Beaver Tail & Other Info

Sandy Sandstrom contributed a Comment on the original Post which I've copy-and-pasted below so it would be more visible to anyone visiting this blog. He's also interested in doing some research with all our colleagues to obtain input on opinions and ideas about the "next reunion" (when, where, etc). So that's part of building a current address list (both snail mail and e-mail) so we can access our colleagues. There are many ways you can help, including passing along contact info. Please e-mail me (rehanson342@aol.com) or Sandy (ssandstrom813@comcast.net ). Here's his note:

We should be getting the C-133 Beaver tail shortly. It is being manufactured in N.J. and I understand they are close to finshed. When it arrives, the C-133 folks will attach it and then it will be as complete as we can make it. I do need the e-mail addresses and home addresses of all hands for the next reunion. We have a lot of volunteers to put it together but a lot of questions have to be answered.

My Beautiful America

Another great Memorial Day tribute (click on and turn up the sound): My Beautiful America.

By the way, if you're not familiar with blogs, click on anything underlined to take you to a different site.

King of the Road II

I couldn't resist Posting the following photo I just received through another e-mail network. Some of you know about our "King of the Road" Yamaha motorcycle Chet Baffa, Jimmy Dugar and I had while we were on active duty at Dover.....lots of stories! So this photo looks like a "sequel" machine to me! I'll bet our Engineers who rehabbed that 133 B Model could build one of these!

Support Our Troops!

Welcome to our C-133 Crew blog! If this is your first visit, I hope you scroll down through the previous Posts to see the photos and get the background, AND offer a Comment, AND check back periodically!

Yes, we all supported our troops in Viet Nam back in the 60s by flying those shuttles across the Pacific. Today, the Sunday of Memorial Day weekend, 2007, while I'm comfortably retired and Blessed in our home on a beautiful weekend in Minnesota, I'm thinking of our troops in Afghanistan and Iraq, and those military families back home, especially those dealing with the seriously injured returning from battle. I just watched a very moving program on PBS celebrating those troops and their families. One highlight was Colin Powell inviting all of us to make a commitment to reach out to those families. Click on the Wounds of War, and scroll down the story of the Wade's to the various resources offering voluteer opportunities. I did. I hope it makes the impact on you that it did on me.

On a lighter note, one of our colleagues, Rick Spencer, resurrected the recipe for those Mai Tai's we all remember from Hickam (see the following). Thank you, Rick! Hope you're having a great Memorial Day weekend!

ORIGINAL HICKAM AFB OFFICERS' CLUB MAI TAI RECIPE FROM 1962

During the spring and summer of 1962 several newly minted crew members arrived at DAFB to fly C-133's for the 1st and 39th ATS. Almost immediately flights to SEA and Viet Nam began with frequent stops at Hickam AFB, HI. For most of us it was our first time visiting the Pacific region and HI was a favorite stop; especially since this trip usually took about 20+ days and served as an escape from Dover¹s nasty winters. Highly favored by the crewmembers at all of the military clubs on the base was an exotic warm weather drink called a MAI TAI. These were thoroughly enjoyed while sitting on the terrace overlooking Pearl Harbor gazing at the Navy ships passing by. Here is the original 1962 recipe from the Hickam AFB Officer's Club as saved for over 40 years by a former Dover AFB crewmember, Bob Miley, and reconstructed by Rick Spencer. Imbibe and enjoy the memory.

HICKAM MAI TAI
Begin with 14 0z Mai Tai glass of crushed ice.
Then, create a mix from the following ingredients and pour into the glass:
1/4 oz Orgeat Syrup
1 oz Guava Juice
1 oz Pineapple Juice
1 oz Sweet Sour Mix
Then, layer in order over the ice and the above mix
1/2 oz Bacardi Gold Rum (or other of that type)
1 oz Meyer Dark Rum
1/2 oz Lemon Hart Rum ­ 151 proof
1 Pineapple Wedge

**Please note that the Rums should be layered over the mix with the light,dark, and the 151 proof applied last and on top. The finished product is served with a straw. Do not mix or stir the Rums as that ruins the layering effect. Let them mix naturally and sip only.

Sincerely,
Richard L. Spencer, Ph.D.
Lt. Col. USAF Ret.

