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A Message From "Hap" Aerofiles currently attracts some 33,000 viewers each week, and in a dream world, if each of them dropped a nickle in our tin cup on their way out, we'd have some real spending money each month! However, that's unrealistic because this is the Internet, and everything's free up here in the wild blue yonder, isn't it? So, we go for the next best thing and do what any self-respecting web site would do, we beg. Like I once had to get down on my knees in those godawful tight pants and beg the First Continental Congress to buy me a boat to cross the Delaware when all my planes were grounded because of lousy weather. |
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Despite Aerofiles coming off like a mega-operation with a staff of happy workers rushing around, that's all virtual, an electronic facade. I dislike bursting anyone's bubbles, but it's essentially a one-man project, and that huge ivy-covered hangar is a cluttered back room in a mobilehome up in the hills of Northern California. Certainly, there are numerous stringers and contributors of material and data around the world that help the site grow, but here's where it all comes together. It's up to one K. O. Eckland to design the pages, scan the photos, dig up the references, write the text, and answer the emails in a 12- to 18-hour day with his faithful old Mac and hangar cat, Waldo. He also gets to pay all the bills, which is where some outside help wouldn't hurt. Aerofiles is now supported by a government subsidy—it's better known as Social Security. But like most old farts on a monthly fixed SSI income, stretching it requires a lot of creativity. About a fifth of that goes to Aerofiles and its ancillaries. The rest is frittered away on food, pills, and other luxuries. And if that hasn't brought a lump to your head by now, I'll have to crank up some violin music. Seriously, the bottom line is that outside help is always vital in keeping those virtual hangar doors open and the virtual field light on. If you derive any value or pleasure, even a bit of entertainment, from Aerofiles, your support in the way of a thank-you buck or two will be most appreciated. Blue skies and 3 green lights, — General G. "Hap" Washington, Commander-in-Chief, Continental Army Air Corps Aerofiles, Dan Eckland 5566 Wilson Ln. Paradise CA 95969-6141 |