About The Golden Gate Wing
Mission:
The Mission of the Commemorative Air Force is to Promote and Preserve in Flying Condition, the History and Esprit de Corps of Military Aviation. Read our complete mission statement.
Who makes up the CAF?
One common misconception is that we are all pilots, aircraft owners or mechanics. Not So!
All members are volunteers who have a great love for maintaining and flying these airplanes for years to come. You do not have to be an airplane mechanic or hold a pilot certificate to become involved with the CAF. The CAF is the eighth largest Air Force in the World. There are currently over 140 flying aircraft, and over 9,000 men and women members of the CAF - in 30 nations, including units in France, England, Australia, Switzerland, and New Zealand.
Warbirds:
We at the Golden Gate Wing, carry on that tradition, and maintain two warbirds. One is a beautiful AT-6 Texan, painted in the U.S. Navy "SNJ" configuration. The SNJ is a 5000 pound Advanced Trainer, with a 600 HP Pratt & Whitney Radial engine. It flies regularly, and is a dream to handle in the air. Our other aircraft is the first Jet assigned to the CAF. It is a T-33 jet trainer which first debuted in Italy in the last days of WWII. Our shining example was Nicknamed the "Flying Mirror".
PropTalk:
We also publish one of the CAF's best newsletter, called PropTalk, mailed each month to our members. It covers many aspects of the local and headquarters events, and the wing leader's report. Articles include the previous month's guest speaker presentations, articles on airplanes and people from various wars, etc. PropTalk has won the Best of the CAF award.
Activities and Events:
We encourage social activities, and we are a fun group:
Dinner meetings:
We have dinner meetings every fourth Thursday, at our "O" Club located at the former Naval Air Station (NAS) Alameda "Terminal Building". At these dinner meetings we usually have guest speakers who are legends and heroes of vintage aviation, both wartime and civilian. We video tape all of these meetings and speaker presentations, and are now offering these videos for sale.
Fly Days:
We hold 'fly days' throughout the spring, summer and fall flying season, providing a unique chance to get up close or even fly with some of the greatest aircraft ever built, in a private, exclusive and personal environment. We usually have a barbecue lunch while the airplanes are providing rides.
Air Shows:
The Golden Gate Wing attends many airshows in Northern California. Wing members are offered the unique opportunity to become part of the working staff at an airshow by volunteering to help maintain our on-site display, P.X., or even participating in Ground Marshalling duties. And if you really enjoy the sound of radial engines, join us in Midland Texas for AIRSHO. The Golden Gate Wing usually has a chalet and many members go each year.
Tours:
The Wing has organized many trips abroad, throughout the United States and to the C.A.F. Headquarters in Midland, Texas. There is no better way to experience the living legacy of Military aviation than to see, hear and feel it rumble and roar past right in front of you, in some cases, the very places it happened 60 years ago!
History of the CAF:
It was 1957 - World War II had been over 12 years and a small group of ex-service pilots from West Texas pooled their money to purchase a P-51 Mustang. Although none of these men realized the ramifications of this purchase, the group was about to set in motion events that would eventually lead to the world's most complete collection of flying WWII combat aircraft. The men formed a loosely defined organization known as the Confederate Air Force to share the pleasure and expense of maintaining the Mustang.
Other pilots took an interest and joined the group. By 1960, the group began to search seriously for other WWII aircraft but it quickly became apparent that few remained in flying condition. Only 15 years after the end of a war which America had produced nearly 300,000 planes, almost all were gone. No one, not even the Air Force or the Navy was attempting to preserve a representative sampling of these historic aircraft.
In 1961, the CAF was chartered as a nonprofit Texas corporation to restore and fly WWII aircraft. What started as a hobby for the group became an urgent mission to preserve history. Since that time, dedicated groups of people across the country have assembled one of the finest and most complete collections of flyable WWII aircraft in the world. Included are fighters, bombers, transports, trainers and the only helicopter to see service in WWII. The collection also includes aircraft of the German Luftwaffe and a fleet of replica aircraft of the Imperial Japanese Navy.
Following a membership vote in 2001, and made effective on January 1, 2002, the organization is now known as the Commemorative Air Force. The previous name did not clearly communicate our mission, vision, and values. The new name is more aligned with our organization, and more representative of what we do.
In 2005 a bylaw change expanded the scope to include Korea, Vietnam and other war era aircraft, not just WWII. The CAF and the American Airpower Heritage Museum (AAHM) strive to recreate, remind and reinforce the lessons learned from past wars. The Commemorative Air Force is an all-volunteer organization. It is a privately funded, totally self-supporting, non-profit (501-C3) tax exempt, group dedicated to preserving military aviation history.
History of the Golden Gate Wing:
The Golden Gate Wing is the San Francisco bay area's chapter of the Commemorative Air Force and has more than 250 active members who meet regularly, maintain and fly Wing aircraft, and take part in air shows and educational events. The Golden Gate Wing had its Bay Area roots in the CAF Pacific Wing in 1981. From that original organization came the core of today's Wing and the 1991 allocation by CAF headquarters of a North American SNJ-5 (aka AT-6 Texan).
The Golden Gate Wing has hosted two major events at Oakland International Airport's North Field. We organized the 1991 air show honoring the Tuskegee Airmen, the African-American flying instructors and combat pilots of World War II, and 1995's Freedom Week, featuring the CAF's B-29 “Fifi” and B-24 “Diamond Lil”. Both offered the general public an opportunity to see historic types of aircraft fly, and to meet pilots and crewmembers that flew those machines during the war.
Membership:
We are interested in obtaining new and continuing members that are interested in the pursuit of the mission of the CAF. Join the CAF and the Golden Gate Wing and experience the rewards of preserving the legacy of military aviation! Please consider becoming a member and join the fun!
Sponsors Wanted:
We are also interested in obtaining Corporate Sponsors for additional Aircraft, hangar space and weekend Air Show activities.
Conclusion:
It is our strong belief that keeping these memories alive and well in the hearts and minds of all people, will help us avoid another tragedy such as WWII. Additionally, we don't want to forget the tremendous sacrifice that occurred, and the people who paid that debt, for our freedom.
Golden Gate Wing
Commemorative Air Force
P.O. Box 6056
Oakland, CA 94603
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