Dover Reunion: Party Time

Hallelujah! Got our first "contribution" -- Dick Huey offered a Comment on the first post. Thanks for breaking the ice, Dick. Sorry we missed you at the Reunion. If anyone checking in needs help entering a Comment or New Post, let me know by private e-mail. Just click on the underlined link at the bottom of "About Me" at the right, then click again on "e-mail."

Here are a few more photos from the Reunion, starting with the Hanson/Miley/Irwin/Becht Quartette at the dinner table at Sambo's:

Nice smile, Jimmy Dugar, but I can't get Rick Spencer to look at the camera:

Bob "Ace Photographer" Miley at the Saturday banquet:

The "Auxiliary" (Charlotte Dugar, Gail Miley, and Diane Hanson) checking old photos from the 60s:

Here's Bob Becht, Gail Miley, Jim Dugar & Jerry Foss looking over the Cal Taylor book:

Rick "Tiger" Spencer, Golf Champion!!!!

Ron Irwin & Bob Becht kibbitz, while Bob Miley and Alan Harding figure out this fancy camera equipment:

Jim Dugar and Lenny Moffet plan the next Reunion while Bob Miley takes a "tongue in cheek" approach!

It's "The Last Hurrah" NOT!!! See you at the next one:

Newcomer Clue

Welcome! I'm glad you found our C-133 Crew Connection blog. If you're new to blogging, you'll notice that you need a "reverse thrust" to catch up, since the most recent Post is at the top. You should scroll down to the bottom to start reading the earliest Post listed......OR click on an Archive item at the right (again listed in the sequence posted, bottom to top). I hope you'll list the site name, CargomasterRaster, in your Favorites list, visit frequently, and become comfortable contributing your own Comments and New Posts. These things only work if we keep them "fresh." Let's get that Hit Counter rolling!

Dover Reunion

Here's my first attempt at using this blog as a photo album. Hopefully others can add to it, such as more photos from the reunion, or better yet, some old photos from the '60s. I encourage appropriate visitors to add their comments to an existing post, or add a new post.

Here is Bob Becht, AC, and me, Dick Hanson, Nav, ready on the Flight Line!

Below that's Jim Daugherty, Al Harding, Sandy Sandstrom, and Bob Becht. What a Crew!

And this is Yours Truly, back in the Nav seat, a little "rusty" after 42 years!

Take Off Time

Welcome to the launch of this experimental blog intended to be The C-133 Crew Connection! Who knows where this may lead? Maybe like some of the trips we all logged....NOWHERE! But, if it catches on, it could be a creative source of memories, entertainment, and maybe even enlightenment!

I'm fresh off our visit to the 2007 Dover Reunion. Seeing firsthand the result of all the work our colleagues put into the restoration of ol' B Model 0536 at the AMC Museum really made an impact (click on that underlined hyperlink to go to the website photos). Climbing those steps, walking past the recliner seats in the "lounge," and sitting in the Nav seat, with my frequent AC, Bob in the Left Seat, brought back another life from a distant past.......the 2,000+ hours boring through the sky, interrupted by moments of stark terror; the dozens of air bases and Military Clubs visited around the world; and all the off-duty hi-jinks with all the various crew members, especially when AOCP in some exotic land......Oh, the stories! I'm inspired to re-connect with more of you!

You're a bunch of clever guys, and I'm eager to invite your contributions to the CargomasterRaster:

Main Entry: ras.ter
Function: noun
Pronunciation: 'ras-t&r
Etymology: German, from Latin raster, rastrum rake, from radere to scrape: a scan pattern (as of the electron beam in a cathode-ray tube) in which an area is scanned from side to side in lines from top to bottom.

Sounds like a blog about C-133s to me! And it rhymes! And the CRT analogy certainly relates to the vintage of equipment we used. It was striking to me to see just how ancient that black equipment looked; and all those buttons! I must have known what they were all for at some point out of Nav school.

If any of you veteran crew members actually find this blog, I'm guessing you're probably not very experienced in the blogosphere. And you may be uncomfortable posting on a site available to the public, aka don't want your identity traceable. Well feel free to contribute with any pseudonym. Then you can click on My Profile and send me a direct e-mail to identify yourself privately. But please contribute.........ANYTHING relevant to your C-133 experience; stories, questions, answers, ideas, advice, whatever. It will only be as interesting as you help make it.

I'll continue to enhance it with links to other relevant websites, photos, or your ideas. And we can have a living resource to help us build to the next Reunion!