Quiet Birdmen

EvilEagle said:
"Quiet" (as the story was told to me) originated when they were being thrown out of their first meeting place in Manhattan - one famous member claimed they aren't loud, they are just a bunch of "quiet birdmen". And it stuck... or so I was told. :dunno:
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Makes one wonder the story behind the Moose Lodge. ;)
 
So its just another frat for grown-up men. Nothing secret or ancient about it.
 
steingar said:
No club is worth joining that would have me as a member. I just wish that was original.
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+1 :yes:

Never understood the need to belong to such organizations to pretend to be something special, but I love hanging out with aviators and having a cold one.

If they haven't asked me by now they aren't interested so the above applies.
 
All them rich men are elks or something.
 
I flew with a guy a long time ago who mentioned that he was a QB. I remember him saying that they had some wild parties.

About once every five years, I would wonder about the QB’s, perhaps look on the internet about it and not find much.

By coincidence, I came across brief mention of QB twice in the last day.

Tex Johnston mentioning about going to a meetings, saying “It was a typical QB wing ding, complete with entertainment”.

A Martha Lunken article reminiscing about the old days of Lunken Airport mentioning how she was able to peek into QB meetings and see bare breasted bartenders.

There is more on the history here……

https://thesocietyforgentlemenexplorers.com/2019/06/the-mystery-of-the-quiet-birdmen/
 
My Illuminati membership keeps getting declined. Can anybody help?
 
I was a guest at a QB meeting. I am disappointed to learn I missed out on some strippers and hijinks.

Whoever writes the newsletter remarked on my excellent speech about my time piloting the SR-71 (or U-2, I forget which) -- a thing I've never come close to doing. But is it stolen valor if I didn't perpetrate it? :D

Absent a desire for social networking within aviation, I'm not sure I'd derive much value from membership.
 
I was invited to attend a “meeting”. I wasn’t impressed when having dinner they said guests had to tell jokes…:rolleyes: I responded I don’t do jokes so let’s move on. It seemed more like a frat party and I wasn’t into that crap in college, definitely not now. I’m happy to do my own thing and not have to fit into any group. But, that’s just me.
 
I gave a talk last week about the YF-22/YF-23 program to the local QB Hangar group. Mix of Ex-Mil and Civilian Pilots. Pretty tame event but good chow.
 
I was at one meeting with a sponsor, who flew a twin SeaBee. I gave him flight reviews but he died before I was ever accepted into the group.

Mostly it was a bunch of terrible jokes and a bad lunch. But MANY famous pilots. Tex was there.
 
The QBs started right after WWI when pilots missed the camaraderie of the war and started meeting once a month for dinner in New York City. A newspaper reporter described the wild dinner participants (strippers, booze, etc.) as "Quiet Birdmen." So, they took that name.

Charles Lindbergh was a QB. Ernest Gann was a QB. I am a QB.

Two requirements: You must have at least 500 hours of pilot in command time, and you must be a good fellow. There are no dues, no officers (though there is a Key Man who runs the meetings). The tales of strippers and drunks are not today's QB meetings. I have attended hangar events in Kalamazoo, Toledo, Minneapolis and here in Wausau, WI. We have dinner, sometimes a guest presentation or a video, occasional jokes, and good fellowship.
 
Is it possible to meet any Quiet Birdmen in the SoCal area?
 
I had a couple of friends who were QB’s when I lived and flew in Connecticut and would probably have joined if I still lived there. I moved to Atlanta and was out of aviation for a while, but the opportunity just hasn’t come up again.
 
I was a guest speaker at a QB meeting and was invited to come back a few times. Each time I had a steak & a beer or two, sat around listening to some really cool old guys telling flying stories, and yes, I had to tell a joke. Never saw a naked girl there! Just a bunch of guys who like to fly.
 
I found my Grandfather's membership card (member # 13,333) a while back. Very cool metal thing. My 2300 hours of EA-6B NFO time doesn't count but I'll soon hit 500 hours PIC and will be interested in looking into continuing his legacy up in NH after we move.
 
You do not need 500 PIC hours to attend, you can go as a guest even if you are a student pilot. You just need an invitation from a member.
 
Hmm, when I first heard about them, in the late 70s, it was 500 hours solo, not PIC.
 
Pinecone said:
Hmm, when I first heard about them, in the late 70s, it was 500 hours solo, not PIC.
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"Solo" would be an interesting way to specify it, wouldn't it? I you could be (and certainly many are) an multi-thousand hour airline pilot with only have a relatively few solo hours. Far less than 500. 500 solo hours would be the realm of the pipeline patrol or aerial photography business, something where there are no passengers and only one pilot.
 
EvilEagle said:
"Quiet" (as the story was told to me) originated when they were being thrown out of their first meeting place in Manhattan - one famous member claimed they aren't loud, they are just a bunch of "quiet birdmen". And it stuck... or so I was told. :dunno:
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Sort of like the story of the Metro Warbirds at Oshkosh.
 
As it was explained to me, it was started by WWI fighter pilots. So the 500 hour solo requirement, to match their experience.
 
X3 Skier said:
I gave a talk last week about the YF-22/YF-23 program to the local QB Hangar group. Mix of Ex-Mil and Civilian Pilots. Pretty tame event but good chow.
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Wish I could have heard that. I had a little involvement with both of those, first the YF-23 and later the F-22.
 
Soooo…. There I was… signing off my latest BFR today and noticed the logbook had no PIC, just solo….

Back story. Gent comes into the flight school enquiring about the improbability of him getting current. Let’s talk in my office says I, upstairs. He whips right up them puppies and I get a good feeling about his general health. Looks good, sounds good… but is EIGHTY FOUR.

So, what ya got, how much time, approx date of last flight?

Private. 130 hours. 19SEVENTYFOUR!!! Yep, 48 years ago!

Trained him up in a Vashon Ranger light sport, prob 15 hours flying once a week more reliably than ANY other student and kicked him out of the nest today! Woo hoo!

Found it curious about the lack of a PIC column..
 
My first logbook (1976) only had dual and solo columns, no "PIC".
 
Gilbert Buettner said:
The QBs started right after WWI when pilots missed the camaraderie of the war and started meeting once a month for dinner in New York City. A newspaper reporter described the wild dinner participants (strippers, booze, etc.) as "Quiet Birdmen." So, they took that name.

Charles Lindbergh was a QB. Ernest Gann was a QB. I am a QB.

Two requirements: You must have at least 500 hours of pilot in command time, and you must be a good fellow. There are no dues, no officers (though there is a Key Man who runs the meetings). The tales of strippers and drunks are not today's QB meetings. I have attended hangar events in Kalamazoo, Toledo, Minneapolis and here in Wausau, WI. We have dinner, sometimes a guest presentation or a video, occasional jokes, and good fellowship.
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In order to be a candidate, you have to be 21.
 
You must be 21 or over.

Sorry. I am a poor communicator.
 
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