December 2022
Squadron 24 Membership Meeting & Fly-In
The ramp was busy at the December 2022 membership meeting
On Saturday, December 10th, Squadron held its Winter 2022 Membership Meeting and Fly-in gathering at the EAA Warbirds of America building on the Sun 'n Fun campus in Lakeland, FL. The event featured election of officers, a cookout and preliminary planning for the 2023 Warbird Weekend.
Officers and Board Members elected to serve for 2023 are:
- Doug Freeman, President
- Matt Lazar, Vice President
- Gary Bocard, Secretary
- Steve Ritzi, Treasurer
- Gary Donovan, Director
- Dennis O'Keefe, Director
Thanks to everyone who attended!
Items for Squadron News?
Do you have any news you'd like to share with the Squadron? Please feel free to email warbird news, photos or stories to steve@ritzi.com.
December 2021
Florida Warbirds EAA Warbird Squadron 24 Gathering a Success!
December 3rd and 4th, 2021 saw approximately 25 warbirds gather at the Squadron 24 December Fly-In Gathering and Membership Meeting. The gathering was held concurrently with the SUN 'n FUN Holiday Fly-In Festival and Car Show.
The ramp was filled with a wide variety of aircraft including Nanchang CJ-6s, Yak 52s, Beech T-34s, Aero Vodochody L-39s, Scottish Aviation Bulldogs, SOCATA TB-30s, North American Navions, Boeing Stearmans and a MiG-17. Static displays included a NOAA Beech King Air, NOAA de Havilland Twin Otter and a US Navy Boeing/BAE T-45 Goshawk.
Formation flying was coordinated by a number of groups and a great time was had by all. Many thanks to everyone who flew in to enjoy the weekend, our always outstanding marshalling team and the volunteers that kept things moving throughout the weekend.
New Meeting Format
In an effort to make meetings more valuable, the Squadron will be combining future meetings with a flying event. While the format is still being formulated, it is anticipated that a combination of a fly-in cookout, formation practice, and coordinating demonstration "hops" in Squadron member aircraft will be part of the mix. Also, based on our experience with Zoom Meetings during the COVID-19 pandemic, we are working to keep them part of the meeting format. We hope this will allow our members from across the State and around the Country the opportunity to enjoy the camaraderie of Squadron events when they unable to join in person.
2020
Virtual Meetings
In an effort to maintain our ability to meet on a regular basis despite the COVID-19 pandemic, the Squadron will be conducting membership meetings virtually for the time being. We'll be using the popular video conferencing platform, Zoom. We hope this will allow our members from across the State and around the Country the opportunity to enjoy the camaraderie of Squadron events when they unable to join in person. Zoom login credentials will be provided in each meeting notice.
2019
Squadron Headquarters Relocation
The Squadron has relocated operations to the EAA Warbirds of America Building on the Sun 'n Fun campus in Lakeland. This Central Florida location will make meetings and events accessible to more of the Squadron's statewide membership. The adjacent Warbird ramp also provides plenty of room for aircraft of all sizes for fly-in activities and meetings.