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Newsletter Aero Club NewsJuly 2003 President's ReportImagine you are flying from one coast of the U.S. to the other. You look out at a partly cloudy sky that promises a good day for an airplane ride. This is the view of the future seen by Aero Club guest speaker Phil Boyer, president of the Aircraft Owners & Pilots Association, at our May 27 luncheon, as he outlined the growing strength of the general aviation industry. Boyer listed key indicators of the GA industry that demonstrate increased vigor, even though he acknowledged issues that pose serious chal-lenges to the GA community, including the continued closure of GA airports, the potential for locally imposed access restrictions and the possibility of user fees on GA aircraft. Now, imagine that you turn to look out the other side of the aircraft. On this side of the plane, storm clouds threaten to turn the nearly perfect ride into a bumpy few hours. This is the view of the aviation industry described by our well-known April 22 guest speaker, aviation consultant Dr. Julius Maldutis, who pointed to economic factors that threaten the long-term health of the major airlines. Although some analysts report signs that a modest economic recovery may be underway, Maldutis painted a broader picture of an industry in distress. And now, imagine you’re in the cockpit, trying to navigate through the challenging airline crises that are unparalleled in our industry’s history. At the June 19, 2003 luncheon, Leo Mullin, Chairman and CEO of Delta Airlines, highlighted how these crises are forcing fundamental changes in every aspect of the airline business. The economic prognosis for the airlines and the impact of the restructuring and repositioning decisions that carrier CEOs will make over the coming months will continue to be a subject of discussion at the Aero Club this year. Upcoming luncheon speakers, including United’s Glenn Tilton (July 24) and US Airways’ David Siegel (October 28), will track the progress of the air carriers as they strive to restructure their business plans and operations to meet today’s stormy economic climate. Even as the aviation industry worldwide adjusts to new economic conditions, we recog-nize and celebrate the year 2003 as the centennial of the Wright brothers’ historic flight. The Aero Club will honor that 100-year anniversary on December 12 at the Wright Memorial Dinner. We are fortunate to have Cassandra Bosco and Susan Sheets serving as co-chairs for this important event, and Jim Bennett chairing the sponsorship committee for the dinner. Their planning efforts are well underway. The dinner will prove to be a fitting culmination to a year filled with events celebrating the ingenuity and creative genius of Orville and Wilbur Wright. Plan to be there to celebrate this historic occasion with us. As always, e-mail me at sdickerson@airport-net. org with ideas or suggestions for club events. I look forward to hearing from you. Sincerely, JSD Foundation Provides Another Opportunity for Continuing EducationThrough the support of the Aero Club Foundation of Washington, over sixty students from the University of the District of Columbia and Frederick (Maryland) Community College were given the opportunity to participate in a course that dealt with aviation maintenance and human performance. Instructors for Northwest Aviation Training, an organization based in Seattle, Washington, The object of the Human Performance in Aviation Maintenance Course is to examine the human role in the chain of events that cause an aviation occurrence. The two-day course was designed by maintenance personnel, for maintenance personnel and is highly interactive. It helps to answer why and how a conscientious person can end up causing an accident due to a maintenance error. The course covered the “Dirty Dozen” causes of maintenance errors and provided the safety nets to avoid them. It is efforts such as this that continue the Foundation’s mission to advance aviation education and to encourage interest and opportunities in aviation careers. Tribute to L. Welch PogueBy E. Tazewell Ellett, Aero Club of Washington Board of Governors Member The Aero Club lost its oldest and one of its most loyal and distinguished members on May 10, 2003 with the death of our beloved L. Welch Pogue at the age of 103. During its 95-year existence, the Aero Club has been honored to have among its members many giants of aviation history. Welch was one of those giants. Among his many contributions to aviation, he served as General Counsel, Member, and Chair of the Civil Aeronautic Board; U.S. delegate to the 1944 Chicago Conference and Chairman of the Chicago Conference subcommittee which drafted the Convention on International Civil Aviation (the “Chicago Convention”); and private sector legal adviser to several leading airlines. No other person had more influence on the shaping of U.S. commercial aviation policy during and after World War II, and on the development of the legal framework for the conduct of international civil aviation as it exists today. Welch received the Donald D. Engen Aero Club Trophy for Aviation Excellence in 2001, the Elder Statesman of Aviation Award in 1993, the McGraw-Hill Aviation Division L. Welch Pogue Award (named for him) in 1994, and the Society of Senior Aerospace Executives’ Golden Eagle Award in 1988. Welch has been a member of the Aero Club since at least 1968 (our membership records don’t go back further), and he regularly attended Club luncheons and other events until his death. He sincerely appreciated the important aviation policy, education, and historical missions of the Club, and supported them at every opportunity. Farewell Welch; we will miss you, but will never forget you! Did You KnowOn May 15, 1958, the Aero Club of Washington unveiled and dedicated a monument in Potomac Park, commemorating the 40th anniversary of the first scheduled air mail flight. On hand were the pioneer air mail pilots who flew in 1918, representatives from the Air Transportation Branch, Post Office Department and Mrs. Woodrow Wilson, who recalled the original first flight, while she was America’s First Lady. The text on the marker reads as follows: Air Mail The world’s first airplane mail to be operated as a continuously scheduled public service started from this field on May 18, 1918. The route connected Washington, Philadelphia and New York. Curtiss JN 4-H airplanes with a capacity of 150 pounds of mail flew the 230 miles in about 3 hours. The service was inaugurated by the post office department in cooperation with the aviation