DB Cooper Symposium Update
WOW. Your enthusiasm is fantastic!
Yes, let's consider the Switch Is On. I'll be contacting local guys for support, and figuring out a way to raise money. The Formans, Sail, Bruce Thun - those will be my first call, and emails have gone out to them.
The Hangar Inn is a natural place to do this - it sits at the edge of Thun Field and planes are flying in all the time. The ambiance is perfect. The restaurant is only a few feet away from where Barb Dayton parked her Cessna 140, too.
As for 377 and anyone else parachuting in, I'm not sure on the legalities. Thun used to be a major jump field, along with Issaquah Sky Sports, but the skydivers had to move years ago because of suburban development pressures. Most folks are jumping fifteen miles south at Kapowsin Field, but even there folks are getting squirrelly.
Jets landing at Thun? Hmmm. Not sure, but I have never seen one do so.
Hangar Inn has one fair-sized conference room, an average-sized eating area, lots of RC planes hanging from the ceiling, and a lounge that is long on aromas. It also has a deck for outdoor eating, which is ideal in the summer.
Thun Field itself has an HQ compound and a conference room that is suitable for press/principals/audience to assemble, such as to discuss an aviation incident.
The six months between now and November is not a lot of time to get this off the ground, and so I envision a modest affair. About 300-400 people attended the 2011 Symposium in Portland, and about 150 in Tacoma. I could see us have about 100-200 this year where ever we hold it.
As for the WSHM, my relationship with them is weak. But it could improve. Returning phone calls would be a step in the right direction. Also, I would love to see some level of permanent Cooper exhibit at the main museum in downtown Tacoma. They certainly have excellent public facilities. But frankly, their Symposium was lousy, and I have little faith that they would be of great assistance at this point. Not sure what happened in 2013, but I suspected that internal dissentions depleted their energies and enthusiasm, AND crippled their ability to address organizational detail. It sucked. They also seemed to have out-sourced the Symposium to Doug Kenck-Crispin and GG, and the whole affair felt fractured and incomplete. The highlight of the whole show was having Robb Heady speak, and he was added to the panel the night before over beers with GG at the Swiss Tavern in downtown Tacoma...
