Volume 12, No. 47 December 2007CAF Swiss Wing Newsletter

COMMEMORATIVE AIR FORCE / Swiss Wing

Aus dem VorstandForte MondasciaBarbecue ReichenbachConvoi to RememberDittingen 2007Biel FLY-INIm VisierStinsyNews / Veranstaltungen

Table of ContensPage 3Page 4Page 5Page 6Page 6Page 7

Page 8Page 11Page 12

CAF Swiss Wing in Midland, Texas

The B-29 FiFi still waiting for an engine

Special Edition

Know to use this English version

1st: Go to the German part of the homepage and print out the Ger-man Version of the Contact

2nd: Follow the pages and read the German/English title

3rd: Not all Pictures legends and articles are translated in full length

4th: Have fun and enjoy the Con-tact

Col Werner MeierCol Jost Schneeberger

Know to use thisEnglish version

1st: Go to the German part of thehomepage and print out the Ger-man Version of the Contact

2nd: Follow the pages and read theGerman/English title

3rd: Not all Pictures legends andarticles are translated in full length

4th: Have fun and enjoy the Con-tact

Col Werner MeierCol Jost Schneeberger

Thursday evening, September 27 the CAF Swiss Wing group visiting the Airsho 2007 was assembled at the Hampton Inn in Midland. The members arrived from all directions: from Zuerich, from California, from Florida and New York. Only Henry Saladin was missing, he had to cancel at short notice.

First of all a good Texas steak dinner was enjoyed by all after the rather bland food with frozen white wine and chunks of ice in the beer cans ser-ved by Amercan Airline. The Hamp-ton Inn conveniently located at the N-250 ring road away from the noisy rail road was appreciated by all. Seve-ral restaurants, and a supermarket are in walking distance.

Friday morning our bus showed up (for Swiss standards huge and under cooled) and we were on our way. A fi rst glimpse from the highway sho-wed a rather empty tarmac as many

aircraft had not yet arrived. Our fi rst stop was the gift shop, the main han-gar and the museum. For some of our group it was the fi rst time at Midland. Our reporter Roger got himself orga-nized with a fl ight for air to air pho-tography and I looked for an oppor-tunity to fl y in a war bird. In the main hangar under the wing of FiFi I met David Anderson of the Highland La-kes Squadron and booked some «stick time» in the SNJ-4 Texan for the next morning.

Friday was a «Special Show for Special People». A great many handicapped people had been invited to spend the day at the CAF home base. The effort of the many volunteers and helpers was overwhelming and made a gre-at impression on all of us. It gave the under privileged a great day while the pilots had an opportunity to practice for the real show.

CAF Swiss Wing December 2007 Page 2

«Special Show for Special People»

The Pearl Harbor re-enactment

Peter Winkler and Thomas Lutz

B-25 fl ight lining up ...

The Saturday and Sunday shows were pretty much the same and commen-ting on each would take us too far. The mornings were fi lled with ceremonies, practice fl ights, pax fl ights with war birds and commentaries.

At 1200 hours the national anthem and F-16 fl y past would then open the show. The most impressing was the re-enactment of Tora-Tora the Extra 300L aerobatic demo and of course the rescue of a downed airman in Vi-etnam style.

Details of the airshow program see on the German version of the Contact.

For our CAF Swiss team it was again a great experience to visit Midland and to witness the tremendous support and voluntary effort by so many to keep alive the remembrance of those who sacrifi ced so much for freedom and to preserve the aircraft they fl ew.

Col Jost Schneeberger

CAF Swiss Wing December 2007 Page 3

Aus dem Vorstand

Liebe Mitglieder

Angetan von den Filmen über die Bomberlandungen in Dübendorf gegen Ende des Krieges und der dra-matischen Rettungsaktion für die auf dem Gauli-Gletscher verunfallte DC-3 unmittelbar nach dem Krieg, hat uns George Lodge anlässlich sei-nes diesjährigen Besuches an unsere GV eingeladen, doch ein CAF Swiss Wing Diorama für Midland zu bau-en. Darzustellen wäre ein WW II-Feldfl ugplatz und integriert werden sollte ein Bildschirm, um Filme wie die genannten abrufen zu können. Zeithorizont: September 2007.

Also haben wir mal kurz leer ge-schluckt, mal grob gehirnt und dann das ganze Vorhaben an Henry Saladin als Projektleiter übergeben. In kürzester Zeit stand ein Grob-konzept und war die Frage der Auf-führungsrechte der Filme im positi-ven Sinne geklärt. Walter Lack und Ernst Girsberger konnten somit bald einmal mit dem Bau des Unterstan-des des Feldfl ugplatzes beginnen. Da die gewünschten Me-109 im richtigen Massstab nicht verfügbar waren, hat Walter gleich eine Klein-serie hinreissend schöner Modelle im Massstab 1:100 gefertigt.