section of the signal corps of the U.S. Army on August 12, 1918. The service was taken over in its entirety by the Post Office Department. This marker was erected by the Aero Club of Washington on the 40th anniversary, May 15, 1958. For those interested in visiting the Aero Club monument, it is located on Ohio Drive, west of the inlet bridge and across from the backstop of baseball field #3. It is a marble boulder with a bronze plaque, on the riverside next to the bike path. Enjoy your walk! Upcoming LuncheonsThe Aero Club of Washington is pleased to have the following individuals scheduled to speak at our upcoming luncheons: July 24, 2003 Glenn F. Tilton is Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of UAL Corporation and United Airlines. He is based at the company’s worldwide headquarters in suburban Chicago. Prior to joining United in September 2002, he was Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors of ChevronTexaco, as well as Interim Chairman of Dynegy Inc. Previously, he served as Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer of Texaco Inc., a position he assumed in February 2001. Tilton, 54, joined Texaco Inc. in 1970 and served in various marketing, corporate planning and European downstream assignments of increasing responsibility. In 1989, while serving as President of U.S. refining and marketing, he was appointed Vice President of Texaco Inc. He became Chairman of Texaco Ltd. in 1991 and President of Texaco Europe in 1992. In January 1995, he was appointed President of Texaco USA and, later that year, a Senior Vice President of Texaco Inc. In January 1997, he became President of Texaco’s Global Business Unit. Tilton currently serves on the Board of Directors of the American Petroleum Institute and Lincoln National Corp., and on the Board and the Executive Committee of the British American Chamber of Commerce. September 18, 2003 John Hayhurst is President of Boeing Air Traffic Management and a member of the Boeing Executive Council. The organization was established under Hayhurst’s leadership to provide an integrated solution for a new traffic management system. He was appointed to this position in November 2000 and was also named Senior Vice President. Previously, Hayhurst was Vice President of Business Development for the Commercial Aviation Services business unit of Boeing Commercial Airplanes Group (BCAG). He was Prior to this assignment, Hayhurst served as Vice President and General Manager of 737 programs, with responsibility for the design and production of the Boeing 737 family of airplanes. Before that, he served as Vice-President—The Americas, and was responsible for the Boeing business relationships with airline customers in North America and Latin America and for the sale of Boeing commercial airplanes to cus-tomers Hayhurst joined Boeing in 1969 as a customer support engineer. He held positions of increasing responsibility related to commercial airplanes, and in 1987 was promoted to Vice President of Marketing. In this position, he played a significant role in the launch of the Boeing 777. Subsequently, he was responsible for leading the teams that were planning the design, development and manufacture of aircraft larger than the Boeing 747. Then he served as Vice President—General Manager of the Boeing 747-500X/600X Program. Hayhurst is a Fellow of the Royal Aeronautical Society. He serves as a member of the Board of Trustees of the Puget Sound Blood Center and of the Board of Directors of the Wolf Trap Foundation for the Performing Arts. A native of West Virginia, Hayhurst holds a bachelor’s degree in aeronautical engineering from Purdue University. He received a master’s degree in business administration from the University of Washington in 1971. In 1998, Hayhurst was awarded an honorary doctorate in engineering by Purdue University. October 28, 2003 David N. Siegel was named President and Chief Executive Officer and Board member of US Airways Group, Inc., and US Airways, Inc., the airline-operating unit, in March 2002. Prior to joining US Airways, Siegel was Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Avis Rent-A-Car System, Inc., a subsidiary of Cendant Corp. He has extensive experience in the airline industry, having spent seven years at Continental Airlines in various senior management roles, including President of its Continental Express subsidiary. At Continental Airlines, he also served as Senior Vice President of planning and scheduling, where he played an instrumental role in Continental's financial and operational turnaround, and as Vice President of Corporate Development. Prior to joining Continental, Siegel served as Director of Corporate Planning at Northwest Airlines. Before joining Avis, he held executive positions at Budget Group and eVolution Global Partners, a corporate venture capital firm. He began his career as a consultant at Bain & Co. Siegel earned a master’s degree in business administration from Harvard Business School and a bachelor of science degree, magna cum laude, in applied mathematics-economics from Brown University. Call For NominationsThe Aero Club Board of Governors solicits your nominations for the Club’s own DONALD D. ENGEN TROPHY FOR AVIATION EXCELLENCE, to be presented this fall. Nominees can be individuals or groups, and their contributions to the aviation industry can be a lifetime of achievement, personal heroism, technological or governmental innovation or any act or series of events which truly embody the Wright Brothers' excellence in innovation, tenacity, insight, creativity and an essential fascination with flight. For further description and a list of the past recipients of this Trophy, please go to our web site — www.aeroclub.org. Wright Memorial Dinner 2003This year’s dinner will be a celebration of the 100th anniversary of the Wright Brothers’ first flight on December 17, 1903. The 2003 Wright Memorial Dinner will be a very special evening as the Signature Flight Support’s hangar at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport is transformed into a Tribute to 100 years of Flight. Tables of 10 seats will be available and sponsorship opportunities range from Bronze Sponsorship at $1,000 to the Platinum Sponsors at $7,500, which will include a well-placed table of 10. For sponsorship information, please contact Nancy Hackett at (703) 327-7082 or Jim Bennett, Sponsorship Chair at (703) 417-8610. We look forward to seeing you on December 12 for this spectacular evening! Aero Club of Washington Welcomes New Members!April 2003
May 2003
June 2003
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