February 18, 2022
On Wednesday February 23 from 5-8 pm, CABA hosts another in our series of informal networking and socializing events at FlyteCo Brewing. Held once per quarter, these gatherings provide aviation professionals the opportunity to become acquainted, develop friendships and business relationships and perhaps learn about business or job opportunities in an informal setting.
An added benefit is that FlyteCo donates a portion of their proceeds from the event to the CABA Foundation to support our scholarship fund.
We'll get your first beverage, plus a 10% aviation discount applies after that.
This event is sponsored by Antaero Aviation. FlyteCo now serves food as well.
January 24, 2022
The 11th Annual CABA-VFW Airlift was conducted over the weekend of December 3-4-5, with some flights taking place during the following week.
This event supports Colorado military veterans and their families facing challenges during the holiday season. The toys and food collected and delivered by volunteer pilots truly help to brighten the holidays which might not be so bright otherwise.
By the numbers:Due to population changes some VFW posts opted out of this year's airlift and as a result, the number of posts served dropped from 28 to 23. Airlift flights were conducted by 22 pilots who generously donated of their time and aircraft expenses. Pilots flew to 10 airports around the state: Grand Junction (GJT), Montrose (MTJ), Durango (DRO), Cortez (CEZ), Alamosa (ALS), Pueblo (PUB), Las Animas-Bent County (7V9), Kit Carson (ITR), Greeley (GXY) and Northern Colorado Regional (FNL).
A total of more than 9,000 lb of non-perishable foods were transported. In addition, a wide variety of toys and supplies for homeless needs were delivered. Toy purchases were made based on Post requests for both boys and girls as well as various age groups. An estimated 1,400 veterans and their families were served by this year's airlift.
Since the first airlift in December 2011, our Holiday VFW Airlift has delivered a cumulative total of about 75,000 lb of goods and served more than 7,500 individuals.
November 21, 2021
Coming up in December will be the 10+1 Holiday Party on December 2, with the 11th Annual CABA-VFW Airlift. being conducted that ensuing weekend of December 3-4-5.
Both of these events support Colorado military veterans and their families facing challenges during the holiday season. The toys and food collected and delivered by volunteer pilots truly help to brighten the holidays which might not be so bright othwerwise.
The party will be held at Social Capitol, an awesome venue in Arvada near 65th & Wadsworth Blvd. Sponsorships are available so sign up on the Events page and help out our vets by bringing your donations of toys, non-perishable food, and financial support. Your donations will be combined with that collected by the Colorado VFW and all cargo will be delivered the weekend of December 3-4-5 by volunteer pilots from around the area, including the flight teams of Metro State University of Denver and other volunteer pilots.
Flights will depart Sunday morning December 5 from Signature Flight Support at Centennial Airport as weather permits, and VFW volunteers at the destination airports will personally transport the goods to veterans and their families.
We hope to see you at the party but even if you are unable, you can still support the cause! Visit the Events page to view ticket and sponsorship options.
Pilots/Aviation Night Out - November 3rd, 2021
The latest Pilots/Aviation Night Out was held last night at our favorite aviation themed brewery - FlyteCo Brewing - and it was the most well-attended one yet, with about 40 in attendance.
Located off 38th & Tennyson in Denver's West Highland neighborhood near the old Elitch Gardens location, owners Eric, Morgan, and Jason have become friends as well as reliable supporters of CABA events. We really appreciate all they have done for us since opening up in 2018.
This has become one of our most popular social events because FlyteCo provides a 10% aviation discount for all attendees while also donating a portion of their proceeds to the CABA Foundation for its scholarship fund. Not to mention it's a fun venue with great brews, and weekly karaoke and bingo.
Be on the lookout for the next Pilots/Aviation Night Out so you too can enjoy a few brews with good company while also supporting our efforts to attract young people into aviation.
July 1, 2021
The 2021 Golf Tournament was held Thursday, June 17, at Applewood Golf Course in Golden. Once again the tournament was completely sold out with 144 golfers (and a waiting list!). The weather for the day was awesome and by all accounts a great time was had by all!
There were no winners for either the $10,000 Hole-in-One contest or the $5,000 longest putt contest, although two golfers came within inches on their putts.
The Best Hole Theme contest for sponsors was won by Precision Aircraft Management, with their tropical island theme and tasty coconut beverages. They will receive a free Hole Sponsorship in next year's tournament!
