Reasons to Come to SOAPA 2008 No 1

[WebMaster]

Brothers to the Rescue


From 1991 until 2001 the Cuban exile group Hermanos al Rescate (Brothers to the Rescue) used Skymasters, among other aircraft, to fly search and rescue missions over the Florida Straits looking for rafters attempting to cross the Straits to defect from Cuba and, when they found them, dropped life-saving supplies to them. Rescues were coordinated with the US Coast Guard, who worked closely with the group. They chose Skymasters because they offered better visibility of the waters below (with the high wing), were reliable and easy to fly for long duration missions (their average mission was approximately 7 hours long) and they added a margin of safety with twin engine centerline thrust.

In 1996, two of the Brothers to the Rescue Skymasters were shot down by the Cuban Air Force (FAC) over international waters. Both aircraft were downed by a MiG-29, while a second jet fighter, a MiG-23 orbited nearby.

The first plane was downed at exactly 23°29N 082°28W, 9 NM outside Cuban territorial airspace. It carried U.S. registration number N2456S. On board were Command Pilot Carlos Costa ("Seagull Charlie") and his observer, Pablo Morales, a former rafter who had joined the group to try to help save others. Both were instantly killed by the explosion from the Soviet-built R-73 air-to-air missile that was used to down the plane (a second missile of the same type downed the second plane as well) .

The second plane was downed at 23°30.1N 082°28.6W, 10 NM outside Cuban territorial airspace. The aircraft carried the U.S. registration number N5485S, was flown by Mario de la Pena ("Seagull Mike") and his observer, Armando Alejandre, Jr. (a Vietnam veteran). As with the first plane, both were instantly killed.

After the attack, the Cuban pilots responsible for the shootdown had two stars painted on the side of their two-seat MiG-29UB, below the cockpit, to celebrate their kills. The pilots responsible were the twin brothers, El Teniente (LTC) Colonel Lorenzo Alberto Perez Perez and his "Guy in Back" was El Teniente Colonel (LTC) Francisco Perez Perez. Both were charged in the United States for their role in the attack.

[hharney]

Here is one of the best reason's to come to SOAPA 2008. Mr. Van Hare will be our Keynote speaker for the Friday night banquet at the Kalamazoo Air Museum. It's not enough that we are going to have the entire museum to ourselves to enjoy aircraft displays, flight simulators, 4D movies and much more. We will have Thomas Van Hare speaking just after the dinner in the museum. Check out this Bio for more info on Mr. Van Hare.


Thomas C. Van Hare



Mr. Van Hare has served in leadership roles in industry since the early 1980s. Currently, he is Executive Director of TF Hawk, Inc., which develops, manufactures, maintains and provides support and training of a range of combat and utility aircraft for security and international uses.

He has served as president and chief executive officer of an international airline with extensive global operational experience, primarily in war zone environments, including flying as KBR’s exclusive air carrier for LOGCAP III in Iraq.

Mr. Van Hare served as the Director of Organizational Assessment in the Office of the Secretary of Defense. In this role, he served on Secretary Donald Rumsfeld's Executive Committee. In addition to selecting the next generation of senior leadership for the Department, the Executive Committee addressed a range policy issues of critical importance to the Department, including issues such as the future of the U.S. Air Force, UAVs/UCAVs, acquisition reform, reorganization and more, as well as the selection of candidates for senior leadership roles to execute targeted policy programs. As a result of this service, Mr. Van Hare’s network of friends and contacts includes much of the top leadership of the Department of Defense, the Department of the Army, and the U.S. Air Force. For his support in the Global War on Terror, he received a personal citation from the Secretary of Defense.

Due to his special expertise in the aviation industry, Mr. Van Hare served on the Board of Directors of PartsBase, Inc. (NASDAQ: PRTS), the world’s largest clearing house and supplier of aviation parts and services. During that time, he was elected as Chairman of the Audit Committee and served on the three-member Special Committee to navigate a complex and highly litigious going-private transaction which took the firm from the NASDAQ to private hands.

Mr. Van Hare's previous experience also includes government and political service in both the Reagan-Bush Administration, within the Department of State's Agency for International Development, and in the Bush-Quayle Administration within the Office of the Secretary of Defense, where he managed overseas logistics operations, sealift operations (tasking and coordinating thousands of container shipments through MSC) and special air missions on behalf of the Secretary, including dozens of flights in support of the Afghan War and during Desert Shield/Desert Storm. Additionally, he served on the Transition Team for President George H. W. Bush (Bush 41). During this period, he received a number of awards and citations for his performance.

Mr. Van Hare is a commercial pilot with multi-engine and instrument ratings. He is also a highly experienced search and rescue pilot and served as Chairman and President of Freedom Flight International, Inc., and as Director of Operations and Special Projects with BTTR, Inc., where, in close coordination with the US Coast Guard, he flew, organized and commanded flight operations over the Straits of Florida, saving over 3,000 lives from 1992 to 1995, despite repeated threats from the Cuban Air Force.

Special thanks to Ernie Martin for suggesting Thomas Van Hare

[WebMaster]

In addition to Thomas Van Hare, we will have Cristina Khuly, director of the movie "The Shootdown" (http://www.theshootdown.com/shootdownweb/index.php) who will bring her critically acclaimed and award winning movie to Kalamazoo, for a private screening for all attendees. Cristina will also answer questions about making the movie. Critina's uncle was one of the pilots shot down.

This link will permit you to download the high res trailer http://www.theshootdown.com/shootdow...ailer-h264.mov

It is a large file, and you need quicktime to play it. It's worth the download.

[hharney]

Also I forgot to mention, Thomas Van Hare has written a book on the Brothers of Rescue and may be expanding on the Cuban incident with his knowlege of this tragic event. Stay Tuned.

We have also spoken with the Guardians from Above. A Search and Rescue Squad located in Brookings, OR. They have O-2 aircraft set up for rescue and alerting operations. They are considering coming to introduce a new loudspeaker system mounted to a Skymaster for warning of potential hazards. Should be really interesting.