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What started out as a birthday present has turned into another incredible aviation opportunity for me. Originally inquiring about flights, on the D-Day Doll, my mom was invited to bring me to the local CAF hangar for a guided tour of the wing’s aircraft. After an incredible two hour tour, of the CAF hangar, we left with cadet membership forms and waivers in hand. One month later I was signed up and have been an active cadet, of the Commemorative Air Force - Inland Empire Wing, ever since. |
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My Beginning with the CAF-IEW
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I became a member of the Commemorative Air Force - Inland Empire Wing (CAF-IEW) in late 2008 after being inspired by a tour, of the wing's hangar, that my parents had set up for my birthday. The wing’s Information Officer, Bud “LOUD PIPES” Ukes, offered to give me the grand tour of the hangar and aircraft, after my mom had contacted the wing in regards to setting up a flight on the D-Day Doll, one of the wing's aircraft that they solicit paid rides on. It was an incredible two hours of information and history, not only of the aircraft of the CAF-IEW, but of the CAF and the wing itself. |
While taking the tour, several of the wing’s members happened through the hangar and it was obvious to me that these guys loved being a part of the IEW. I left the hangar that day, knowing that I wanted to become a member of the IEW and be a part of the history they worked so hard to preserve.
A couple of months passed and my membership application, to the CAF, sat quietly on the counter. Finally, my dad sent my membership application and cadet dues in to the CAF headquarters and the rest is history. Soon after my CAF membership was established, I became a member of the IEW and immediately got my hands dirty, helping with the duties of maintaining (cleaning) the aircraft, hangar and any other tasks assigned.
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Wing Particiaption
The IEW does not have a formal Cadet Program and, as the only regularly active cadet, I am able to get involved with pretty much every activity that the wing is involved in. There are a few activities that I can not perform, as a cadet, mostly pertaining to aircraft maintenance and safety, however the adult members (Colonels) keep me as hands on as possible, once they saw my enthusiasm and that I was not afraid to get dirty. All the Colonels of the IEW are always willing to answer any questions I might have and are eager to share their years of aviation experience and insight.
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The general meeting and dinner is held on the 2nd Wednesday of each month, which me and my parents attend. I usually get to the hangar early and help out with setting up the meeting/dinner room and doing anything else they might need me to do. The monthly meetings also include an aviation topic related guest speaker which are always interesting to listen to. Since the passing of long time and honored CAF-IEW member, Roy Test, I was given the honor of selling 50/50 tickets at the monthly meeting, a duty that Roy and his wife Irene performed for many years. |
| Every few months the IEW has a Fly Day, where we open up the hangar, pull out the planes and the Bar-B-Que and basically just have a good time. CAF members and pilots, from other wings and airports, fly in to say hello as well as friends, family guests and passers by drop in to do the same. It is also a day when the non-flying member, like myself, sometimes get a chance to take a ride in one of the aircraft. |
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The spring and summer is when the IEW gets really busy (as if the wing was not busy enough already) as it is Air Show season. The list of air shows the IEW attends is impressive, each providing a great opportunity to show off the wings three historic aircraft and raise a few dollars in the process. In addition to our aircraft, the wing has a toy hauler that has been converted to the wings mobile PX (that’s Post Exchange for you civilians) where we sell a variety of aviation and military memorabilia. The PX is a big money maker, for the wing, that helps make it possible to keep its planes in the air.
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One of most popular aircraft of the air shows we attend is the IEW’s own D-Day Doll. It’s often the largest aircraft at the show and so people are drawn to it. Once there, they discover our smaller aircraft which are also impressive to look at. Tours of the D-Day Doll are offered, where participants get to sit in one of the actual metal jump seats while getting a little history lesson of this historic plane.
I attend every air show I can and mostly help out with the PX, setting up, tearing down, answering questions and selling merchandise. Often times, at the end of an air show, there is a spare seat in one of our aircraft and I get to hop a ride back to the hangar. What a great way to end any weekend! |
Being a part of the CAF-IEW is a very rewarding
experience. The IEW is an extremely active wing, filled with dedicated members, that I feel very fortunate to be a part of. Opportunities to learn and experience aviation and some if its history are presented to me every time I walk through the hangar door and I am sure they will continue to present themselves as long as I am a member of the CAF-IEW.
From the CAF web site - The Commemorative Air Force (CAF) is an all-volunteer organization, made up of members from all walks of life. Membership is open to all men and women, age 18 or older. You need not be a veteran nor a pilot to join the CAF. Privately funded and totally self-supporting, the nonprofit, tax-exempt group is dedicated to preserving the military aviation heritage of World War II. Our motto is "Keep 'Em Flying!"