May 1, 2021
GET YOUR CLUBS READY - IT'S ON!
The 2021 Golf Tournament will be held Thursday, June 17, at Applewood Golf Course in Golden, CO.
Register and check out sponsorships here. Sponsorships are still available - follow this link!
January 30, 2021
Three aspiring aviation professionals were selected from among 19 applicants to receive the 2020 CABA Scholarships which were presented on January 28, 2021. Winners were selected based on their resumes, an essay describing their career ambitions, and overall quality of the application. One of our most stringent criteria is the stated intention to pursue a career in business/general aviation.
Decker Babcock works the dispatch desk at Rocky Mountain Flight School and will use the scholarship for advanced training leading to the Flight Instructor certificate.
Tyler Mickey is a line service technician at Sheltair Aviation FBO at Rocky Mt. Metro Airport and will use his award for initial private pilot training.
Tammy Raines is a flight instructor at Rocky Mountain Flight School and will use her scholarship for Multi-Engine Instructor training.
Stay tuned and check back for more information on our plans for 2021 as we begin to emerge from the restrictions imposed by the pandemic and return to hosting in-person events.
November 30, 2020
CABA and the Colorado Department of the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) once again partnered up to recruit pilots and aircraft to deliver over 8,000 pounds of food and toys to Colorado veterans and their families.
The 9th Annual VFW Holiday Airlift was conducted earlier than in previous years due to weather considerations. The timing was chosen for the weekend following Veterans Day (November 11) to coincide with those festivities and to ensure the delivery of cargo in plenty of time for the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays.
Despite our attempt to minimize the impact of weather by moving the date up, we unfortunately did have high winds aloft on November 15 that prevented many of the smaller aircraft from flying. We were, however, able to deliver to all of the western slope destinations: Grand Junction, Montrose, Cortez, and Durango.
Alamosa was delivered the following day, and then over the course of the week, cargo was flown to Pueblo, Las Animas, Burlington, Sterling, Fort Morgan, Greeley, Fort Collins, Longmont, and Erie airports.
Twenty-six VFW posts were served by the cargo flights, and we'll post photos and the number of individuals served when the VFW makes that determination.
September 30, 2020
Governor Jared Polis has designated October to be General Aviation Appreciation Month.
Working together with the governor's office, CABA chairman Chris Swathwood secured the proclamation which highlights the contributions of aviation in performing vital services in Colorado. General and business aviation aircraft have been instrumental in delivering PPE to 30 airports around Colorado and also performing aerial personnel support and control as well as conducting many sorties to drop fire retardant on the numerous large wildfires in the state.
The press release announcing the proclamation can be viewed and downloaded here and the proclamation itself can be viewed and downloaded here.
August 11
CABA recently partnered with Angel Flight West, Denver International Airport, and CDOT Aeronautics Division to distribute 3.2 million cloth masks around the state of Colorado. The masks were provided by FEMA for airports to use in their terminals for staff and the traveling public. Denver International retained about 2.5 million for their use, and some were delivered by DIA personnel to Colorado Springs Municipal.
Dave Ulane, Aeronautics Director, aware of our extensive experience coordinating the holiday VFW airlift, reached out to us during the last week of July to request our participation in the airlift. Because of our significant list of previous airlift volunteers, we were able to recruit over 20 pilots for this important medical relief mission. Angel Flight West provided the balance of the pilots.
Eighteen pallets of masks in boxes containing 500 each, were delivered by DIA personnel to Signature Flight Support at Centennial Airport on Thursday August 6, and on Friday several board members sorted them into separate loads for each destination. The medical relief flights were conducted the next day.
Aircraft began arriving to Signature at about 6:30 am on Saturday. Early flights were planned due to the forecast of high temperatures in the mid- to upper 90s. So for safety, pilots wanted to complete their missions before the afternoon to avoid flying in high density altitude conditions.
A wide variety of aircraft participated: Cessna 182, several Bonanza models, Mooney, several Grumman models, Cherokee 6, PC-12, and a Falcon 2000. CABA was responsible for coordinating the delivery of 800,000 masks to 30 mostly rural airports in Colorado, and the vast majority of them were flown on Saturday August 7. Two additional missions were flown on Sunday and Monday, and about a full pallet remains to be delivered to Grand Junction, which received the largest number of masks behind Denver International and Colorado Springs.
Overall it was a very hectic weekend but a very successful airlift to assist airports around the state during the covid pandemic.
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