Blaine has been a regular with the Old Bold Pilots since its inception in late 1996. His primary duties within the group have been notification of meetings and other activities. A permanent resident of Palm Desert, he is active in the Order of Daedalians, and has served as President of both the 11th AF Association and the Palm Springs Air Museum volunteers.
A retired military pilot, he flew P-38Ls in the Aleutian Islands during World War II, F-86Fs in Korea, B-47s and B-52s during the Cold War (including the Cuban Missile Crisis) ending with 56 missions in B-52s over Vietnam.
Presently, he is also very active in musical groups, particularly his Faultline quartet and Sandblaster chorus of the Barbershop Harmony Society.
Board Members
Gene's first loves are flying and history. An Old Bold Pilot for two decedes, he teaches computer security, crypto, and operating system topics at UC San Diego and University of Maryland. He is a multi-engine instrument-rated pilot and USAF veteran who made bombing charts during Vietnam.
Gene has been responsible for obtaining OBP's guest speakers since mid-2017. Please reach out if you have a suggestion!
Gene Anderson
Bill was born in New York City, educated in Virginia, and served Uncle Sam in the Army Infantry. He earned his pilot's license in 1968. In his 27 years with US Steel, he and his late wife and their two children lived in Milwaukee, Chicago and St. Louis, winding up in Pittsburgh, PA, in 1980. USS tired of him in 1987, but he remained in the steel industry, returning to the Midwest, and finally retiring in 2000. He was lured to California by Gail shortly thereafter, settling in La Quinta.
Bill's current interests include the Palm Springs Air Museum, where he serves as a member of the Board of Directors and the Executive Committee. His other passions in life (after Gail and OBP) are golf, at which he labors in vain, and trying to accommodate Gail's penchant for travel.
Bill Hughes
Gary grew up in Alexandria, Louisiana, home of Alexandria Air Force Base (later named England AFB). “I was a little kid during WWII, but I vividly recall B-17’s and the flight crews in leather jackets and girlie pictures on their B4 bags.” Gary was hooked.
After college AFROTC then Air Force pilot training, he was assigned to KC-135’s based at March AFB. He served on Stanboard and did 3 rotational tours during the Vietnam War where he flew 123 combat air refueling missions. In 1969, Gary joined American Airlines and flew for 31 years, 11 as a line type FAA designated Check Airman on the MD-80. After retiring in 2000, he served 4 years on the Palm Springs Airport Commission and started attending Old Bold Pilot meetings in 2001.
In 2002, Gary volunteered to handle the Old Bold Pilot funds and continues to this day.
Gary Lueders
Pat has been a season regular at Old Bold Pilots since 2005. He was responsible for obtaining OBP's guest speakers from 2009 - 2015.
Born in Sydney, Australia, he has lived in a number of countries working in advertising and publishing. Pat has travelled extensively on all continents for both business and pleasure, moving to the Coachella Valley from L.A in 2005.
Pat is also a free-lance writer with a passion for travel and aviation. For more than a decade, he has contributed to AOPAPilot magazine.
Patrick Mathews
Patrick was born and raised in Calgary, Canada. One of his earliest childhood memories is that of his uncle home on leave in 1945 in uniform as a pilot in the Royal Canadian Air Force. He believes it was this uncle who ignited his passion for flying.
After majoring in mathematics in college, Patrick pursued a career in information technology, eventually retiring from Microsoft. Immediately following the retirement luncheon, he went directly to the airport and signed up for flight training. He received his private pilot certificate at age 62, and his instrument rating at 71.
Since 2015 he has been a regular at Old Bold Pilots and a volunteer at the Palm Springs Air Museum. He volunteered to take over the OBP website in 2021.
Patrick Shannon
