Trying to donate our Yellow Jacket...

bartoma

Jolly Good Fellow
Messages
357
Location
Herndon, VA
I mentioned this a while back, but my dad (AE '57) flew a yellow jacket model airplane at halftime during his time at GT... Here's a link with some pictures and video of us flying the model a few years ago:

https://photos.app.goo.gl/B2IIFHKfOGnZAkLq1

I reached out to Todd Stansbury a year ago regarding its donation, but I never received a response...

Sadly, it seems that my dad's remaining time is short, so I'd like to facilitate its donation while he's still with us... I have tried to contact the GTAA via email and via phone, but no one answers, and no one responds...

If anyone has a suggestion as to a POC I can talk to regarding this precious part of GT's history, I would appreciate it...
 

TheSilasSonRising

Helluva Engineer
Messages
3,729
I mentioned this a while back, but my dad (AE '57) flew a yellow jacket model airplane at halftime during his time at GT... Here's a link with some pictures and video of us flying the model a few years ago:

https://photos.app.goo.gl/B2IIFHKfOGnZAkLq1

I reached out to Todd Stansbury a year ago regarding its donation, but I never received a response...

Sadly, it seems that my dad's remaining time is short, so I'd like to facilitate its donation while he's still with us... I have tried to contact the GTAA via email and via phone, but no one answers, and no one responds...

If anyone has a suggestion as to a POC I can talk to regarding this precious part of GT's history, I would appreciate it...

Sorry about you Dad's status. Prayers for your family.

I remember watching him fly his model at Grant Field.

Sadly - the silence may be your response. Should not be that way.
 

bartoma

Jolly Good Fellow
Messages
357
Location
Herndon, VA
A quick update - I received a response from Brad Malone (branding and ideation) and Stephanie Swant (assistant to the Ad), and was put in touch with the GT Historian, Marilyn Somers...

Marilyn has been nothing short of fantastic, and has arranged for us to donate the Yellow Jacket on Wednesday at 1100 at the Alumni House across from Grant Field... I and my sister will donate on behalf of my father, and Marilyn has arranged to have Bill Curry accept the donation on behalf of The Institute...

My father has only a short time left with us, and he is glad to know that his contribution to the legacy of our beloved alma mater will be preserved for the broader Tech family...

God bless you, Bob Barton, AE '56 and my dear, wonderful father...
 

bartoma

Jolly Good Fellow
Messages
357
Location
Herndon, VA
This is a write up by my father that I will provide to the GT historian:

GA Tech Band Mascot

Sometime in the late 1940’s, some of the tech students got the idea of having a control-line model airplane, shaped and painted to represent a yellow jacket, as the band’s mascot.

When I arrived at Tech in 1953, the Yellow Jacket, (YJ), had established its position as the closing segment of the band’s half-time show.

The flying team consisted of two models, their pilots and helpers. Ideally, the two models were both started and took-off together. They flew in formation and did some simple stunts. Having two models provided some redundancy so that in case one had problems starting, at least one YJ would fly. A superstition soon arose that if the YJ didn’t fly, Tech would lose the game. When something like this happened, you can imagine the elation of the opponent’s fans.

I am sorry that I can’t remember all of the people involved with the YJ, but I acted as a helper in1953, with Bill Waites and Bill Cooksey flying the planes. I built a YJ and flew it with Bill Cooksey in the 1954 season. The YJs went on the band bus to away games, and, naturally, flew at all home games as well

The game against Georgia that year was played in Athens. The day was stormy with heavy rains. I left the YJ on the band bus and watched the first half from the lobby of a nearby dorm. The rains seemed to let up as halftime approached, so I went out to the bus to retrieve the YJ, hoping we might get a chance to fly it. HORRORS! At the bus I found the YJ to be missing. I envisioned some Bulldog fan stealing it and running it up their flag pole. Going to the Tech stands, I found that my helper, lacking a ticket, took it and used it to get into the stadium. So I was able to fly it … and, naturally Tech won.

That was the year we went to the Cotton bowl in Dallas, Texas, and I rode the train out with the band for that game.

I built a new YJ for the 1955 season and Gerald Craddock also built one from the same plans. I guess it was a good thing that we had two YJs, because even though some problem arose every week, we were always able to get at least one up thus preserving the team’s victory.

The season opener that year was against Miami, and it was to be nationally televised. The producers of “The Today Show” decided to do a short segment about the game, and asked the band to give them a sample of their half-time show. I flew the YJ as the closer for the piece. The format of the show involved doing a second segment for (I guess) another group of broadcasting stations. They thought the YJ was so interesting that the put a camera right on me, as I cranked the YJ for the finale. ALAS! I forgot to reset the fuel cut-off, and it wouldn’t start. So I spent 10 or 15 seconds cranking on it before seeing my mistake. The YJ started and in the last two seconds of the program, the plane gracefully took off.

