2013 Meetings
October 26, 2013
What Really Occurred in the Last Year of the Vietnam War
by Gordon L. Bocher, Author of Ghostrider in the Sky
Gordon L. Bocher served 11 1/2 years in the U.S. Air Force where he flew 127 combat rides as a Fire Control Officer (FCO) aboard the AC-130A Gunship and served as a rescue navigator for three years. He also taught celestial navigation for four years as a platform instructor. His last major active duty mission was the abortive attempt to rescue the 53 hostages held in Iran. He was awarded two Distinguished Flying Cross medals including one for valor, eight Air Medals, the Purple Heart, the Air Force Commendation Medal, and the Conspicuous Service Award from Gov. Mario Cuomo (NY). He also received two nominations for The Silver Star. The VFW Monthly Magazine listed the 10 most dangerous missions of the last three years of the Viet Nam War…He flew in three of them. His book, Ghostrider in the Sky, provides an accurate history of the end stages of the Viet Nam War and why our attempt to rescue our hostages in Iran failed so miserably.
Howard Leach (Chapter President) poses with Gordon Bocher next to his book Ghostrider in the Sky and 40 mm shells from his AC-130A gunship located on the table below the copy of Air Force Magazine.
October 5, 2013
Plane Pull / Special Olympics / Family Day
At Newark Liberty Airport / Sponsored by United Airlines
(L to R) Toby Terranova, Susan Loricchio, Bill Fosina at the Air Force Association Chapter 195 table in Building 332.
The Plane Pull was first introduced in 1997 and has helped the NJ Law Enforcement Torch Run raise more than $2,000,000 each year for the athletes of Special Olympics New Jersey! Chapter 195 was there to answer questions and pass out promotional literature to the families of the Port Authority of NY/NJ at Newark.
September 28, 2013
Boeing X-37 Spaceplane - Part 2:
The history of Spaceplanes from the 1949 Tsien rocket transport to the new Air Force X-37B
by Toby Terranova, Chapter Secretary
Part 2 will highlight the flight of current spaceplanes including the the North American X-15 rocket plane, Scaled Composites commercial White Knight / SpaceShipOne, the US Space Shuttle, the USSR Buran, and the Air Force Boeing X-37B. Russia considers the X-37B an "orbital bomb". China says it's designed to spy on their Tiangong 1 space station and will be used to attack Chinese targets in or from outer space. Is their conjecture realistic?
Toby Terranova (Chapter Secretary) is thanked by Howard Leach (Chapter President) for the presentation. He receives a 2013 Air & Space Conference tote bag.
August 24, 2013
New Jersey Chapter AFA Convention - McGuire AFB
MOM Award to Chapter 195 VP of Gov't Affairs Susan Loricchio
Susan Loricchio, a member and officer of Chapter 195, receives a Medal of Merit (MOM) award from Howard Leach (Chapter 195 President, NJ Chapter President) for numerous contributions to the AFA including the following:
1) VP of Gov Affairs, Chapter 195, and NJ, she promoted the full funding of the F-35 to the two NJ US Senators and followed up with their staff at local district offices.
2) She maintains a relationship with CAP Jersey City Composite Squadron. In Jan 2013, she gave a talk on CyberPatriot and Sequestration and was awarded a certificate of appreciation.
3) On Memorial Day 2012, she represented the AFA on the Intrepid Museum, NYC, for the ceremony honoring veterans and active military. A photo with NY Police Commissioner Ray Kelly was published in the AF Magazine, Aug 2012.
4) In March 2012, Susan gave a talk to Chapter 195 on ‘Aline Rhonie - avid aviator and painter.’ Rhonie lived on an estate in Warren, NJ. As an avid aviator, she set many records and received many awards.
5) Susan is the primary Air Power Advocate in NJ. She takes part in the weekly Air power Advocate briefings. She recently participated in a radio interview about how Sequestration was affecting the Air Force on Savvy Central Radio on April 26th, 2013.
6) Susan coordinates with Lockheed Martin's Demonstrator Center to arrange to have NJ pilots attend sessions on the F-22 and F-35 demonstrators in Arlington, VA.
7) She also planned two aviation events in NJ, where Joel "Bugsy" Malone flew in from Lockheed Martin's plant in Texas, to speak about the F-35.
June 29, 2013
A. Raymond Brooks Aerospace Education Grant Presentation
Photo L-R: President Howard Leach, Lt Col, CAP, C/CMSgt Aaron Reed, Captain Steven S. Kiss, 1st Lt Daniel Bell, C/2nd Megan Sharkey, and C/1st Lt Steven F. Kiss.
