The Friday Pilots

The Friday Pilots History

In 1994, Bob Barnett started a small lunch group with friends that he met through his aviation business.

The first four members were Col Bob Barnett; Col George Hupp; Col Donald “Dusty” Showen; and Capt (Merchant Marines) Milt Houpis.

For a few years, Dusty coordinated the lunch location at various places around town until they finally settled at Ric’s Cafe at River and Craycroft. Dusty also gave the group the name of “The Luncho Buncho”.

George flew West and Bob invited his friend Lew Daugherty to fill in. Milt flew West and Norm Sandell joined the group. After finding Ric’s and having lots of room on the patio, others were invited. New members have always come from a friend of a member who was invited and found a fit with our group and us with him.

In early 2013, Ric’s closed and the group moved to McMahon’s after Andy Muscarello and Russ Violett went on a restaurant search.

When our first book was published in 2014, Shep “unilaterally” renamed the group “The Friday Pilots” stating, “…who would buy a book called “The Luncho Buncho”?

In mid-2015, McMahon’s closed, and with Andy Muscarello’s recommendation, we relocated to Hacienda Del Sol. We did warn Hacienda that our previous two restaurants had filed bankruptcy.

Bob’s intent was to form a wonderful gathering of like-minded patriots who would show up on Fridays, sit wherever they like, order their beer/tea and lunch, enjoy the company of other amazing pilots, talk about anything, smile and/or laugh for an hour and a half, throw their cash in the pot, and depart looking forward to the next get together – no structure, no formality, only camaraderie.

24 Friday Pilots have flown West during our 32 year history.

Today, there are 40 names on our roster of whom 31 regularly or occasionally participate in our lunches.

These are among the finest of America’s Patriots. Many war heroes, 4 current X-Prisoners of War, 31 Air Force pilots, 3 Naval aviators, 4 Marine pilots, 2 Army pilots.

Historical Tidbits

“No Friday Pilot Ever Fights Alone!”

  1. The first four members ate at various restaurants around town until settling at Ric’s Café in the late 1990’s. After finding a place with plenty of space, they each started inviting other friends to join the group. In total, 29 members joined “The Luncho Buncho” during the years that we went to Ric’s (1999-early 2013), but 19 have subsequently flown West, leaving 10 members from our original restaurant on our current roster.
  2. We moved to McMahon’s in early 2013 until they closed in mid-2015. During that time, 8 new members joined, of whom 1 has flown West, leaving 7 on our current roster.
  3. We moved to Hacienda Del Sol (HDS) in mid-2015. Since that time, we have had 27 new members, of whom 4 have flown West, leaving 23 on our current roster.
  4. In March or April of 2014, M Gen Shepperd proposed that we each write a chapter for a book to be published before the end of the year. With a lot of pressure applied, it happened, and “The Friday Pilots” was published in December 2014 in time for Christmas presents for our family and friends. He made a similar presentation in late 2020, which produced “On the Wings of Geezers”, published in March 2021. All royalties from these books go to the Fisher House. To date, at $5 per book sold, we’ve donated nearly $20,000 to that very worthy cause.
  5. At our first lunch at HDS, the restaurant greeted us with two bowls of chips and salsa, which were at no expense to the group. At our second lunch, we got the same two bowls but with a charge of $14 each. After explaining to the wait staff that we did not order the chips therefore shouldn’t have to pay for them, the cost was removed, and the restaurant has provided chips and salsa ever since. We are now up to 5 bowls, so no complaining about chips – they are “free”.
  6. Traditions have rarely been a part of the group until the last few years with the multitude of new members.
    1. Each Friday, the restaurant staff displays a print of an F-35 presented to the group by one of the first squadrons of F-35s at Luke AFB.
    2. Several years ago, a new member walked in, and another relatively new member stated that it was a “tradition” to walk around the table and shake everyone’s hands. That had always been an individual choice, but now it is more like tradition.
    3. Sky King introduced individual shot glasses to the group with a wonderful glass case to hold them. When a member flies West, the remaining pilots, while facing West, toast him, then his shot glass is ceremonially turned upside down.
    4. Recently, Sky King proposed, and the group unanimously approved, saying the Pledge of Allegiance at 11:30 each Friday to show patriotism and unity.
    5. Probably the biggest tradition of the Friday Pilots has always been around birthdays. In the beginning, during your birthday month, you paid the entire lunch bill for whoever attended that day. As membership grew, that became far too expensive and M Gen Russ Violett proposed that we put in a hundred-dollar bill toward the cost of the meal. To this day, that is our tradition. The lunch bill is always paid in cash, with everyone paying an equal share and the birthday person throwing a hundred-dollar bill in the pot.
    6. A birthday tradition has also become singing our special birthday song. “THIS IS YOUR BIRTHDAY SONG; IT ISN’T VERY LONG!” – started with four table thumps and ending with a “hoorah”!
    7. We do not go out searching for new members. If a member has a friend that he would like to join the group, he invites him to a lunch or two and proposes him for membership. If the group considers him a fit, then we call him a new member. Membership is sometimes restricted due to the number of people attending lunch during the winter months when almost all are present.
    8. The Friday Pilots attempt to have two events each year which include our wives, following General Earl O’Loughlin’s lead several years before. We have an annual Christmas Party and in the late spring before members leave for the summer, one of our members hosts a happy hour at their home. By the way, the happy hour lasts much more than an hour.
    9. As M Gen Shepperd so eloquently stated, “If you have to ask why we meet every week, you probably don’t belong in our group”.
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