In May we moved the date and location of our regular meeting from our typical Tuesday evening.  Instead we held the meeting on a Saturday morning and moved it to College Park Airport.  We all met at the front door to the Aviation Museum at 10:00 a.m.  

We toured the museum for over an hour and saw some very unique aircraft that were actually flown at the airport over the years.  Many aircraft were developed and tested at College Park airport by some very famous names in aviation, including none other than the Wright brothers.  We also watched as a pair of birds took nesting supplies into the tail of a Piper parked out in front of the museum.  Obviously cowls are not the only places birds find to enter aircraft!

From the museum we traveled around the compound to the museum's Restoration Shop.   In the shop we were treated with seeing the latest projects they are working on for display in the museum.  We learned of upcoming projects and Doug even inquired about their volunteer needs at the facility.  Perhaps Doug is doing some advanced planning for his next retirement.

After touring the restoration facility we spent a few minutes walking around the airport.  Doug entertained us with memories of when he was a neophyte aviator spending his free hours at the airport.  Things have changed a bit since then and one could easily tell Doug was feeling a little nostalgic.

We then piled into our cars and headed over to the 94th Aero Squadron Restaurant for a scrumptious lunch.  For those who have never been to the restaurant it is a delight.  The decor is early 20th Century French Villa.  Most tables have a view of the runway at College Park Airport and the atmosphere is made complete with music that seems right at place in movies about aviation, particularly the early years.

With stomachs sated we headed for home just before the rain began to fall.  

If we can track down any of the former pilots of the stately old airplane below we will endeavor to get them to one of our future meetings to give us a complete presentation.  Of prime interest will be details of the missions they flew, the airplane's flight characteristics, building and maintenance costs, and insurance requirements.