Attendees were:
John, N4OWG
Peggy, N0UEA
John, N0TJQ
John, KA2NIC
Fred, K0FG
Ray, N5SEZ
Larry, W0PYA
Clay, WA6LBU
and myself, Paul, K3FU. We were well-received by our CAF hosts (and
apparently tolerated by Mr. Smithey of the Omaha Airport Authority :-).
General Urschler was also very enthusiastic about our presence. We had
good media coverage, with cameramen from channels 6 and 42 coming out
specifically to talk with us. We got some footage on 6, and a lot more
footage on 42 (neither ran interviews with me, oh well...).
We chose to reactivate the HQ SAC military recreation call K0AIR for
this operation. We had HF in the tail section (next to the observer's
bubbles), and VHF voice/data under the starboard wing, and made about 50
contacts on 14.29, 28.329, 28.429, 146.52, 147.48, and 146.94(-)
operating both Tuesday and Wednesday. Furthest away was Saskatchewan on
10 meters. We also had the opportunity to speak with many SAC veterans,
some of whom remember the original K0AIR. A few people took our
literature and expressed interest in becoming amateurs (including
Officer Laura Rosso of the Airport Police, whom we had a chance to
buttonhole for extended periods while she watched over the static
display).
A lot of volunteer operation effort, and donation of equipment, made
this possible. In addition to the individuals above, N9XTN donated his
full portable packet station. We had just enough equipment and manpower
to make a good go of it. If we had had just a bit more, we could have
been that much more effective. Of course, if we had much less than what
we had, we probably could not have made it happen.
Thanks to everyone who made this possible, and put K0AIR back on the
air, preserving USAF and SAC communications history, publicizing the CAF
B-29, and putting a good public face (including in the local mass media)
on amateur radio.
Because of our effort (and the one by the individuals in North
Carolina), it's very possible that in the foreseeable future, the CAF
planes will fly with a dedicated volunteer amateur radio operator on
board (this according to one of the CAF pilots, KB5RTY).
73, Paul, K3FU
President, SACMARC
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b29 : Mon Jan 03 2000 - 15:17:41 CST