C/2nd Megan Sharkey, Cadet Commander, and C/CMSgt Aaron Reed, Deputy Cadet Commander, briefed AFA Chapter 195 members about the Lone Eagle Composite Squadron’s activities over the past year. After the briefing, a $500.00 A. Raymond Brooks Aerospace Education Scholarship Grant was presented to 1st Lt Daniel Bell, Deputy Commander of Cadets, for the Lone Eagle Composite Squadron, NJ Wing, Civil Air Patrol. Civil Air Patrol, the official auxiliary of the U.S. Air Force, is a nonprofit organization with more than 61,000 members nationwide, operating a fleet of 550 aircraft.
May 18, 2013
Chapter 195 Teacher of the Year Award Presentation
This month's meeting honored the Chapter 195 Teacher of the Year, Roslyn Franklin, from Randolph High School, coach of the CyberPatriot V Team. CyberPatriot is the premiere national high school cyber defense competition created by the Air Force Association to inspire high school students toward careers in cybersecurity or other science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) disciplines critical to our nation’s future.
Roslyn Franklin has an undergraduate degree in Engineering and a Masters Degree in Management of Information Systems. After 25 years of Software Development and Design, she became a Mathematics teacher. Over the past 9 years she has taught Computer Programming, Algebra 2, Precalculus and Statistics to 11th and 12th graders. Currently at Randolph High School, she has led several after school STEM Activities: CyberPatriot competition, Science Olympiad, and Math League. They are all optional – students participate because they want to. They are not related to a particular class, but rather let students bring together what they’ve learned in many classes. Students get to apply themselves in pursuit of a goal and spend time working with other students who share their interests. Come to this month's meeting to meet Roslyn Franklin, AFA Chapter 195 CTOY for 2013.
April 27, 2013
Boeing X-37 Spaceplane - Part 1:
The history of Spaceplanes from the 1949 Tsien rocket transport to the new Air Force X-37B
by Toby Terranova, Chapter Secretary
The X-37B is the Air Force's newest Orbital Test Vehicle. It is currently undergoing developent flights and some classified missions. But the Air Force has a history of Spaceplane development since the end of World War II. Starting with the 1949 Tsien rocket transport plane through the X-15 and onto the Dyna-Soar, the Air Force has been pursuing "man in space" before NASA took it over in the 1960's. In the age of unmanned vehicles, the Air Force has developed the ultimate unmanned Spaceplane, the X-37B. It is not remotely guided, but autonomously piloted. Come hear the Air Force's history of spaceplane development, man in space attempts, and now the ultimate in automated spaceflight, the X-37B. (Part 2 is tentatively scheduled for the September meeting.)
Toby Terranova (Chapter Secretary) is thanked by Howard Leach (Chapter President) for the presentation. He receives "The Man and His Wings" by William A. Wellman and a Mini-jotter leather bound Notepad from Gus Manz of the American Welding Society - New Jersey Section.
February 23, 2013
"Fortress Under Fire" a Mural at the Smithsonian Institution's National Air and Space Museum
by Keith Ferris, America's Dean of Aviation Art
Founding member of the American Society of Aviation Artists / Enshrined 2012 in the National Aviation Hall of Fame.
Keith Ferris, America's Dean of Aviation Art, recently enshrined in the National Aviation Hall of Fame, Dayton, Ohio, gave a presentation, in the Library of the Chathams, on how he painted the "Fortresses Under Fire" mural in the Smithsonian Institution's National Air and Space Museum, in Washington, DC. It depicts Eighth Air Force B-17G, “Thunder Bird” on a WWII daylight bombing mission to Wiesbaden, Germany, on 15 Aug 1944. A framed print of his B-17 ‘Slow Timing, Bonnie B’ painting was presented by Eric Taylor, NE Region President, and Howard Leach, NJ and 195 President, to Debra Fitzgerald for display in The Library of the Chathams in memory of Col Amos Chalif, founding member of the NJ and Chapter 195 AFA (see picture below).
Left to Right: Keith and Peggy Ferris, Debra Fitzgerald, Cadet/1st Lt Steven F. Kiss, CAP, Capt Steven S. Kiss, CAP, Peggy Chalif holding a miniature copy of the print with historical background, Howard Leach, NJ &195 President, and Eric Taylor, NER President.
January 26, 2013
Blended Wing Body Aircraft: Practical Applications in Mid-Air Refueling
by Chris Handy, Rutgers ROTC Eng Student
Currently, NASA and Boeing are conducting research on the X-47, a blended wing aircraft that radically changes the current notion of what a plane is in ways that improve performance and fuel efficiency. This design will be the future of commercial aircraft and tankers. Our design group will build a scale model in order to explore the design, capabilities and characteristics of such an aircraft. In particular the design group will focus on the potential role of this type aircraft as a tanker and its future role in aerial refueling.
