Jack Stettner would be 97 today.
Jack Stettner loved life. He was proud of his family, his WWII service, and his role in co-founding Veterans Air. He would have been 97 today. I celebrate his life in a fashion he would approve.
Jack Z. Stettner
Interview Videos 2 and 3 join Veterans Air history.
One gorgeous summer day at Embry-Riddle Daytona Beach campus, three students and I delved into a conversation about Veterans Air Express. The outcome? This 3-part video.
Veterans Air Express garners storytelling invites
The history of 1945 Veterans Air has recently attracted varied (and rather large, may I add?) aviation audiences as our research unfolds more crew, flight and non-sked era details.
TVC YouTube features VAE ground transport RV
Team me up with Liz Wilcox, creator of The Virtual Campground and TVC YouTube…and watch us go! Liz gave me eleven minutes. And I gave her the story of how Gracie, the Veterans Air Ground Transport RV, enhances and extends my research. Come watch…and bring popcorn.
Drove 4,874 miles visiting Veterans Air Express families
I am beyond honored to get better acquainted with the men and women who made my Dad’s 1945 airline “happen” by meeting their family members. Come meet these very special people in a photo review of my second 2017 trip visiting Veterans Air Express families. This extraordinary RV trek took 37 days and 4,874 miles to VA, MD, PA and NJ.
Thomas Cowart dies December 20, 2016. Veterans Air Express Flight Engineer
Thomas Cowart, our Veterans Air DC-4 Flight Engineer, died on December 20, 2016. He crewed during the 1946 United Nations post-war relief flights to Prague, Warsaw and Athens. Thomas and I shared many hours, many stories and much laughter in person and over the phone. Today I share the immediacy of my emotions at his passing.
Veterans Air Jack Stettner died at 93. Co-founder, pilot, ops-manager in 1945.
It is with profound sadness that I write of the passing of Jack Stettner. This man of adventure helped my Dad found the airline in 1945….as co-founder, investor, pilot, and ops-manager And 70 years later welcomed me with open arms into his home. So did his wonderful family. It was my deep honor to know him. God speed, Jack.
Veterans Air DC-3 ops documents deliver insight
Veterans Air Express. Proper procedures, safety emphasis and insistence on professionalism. That’s an insight reinforced by DC-3 training ops documents. I know because DC-3 Chief Pilot Robert Chambers kept them and his son Bruce gave them to me!
Chief Pilot Robert Chambers
A new treasure…a photo of Robert C. Chambers standing with our first DC-3 in 1945 while she still looked like the government surplus Army C-47 she had been. And breaking news…Chambers was the DC-3 Chief Pilot with Veterans! Bet you didn’t know that! I didn’t before today. Come see.
1946 Veterans Air Express crew
(POST UPDATE 9/19/2016: Constantine J. Keloss (Kaless) just identified in 1946 Veterans Air photo.) On 10 November 2015, I launched my second-ever “road trip” to meet crew members. The result? Face-to-face meetings and first-hand details from 1946 Veterans Air Express crew: flight engineer Thomas Cowart and navigator Ed Martz. Plus I received grand old photos taken by VAE pilot Richard Broughton. Come see.