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Wings of the CAF-IEW
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The CAF-IEW is the home of three WWII vintage aircraft. All of the IEW’s aircraft are airworthy and fly on a regular basis. There are several air shows, in the Southern California area, each year and these three planes can usually be seen at most all of them. With the busy show schedule and the amount of maintenance time it takes to keep these vintage war birds safe and in the air, the staff of the IEW has very little time for rest and personal activities during air show season. The IEW closes its air show season, each year, with a flight to Midland, TX to attend the Commemorative Air Force AIRSHO.
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Ryan PT-22 Recruit
One of the most eye catching aircraft you’ll see at many Southern California air shows is the CAF-IEW’s own Ryan PT-22 Recruit. The distinctive look of the PT-22 comes from its alclad skin that is polished to a chrome like finish. But as eye catching as this shinny little two seater monoplane is, maybe more distinctive is the pucketa-pucketa-pucketa sound of its slow spinning, Kinner radial engine. A real treat for spectators is to watch the ground crew, of the PT-22, hand prop her to life, something you don’t see much these days.
Designed and produced by the Ryan Aeronautical Company the PT-22’s origin came from the Ryan ST (Sports Trainer) series of planes that were developed by Ryan as civilian training aircraft. The designation “PT” was giving to the Ryan in 1940, when the United States Army Air Corps purchased a small number of PT-16's as “Primary Trainers” which is the first of the three stages of military flight training.
The IEW’s Ryan PT-22 Recruit is the military production version of the Ryan ST-3KR of which 1,048 were built between 1941 and early 1942. The PT-22, along with the other CAF-IEW aircraft, makes the annual pilgrimage to Midland, TX for the Commemorative Air Force AirSho and in 2006 came home with the Best of Show award.
A little trivia: Ryan Airlines (the predecessor to Ryan Aeronautical Company) was the manufacturer of the Ryan NYP, more famously known as the Spirit of St. Louis.
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L-4F Grasshopper
Nicknamed the "Grasshopper", the CAF-IEW is home to an immaculately restored and airworthy L-4F. Painted to resemble the US Army Air Corps L-4 of the early 1942 era, the IEW’s L-4F can be seen, along with its counterparts, at air shows throughout Southern California and also makes the annual flight to Midland, TX to attend AirSho.
The L-4 got its start in 1941 when the US Army Air Corps selected the Piper Cub model J-3C to fill the roll of artillery spotting and front-line liaison over several other worthy candidates. A successor to the J-3 and J-4 model Pipers, the J-5 Cub Cruiser, was designated as the L-4F, by the military.
The origin of the L-4 dates back to the 1930's where the Taylor Aircraft Company (formerly Taylor Brothers Aviation Corporation) first flew its Taylor Cub in September of that year. When the Taylor Aircraft Company ran in to hard times, William T. Piper Sr., an employee of the company, acquired the manufacturing and marketing rights for the Taylor Cub. In 1937, Piper formed the Piper Aircraft Corporation and continued production of, what would then be called the J-3 Piper Cub. The Taylor Aircraft Company continued producing other aircraft and ironically lost a head to head evaluation with its former Taylor Cub during the 1941 light aircraft evaluation performed by the US Army Air Corps.
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Douglas C-53D Skytrooper
In October of 2003, the long wait was over and she landed at her new home at Riverside Airport. After months and months of hard work, the dedicated members of the CAF-IEW transformed their newly acquired Douglas DC-3 back to her original colors and configuration as a C-53D Skytrooper. Her new name “D-Day Doll” suited her well as the lineage of this historic aircraft shows her to be one of the planes that participated in the landing of 24,000 American, British, Canadian and Free French airborne troops along the Normandy coastline on Tuesday, 6 June 1944, a historic date better remembered as “D-Day".
A true Army C-53D, she rolled out of the Douglas Santa Monica plant on July 6, 1943 and was on her way overseas the following month.
She returned back to the states in July of 1945 where she was converted to a DC-3 configuration and started her new life as a commercial airliner, which lasted some 40 years.
A cousin to the cargo hauling C-47, the C-53 was configured to be a troop transport, with 28 metal troop seats running along the port and starboard bulkhead of the aircraft. Although absent from the current configuration of “The Doll”, as she is more commonly referred to by wing members, most C-53’s were equipped with a towing cleat, on the tail section, used to tow the Waco CG-4A gliders close to their destination.
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