ARIA August 2009 Newsletter

796

Special Donation Items
You have the opportunity to support the construction of the ARIA 328 Memorial in Walkersville, Maryland, and receive some very special items.

We have a very limited supply of the 1982 Ascension Island 40th Anniversary Wideawake Field stamp sets. The stamps in the set are of the Fairey Swordfish, North American B-25C Mitchell, Lockheed Hercules, and our own ARIA Aircraft 61-0330. Also, we have couple of AMtech ARIA/A-LOT model kits just waiting for your donation. http://www.ariamemorial.com/Donate/Special-Offerings/. You can view higher resolution images of the ARIA stamp at http://www.flyaria.com/ascensionisland-2.html.

The donation shopping cart has been updated to the latest release. This will require you to set up a new account when donating through the donation cart if you haven't done so within the past month.

Book on Military Boeing C-135 and Boeing 707s used by the Military
In July I was contacted by John Gourley. He is in the process of writing a book on C-135 and military 707 aircraft. John was interested in a number of images on the flyARIA.com web site to use in the book. I placed him in contact with the parties that donated the images to the web site. I want to thank the Bendix Radio Foundation, Bob Burns, and Chris Miller for permitting the use of the images in the book. Thank you for keeping the memory alive. I will keep you informed when the book becomes available.

This is an opportunity for you to keep the memory alive.

A message from John Gourley:

I am pleased to be creating for Squadron/Signal Publications a book on the C-135 series, and the military 707s. I expect the book to be around 90 pages, in color, soft cover, in landscape format. I will be striving for accuracy and in highlighting as many variants as possible to produce the best product to be read and utilized as a reference source for aviation enthusiasts and those who flew, maintained, or operated these aircraft.

I have had hundreds of my military aircraft and warship pictures published in the past, written some articles for World Air Power Journal and have written two books on warships. My first was on the TARAWA/WASP classes of Amphibious Assault Ships, my second book was on the Arleigh Burke Class Guided Missile Destroyers. This third book project has special significance for me, as this will be my first work devoted to aircraft which I have enjoyed photographing during my years in the military and as a civil service crash/rescue fire fighter.

The C-135 series played many critical roles during the Cold War up to the present time and in many test programs which I intend to document in as complete and informative a manner as possible. Any photos of aircraft flying, taxiing, being maintained, details of interior or exterior features, diagrams or accounts anyone would like to contribute would be greatly appreciated! All submitted material will be properly credited and those contributors mentioned, with their approval, in the Author's Acknowledgements section. Finally, all material will be returned with my Thanks!

John Gourley tacamo@digital.net

ARIA 60-0374 Lives Anew As Scale Model
Last month I featured a model of ARIA 60-0374 built by Keith Kossow of Metropolis, Illinois. The web site display of the pictures of his model has been very popular. I want to introduce to you a model built for Larry Lowe by his good friend Matthew Dillon http://www.flyaria.com/ariamodels-2.html. I want to thank Larry Lowe for submitting the pictures for the web site.

Over the past month the ARIA Art section of the flyARIA.com web site has grown. You can access the ARIA Art section from the main menu.

Help Identify ARIA Alumni Response
From my request last month Steve Biawitz was able to identify two people in the OMTU pictures, Billy Besecker in RF, and MC Major Stevenson. Thank you Steve.

Help Identify Alumni
I have a photograph of the 4952nd Test Squadron which I received from Toby Rufty. What is great about this photograph is that the last names of the personnel are listed but it would be nice to have first names. To view the photograph go to http://flyaria.com/4952nd.html and click on the picture to enlarge.

Video Request Response
The "ARIA the Vital Link" video that was on flyARIA.com was a very poor quality video and thanks to Larry Lowe a replacement has been secured and is now ready to be viewed on the web site at http://flyaria.com/theheritagevitallinkvideo.html. This video was produced at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base.

When I requested a replacement for "ARIA the Vital Link" I was not expecting the response I received from this request. I received six video tapes from Greg "Remo" Williams with priceless videos of ARIA and other associated videos from Patrick AFB and the 4950th Test Wing. One of the videos were of the EC-18B Conversion at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base. You can view the video at http://flyaria.com/theheritageec18bconversionvideo.html. This is one of a number of videos that were rescued by Greg from a trash bin when ARIA transitioned to Edwards from Wright-Patterson. He was told that nobody would want them; he was misinformed. Thank you Greg.