Da die Vitrine nicht im Museum in Midland, sondern im erst im Januar fertigen neuen CAF-Center aufzustellen sein wird, bleibt uns nun doch noch etwas Zeit für den Feinschliff.

Euch allen wünsche ich schöne Festtage und alles Gute, Gesundheit und Zufriedenheit im kommenden Jahr.

Euer PräsiThomas Lutz

Finally all present at the VIP tent

Fire wall with active help by Anna RegulaAnna Regula with Swiss FlagBombers ready for launch...F-18 burning the runway...?

CAF Swiss Wing December 2007 Page 4

report

FORTE MONDASCIA

della linea di difesa LONA BIASCA. 2° RADUNO INTERNAZIONALE GRUPPI STORICI 2007.

The defence line LONA BIASCA, second international meeting of his-

torical groups 2007.

On Saturday September 1st 2007 at 1100 hours twenty two participants met at the Biasca station. We were expected by Manuela and Christian Gloor who escorted us to the fortress Mondascia. In a large tent we were wel-comed by Andrea Fenni and Osvaldo Grossi who briefed us on the history of this fortress which has been turned into a military museum.

Not many people realize that after the end of the cold war about 13’000 mili-tary defence installations were declared surplus. Until the nineties only Vallor-be and Reuenthal were opened to the public. The fortress Mondascia is one of the objects which was listed for sale,

dismantling or conservation as a museum.

Why a fortress at Mondascia

one may ask?

The valley of the Ticino could ea-sily be defended in the thirties of the last cen-tury. However the passes of San Jorio and Mon-te Ceneri were potential inva-sion routes and the Magadino plain was considered a potential landing area for paratroopers which in those days had gained in im-portance.

The LONA fortress was the answer to this threat. It established a barrier and a base from which to counter attack a possible advance of the enemy beyond Bellinzona. A river crossing always pre-sents a problem and in addition a line of inverted «V» shaped concrete blocks were strung across the narrowest part of the valley near Lodrino and Osogna intended to stop or at least slow down armoured troops. This area would then come under intense crossfi re from some 23 bunkers.

After this interesting briefi ng we ente-red the narrow subterranean network of the bunker. The average temperatu-re remains a steady 20°C with a hu-midity of 50%. The complete arsenal which was present in 1945 at the end of WWII was left in place. It consists of 45 machine guns, two 24 mm tank guns, six anti tank canons of 4.7 cm and four of 7.5 cm which covered the defence line with its barricades, obst-ructions, nets and barbed wire. The command post, the crew quarters, the wash rooms and galleys are still in per-

fect condition. The weapons displayed represent collections from earlier wars until the very latest equipment. In this area pictures were not allowed. After this visit of the installation we were of-fered an excellent meal in the military barracks.

On this second international meeting of historical groups several foreign guests were invited. Among others: The «Normandie 44» re-enactors in English and German uniforms, the re-enactors of the «American Civil War» and of the «Napoleonic Wars». Quite a number of military vehicles were also on display. The organizers had expected more participants, however the inclement weather in the North may have kept others at home. For the CAF Swiss Wing participants it was a day well spent and an opportunity for some to stay on for the weekend.

Col Herbert Schilling

Andrea Fenni briefi ng the visitors...

More pictures on page 8

CAF Swiss Wing December 2007 Page 5

report

CAF-Barbecue Reichenbach

René Stalder welcomes the party

Our Stinson L-5 «N121MC»

Swiss Jet Scale Team showing off

The traditional Reichenbach Barbeque took place for the seventh time on July 22nd. 2007. After an early morning down pour the sky cleared somewhat for a safe landing of our Stinsy piloted by Col Werni Meier. Unfortunately the AC-4 usually present at this fl y-in remained in its hangar awaiting a new connecting rod. Our Stinson was the only war bird present and offered fl ights in the region of lake Thun.

In between the Swiss Jet Scale Team presented their new models. They had just won the silver medal at the world championship in Ireland. Evi and Edgar Bruhin showed off their models in sensational evolutions. Beat Gohl and a friend demonstrated a formation fl ight with their Jet models resembling the F-5 Tiger and smoking like real jets!

As usual it was a pleasant day with good food, good fellowship and seve-ral aviation highlights. Let’s hope the attendance next year will better.

