Seems like a simple enough question all right, but what does the GWAA stand for? If we are going to ask people to send us $14 to get a quarterly newsletter, then it should be clear what we are all about.

I have thought about this often and it is difficult to sum up in a sentence or two. There are a lot of organizations related to aviation that one could join, but most of them are pretty generic. Our niche seems to be a narrow one, however.

I do not consider us as enthusiasts of "antique" aeroplanes. Although we may all enjoy Stearmans and Wacos and the like, which I do, I see them as worlds apart from World War I era aircraft. Although technically antiques, that word does not seem to fit World War I aircraft.

To lump them together as "antique" airplanes trivializes the impact of WWI airplanes in aviation history. The roles of Golden Age aircraft and WWI aircraft have few connections.

We are enthusiasts of World War I era aeroplanes. Of any scale. If you would rather watch a World War I aeroplane fly straight and level than a Pitts do a complete aerobatic routine, then you are one of us. If a plane looks naked to you because it doesn't have guns, then you've come to the right place. If you hold services at the flying field every April 21st, then we're your group. (This last example is a little bit of a stretch, but you get the point).

Our intention is not to show you how to build an airplane, that's what the EAA and AMA are for. We are not going to be historians, either. World War I Aeroplanes, Over The Front, and Cross And Cockade are already established for that purpose. (And I strongly recommend membership in these organizations). We want to bring people together who share this passion. We want you to be a regular feature in our newsletter.

We want to see more and more WWI aircraft under construction and ultimately in the air. We want to encourage people who are thinking about building an airplane to build a WWI airplane. And we want to max out the fun meter in the process.

It is fashionable these days in business to have a mission statement around which decision-making should take place. So I asked some of the officers of this fledgling organization [Spring 1997-- Ed.] for their ideas regarding a mission statement.

When I asked Ross Walton, our membership secretary, for a mission statement, he said: "The railhead at Metz has been destroyed, sir."

So I asked Fred Jungclaus, who puts this newsletter together, for one. He said: "Houston, we have a problem." Not what I had in mind.

All kidding aside, I thought it should read more like: To promote interest in building and flying WWI era aeroplanes of all scales and support those who are doing so. That puts us somewhere between the "building" organizations and the "historical" organizations.

We are open for comments on this and would certainly like to hear from you. As I stated earlier, this organization should bring people together. From this issue forward, we will be printing the names and addresses of the officers in the newsletter. We want to be accessible to the membership for any questions or comments you may have.

I hope this helps establish a direction for us and for you to know just what the GWAA is all about.

Please, please, please send us pictures and updates on your projects, as we need features for this newsletter. Let us know about any WWI aviation related activity that you know about and we'll print that as well.

Fred Murrin
President