Society For Aviation History

05/08/2026

Our next meeting: June 6, 2026 meeting, please RSVP.

Don Blakeslee's War: How America's Fighting-est Fighter Pilot Shaped the Legendary Fourth Fighter Group>
https://www.sfahistory.org/meetings.htm

03/11/2026

Our next general meeting is April 4th in Mountain View about World War I Ace Frank Luce Jr. presented by historian JR Williams.
Check out our website for more details: https://www.sfahistory.org/meetings.htm

12/21/2025

This is a Zoom meeting via the IHS, not an SAH event

The Institute for Historical Study Monthly Program
Saturday, Jan 17, 2026, 10 AM PT
"Getting NPS Approval for the Willows-Glen County Airport" by Ted Atlas via Zoom: https://zoom.us/j/98808695696?pwd=N1cyMHZJd0Z0WDVnREIyTTFOR2pwZz09
Via phone: 1-669-444-0171, then enter 98808695696 #, then #, then 203631 #

Ted began detailed research into the history of the airport and events that happened there or were related to MATS (Mendocino Aerial Tanker Squad). He got a lot of help from professionals at the California Office of Historic Preservation. An application to the State Historic Resources Commission was approved om April 21, 2023, and sent to the National Park Service, which later placed Willows-Glen airport on the National Register of Historic Places as a Historic District. It is one of only twenty-eight airports in the country which are in the Register.

Ted’s talk will include.
• The 95-year-old historic structure that he “found” hiding in plain sight.
• The role of the airport in the evolution of rice growing as a major crop in the Sacramento Valley
• How Jimmy Doolittle and his pilots came to conduct final short-field takeoff practice at the airport before leaving on their raid on Japan.
• The importance of the airport in the establishment and growth of the use of aircraft to fight wildlands fires
• The process involved in listing a place on the National Register of Historic Places.

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10/20/2025

Reminder, next Tuesday is the last day to sign up for this meeting.

Our Next Meeting will be Dec. 6, 2025 in Mountain View about the "Life and Times of Howard Hughes" When you make RSVP we will give you the actual location. Join us for the last meeting of this year.https://sfahistory.org/meetings.htm

06/26/2025

Save the Date! Special History Meeting & BBQ

Eugene Bullard: First African American Fighter Pilot
Eugene Bullard was the world’s first Black combat aviator, flying in French squadrons during World War One (1917-18). Before he became a pilot he served in the French infantry and was awarded the Croix de Guerre.

At the beginning of World War One, Bullard joined the French army, serving in the 170th Infantry Reg-iment of a Moroccan Division. The French government awarded him the Croix de Guerre for his bravery at the Battle of Verdun. Twice wounded and declared unfit for infantry service, he requested assignment to flight training. He amassed a distinguished record in the air, flying twenty missions and downing at least one German plane.

Dr. J. Holmes Armstead is a retired professor of Strategy and International law from the US Naval War College does first-person impressions of famous historical personalities. He will portray Eugene Bullard, the world’s first Black combat aviator, who flew in French squadrons during World War One (1917-18).

For more details, please see the accompanying flyer or visit:

https://lombardystudios.com/special-history-meeting-bbq/

Wednesday, 23 July 2025 — 11 am to 3 pm
At the Alice Street Apartment Complex Rooftop accessible by elevator:
1411 Alice Street, Oakland, CA 94612
BBQ lunch & dessert will be available (includes vegetarian options).
Hot tea & coffee, water and iced tea will be provided.
RSVP to [email protected] — 510-301-0753
Please specify any dietary needs.

12/30/2024

We are pleased to announce that our next Society for Aviation History lunch meeting will be on February 1, 2025, at 11:30am in Mountain View. Please save the date – or better yet, sign up now!

https://sfahistory.org/meetings.htm

11/17/2024

We are pleased to remind members that our next Society for Aviation History lunch meeting will be on Pearl Harbor Day, Saturday, December 7, 2024, at 11:30am. Please sign up now!

At the meeting aviator Taigh Ramey will give us a presentation on the filming of the 2024 TV mini-series "Masters of the Air", where he spent nine months in England as the World War II and B-17 technical advisor.

https://sfahistory.org/meetings.htm

Join us in Mountain View for a fantastic afternoon of World War II aviation history. Be sure to bring a friend!

As always, please do not hesitate to let me know if you have questions or concerns.

Thank you again for your continued support of SAH. We hope to see you there!

10/09/2024

So next time you think your airline flight is a bit bumpy, check out what these Hurricane Hunters go through in a P-3 Orion.

10/02/2024

10/01/2024 - Please Read: To our members that have RSVP'd for this Saturday's meeting. Our speaker had to cancel this week due to a family emergency and your Board of Directors scrambled to get a new speaker for this meeting. Meeting location and times remain the same.

Speaker Rita Lucas shares the astounding accomplishments and history of the Airforce Service Pilots of WWII, known as the WASP. They were little known for over 35 years, yet they were crucial to the efforts of WWII. They were a civilian women pilots’ organization founded by Jacqueline Cochran, the famous aviatrix. They ferried aircraft across the US, flew every military plane, flew targets and tracking missions, and tested aircraft which then freed up male pilots for combat during the war. Of the 25,000 applicants, only 1,074 earned their wings as WASP. They trained for 5 months at Avenger Field in Sweetwater, TX and later were stationed at various army bases across the U.S. They were finally granted military status in 1977 by President Carter. They received the Congressional Gold Medal in 2009 awarded to persons "who have performed an achievement that has an impact on American history and culture that is likely to be recognized as a major achievement in the recipient's field long after the achievement."

Rita Lucas grew up in Los Altos, CA where she currently lives with her husband. She spent 35 years working as a Director of Revenue at various High-tech companies in Silicon Valley. Her mother was a WASP (Women Airforce Service Pilots) and taught her to fly at age 15. She co-authored a chapter on her mother in the book “WWII Memoirs” by Brenda Love, PhD. Her interests include studying paleontology, astronomy, and space and aviation history.

09/03/2024

Hello SAH members:

We wanted to let you know that our next Society for Aviation History lunch meeting will be at 11:30am on Saturday, October 5, 2024. Please sign up now!

At the meeting World War I historian JR Williams’ will give a presentation on the short life and amazing career of American fighter pilot Frank Luke.

Luke was credited with 19 aerial victories while a pilot with the 27th Aero Squadron. Destroying German observation balloons was a priority at this point in the war, and Luke was credited with 18 balloons victories in eight days during 10 sorties.

For the meeting, we’ll enjoy a BBQ buffet lunch in Mountain View:

Brisket, Chicken, Ribs with Potato Salad, beans, Mac & Cheese, green salad, fountain drinks

Come Hungry. Bring a friend!

You can read all the details – and sign up – at the link below.

Luke was credited with 19 aerial victories while a pilot with the 27th Aero Squadron. Destroying German observation balloons was a priority at this point in the war, and Luke was credited with 18 balloons victories in eight days during 10 sorties.