Air Force Association Miami-Homestead Chapter The 317th Is Now The Only AFA Chapter Present At The Most Historical Sea Plane Base Within The U.S.

Miami, Florida / Watson Island 18th June 2010:

Air Force Association Miami-Homestead Chapter, The 317th President Benny F. Benitez Establishes A Summer Paid Internship for Miami Aviation Students

Miami, Floirda / Watson Island 18th June 2010:

Air Force Association Miami-Homestead Chapter The 317th Leadership Embeds Itself With The Greater Miami Aviation Association (GMAA)

Shown above is the Greater Miami Aviation Association "Banner Plane" which was created by the AFA-317th Chapter Secretary Catherine Smallwood who operates and manages the Digital Aircraft Factory the aviation marketing arm / subsidiary of the 94th AeroClaims-Aviation Consultant Group and who flys as an ERJ-170 Regional Jet First Officer for Republic Airways

Shown above are AFA-317th Vice President, Lt.Col. Rodrigo Huete (left) and Chapter President Benny Benitez (right) with newly elected Greater Miami Aviation Association (GMAA) President, Mr. Marc Henderson. The AFA-317th Leadership has embedded themselves via elected positions into the (GMAA). Rod was elected as a member of the Board of Director and Benny was re-elected after a one year leave of absent from the (GMAA) as 3rd Vice President

Miami, Florida 14th April 2010: Founded in 1927, the Greater Miami Aviation Association, commonly known in South Florida as the GMAA is the Nations oldest, professional aviation association. Founded four years before what is now a days Miami International Airport, the GMAA 83 year span has seen the progressive development of the U.S. commercial aviation industry, whose roots were established in Miami with such famous airlines as Pan American World Airways and Eastern Airlines.

The "Relevent" leadership and mindset in which Benny and Rod have implemented within the AFA-317th since November of 2009 and having worked in a sort of "wing-man" concept is now being "exported" to another Miami based organization. It should be noted that with the election of Rod onto the GMAA it marks the first time in the organization 83 year history that it has had a dual Military & Civilian Test Pilot as an elected official on it Board of Directors. Benny has been a member of the GMAA since he stood up his organization, the 94th AeroClaims-Aviation Consultant Group back in 2003 and has held previous positions within the GMAA as a member of the its Board of Directors and was formerly 1st Vice President.

In 2009, Benny took a leave of absents due to operational commitments, as he applied time and effort to other ventures of which included the ramping up of the AFA-317th, but maintained his contacts with the (GMAA) as an advisor to the past President Mr. Dan Sullivan.

Air Force Association Miami-Homestead Chapter The 317th Vice President Speaks at the Miami Quite Birdmen Association Meeting About Flight Testing

Shown is the famed "Century Fighter" the Convair F-106 "Delta Dart". Aside of the two common platform which both Rod and Eric flew, thus being the F-16 & F-15, they too share flight experience with the F-106. The F-106 was flown by the Florida Air National Guard.

Air Force Association Miami-Homestead Chapter, the 317th, Vice President Lt.Col. Rodrigo "Rod" Huete USAF (Ret.) speaks to the audience of the Miami hangar of the Quite Birdmen Association about the realm of military and civilian test flight and the requirements of test pilots.

Lt.Col Rodrigo "Rod" Huete USAF (Ret.) a former F-16 & F-15 test pilot poses for a picture with "Eric" also a former F-16 & F-15 pilot who was formerly with the Florida Air National Guard. Eric a member of the Miami hangar of the Quite Birdmen Association and who like Rod for a short period flew famed Convair delta wing F-106 "Delta Dart".
Lt.Col Huete USAF (Ret.) explains to the audience comprised of both civilian and military pilots of his experience as a member of the U.S. Air Force Test Pilot School and as a test pilot for the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) while based out of the FAA Aircraft Certification Office (ACO) New York

Miami, Florida April 6th 2010: AFA-317th Chapter member Bernie Schumacher, who is an active member of the Miami Quite Birdmen Association, extended a special invite to AFA-317th Chapter Vice President Lt. Col. Rodrigo "Rod" Huete USAF (Ret.) who spoke about the realm of military and civilian flight testing and test piloting at the Quite Birdmen Association April meeting, which was held at the 94th Aero Squadron Restaurant.

