Upcoming Events

During the Cold War, an American lawyer is recruited to defend an arrested Soviet spy in court, and then help the CIA facilitate an exchange of the spy for the Soviet captured American U2 spy plane pilot, Francis Gary Powers. Join us for a screening of this fascinating film complete with special in person commentary from film contributor and son of Francis Gary Powers himself, Gary Powers Jr. Presenter: Gary Powers Jr. WINE AND LIGHT HORS D’OEUVRES WILL BE SERVED…

On 1 May 1960, a United States U-2 spy plane was shot down by the Soviet Air Defense Forces while performing photographic aerial reconnaissance deep into Soviet territory. The single-seat aircraft, flown by pilot Francis Gary Powers, was hit by a surface-to-air missile but Powers parachuted safely and was captured. The incident occurred around two weeks before the scheduled opening of an east–west summit in Paris. In the days directly leading up to the conference, tensions increased dramatically between the…

Airplanes and motion pictures were born within a year of one another. In 100 years they have both risen from uncertain infancy through growing adolescence to robust maturity. While Hollywood’s actors and directors learned the art of making movies, the aircraft industry and pilots learned how to conquer the sky. In this presentation movie fans and aviation buffs can find their common bond, “Flying on Film” is the history behind the films we all know and love. Book signing to…

What was it like to live behind the Berlin Wall?  Why did men and women become informants and spy on their spouses, children and friends?  What was it like to be jailed by the Stasi Secret Police?    Included are the stories of a lady who lived behind the Wall, a man jailed by the Stasi and a visit inside of a Stasi jail.  See rare photos and learn the deep secret why the Wall finally came down. Presenter: Dennis Molnar…

The Pan American formed a subsidiary, contracted by the US and British governments, in mid 1941 to develop an air transport network across middle Africa to Cairo to resupply British combat units engaged with German ground and air forces. Pan Am further ferried US military lend lease aircraft from the US to Africa, Pakistan, and China. More than 1000 American men were thus engaged in WWII before Pearl Harbor and the formal US entry into the war. Presenter: Pete Fleury

During Nazi-occupied France in 1941, four-year-old Ruth Kapp learns that it is dangerous to use her own name. “Remember,” her older cousin Jeannette warns her, “your name is Renee and you are French!” A deeply personal account, this true story recounts the chilling experiences of a young Jewish girl during the Holocaust. The Kapp family flees one home after another, helped by simple, ordinary people from the French countryside who risk their lives to protect them. Eventually the family is…

Army Aviation Heritage Foundation: AH-1 Cobra rides Ride Dates: Saturday April 25th and Sunday April 26h Cost: TBD Website: https://armyav.org/arizona-so-cal/ Phone: 480-217-1635 for booking

Most Americans, even those involved in aviation, know very little of Canadian aviation history in general and the Avro CF-105 Arrow heavy fighter / interceptor in particular.   In a nutshell, Canada built the foremost aircraft in this category during the late 1950’s, but it was felled by  a short-sighted government decision to scrap it in the middle of flight-testing and before the Mk 2 version could even fly.  Most observers had expected the Mk 2 to break many world speed…