Col Fredi Lienhard

CAF Swiss Wing December 2007 Page 6

CONVOY to REMEMBER

(wMe) Over 500 old timer vehicles, 1’500 members and some 20’000 spectators gathered to witness the «4. Convoy to Remember» from August 10 to 12, 2007 at Birmens-dorf in Aargau.

One of the many attractions was the dropping of Paratroo-pers in the original outfi ts of the Normandie invasion force. Our Stinson fl own by Col Werner Meier demonstrated the manoeuvrability of the L-5 on the advance recce fl ight. Also present at the occasion were vehicles from the US-Willys Jeep to the famous Soviet T-55 tank.

Paratroopers in action , Stinson shows its maneuverability and Tank and crew spotted

Dittingen 2007

(wMe) The traditional Dittingen Fly-In on August 25/26 drew a record crowd due to the fi ne weather. Soon the tickets were sold out and bread became short. However the organization soon had everything under control.

The Dittingen airfi eld dates back to 1933. At that time the glider club of Zwin-gen operated from a small strip on a hill between Zwingen and Brislach. The construction of a high tension line along this strip however made further use impossible. A new location on a fi eld above the village was considered a suitable alternative but the project was not welcome by all. The vote in the community was won by a narrow margin: 24 No versus 25 YES. The airfi eld was inaugurated in1957.

CAF Swiss Wing December 2007 Page 7

Three Generations of Airplane...

STINSY AM BIELER «FLY-IN»

On August 18, 2007 I had the pleasure to present our Stinson in Biel. As Passenger I had Wilfred Hirt president of the Aeroclub Seeland on board. We took of from Birrfeld and on a northerly route enjoyed the morning calm over the Jura mountains. Patches of fog still lay in the valleys in colourful contrast to the green pastures. Real Pilots fl y Tail-Draggers and at Biel where many tail draggers are at home a clean three-point landing is a must.

The Seeland Club which is owner of the airfi eld operates two Piper Archers, one Turbo-Arrow and two Tecnam VLA (Very Light Aircraft) powered by 100hp Rotax engines. Hangar space is preferably available for old timers. Two L-4s, a Casa Bücker a Smaragd and a Stearman are based here.

Quite a number of old-timers and Ecolights were already assembled at Biel and several demo fl ights were scheduled. The scale models put on a good show, the Swiss-Boogie offered tandem Jumps and several passengers took rides in our Stinson. As quite a number of fl ying events took place over the week end several larger aircraft passed overhead. A Ju-52 circled twice.

CAF Swiss Wing December 2007 Page 8

On our return fl ight east we followed the meandering Aare river which would take us past the atomic power plant as landmark and soon we touched down again at Birrfeld.

Col Jost Schneeberger

Forte Mondascia / more pictures

CAF Swiss Wing Dezember 2007 Seite 9

Erlebnisreisen für Fliegerei-begeisterte

Für Kenner von Spezialisten mit Herzblut zusammen-

gestellt!

Acapa Geschäftsstelle Seedorf:Cosmos ToursPostfach 88 / 3267 SeedorfTel. 032 392 75 80 / Fax 032 392 75 81E-Mail: info@cosmos-tours.ch www.cosmos-tours.ch

I M V I S I E R

report

Anybody who has ever been invol-ved in target practice understands the problems of aiming at a moving object. It is a complex subject but nevertheless we shall try to present some aspects of target acquisition.

Let us begin with the bow and arrow, one of the oldest weapons which may have been in use since 30’000 years bc. No gun sights existed in those days: human instinct and practice had to do. It was based on a unconscious co-ordination of eye and hand. The eye sees and the brain steers the arm and hand into the right position.

In our daily life there are numerous ac-tivities which follow this pattern. Poin-ting a fi nger at an object, hitting a nail

with a hammer or slamming a tennis ball in a serve. The mastering of this ability requires frequent and repetitive training. This unconscious aiming and shooting has adequately served man-kind for until recent times. Think of galloping Samurais with bow and ar-row or Indians hunting buffaloes.

With the advent of arms with greater range the need for a sighting device be-came apparent. With a notch and fore-sight affi xed to the weapon to provide a sighting line from the eye over these two points to the target permitted the gunner to keep the target centered. The ballistic trajectory of the projectile and the line of sight of course must cross at the target. To achieve this it is necessa-ry to understand the ballistic property and to know the distance. The latter can be estimated or determined from a map and of course very accurately by laser technology.

However if the target is moving it will become considerably more diffi cult to score. (In our Contact issue No. 39, 41 and 42 we covered the target ac-quisition of anti aircraft guns) If the weapon itself is also in motion the task becomes even more diffi cult. Wat-ching movies of naval battles in the two world wars it is surprising that so many hits were scored with ships un-derway in stormy seas.

