Welcome to the Updates! If you have visited the site in the past, you will find here what was added since your last visit. The site is regularly updated with infos and photos, as they become available. You can help too by sharing some infos, photos, bits and pieces. Items not used right away are put on files until more infos become available. Questions? E-mail the webmaster!

June 6 , 2008: Lt. Col. Earl Eastabrooks was killed on Monday,  2 June in the crash of a home built Kitfox aircraft near Houston, TX.  At the time of the accident, Earl was demonstrating the aircraft, for a friend, to a potential buyer.  The aircraft crashed and burned about a mile from the departure end of the runway.  Both pilots were fatalities. Earl had flown this aircraft many times and had assisted in it’s construction.  He was a highly experienced general aviation pilot having owned and flown his Cessna 170 for many years including his time in FB-111s. Lt. Col. Eastabrooks served as an FB-111 Navigator at Pease and subsequently as the Chief of Current Operations for the 509th Bomb Wing.  His 27 years of active duty included service in VietNam as a B-57 Navigator. Following his retirement he worked as a training manager at the NASA Space Center in Houston. In this capacity  he trained a number of shuttle astronaut crews including John Glenn. Our condolences to his family.

June 1 , 2008: Planning continues for the FB-111A Reunion (Rev VI- "Where it all began"? in Fort Worth, TX on 1-4 Oct 2009. A planning meeting was held 10 May 2008 at the Fort Worth Hilton. Led by Dave and Ronda Holmes, attendees discussed the entire Reunion Agenda, including the hotel (facilities and accomodations), possible tours (museums, L-M), golf, a guest speaker, the banquet and transportation requirements. The next planning meeting is scheduled for 6 Sep 2008 in Granbury, TX. Keep watching this site for further info.

April 1 , 2008: Planning is progressing well for the FB-111A Reunion, Rev VI, to be held in Fort Worth , Texas, at the Historic Fort Worth Hilton, October 1 through 4, 2009. More infos here!

February 21 , 2008: Lt. Col. Gene F. Shrack passed away on the morning of 19 February following his long bout with cancer.

Gene served as a Navigator on B-47, B-52 and FB-111 aircraft.  His flying career included combat in
Southeast Asia as a Radar Navigator on B-52D aircraft. At Pease AFB he served in the 393rd Bombardment Squadron from 1971-1973 and subsequently on the 509th Bombardment Wing staff as Chief of the Command Post.
Following his service at Pease he was transferred to MacDill AFB, FL where he served as a Command Post Senior Controller until his retirement. His survivors include his wife Rita and adult children Tom and Joyce.

Viewing will be at 1000 hours on Saturday, 23 February at the Stowers Funeral Home, 401 Brandon Blvd, Brandon, FL 33511.  His funeral will follow at 1100 hours.

The family requests that donations in lieu of flowers be made to the Moffitt Cancer Center Foundation, 12902 Magnolia Drive, Tampa, FL 33612.

January 31, 2008: Photos from the 1987 Tiger Meet at Montijo AB, Portugal have been sent by Harry Stone who was there with the 509th OMS. Greg Grohman shares with us a photo of 67-0162 "Apple One" with its crew and his January 1975 copy of Combat Crew which contains a story about Giant Voice 1974.

January 10, 2008; The Robert A LaFountain Chapter 179, Disabled American Veterans of Plattsburgh dedicated the Plattsburgh Barracks Veterans Park on September 8, 2007. The park is located on the U.S. Oval and displays a flag for all military branches and Veterans Organizations (13 flags). The park is a tribute to all veterans who served this nation from the Batlles of the Revolutionary War to Present. On each side of a large stone, there are Memorials Walls and on the walls, engraved bricks will be placed in memory of veterans. The bricks will have 3 lines of print with up to 13 characters per line. More infos about the wall and how to get a brick can be found on this site!

December 05, 2007; The mini-FB made its public debut during the Pease Airshow in August 2007. The mini was on display next to the NH ANG mini KC-135 and attracted a lot of attention during the weekend. See the mini-FB on display and with its crewdawg! Photos from the 2007 reunion in Plattsburgh can be found here!

July 16, 2007; The mini-FB is ready for display at the upcoming reunion in Plattsburgh and the Pease Air Show in August. See photos of our famous mini-FB!

June 11 , 2007; The mini-FB has finally returned home! Thanks to the efforts of Chris McWilliams and a few others. Read more! The mini-FB will be present at the Plattsburgh reunion in July and the Pease Air Show on August 18 and 19, 2007. More infos about the Pease Airshow can be found here.

May 17, 2007; Updated informations about the reunion at Plattsburgh in July 2007 have been posted here.

April 20 , 2007; "How to fly the FB-111..." has been updated with the original document written by Lt Col. Martin A. Cozzi in December 1975 at Plattsburgh AFB. Thanks to Jack Devlin for sending the original document. "Flight controls are your friend" is a new story added to the Storybook! Twelve new photos of FBs have been added in the Photo Files! From the 380th BW, 68-0243, 68-0248, 68-0251, 68-0252, 68-0254, 68-0284, 68-0286 and 68-0287. From the 509th BW, 67-7192, 68-0264, 68-0265 and 68-0273. Also discovered two new names, The Nighthawk and Marauder!

February 20 , 2007; Two stories have been added in the Storybook! New photos of the FB-111s and Gs stored in AMARC have been added as well, following a visit by the webmaster in January 2007.

February 7, 2007; Informations about the upcoming reunion taking place at Plattsburgh in July 2007 have been posted here.

January 19, 2007; Happy New Year to all and the very best to everyone! Informations about the fate of 5 FBs at AMARC have been added here.

December 1, 2006; Some informations about the role of the Security Squadrons at both Palttsburgh and Pease AFB have been posted. A photo of 68-0267 preserved at the SAC Museum is now posted as well. The dates for the 2007 FB reunion at Plattsburgh are in! July 20,21 and 22.

November 21, 2006; Happy Thanksgiving to everyone! Some lost pictures by Todd Munsell taken when 0286 was removed from its pedestal at Plattsburgh before being moved across the street on the old base. Also lost during the phase, photos from the mini-FB restoration in the Fall of 2005 by Chris McWilliams. Some photos from the 509th MMS have been posted here!