Before the scandal broke in 1991, the Tailhook Association had a long, but quiet history, of throwing some wild annual get-togethers. But to many of the pilots, the annual event is simply an opportunity to see former military comrades and share old war stories. It means a lot to them. You go to church every Sunday, but this is the event you definitely want to attend. Today's Tailhook Association grew out of a small Tailhook reunion that was held in Baja California, Mexico, in 1956, and has grown to holding annual reunions with as many as 3,000 former and current pilots attending.
Regular membership requires that pilots have made an arrested landing on an aircraft carrier.
As of last year, the group claimed about 10,000 members, down from a 1991 peak of about 16,000. Besides its annual conventions, which include professional seminars, the group sponsors college scholarships for children of former naval aviators and publishes a magazine on carrier aviation called Hook . For the rest of the day's U.S. news, click here . The Web Copyright 2000 ABC News Internet Ventures.