The arming of aircraft began during the fi rst world war. It started with revolvers and rifl es but soon fi xed machine guns were installed longitu-

dinally or movable if a gunner was car-ried. Special aiming sights were deve-loped as estimating the position of the moving target when the own aircraft was moving as well became almost im-possible. One attempt was the tubular sight with magnifi er but this did not really satisfy the problem with fast mo-ving targets.

A signifi cant improvement was the REVI or «Refl ex-Visier» The cross-hair sight is projected on to a semi-transparent mirror thru which the target acquisition becomes easier with the much wider optical fi eld available. Around the cross-hair lines of the sight a circle is projected which corresponds to 10 meters at a distance of 100 me-ters. An aircraft with a span of 10 meters fi tting inside this circle would therefore be at a range of 100 meters.

Samurai Archer

CAF Swiss Wing December 2007 Page 10

C-35 with sighting tube

In the German air gunnery training getting the enemy inside this sight was considered a hit.

In the next issue of contact we shall elaborate on the distance measuring properties of the REVI.

Col Werner Meier

Distance 100 meters

The sea battle by Goya

CAF Swiss Wing December 2007 Page 11

GONE WEST

It is with great sadness that we report the untimely passing away of our dear friend and member.

Hans Georg Schmid

took off on 23 June 2007 with his Express 2000ER on a record fl ight to Wisconsin (USA). He intended to cover the 8’000 kilometer fl ight non-stop in memory of the fi rst non-stop transatlantic fl ight by Charles A. Lindbergh in 1927.

At 11.24 hours fate took its course. Hans Georg would not be able to live his dream. We shall miss Hans Georg Schmid, a passionate aviator and a good friend.

The CAF Board.

Hello Cols and Friends

MISSING MAN FORMATION und eine Lady als missing man. Eine seltsame und traurige Geschichte. Aber alles mal schön der Reihe nach.

Im Mai 2006 erzählte ich Euch von meinen verzweifelt verbissenen Bemühungen, auch äusserlich mit meinen neuen Nachbarn rund um mein Birrfelder Condo mithalten zu können. Dieses blutjunge Teeny von gegenüber nagte damals arg an meinem Selbstbe-wusstsein. Diese Miss «Express 2000 ER mit ihrem Sugar Daddy und Mäzen, diesem

ex MD-11 Kapitän mit seinen tollkühnen Duplo-von Pol zu Pol - Flugplänen» schrieb ich damals. Nun sind sie beide nicht mehr. Und ich bin traurig. Längst hatte ich Expresslys Freund kennen und schätzen gelernt als einen stets liebens-würdigen, freundlich charmanten und überaus zielstrebigen Mann, dessen Träume wohl jedem Durchschnittsbürger das Blut in den Adern stocken liess. Sein Lebensmotto lautete bis zuletzt: LEBE DEINEN TRAUM ! Er lebte ihn mit Leib und Seele – aber er überlebte ihn nicht. Was dein Leib, dein Körper nicht zu schaffen vermochte, möge deine Seele erlan-gen, jene fernen Ziele am Ende deines grossen Traumes, das wünschen wir dir, lieber Hans Georg Schmid !

Was nähme ich doch meine alten neidvollen Wallungen beim Anblick der knackig straffen Miss Express in Kauf, wenn ich ihr bloss noch einmal von meinem Looping, meiner Hechtrolle über mehr als einem Dutzend Hundert Stahlkarossen erzählen dürfte. Hey, Express Girl! Luftaufklärung, wie in alten Zeiten sind wir gefl ogen, Col Meier und ich, Stechfl üge nach links und rechts. Rauchend überdie johlende Menge dieser Oldtimer-Military-Fans gebrettert sind wir, als läge unter uns ein blutgetränktes Schlachtfeld.

Ich weiss, du hättest einmal mehr mit den Schultern gezuckt, deine fein gezupf-ten Augenbrauen hochgezogen und milde gelächelt: Aber es war einfach köst-lich, diese Zufi koner Youngsters zu beobachten, wie sie sich mit Huronengebrüll von «geil!» über «mega!» bis hin zu «super cool» und «voll krass» über die Zeltli hermachten, die ich buchstäblich vom Himmel fallen liess. Seither schmücke ich mich mit den selben Initialen wie selbige ältere Filmdiva drüben in Sarkosys Landen: B.B.! Bonbon-Bomber.

