Ken Haefner learned to fly in the Air Force in a T-33. He served abroad in Okinawa during 1957-59 as part of the 25th Fighter interceptor Squadron that flew support missions over the Taiwan Straight during Chinese shelling of Quemoy and Matsu Islands.
Upon returning home, he resumed his job as an Electrical Engineer at GE Light Military Electronics Dept in Schenectady and was assigned to work on the Navy Self Adaptive Control Flight Test Evaluation, which was conducted at the General Electric Flight Test Center (now the location of the Empire State Aerosciences Museum).
At 10 am, Haefner will discuss what it was like to work at the GE Flight Test Center in the 1960s.
The Empire State Aerosciences Museum (ESAM), located at 250 Rudy Chase Drive in Glenville, will hold its monthly Fly-In Breakfast on Saturday, Saturday, February 18th, from 8:30 am to 10:30 am. ESAM is a one-of-a-kind cultural resource located at the Schenectady County Airport in the Town of Glenville.
Dedicated to interpreting aviation, particularly as related to New York State, the museum offers visitors a variety engaging and educational experiences, including interpretive exhibits, a spectacular collection of restored aircraft, the State’s largest aviation library and an airpark with over 20 aircraft.
Exhibits include the enemy aircraft in the film Top Gun, a 13’ scale model of the Japanese aircraft carrier “Akagi” built for the film Tora, Tora, Tora and a mock-up of Amelia Earhart’s Lockheed 10, used in the TV movie The Final Flight starring Diane Keaton. Also, newly erected, is a ½ size replica of a British Airways Concorde, in front of the Museum.
The breakfast menu will include pancakes, french toast, eggs, sausage, potatoes, juice, coffee, tea and more.
Pilots: Tower Frequency 121.3; Ground 121.9. Land at Schenectady County Airport and taxi to Richmor Aviation North. Tell them you are going to ESAM.
For more information about the museum call (518) 377-2191 or visit the museum website.
Read more stories about New York aviation history here.
Photo of Grumman F-14 Tomcat courtesy Empire State Aerosciences Museum.
My first job after college was as a computer programmer with GE at Light Military in Schenectady. Programming was in machine and assembly language for the IBM 650, with punch cards as the Input/Output. It was a big deal when we bought an IBM 1620 with the Fortran language and paper tape.