Page 8 - Reedley Exponent E-edition 5-17-18

The Reedley Exponent A8 Thursday, May 17, 2018
FLY IN Continued from page A1
“We wanted to make sure when we got the plane here, we just weren’t going to sit here,” Oldham said. One or two of the planes eventually will be housed in town at the airport once the program is operational.
Adults and aerial histo- rians enjoyed 92-year-old DeKoning, who as guest speaker talked about his ex- periences building the Hughes H-4 Hercules aircraft, which was commonly called “The Spruce Goose.” The massive plane — piloted by billion- aire Howard Hughes — made just one brief flight off Long Beach in 1947 before being retired.
“I worked for Hughes air- craft for about two years,” said DeKoning, who later was a longtime teacher in the Fresno area. “I worked on both the Spruce Goose on the lofting [process] and also the F-11 that crashed in Beverly Hills.”
During an extensive slide presentation, DeKoning de- scribed the arduous process of assembling the massive plane, which weighed 250,000 pounds empty and 400,000 pounds ful- ly loaded. The Spruce Goose had a 321-foot wingspan, was 30 feet in height and nearly 219 feet in length.
“Hughes said ‘If it doesn’t fly, I’m leaving the country.’ It did fly,” he said.
DeKoning said he was 17 years old and a senior in high school in Southern California in 1943 when he heard that the Army had a program in which he could get four years of college if he passed a test. He did, but he couldn’t enlist with that program, unlike friends who joined the Navy.
“All my buddies who took that test immediately enlisted in the Navy. I had to wait until my draft came up when I was 18 and registered,” he said.
When his draft did come up, DeKoning was classified 4-H because of a perforated eardrum he suffered when
RC FLIGHT Continued from page A2
up high and keep it stabilized,” he said. “You could see how to capture a good, clear picture and see how it’s used.”
At the dedication cer- emony, Emilio Rosales told his regret that there was no college program avail- able when he first showed interest in becoming a pi- lot more than a decade ago. He’s finally near complet- ing his flight training after six years, with the help of friends and family.
“I really wish I had this op- portunity. Things would have gone a lot faster,” he said. “I urge you to take advantage of this opportunity. Hopefully, I’ll see some of you guys as stu- dent pilots.”
During her remarks, Caldwell said she remem- bered how David Clark. dean of instruction, and faculty members brought up the fact that a serious pilot shortage was developing nationally and internationally.
“They said ‘What do you think about us doing this?’
ABOVE: People waited in line to get free airplane rides on May 12 during the Korky Kevorkian Memorial Barbecue and Fly In at Reedley Municipal Airport. Denise Phariss with the city’s Com- munity Services Department said that about 300 flight tickets were passed out to people for free rides.
RIGHT: Asa Fausnaught Jr. of Reedley peered out the door after boarding one of the airplanes for a free ride. If marked the first airplane ride for the 12-year-old, who said after the ride he was most im- pressed with the aerial view of Reedley.
Photos by Jon Earnest / The Exponent
Reedley College’s 90th commencement set for May 18
Staff Report
Reedley College will honors its 90th graduat- ing class when its com- mencement ceremony is held at 7 p.m. Friday, May 18, on the cafeteria south lawn.
The ceremony has been pushed back an hour to deal with the heat and setting sun. The event is scheduled to last about 90 minutes.
The college will be pre- senting 700 associate arts and sciences degrees and 1,020 certificates.
The May 18 commence- ment also will be the fifth and final one for Sandra Caldwell, Reedley College president. Caldwell —who has led the college since 2013 and also has been president of the Madera and Oakhurst Community College Centers — recent- ly accepted the position of executive director with the Wyoming Community Col- lege Commission in Chey- enne, Wyo. She begins her new job this summer.
A special aspect of this year’s commencement will be 24 students from Sanger High School receiving their associate degrees. The stu- dents actually will have graduated from junior col- lege before high school — Sanger High’s graduation ceremony is Friday, June 8, in Fresno.
College officials said mascot “Clyde” will be next to the gym from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. and available for photos with gradu- ates and their families. He will be wearing a cap and gown.
