In 2006, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University (ERAU) in Prescott, AZ began a free, public program of speakers open to aviation enthusiasts of all ages. The programs are presented monthly on the campus, normally the second Wednesday at 7 p.m. during fall and spring semesters, typically provide an insider’s perspective in a firsthand-narrative, multi-media presentation. Topics have ranged from World War I to the space program and everything in between. From 2008 on, most of the presentations have been videotaped and we are pleased to share them on Scholarly Commons. For more information about these free programs at ERAU or to get email notices, please contact Professor Nick Manderfield at (928) 777-6985 or mandern@erau.edu
Presentations from 2018
82nd ERAU Prescott Aviation History Presentation, Jerry Kidrick
Presentations from 2017
Mid-Air Retrieval (MAR) of Cruise Missiles, RPV’s and a Historical Overview of Aerial Recovery, Walter R. Blackwell
Pulling Gs-The Evolution of High Performance Aerobatics, Matt Chapman
A Marine Aviators Perspective on the War in Viet Nam, Fred Cone
Flying the Beam: Navigating the Early US Airmail Airways, 1917-1941, Henry Lehrer
Dancing with the Lockheed Stars; Tommy’s Love Affair with Lockheed Airplanes, Tommy Morgenfeld
The Forgotten Airborne, Kay Nehring
Beacons Light the Way for Air Mail in Arizona, Arvin Schultz
Presentations from 2016
From XST to F-117A, Alan Brown
The FAC, the Trail and the Secret War, Ron Carr
Exploits of a Helicopter TV Journalist, Jerry Foster
Concorde – 20th Century Icon, John Hutchinson
Apollo 13: The Longest Hour, Sy Libergot
Dreamland: Secrets of Area 51, Peter Merlin
The Legacy of the Tuskegee Airmen, William Norwood
Presentations from 2015
A Mouse That Ate an Elephant; The Russo Finnish War in the Air, Ron Anderson
Jolly Green Mission Brief, Rich Blackwell
Flying the X-15 and Space Shuttle, Joe H. Engle
Eugene Bullard: World’s First Black Fighter Pilot, Larry W. Greenly
The C-130 Hercules in Vietnam, 1971-72, John Hopper
The Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP) of World War II, Natalie J. Stewart-Smith
Amelia Earhart - A Study in Courage, Daring and Foolhardiness, Gene Tissot
The Atomic Bombings of Japan - Right or Wrong?, William Weiss
Presentations from 2014
SAC Drone History, John Dale
Submarines for Aviators, Randy Hoffman
Tales of a Combat Advisor in Iraq, Jerry Kidrick
Cheating Death, Combat Air Rescues in Vietnam and Laos, George Marrett
Memphis Belle, Hot Stuff, Gen Andrews & the Quest to be First to Complete 25, William Waldock
Presentations from 2013
Edwards AFB and the Air Force Flight Test Center, Charlie Bock Col, USAF, Ret.
The Berlin Airlift, Tom Cossaboom
Honoring Tuskegee Airmen; Past & Present, Larry Jackson
Ralph A. O'Neill, Arizona's Other WW I Ace, Alan Roesler
Flying the U-2, Art Saboski
Presentations from 2012
Zeppelins over London, Ron Anderson
Airpower Prophets: Giulio Douhet, Billy Mitchell and Hugh Trenchard, Bob Berlin
Building a Wright Flyer - by Committee, Fred E.C. Culick
The History of Air Traffic Control, Rose Marie Kern
We Did Our Part: the Story of a World War II AAF Air Transport C-47 Pilot in the South West Pacific, Kay Nehring
A (Declassified) History of Military Drones, Stephen Rayleigh
Presentations from 2011
General Doolittle's Elephant, Hal Cope
Building the Spirit of St Louis, Oce A. Dotson
Flying UAV’s in Iraq, Stephen Rayleigh
My Adventures in Helicopters!, Dwayne Williams
Presentations from 2010
David and Goliath – Battle for the Airways, Hal Cope
A Day in the Life of a Float Plane Charter Pilot, Bryan Cox
A Historical Look at the AV-8 Harrier Program, Bill O'Hara
The U2 Spy Plane Crisis: Turning Point in the Cold War, William Weiss
Presentations from 2009
Joint Surveillance Target Attack Radar Systems (Joint STARS) --- The Early Days, George Cusimano
Gossamer Albatross, Steve Elliott
"Sie Kommen" (They're Coming), David Hamilton
On the inside of SpaceShipOne, Dan Linehan
Every Wreck Tells a Story, David Trojan
Presentations from 2008
A History of Prescott's Ernest A. Love Field, Nancy Burgess
Adventures on the Dark Continent, Hal Cope
The Military Career of Ernest A. Love, Alan Roesler
