Combine the innocence of youth, a misprinted phone number and a quick-thinking air defense officer and what do you get? A 50-year tradition of Santa being tracked and guided into North American airspace by folks whose usual duty is to scare away unidentified aircraft. Yes, the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) is again providing regular updates of Santa's progress as he makes his North American rounds. While the operation is headquartered at NORAD's underground surveillance center in Colorado Springs, Canadian military pilots will make first contact with the target, easily distinguished by the bright red nose at the head of the team of reindeer pulling the sleigh. CF-18 pilots Capt. William Radiff and Lt.-Col. Patrice Laroche, of 3 Wing Bagotville, and Capt. Dave Monk and Maj. Alex Day of 4 Wing Cold Lake, are this years official escort pilots. The tradition began with a mistake in an ad in a Colorado Springs newspaper in 1955.
http://www.avweb.com/newswire/11_51b/brief...tml?CMP=OTC-RSS
http://www.avweb.com/newswire/11_51b/brief...tml?CMP=OTC-RSS