There were many other interesting adventures that made those golden days memorable.

This was the year Tech played Pitt in the Sugar Bowl. I, and my YJ rode on the train with the band. Gerald Craddock, with the other YJ, drove down to New Orleans.

The band director, Ben Sisk, called for a band practice before the game. So there we were, with both YJ’s, pilots, helpers, and the band. The practice went off flawlessly, with the two YJ’s flying together in the same circle. (This was something we had accomplished only rarely during the season). Gerald, then headed back to his hotel to pick up his date, and said he would be back in time for the half-time show.

As we marched into the stadium, we were surprised to learn that the schedule of events had been changed. The Tech band performance would precede the game, and would not occur at half-time.

So we went on the field and did our thing. My YJ flew successfully, solo. (And Tech, naturally, won the game).

Bob Barton BSAE 1956
 

bartoma

Jolly Good Fellow
Messages
357
Location
Herndon, VA
Another YJ write up from my dad...


More Yellow Jacket Stories

In one of the seasons while Bill Waites and Bill Cooksey were the YJ pilots, they decided to get a little fancy and do some aerobatics.

The simplest stunt they could imagine was to have the two YJs, flying in formation, to do simultaneous, (and completely separate), inside loops. The procedure was for the pilot of the leading plane, to say, “One, two, three, LOOP!” and this, both planes would begin a standard inside loop.

But alas, it didn’t go exactly that way. Waites said. “one, two, three, LOOP!”, and started his loop. But Cooksey waited another two seconds before starting his loop. Waites, by this time was at the top of his loop and descending as Cooksey started ascending, thus the two loops inter-twined, and the two pilots became wide-eyed spectators along with all of the fans in the stands. The control lines crossed, jerking the control handle out of pilot #1’s hand. Thus, YJ #1 dove straight into the ground. Meanwhile, YJ #2 staggered straight up, then fell back to earth. … disaster complete!

On another occasion, when Tech was playing Duke, the Duke “Blue Devil”, in his devil suit, and his pitch-fork, (made from a broom), decided while the planes were flying, to share the field with the Yellow Jackets, and he ran out into the circle, jumping and poking with his “pitch-fork” , up at the airborne YJs and their lines. What a disastrous victory he would have had if he had downed a YJ! So, on my next lap around, I came around at an altitude of about three feet … and going sixty miles per hour. I pulled up at the last second and the Blue Devil dived, trying to get under the grass. Victory YJs!



Once, the Yellow Jacket had a close call when our few seconds of the half-time show was coming up. The band cheer leaders, and majorettes were ready to exit the field, from the west side to he east stands, and we were prepared to crank-up and take off, flying over them on our first lap. The young majorette nearest me was nervous, fearing I would not get up over them. Then, BLAM!, she accidentally dropped her baton right on top of my YJ. A close call, but no damage.



Tech played Pitt in the 1955 Sugar Bowl in New Orleans . The YJs, as “members” of the band, were provided with box lunches and a tickets on the band train. But the pilot of YJ#2 did not claim either of these “perks” because he had a higher priority: his girl friend.

But, to our surprise, he showed up at the stadium with his plane, for the pre-game practice. Both YJs started and flew perfectly. Then, as the band marched into the stadium, pilot #2 headed to the hotel to pick up his gal. It was his intention to be back, before half-time to fly. But what we did not know, was that Tech’s “half-time” show was rescheduled to BEFORE the game. That is why Tech had only one YJ that day. But, thank goodness, that one flew, and Tech won the game.
 

g0lftime

Helluva Engineer
Messages
5,347
There are formations now using multiple drones that are synchronised to produce designs . It looks a lot like fireworks. It is really cool and would be right up GT type of thing. The formations are computer controlled and change during the performance.
 

mwaites

Georgia Tech Fan
Messages
1
I donated my Dad's plane to the Tech archives on May 6, 2023. He was Bill Waites, BSAE 1955. I believe that he flew with Bill Cooksey
in 1953. Bill Cooksey's plane is also in the archives. I am Mat Waites, MSICS 1981.

Dad's Plane (after some restoration work):

Yellow Jacket small.jpg


Here is the day that we donated the plane (Me and 3 of my 4 siblings)

DSCF1640 small.jpg



And here I am handing off the plan to Alex from Archives!

DSCF1645 Small.jpg
 

awbuzz

Helluva Manager
Staff member
Messages
11,423
Location
Marietta, GA
I donated my Dad's plane to the Tech archives on May 6, 2023. He was Bill Waites, BSAE 1955. I believe that he flew with Bill Cooksey
in 1953. Bill Cooksey's plane is also in the archives. I am Mat Waites, MSICS 1981.

Dad's Plane (after some restoration work):

View attachment 14366

Here is the day that we donated the plane (Me and 3 of my 4 siblings)

View attachment 14367


And here I am handing off the plan to Alex from Archives!

View attachment 14368
Way COOL!!!
 
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