Mein alle Jahre wiederkehrender Reichenbach-Trip hätte dir bloss ein verhalte-nes Gähnen entlockt. Dennoch: Ich war die einzige alte Dame sur place, kon-kurrenzlos. Mein geliebtes Schwesterchen, the other Miss Stinson, diejenige mit den gewagten knallig roten Bändern um die Taille war einmal mehr unpässlich. Kraft-saft-und antriebslos drückt sie in ihrem Kämmerchen die Rädchen in den Rumpf. Was nützen ihr da die aufreizenden roten Strapse, wenn sie niemand zu Gesicht bekommt ?

Last but not least, ein Flug der besonderen Art, so würdig wie traurig. «Missing Man Formation» und ich, Lady Stinson war der Missing Man. Col Werner Meier und ich fl ogen zu Ehren deines mit dir verstorbenen Erschaffers und wer hätte dies je geahnt, ich auch ein klein wenig für dich. Abseits der Formation, losgelöst, eine unschliessbare Lücke schaffend, so fl ogen wir, während unter uns unzählige Menschen um einen Mann trauerten, dessen Lebenstraum zum Alp-traum wurde. Nicht nur für ihn, sondern noch viel mehr für all die Menschen um ihn herum. Sie wollen wir genauso wenig vergessen wie Hans Georg.So zünden wir in der kommenden Weihnachtszeit ein Kerzlein mehr an, nicht wahr, liebe Freunde.

Mit vorweihnächtlichen GrüssenEure Stinsy

CAF Swiss Wing December 2007 Page 12

Veranstaltungen / Reisen

CAF Swiss Wingwww.caf-swisswing.ch

Präsident:

Editor:

Druck:

CAF Col Thomas LutzBrunnenwies 53, 8132 Egg

CAF Col Werner MeierItenhard 47, 5620 Bremgarten

«Contact» ist das Publikations-organ des Swiss Wing der CAFin Midland TX, USA

Knapp AG, 8918 Unterlunkhofen

CAF Swiss Wing - Shop

15. März Generalversammlung CAF SW 12.-13. Juli Duxford Airshow CAF SW20. Juli BBQ in Biel CAF SW21.-24. August Bodensee Airshow Flight OPS22.-23. August Oldtimer Flugtage Kestenholz Flight OPS3.-5. Oktober CAF Airshow Midland CAF SW22. November Jahresend-Anlass CAF SW

Stinsy-Wein Rotwein , Cabernet Sauvignon, California Weisswein, Chardonnay , France

Geniessen Sie diesen Stinsy-Wein an einem lauen Sommerabend und denken Sie daran: Mit jedem Schluck unterstützen sie den CAF Swiss Wing. Info über den Wein und Bestellformulare fi n-den sie auf unserer Homepage oder rufen Sie mich einfach an. Diese 0.5 Liter Flasche eignet sich auch sehr gut als Geschenk für

Flieger-Fans. Minimum-Bestellung 6 Flaschen.Werner Meier, Itenhard 47, 5620 Bremgarten

werner.meier@caf-swisswing.chViele weitere Artikel fi nden Sie auf unserer Homepage: www.caf-swisswing.ch

2008

Mitfl iegen in unserem Warbird «Stinsy»

Koordinator: Henry Saladin 044 853 0533

Piloten:Roger Burri 056 667 3843

Werner Meier 056 633 6181Jost Schneeberger 031 911 8177

Max Schönenberger 044 858 2051

Cumulus AGAviationbooks Postfach 95CH–5042 HirschthalBüro/Shop:Hügelistrasse 3 CH–5040 Schöftland Ladenöffnungszeiten:Mo bis Fr 8.00 – 12.00 / 13.15 – 17.00 UhrTelefon 062 721 35 62Fax 062 721 02 68 info@cumulus.ch

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news

Dämmerungs- und Nachtfl üge

Jeweils am Mittwoch bleibt der Flug-platz Grenchen für Nachtfl üge offen. Schon ab 16.00 Uhr beginnt die Däm-merung und der Flugplatz bleibt bis 20.00 Uhr offen. Die CAF Flight Ops nimmt diese Gelegenheit wahr, und wird an bestimmten Daten Dämme-rungs- und Nachtfl üge durchführen.

Die Mitglieder des Swiss Wing erhal-ten somit die Gelegenheit, mit unserer «Stinsy» die Gegend von Grenchen und Bern bei Nacht zu erleben. Wir können Ihnen versichern: bei Nacht sieht die Welt nochmals anders aus.

Intentionally left blank

Nutzen Sie diese Gelegenheit, geneh-migen Sie sich dieses einmalige (darf auch mehrmals sein) Erlebnis und schenken Sie sich diesen Flug. Ein ex-klusives Angebot für unsere Mitglie-der

Anmeldung bei Henry Saladin