Parking on campus will be free in all lots for the commencement cer- emony.
he was younger. He then ap- plied with Douglass Aircraft and Hughes, and was offered two jobs with Hughes. One of the jobs was as a 24-hour chauffeur, which he didn’t want.
DeKoning then was asked if he had drafting ex- perience, which he did from high school. He was hired by the company as a template maker.
The Spruce Goose concept came about because the War Department was looking to develop an oversized military boat with flying capabilities. He was involved in design ele-
And they expected me to say ‘no.’” she said. “I think they were a little surprised when I said ‘That’s a great idea. You should get to work on that.’”
Caldwell credited the staff and partners who saw the ini- tial vision.
“We provide a degree pro- gram that can lead to high wage jobs — not just for our local community but for our local returning veterans,” she said. “We know that this is go- ing to be a program that was highly desired for those indi- viduals.”
College officials say that Reedley College is the only community college in Cali- fornia that enables students to use federal financial aid as well as Veterans Adminis- tration benefits to help cover the costs to become a profes- sional pilot. The program of- ficially begins at the start of the fall 2018 semester on Monday, Aug. 13.
Langston — who wrote his personal phone number on a whiteboard so students could contact him anytime
ments of the craft, which used duramold as the skin for the plane.
Ironically, there was no spruce in the makeup of The Spruce Goose. Duramold was made of specially selected birch logs that were peeled to 1/90th of an inch. These peelings then were pressed together similar to pressing clothes down to 1/100th of an inch, and were attached with alternating layers of wood. DeKoning said it was an excellent substitute for aluminum.
DeKoning said he never met Hughes. He said the
later-reclusive Hughes never visited the lofting depart- ment, spending the bulk of his time with the operation of the plane.
Once DeKoning concluded his time with the aircraft in- dustry, he attended and grad- uated from UCLA. He later worked for the U.S. Gypsum Company.
After getting his teach- ing credential at University of California, Santa Barbara, DeKoning moved his family to Fresno where he has lived for 65 years. He had a long teaching career at Yosemite Junior High and taught at
Fresno City College. Following DeKoning’s
appearance, Oldham gave a brief presentation and an- swered questions from the audience about the electric aircraft program. He said the zero emissions planes will re- duce the cost of flying from about $30 to $50 per flight to $3 per flight.
Pilots who brought their planes to town and displayed them at the Fly In were en- tered into a pilots’ raffle. The winning ticket received a $100 fuel card that was donated by Kings River Sin- clair.
with questions — told stu- dents that they should find the one thing in life they most want to do.
“Please. Find your pas- sion,” he told students. “Mine’s in aviation. It might be yours, too.”
Sandra Caldwell, Reedley College president, cut the ribbon during a May 11 Open House and dedication ceremony to welcome the new Reedley College Flight Science program. The program will enable a student to become a pilot or flight instructor in just two years. High school students were among the attendees at the Open House. Dem- onstrations featured operating an airplane engine, flying an airplane simulator, a drone demonstration and career information sessions.
Jon Earnest / The Exponent
Saturday, May 19th
Grace of God of Dinuba and River Valley Church, Tulare have partnered together and invited Bill Dew of Dewnamis Ministries to bring solid teaching, activation, and impartation to the Central Valley.
We want to transform our region by equipping believers to transform lives through compassionate and loving healing encounters. Bill will draw on his training and history with Randy Clark as well as years of being active in the ministry field to activate a greater culture of divine healing in Central California.
This is a free event open to the public. However, we will take an offering at the evening service.
Saturday, May 19th
10:00 AM - Noon
Bill will be sharing “Lessons Learned” -- wisdom he has gleaned from 20 years of traveling in ministry.
Noon - 2:00 PM
Lunch Break
2:00 PM - 4:00 PM
The afternoon teaching will focus on Words Of Knowledge - what they are and how to get them. There will also be a time set apart for Impartation.
6:30 PM
Healing Service, emphasis on “The Power Of The Testimony.”
Grace of God of Dinuba, meeting at the Lutheran Church • 961 E Elizabeth Way, Dinuba, CA 93618 - www.igogod.org
215950
215989