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PostPosted: Sat May 09, 2009 6:26 am 
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Longtime CAF Member to Become Director of Maintenance



MIDLAND, TEXAS (May 8, 2009) – The Commemorative Air Force (CAF) announced today that 27-year CAF member James C. “Woody” Woodford will be joining its Headquarters as Director of Maintenance, reporting to Bob Stenevik, VP of Operations and Maintenance.

“We are excited that a long-term member, who knows the CAF aircraft and the CAF members, will be joining the Headquarters team,” said CAF President, Stephan Brown. “Jim’s professional background and experience will allow the CAF to continue to honor the standards of quality in our aircraft and operations that were established under Bob Stenevik and Gary Austin. During his time here, Gary worked hard to create a set of standards in the restoration and maintenance of our vintage warbirds and it is through his recommendation and the recommendations of other CAF leaders like Charles Hutchins and Bill Muszala that we feel confident that Jim will be a great leader in the quest for quality.”

Woodford will be coming to Midland, Texas, the home of CAF International Headquarters, from Houston, where he has been employed by United Space Alliance since 1998. His professional experience ranges from maintaining vintage warbirds to supporting the International Space Station.

“I am thrilled to have had the offer to be a part of the CAF on this level,” said Woodford. “I have met a lot of really good folks during my association with the CAF. This is an organization I believe in and I am looking forward to bringing my knowledge and ideas to the table.”

Woodford began his career in aviation as soon as he graduated high school and joined the US Navy. He continued his career at Hughes Aircraft Company in California. Shortly after relocating to Houston to begin his career in the aerospace industry, Woodford discovered the renowned CAF Tora, Tora, Tora group. He quickly joined the ranks of the organization and has remained an active member since 1982. Throughout his membership in the CAF, Woodford has acted as Crew Chief for the Tora aircraft.

For the past ten years, Woodford has acted as Head Tech Inspector for the T-6 Racing Association. T-6 Racing is a well known not-for-profit organization in aviation and is “dedicated to the racing of the vintage WWII training aircraft designated North American AT-6, Texan, Harvard or SNJ” (from www.racingt-6.org). Woodford will continue to work with the T-6 group and his experience with the aircraft will lend itself to his new career with the CAF.

Collecting, restoring and flying vintage historical aircraft for more than half a century, the Commemorative Air Force (CAF) ranks as one of the largest private air forces in the world. The CAF is dedicated to Honoring American Military Aviation through flight, exhibition and remembrance. A non-profit educational association, the CAF has approximately 9,000 members and a fleet of 156 airplanes representing more than 60 different types – including airplanes from several foreign countries and military conflicts since World War II. For more information, visit www.commemorativeairforce.org or call (432) 563-1000.

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PostPosted: Sat May 09, 2009 9:47 am 
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All,

I'm glad to see Jim on board as the new Director of Maintenance. I'm confident that he'll easily do much better at the job than I ever did...especially while dealing with two things I never really handled all that well, people and paperwork. I am proud to have done what I've done during my relatively short time with the CAF, but there is no doubt that Jim will fit the position of Director of Maintenance far better than I did.

Congratulations to the CAF for making such a great decision!

Sincerest regards,

Gary Austin


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PostPosted: Sat May 09, 2009 11:01 am 
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I wish him well. That is not an easy job. It is indeed a juggling act. Working with planes, people and paper. I wouldn't even hazard a guess as to which part of that consumes the most time.


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PostPosted: Sun May 10, 2009 1:41 pm 
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I'll second that.

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PostPosted: Mon May 11, 2009 2:45 pm 
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Well, I too am glad to see Jim on board, and I think he'll do well. HOWEVER, I strongly disagree with Gary when he says he didn't deal well with people.. I had always found in my dealings with Gary that he was straightforward and honest, and fairly upfront with his expectations.

I look forward to working with Jim, and I'll miss dealing with Gary. All of us do owe Gary a big one for the huge task he undertook to bring the CAF Mx programme up to speed and where it needed to be.

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RIP Gary Austin..always in our hearts


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