hosts had arranged for Space Shuttle veteran astronaut U.S. Army Ltc. Sam Gemar to introduce the film and relay some first-hand experience of space flight to the attentive audience.  A South Dakota native, Colonel Gemar was qualified for NASA astronaut duty in 1986 and later flew as mission specialist aboard STS-38 (November 15-20, 1990), STS-48 (September 12-18, 1991), and STS-62 (March 4-18, 1994).  

Sam Gemar (NASA)

Colonel Gemar opened his remarks by asking the classic question - Why do we explore?  He suggested the common responses - understanding our environment and discovering human destiny.  Both are valid answers to the equation.  He also mentioned that one of the questions asked of him most often is, "What is the most difficult part of going into space?"  He posited that one answer could be the 22 or more years of education and training obtained prior to even touching a spacecraft.  Another answer may be the rigors of space flight - the acceleration forces of takeoff in a multi-million pound machine and then weightless environment of space.  For Colonel Gemar, the answer was, "The night before!"  The 8-12 hours before a flight is a period of time of waiting for the chance to launch, not knowing the outcome of the flight.  The excellent NASA training had prepared him well for the mission, so once the time came for launch, he had total confidence in the crew's ability to fulfill the mission.  But thoughts of what would happen to those left behind if he and the crew were lost were top of mind.  Astronauts have a unique position in that the legacy they leave is both professional and personal.  "Few legacies are made at work (as with astronauts).  Legacies are made with family and friends."

Colonel Gemar introduced "Interstellar" by asking a rhetorical question - Is space exploration a flight of fancy or human destiny?  Some day the earth will cease to exist following the self-destruction of our own sun - it may take eons but it will happen.  What will the human race do to survive, and what level of technology will it have developed by then? 

"Interstellar" portrays the earth in a precarious state of self-destruction, with drought and dust storms causing crop failures and wide-spread starvation (at least in the U.S. where the story takes place).  The implicit environmental message is one of planetary dustbowl blight rather than global warming, and the script was carefully written to avoid making that the main theme of the movie.  Without giving away too much of the plot, the main character, a former astronaut is recruited/compelled to rejoin the underground NASA to spearhead a mission to rescue other astronauts sent on missions to find other habitable worlds beyond Saturn, through a black hole, and beyond. Throughout the adventures of the trip through time and space, just enough basic physics and recognizable space hardware are used to make the science fiction seem more believable.

It is also fairly obvious that beyond the general theme of human survival, there is another  pervasive and universal human emotion feeding the drive of the astronauts: Love.  Love of a father for his daughter, one astronaut for another, and from one generation of humanity to the next.  This message alone, regardless of the mechanisms used to form the plot, has been used in literature and movies throughout recorded history.  "Interstellar" takes the human need to leave a legacy to one's family and friends and even the rest of humanity to new heights.  The spectacular IMAX special effects seemingly put the audience in the spacecraft throughout the physical and emotional journey with the crew members as they use every ounce of their human strengths to reconcile their humanity with the forces of the universe.  The twist of the final scene puts the struggle into perspective, and gives some assurance of the survival of the species as long as it continues to be "human."

Special thanks to Challenger Learning Center St. Louis for providing the opportunity to attend the screening event.  

Partnership Announcement: The Aero Experience Joins With Aviation News Journal to Promote Community Engagement Activities

By Carmelo Turdo

The Aero Experience announces a new partnership with the publisher of Aviation News Journal to encourage the promotion of aviation through community engagement activities in cities and towns across the continent.  The partnership will join our like-minded media organizations in the celebration of aviation from the Midwest to the Pacific Northwest and Canada.  Both media organizations are compatible in our outlook toward  sharing the value of aviation through participation in community engagement activities.  The current issue of Aviation News Journal, entitled "Ignite Your Dreams," contains a full-length article from The Aero Experience addressing the basics of community aviation activity planning.  The issue is also full of practical aviation skill-building features, with excellent graphic illustrations to make each point clear and memorable.  We encourage our audience to pick up the November/December issue of Aviation News Journal, and become a regular subscriber to this excellent publication.   

An excerpt from the article in the current issue of Aviation News Journal, written by Carmelo Turdo, Founder of The Aero Experience, is kindly provided by permission from the publisher:

Aviation News Journal; photo by Stuart Sanders

The principles of general event planning should be applied to community aviation events as well, with the specific needs of the industry applied.  In order to define and measure “success,” the answers to the What, Why, Where, Who, When, and How should be self-evident before even the draft of an event plan can be taken seriously.  Time lines for obtaining financial and logistical support are essential, and commitments from participants and support staff are needed early in the planning process.  

Aviation News Journal has been published since 1991 in Vancouver, British Columbia.  The current Producer/Publisher/President, Elke Robinson, an active pilot herself, took over the business in 2011.  "We focus mainly in getting AVIATION to everyone - young and old - and believe Aviation is a skill to be learned by anyone," she told The Aero Experience.  She also stressed that Aviation News Journal features communities, human interest stories, flying schools and clubs, air shows and events, and the various categories of available aircraft.  You can keep up with her adventures by checking the Pacific Pilot.   

The Aero Experience looks forward to continued partnership with Aviation News Journal, and we encourage our audience to become subscribers to this issue or for the annual subscription of Aviation News Journal. 

We also encourage businesses who wish to reach audiences in the Midwest and Pacific Northwest and Canada to advertise with The Aero Experience and Aviation News Journal.  Advertising in our publications keeps your business in front of customers across North America, and will help us promote aviation to an ever growing audience.

 

 

St. Louis Metro East Airport/Shafer Field Offers Serene Setting, Affordable Services to Local Aviation Community

(Google Maps)

By Carmelo Turdo

St. Louis Metro East Airport/Shafer Field (3K6) is one of those airfields that brings back the charm of flying and the sense of a real community that was once the hallmark of general aviation.  The grounds have a park-like atmosphere, with rows of hangars to one side and an airpark housing development on the other.  Located about twenty miles east of the Mississippi River in the St. Jacob/Troy, IL area, the privately owned airport is open to the public.  Services offered include 24-hour 100LL self-service fuel, ramp tie-down, pilot services, meeting room and computer testing facility.  There is a staffed maintenance hangar off the ramp and a Piper Tomahawk available for rent or pilot training.  There is some available hangar space for new tenants at very reasonable rates.

The Aero Experience spent Saturday at the airport, taking a tour of the facility and visiting with owner/operator Mr. Edward Shafer, the maintenance staff and several local pilots taking advantage of the beautiful fall flying weather.  Runway 13/31 stretches 2662 feet of asphalt.  There is great potential for future growth for additional hangars and ramp space.  Shafer Field would also be a great location for a community fly-in and a meeting place for local community groups.  Make sure it is a destination on your great places to fly itinerary!

The Aero Experience sincerely thanks Mr. Shafer and all those we met at the airport for their hospitality, and we look forward to future visits in the coming months into the new year and beyond.  Here are some views of the airport from our visit Saturday.