Cali AH Convention

[gpwurzel]

Already discussed and no  I have to admit, I love flying with the guys in this squad - and have learnt so much that I now die with lots more grace than I used to........before it would just be the blazing comet, now, I die with a graceful spiral down to the deck instead.....


<S>

Wurzel

[Bino]

...
Anyone remember the 2000 Warbirds Cons? That's right - two cons at the same time. One was in Palm Springs, and one was in Washington DC. We had contests between the two cons, and it was a blast. Each had more than 100 guys attending.

You must be thinking of another year, Llama.  I was at the 2000 Con, where I met up with ten of my fellow members of Fletch's JG54 "Greenhearts".  In fact, I'm looking at the JG54 group photo right now, and according to the logo printed on it, it was in Raleigh, "Nawth Cah'lihnuh."

Also at Con 2000, among others, the late Gabby Gabreski addressed the whole group.  And I got a chance to shake hands with both Charles Brown and the late Franz Stiegler (look up the B-17 named "Ye Olde Pub" for the story), a rare treat.

[Flatbar]

Sac has a Fry's Electronics. (Although I bet San Jose has one too, or near by)
Coming from a rural area I enjoying going to those kinds of stores.
Sac would also be a lot cheaper than San Jose to stay at.

There's two in San Jose, my favorite toy store

[MajIssue]

Sacramento area is far cheaper to stay than the Bay area, and less congested.

Quick flight into Sac International or a drive from the bay.

Heck, I'd even consider playing host for that one. 

Since I live is Sacramento, I'd be SOOOO on for that.

[MajIssue]

I'd be all for Sacramento... but I don't know what if any air museums or air shows they have going on there (something AH-relatedish so we don't resort to just farting and drinking beer the whole time (not that I object to such things, but we can do that at home or anywhere... even Bakersfield)).

The California Museum of flight is at the former McClelland AFB (in the city) with some good examples of WW2 Iron. The CALFires ramp is across the street with 20 or so A-20/P-2 "fire bombers" in flying condition. Also the Reno National Air Races are a short two hour drive up the hill... a chance to see a pony REALLY run! Chuck Yeager lives in Grass Valley 45 minutes North of Sac. He is speaking at the Museum on Nov. 22 at 1PM so don't expect to see me in the MA THAT day!!

[Curlew]

Somebody mentioned that they had once done a duel convention, and east coast v west coast thing, this sound like any awesome idea.

As for waht majissue said was very correct, and maybe this could be planned near a time when the reno air races are and try and all go intogether on one of the vip boxes, would be very fun.

And flatbar, where in san jose you live, Im currently at state

[John Curnutte]

 This looks like its going to come together nicely . And get a good turn out as well . The nice thing is no matter where we go museums abound . Here near the OC we have Planes of Fame in Chino , Ca. they got lots too , but central or Northern would also be good , I'm easy as to locals. And besides I'd like to see Wurzel again he's a good guy and I enjoyed meeting him in Vegas last spring .
                                                   Nutte

[gpwurzel]

Enjoyed meeting you too John, that was a nice day!.

Brooke, thanks for the welcome fella, but I'm not there until Jan09 at the earliest 

Gotta love this place, for all the fighting, whining etc etc going on, this is one big family!!

Wurzel

[68Wooley]

Are you gonna get kicked out of  "The Few" for living in the USA?   

That's the least of his worries. More importantly, where will he be able to buy decent tea bags and milk-chocolate hobnobs? Will there be any decent curry houses to finish off a Friday night p**s-up? And how much will having his teeth brought up to Cali standards cost. 

[brad13]

Hey if you guys want to get together in Oregon we have the Evergreen Aviation Museum in McMinville Oregon which has the Spruce Goos and many other historic aircraft. Probably wont go over well but Its just a thought!   <S>   

[gpwurzel]

Lol Wooley, bringing a truck load of tea bags with me, dont eat chocolate hobknobs (so no worries there) and my teeth are perfect (got em in a jar near the bed  )...........tho they dont shine in the sunlight like a lot of the peoples in 29 palms.........


Wherever you end up having the con, lemme know, and I'll try and attend (wife will probably start giggling at the thought of all those grown men meeting up to talk about plastic planes (which is what she calls Aces High lol).


<S>

Wurzel

[Urthona]

I'm definately up for a California Con.  I grew up in Sacramento and live in San Jose.  San Jose is very expensive -- Sacramento would probably be a better choice.  It is HOT in the Summer (but it's a dry heat).  Plus, it would give me an excuse to take the kids to visit their grandparents.

[tommygun]

Count me in for Southern California!

[MajIssue]

It sounds like most respondants could get to a Sacramento West Coast Convention.

Lets take it to the next level and start making plans.  If we want to hold it in conjunction with the Reno Nationals it will have to be  9/16-20/2009. the link is below:

http://www.airrace.org/indexJS.php

The California Capitol Air Show is usually in March, and has been headlined by the Blue Angels and featured a large static display of Military aircraft and warbird flybys the last two years. The link to last years show is below:

http://www.californiacapitalairshow.com/

The Aerospace Museum of California is located at the former McClelland AFB, in Sacramento. The link is below:

http://www.aerospacemuseumofcalifornia.org/

Lining up guest speakers should be close to the top of the list. I have some ideas involving WW2 aces that live in the area, but we need to decide on a date before we do anything else. We should ensure that we set the date far enough in advance to ensure that we get a good turn out. Also what kind of support can we get from HTC? Speakers, events, equipment, subsidies? We also need to promote the event with local/regional media outlets. Maybe we can get a little publicity for Aces  High and drive a few more subscribers to the waiting arms of HTC.

Logistics? We need a venue like the conference room at a hotel that has internet access available. We also need to make deals for food and lodging locally, well in advance. The current economic climate makes this a buyers market for the goods and services we will need so making arrangements well in advance of the event will net us the best pricing.

I welcome any and all discussion/comments that will lead us toward making this happen!

[llama]

You know, it has already been announced that there will be a "main convention" in Dallas next year in the third weekend of october.

Why not plan a west-coast con for the same weekend, and then maybe plan on some Con-on-Con action, so to speak? I mean if you have the west coast con even remotely close to the same time as the main con, people are going to not go to one in order to go to the other, so why not make it a big weekend for everyone?

-Llama