Shuttle Pilot Eric Boe returned to Atlanta last weekend to visit the Experimental Aircraft Association Chapter 690 at Bricoe Field in Gwinnett County. Lawrenceville Mayor Judy Johnson proclaimed June 4th as 'Eric Boe Day' and awarded Col. Boe a special commendation. After that he went to Peachtree Dekalb Airport for the annual Good Neighbor Day Open House Airshow to meet and greet the public.
Boe, who lived in Tucker as a boy, recently returned from New Zealand where he and the entire STS-133 crew visited the city of Hamilton and returned the city flag that was flown on Discovery's last mission to space. He was asked to come to New Zealand and help Christchurch by a former high school classmate who now lives in Hamilton. The city of Christchurch was devastated by a magnitude 6.3 earthquake in late February. "It gave them something different to think about other than their hardship and to realize that things are going to get better. One of the fun things we did was race some horses and see some of the local sites of the different areas there," Boe said.
The STS-133 crew is going to Britain this summer to visit local children. "We’re going to London, the Isle of Man and Scotland," Boe said. According to Boe, this will be the last time the entire crew will be together. "You might get to do one international trip together post-flight. It’s unusual that we get to do two," he said.
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Once Boe returns to Houston his focus is going to be on studying Russian in anticipation of an extended stay on the International Space Station on an Expedition crew. "I'll also be getting prepared for a flight on the Soyuz should I get a chance to do so," he said.