I also learned that the "ARIA the Vital Link" video I needed the replacement for was just one of the Vital Link productions. There was also a production of "ARIA The Vital Link" from Patrick Air Force Base. Both Larry Lowe and Greg Williams have provided two versions of "ARIA The Vital Link" from Patrick.

The video from Larry Lowe is 22 minutes in length and is a priceless historic record of the ARIA program while at Patrick Air Force Base. The version from Greg Williams is 4 minutes in length and is a subset of the full length version that was provided by Larry Lowe and is an extremely well preserved copy of the video. I will highlight all of the donated videos in future newsletters. You can access both videos at http://flyaria.com/theheritagethevitallinkpafbvideo.html.

Because of Larry Lowe and Greg Williams everyone will be able to enjoy these priceless videos. Thank you both.

ARIA World Tour 1986
Keith Quinn is a former C-135 navigator/instructor and has provided a journal and pictures of the ARIA World Tour in 1986. The purpose of the TDY was to crew and maintain aircraft 61-0329 in support of the Eastern Space and Missile Center.

The mission was from Wright-Patterson Air Force Base to the Eastern Space and Missile Center, Ascension Island. Ascension Island to Mambassa, Kenya, and then to Diego Garcia eventually returning to Ascension Island and then to Wright-Patterson Air Force Base. http://flyaria.com/ariaworldtour-1.html

Information Donations
While visiting the National Museum of the Air Force my wife Melody inquired about ARIA and the 4950th Test Wing at the gift shop looking for some type of memento to come away with. For those of you that may be unfamiliar with the museum it is located at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Dayton, Ohio. It didn't necessary surprise her that they didn't have anything available to purchase but what did surprise her was that no one knew anything about ARIA or the 4950th Test Wing. Unfortunately, this is the rule and not an exception even when an outfit and program was an integral part of Wright-Patterson Air Force Base for many years. Most history books fail to mention specific programs and organizations.

I would bet that you have a piece of the puzzle on the history of ARIA and the associated outfits. You may be the only one with this information. Please consider donating to flyARIA.com with information donations. You may not necessarily think that what you have to offer is important, odds are it is.

If we just look at 2009, we know that the flyARIA.com presence has spread the history of ARIA around the world. flyARIA has been an easy source to locate via the web for those who desire information for different projects.

Most importantly, flyARIA has been a beacon for ARIA alumni to return to the fold and become informed on current news and projects. flyARIA has reunited old friends separated by decades of time.

flyARIA.com would not have happened without the generous information donations from you. You are keeping the memory alive.

Video Request
While reviewing and converting the generous video donations of Larry Lowe and Greg Williams it struck me that I do not have any videos from Edwards Air Force Base. I know that at least one exists showcasing ARIA. Please consider a video donation. The ARIA alumni will thank you.

Accounting Software Response
Last month I told you that the accounting software for the ARIA 328 Memorial Foundation had reached its end of life. I want to thank Charlie Beach for alerting me to a source for non-profits to purchase the software. Instead of $370.00 for the software the cost was only $45.00. I want to also thank the other alumni that contacted me with suggestions on vendors to purchase the software through. Your help is appreciated.

flyARIA.com Updates
July was a good month for the flyARIA web site. There have been many changes that have taken place; to many to mention here. The conversion from the old web site format to the new format is going well.

Correction Submissions
No corrections this month.

Did I Forget Something?
Please let me know if I have not included your submitted information in the newsletter. Have something you want to include in the newsletter? It is easy to do, just send me an email.

Mailing List Instructions
If your email provider requires a verification process for you to receive mail, please add newsletter@ARIAMemorial.com to your whitelist (safelist).To remove yourself from the mailing list, reply to this email with the following subject: Remove. If you change your mind and want to subscribe, you can send an email to newsletter@ARIAMemorial.com with the following subject: Subscribe. You will receive a confirmation email when you unsubscribe or subscribe from the mailing list. We hope you stay with us!

Contact Information
I can be contacted through the ARIA Memorial web site or by Randy.Losey@ARIAMemorial.com. You can also use this email address to submit information to be included into the ARIA Newsletter.