John Casciola reaches out to the Tuskegee Airmen

[Stephan Wilkinson]

I'm a youth mentor/instructor for the Newburgh, NY chapter of the Tuskegee Airmen and a member of the national organization's youth committee. I've just come back from lunch at a local restaurant with PPWer John Casciola and our chapter president, Continited Capt. Glen Fraser plus another chapter member with whom John used to fly at CitiGroup.

Our chapter has been hoping to set up a really effective, useful, "non-game" PC flight simulator for our Red Tail Youth Flying Program students, but we needed some good advice on programs and hardware. I posted a query on PPW and got some excellent advice, but most important, John responded with an offer to give us hands-on help, since he lives in the Hudson Valley area.

Not only is he going to do that, but he will be involving himself with our Flying Program to the degree that his schedule allows, and it looks like we might have won the participation of an experienced, enthusiastic corporate pilot who seriously wants to help us.

My thanks to PPW for putting us together. This is truly a forum of active, working, involved ATP and commercial pilots--no wannabes, no gamers, no pretend pilots--which sets it far above all other aviation forums. Best money I've ever spent...

[BlindPilot]

You are indeed fortunate to have John involved in your project. He is a true professional. I had the pleasure of spending time with William "Wild Bill" McIntyre, a well known Tuskegee Airman, at his retirement home in Phoenix. He retired as a Col. In the Air Force after Vietnam . I was in awe of him and his stories and his ability to recall certain things in between bouts of Alzheimer's . His son is a Pilot for Southwest and may be a good resource as well.

[Stephan Wilkinson]

Southwest is the major corporate sponsor of the Tuskegee Airmen. Also the best airline in the country, if you ask me. My wife and I fly SWA between EWR and SFO half a dozen times a year, even though we could go nonstop rather than transferring at MID or DEN...it's that good.

[BlindPilot]

Yep. Can't argue with success! Respect for the employee has a lot to do with it . Sorry for any thread creep. My son sponsored a visit to his Prep School, located in the Inner City of Philadelphia, by a retired Doctor who was a Tuskegee Airman. After the presentation, which was in the morning, they had to delay the busses in the PM because the TA was inundated with overwhelming inquisitions from the kids. Nothing like a first hand account of how adversity builds character. That class also had the highest number of Service Academy acceptances than any other school in the country! Not a coincidence.