“Lest we forget: Gen. Curtis LeMay created the Air Force aero clubs to improve what was then the primary focus of the Air Force: trained pilots who can fly airplanes safely and proficiently,” Joe Callewaert, manager of the Wright-Patterson Aero Club, wrote in an open letter to its members that was posted on the club’s website Monday.
He went on to say, “Though times have changed, I still believe that having access to a fleet of well-maintained aircraft for personal and professional development of flying knowledge, skill and ability is, or should be, a core competency of the Air Force. Unfortunately, our wing leadership has other priorities.”
Base officials had no response on Monday to the letter, base spokesman Daryl Mayer said.
In a statement on Friday, Gladney said the base cannot continue to operate what she described as an unprofitable club at a time of cutbacks in defense spending. Gladney disclosed the proposed shutdown in late February.
“With the final decision to disband the Wright-Patterson Air Force Base Aero Club, a historic and important part of the base dies,” Claude Armentrout of Tipp City, a club member since 1978, said Monday. “The aero club, located on the very grounds where the Wright brothers perfected powered flight, will be abandoned and not available to aspiring pilots.”
Callewaert, who declined to speak with the Dayton Daily News, wrote that he is resigning as the club’s manager effective May 30.
According to his letter, Callewaert and the club’s chief instructor pilot will be taking similar positions with the MacAir Aero Club at Greene County’s Lewis A. Jackson Regional Airport. Some of the Wright-Patterson Aero Club’s approximately 320 members have said they will go there also to continue their recreational flying.
Base officials plan to close the club this summer and are working on plans to sell off its airplanes, Mayer said.
Air Force aero clubs serve military, former military and civilian base employees by providing them with club-owned planes for flying lessons or flying time. Aero clubs and other base recreational organizations operate on revenue from member dues and user fees.
Contact this reporter at (937) 225-2242 or jnolan@DaytonDailyNews.com.
About the Author