Now out of the cockpit after a long mission.....
(Actually, this Wildcat belongs to CAF Colonel Bob Reise)
Now out of the cockpit after a long mission.....
Actually, I was helping the Wildcat's caretaker at an airshow.
This is me in 1997, when I was a member of the CAF.
BIOGRAPHY
My name is Dave Hanson. I'm the second son of Ralph and Ann Hanson, the best parents a person could have. I'm a native of San Diego (well, at least the last 30 years), and will continue to live here for the foreseeable future. I recently adopted a pair of shelter kittens to keep me company, you can see their pics here.
In my spare time I do a number of things to keep busy, including a fair amount of volunteer work. In the past I have served as President or as a staff member of several groups, including Task Force Omega (trying to bring the POW/MIAs home from Southeast Asia), the RX-7 Club of San Diego (a club for Mazda's rotary-engined sports car), the local wing of the Commemorative Air Force (dedicated to preserving the aircraft and aviation history of World War II), and other groups.
Whenever possible I volunteer for the San Diego chapter of the Surfrider Foundation, which is a non-profit environmental group dedicated to protecting the world's beaches and coastlines from pollution and over-development. I joined the Surfrider Foundation when I started surfing, and even though I haven't surfed in awhile, I still volunteer my time because the people are great and the cause is right.
I am also volunteering my time for the San Diego Aircraft Carrier Museum, which will be based on the retired Navy carrier the USS Midway. A lot of work has to be done prior to the carrier being opened to the public in 2004, and I am doing historical research for the museum, and am a member of the Exhibits Committee. I recently completed a secondary website for the Midway, which shows off the aircraft restoration work being done at the Midway's hangar at NAS North Island.
I have recently rejoined the CAF, and volunteer for them as well. I have become Assistant Curator of their small museum at Gillespie Field, and lately I have been spending a fair amount of time redesigning the museum and adding new exhibits.
I have an interest in ancient civilizations, and I would like to visit all of the major archeological sites of the ancient peoples during my lifetime. So far I have visited twelve Mayan ruins (during a trip to Guatemala, Honduras, and the Yucatan), and in early 1999 I completed a trip to over a dozen ancient Egyptian sites. In October of 1999 I traveled to the ancient city of Teotihuacan outside of Mexico City, as well as the Toltec ruins at Tula, and other sites (the webpage of that trip is here). The most recent trip was in May/June of 2001, where I went to see the Inca ruins of Peru and Bolivia (including Tiwanaku), and then went on to spend a half a week exploring the remote Pacific island of Rapa Nui (known as Easter Island). The website for that trip is here.
As you can tell, I also make websites (both for myself and for clients). Sometimes I will create a website just because a certain story needs to be told or preserved for the future. I've done over a dozen sites, and I am continually going back to update some of my older sites. I also spend a fair amount of time answering emails from people who visit my existing sites. The best are the emails that I get from some of the veterans (or their families), who thank me for keeping a part of their history alive.
That's enough about me. Thanks for taking the time to visit my website(s).
Send me an email if
you have any questions or comments.
- Dave
Try some of my other websites if you've got the time:
A TRIBUTE TO THE CACTUS AIR FORCE
BATTLE-DAMAGED B-17 FLYING FORTRESSES
GLENN ILLUSTRATORS AVIATION ART
FOUR WEBSITES ABOUT TRAVELING TO ANCIENT RUINS
USS MIDWAY MUSEUM - AIRCRAFT RESTORATION
HOW THE WEST WAS WON - The Making of the Movie
IT'S A WEIRD AND DANGEROUS WORLD
THE
MYSTERIOUS ICA STONES OF DR. CABRERA