Also, present by invite was AFA-317th Chapter President, Benny F. Benitez, who along with Rod proudly represented the 317th and provided copies of AFA magazines to the attendees.

Rod's speech present an in depth look at what is often a secret and unknown world of the test pilot. From the days of our Nation's space exploration "The Right Stuff" to today's corp of American and foreign test pilots, both military and civilian, the audience was able to obtain a detailed briefing as to how it all plays out. Rod's ability to blend his real life experience as test pilot with the USAF and the FAA with formulated instructional visuals cues and slides, provided a brilliant, informative and entertaining evening for all who attended and gave yet another positive exposure to the AFA-317th within the community.

A special thanks goes out to the member's of the Miami Quite Birdmen Association for extending a warm welcome to the AFA.

Air Force Association Miami-Homestead Chapter The 317th Visits Opa Locka Airport For New Memebership and Surveys The "Round Engine Classics" Aircrafts

One could only imagine the untold numbers of passengers that this aircraft a Douglas DC-7C has carried in its glory years, when the commercial airline industry was very different from today and yet after all those years this aircraft still earns a living, as it soldiers on as a cargo carrier for Florida Air Transport an established and experienced Opa Locka, Florida based FAR 125 operator
A veteran of the recent Haitian earthquake relief fleet of aircraft that transported endless amount of supplies and relief equipment from South Florida to Port Au Prince airport sit poised ready for its calling. Note the "Grasshopper" logo on the forward section, as the flights to Haiti were called and identified by the USAF combat controller who managed the airspace as "Grasshopper" due to the fact that such aircraft's landed on the grass area along the main runway to save the "asphalt" for the heavy jets.
AFA-317th Chapter Vice President Lt. Col Rodrigo "Rod" Huete USAF (Ret.) stand next to an RD4, the U.S. Navy version of the venerable Douglas DC-3. This aircraft too earns its living by hauling cargo to the local islands within the Bahamas as well as other destinations within the Caribbean
Another Classic a Douglas DC-7B that was saved from the torch of the scrapper and restored to its former glory as Silver Falcon airliner for Eastern Airlines. This aircraft will soon be flying the national airshow circuit, as a flying museum belonging to the Historical Aircraft Flight Foundation. This is the ONLY DC-7B in the world to have been restored to its original airliner condition
A far cry from the supersonic jets that Lt. Col Rodrigo "Rod" Huete once flew as a former USAF Test Pilot, but nonetheless it was aircraft's such as these classic "round engines" that fueled "Rod's" love and admiration for aviation as a boy. He commented on the amazement that was seeing the engines of Braniff's DC-6's & 7's chug to life by belching out smoke and sputtering oil at his local hometwon airport.

Opa Locka, Florida 26th March 2010: Working within the "wing man" concept the President and Vice President of the Air Force Association Miami-Homestead Chapter, the 317th are becoming a common site through out the greater Miami area. Benny and Rod have coordinated their efforts and professional schedules to bring and promote the AFA to many of their clients and colleagues. Being that both of them operate well established, recognized and respected aviation consultant firms within the greater Miami / South Florida area, the task of blending their efforts to advocate for the support of the Miami-Homestead Chapter within their daily operational schedule is fairly easy.

Their trip to Opa Locka took them to visit Wisetouch Interiors an aircraft interior service provider company and a prospective supporter of the AFA. It has become standard operating procedures between Benny and Rod to be pro-active and aggressive when promoting the AFA and seeking community / industry support. The high lite of the visit to Opa Locka airport was nonetheless the ability to tour the flight line and walk among the classic "round engine" aircraft's of which there are not too many still left operationally or still earning their keep.

