Boeing E-6 Mercury Aircraft - One of the subjects of this month's Aviation Lecture

WHO: WACO Historical Society 

WHAT: WACO Aviation Lecture Series 

WHERE: Troy-Hayner Cultural Center, 301 West Main Street, Troy, OH 45373 

WHEN: Thursday, April 25, 2024. 7 p.m. 

CONTACT: WACO Air Museum, 937-335-9226 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: April 18, 2024 

Cold War Submarine Communications

The Aviation Lecture Series has long been a favorite for many locals and those from surrounding areas. This year the series has moved to the Hayner Center in downtown Troy to better accommodate the space needs of the program. 

April's presentation is titled Cold War Submarine Communications and will be presented by Joe Stewart. The program will detail the need to communicate with submerged fleet ballistic missile submarines and the efforts the Navy went through to develop an airborne capability to meet the need. The talk will include technical content about radio frequencies, antenna equipment and aircraft configurations including the use of the Lockheed EC-121, Lockheed EC-130, Lockheed EP-3B, Boeing E6A Mercury aircraft.

Joe Stewart is a twenty-six-year Navy Veteran, Pilot and Educator, who resides in Springfield, Ohio with his wife Shirley. Originally from Montrose, Michigan, Joe attended the Naval Academy after high school where he was commissioned in 1966. He then attended Navy flight training and received his wings in October of 1967 as a multiengine Pilot and Navigator.  Joe served in a variety of aviation assignments in Anti-Submarine Warfare Squadrons during 15 years of flight duty, was designated an Aircraft Commander and Mission Commander in two models of the P3 Orion ASW patrol plane and was the Operations Officer for Commander Task Group 72.8 Indian Ocean area.

Joe holds a master’s degree in operations research from the Naval Postgraduate School, served in R & D shore assignments and was designated a Proven Subspecialist in Weapons Systems Acquisition. He became one of a handful of Naval Officers to teach at the Air Force Institute of Technology at WPAFB. He who also served on the faculty of the Naval Postgraduate School, Monterey, CA. where he taught Operations Research. also directed the computer aided Wargaming Center for the Command, Control and Communications (C3) academic group. He retired after 26 years of active duty in 1988.

After retiring from the Navy, Joe worked for Texas Instruments and The MITRE Corporation as a Principal Systems Analyst for a total of 18 years. He continues to serve his community through several veterans groups.

The lecture is handicap accessible via elevator from the main level. We look forward to seeing you there! Click the link below and let us know you will be there!

All aviation lectures are free and open to the public and are held at Troy-Hayner Cultural Center in Troy, OH. Donations to the WACO Air Museum are gratefully accepted. Programs are scheduled to last one hour, beginning at 7 p.m., with questions to follow.  All lectures are sponsored in part by Collins Aerospace. For questions, please call 937-335-9226 or visit www.wacoairmuseum.org.

Lockheed EC-121 Aircraft - One of the subjects of this month's Aviation Lecture