Preserving A Legacy of
Innovation

We were saddened to read in this morning’s Cedar Rapids Gazette the obituary for Dominique Blank who passed away January 3rd at age 57. Dominique was AACLA’s public relations manager in the first few years of the organization up until she and her family moved to Iowa City.

She was instrumental in organizing the AACLA interviews with retirees as well as our public showings of “Culture of Innovation” which premiered at Coe College’s Sinclair Auditorium, in 2016. Dominique served on the AACLA Board of Directors in 2015.

With deep sadness, we have to inform you Loney Duncan (WØGZV) passed away last Saturday. Loney was a real gentleman, an incredible engineer and a family man. Professionally, he spent about 40 years with Collins Radio and raised to a top management position. During his career at Collins, he was involved with the development of antenna couplers, the Navy Tactical Data System, the URG II system, TACAMO and many other programs. He loved Collins and worked closely with Arthur Collins. He was a stimulating person to be with that often switched from highly technical discussions to fun stories from his past. He was on the board of the Arthur Collins Legacy Association and the Collins Collectors Association and was a great supporter of our efforts to capture and preserve the history of Collins Radio. We have lost a great and irreplaceable friend and a powerful mentor. We feel honored to be able to say that Loney was a close friend.

The staff and members of the AACLA are saddened to report the passing of one our association’s founders, Terry Lamb. Terald Rex Lamb was an Air Force Veteran and a long-time employee of the Collins Radio Company. For years he managed the department responsible for obtaining FAA certification and installation of Collins systems. He served on the AACLA Board of Directors and previously as our President. He also served as a Docent at the Collins Aerospace Museum. He was a Mentor to us all, a Friend and a Gentleman.

The staff and members of the AACLA are saddened to report the passing of one our association’s founders, Jim Shanklin. Jim was a long-time Employee of the Collins Radio Company, author of several history books about Collins Radio, served on the AACLA Board of Directors and as a Docent and Supporter of the Collins Aerospace Museum.

Ben was instrumental in creating the Arthur A. Collins Legacy Association and served on the Board of Directors and as a Collins Aerospace Museum Docent.

The Museum Volunteers, Docents and members of the Arthur A. Collins Legacy Association are saddened by the passing of Myron (Mike) Wilson.
Mike will certainly be missed by all of us in the AACLA and by so many in the Cedar Rapids area. He loved this community very much!
Mike was instrumental in creating the Arthur A. Collins Legacy Association and served as a Director for the last ten years.
We’re sure he is happy to be reunited with Esther.

Members of the Arthur A. Collins Legacy Association are saddened by the passing of our Association’s Treasurer, Coen van der Linden.
Coen was a Treasurer par excellence in that he solved the complexities of Government forms for a 501(c)(3) organization.

Coen was an Aeronautical engineer with a Masters degree from the Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands and worked at Collins Aerospace since 1997 as a flight control expert and flight test engineer. Later, he was a test director on the KC-135. The KC-135 System Integration Laboratory has been officially renamed “Coen SIL”.

Two scholarships are being established at Kirkwood Community College. Both for an outstanding student in Aeronautical Engineering and one for the Aircraft Mechanics Program.

He will be greatly missed.