Air Force Association Miami-Homestead Chapter, The 317th Meets With Protocole of Doral Concerning The Formation Of A Professional Alliance

Shown above is Ms. Michelle d'Arbelles the founder of Protocole a multi-language, Doral, Florida based organization that provides highly specialized services toward the professional and VIP business community both domestically within the Continental United States (CONUS) and on a global scale.

Air Force Association Miami-Homestead Chapter President, Benny Benitez poses with Michelle for a photo that amplify the new alliance of mutual service and assistance that the AFA-317th and Protocole of Doral has kicked off and of which was initially established and the gears put into motion by the Chapter Vice President Lt. Col Rodrigo "Rod" Huete, USAF (Ret.)

Doral, Florida 26th March 2010: If you were to ask the Benny Benitez, AFA-317 Chapter President what is one of the positive attribute of being an AFA Chapter President and representing the AFA within the community, he will comment the ability to meet all sorts of very interesting people. Such is the case in presenting the Air Force Association to the Protocole office of Doral, Florida and having the professional and personal pleasure of meeting an individual such as Ms. Michelle d'Arbelles.

A colleague of the Chapter Vice President, Lt. Col Rodrigo "Rod" Huete USAF (Ret.) via the American-Nicaraguan Chamber of Commerce, Ms. d' Arbelles has graciously offered the ability for the AFA-317th to not only have a proper mailing address at her office spaces, but has also extended the use of her office conference room for AFA-317th business and community leader meetings.

This both a welcome and appreciated gesture that shows the outstanding support of individuals such as Ms. d' Arbelles toward the AFA. The Chapter owes a level of gratitude to Chapter Vice President Lt. Col Huete for making this happen. Effective soon, the AFA-317 shall establish a professional mailing address at the new site and effectively be considered a non-profit organization of the City of Doral of which within a period of 12 months, the AFA-317 Chapter may be able to apply for US$5,000.00 grant from the City of Doral for non-profits that call Doral home. The 317th Chapter motto of "Being relevant to the community" is the battle cry and the force that has been yielding in the Chapter being noticed and accepted within Miami.

We at the AFA-317th proudly salute citizens like Michelle for assistance and support toward our organization.

Air Force Association Miami-Homestead Chapter The 317th Meets With the Mayor Of The Village Of Key Biscayne

AFA-317th the Miami-Homestead Chapter Vice President Lt. Col Rodrigo "Rod" Huete USAF (Ret.) meets with the Honorable Mr. Bob Veron, Mayor of the Village of Key Biscayne. The AFA-317th continues their effort to reach out and embrace the local community as they stride for relevance within the public eye
Shown with the Honorable Mr. Bob Veron, Major of the Village of Key Biscayne and Lt.Col Rodrigo "Rod" Huete, AFA-317 Vice President is Ms. Martha Kelly a prominent citizen of Key Biscayne and the Director of Events for the Miami based, American-Nicaraguan Chamber of Commence in which Rod serves as the Chamber President

Village of Key Biscayne, Florida 17th March 2010: AFA-317th Vice President Lt. Col. Rodrigo "Rod" Huete USAF (Ret.) met with the Mayor of Key Biscayne, the Honorable Mr. Bob Veron. Rod's mission was to properly introduce the Air Force Association Miami-Homestead Chapter, the 317th to the Key Biscayne Village local Government. In addition, they discussed the participation of the AFA-317th Miami-Homestead Chapter in their 4th of July Parade.

The Key Biscayne 4th of July parade is the only formal parade in the entire Miami-Dade area honoring our Nation independence, the parade initiates with the playing our Nation anthem along with an impressive flyby of F-16 from the 482nd Fighter Wing / 93rd Fighter Squadron, "The Makos" based at Homestead Air Reserve Air Base.

In the Chapter pursuit of being "Relevant" within the local community, its is befitting that our Chapter be properly represented within this notable event. The AFA-317th plans to show its colors by parading in a yet to be determine classic model automobile to be provided by a local dealer.