Pacific Coast Air Museum director resigns

The executive director of the Pacific Coast Air Museum announced Wednesday he will resign effective Aug. 31.

Retired Air Force Col. David Pinsky, 72, said in a letter to the board that he will stay on until after the museum's annual air show, "Wings Over Wine Country," Aug. 18 and 19.

Pinsky was hired in 2005 as executive director of the museum at the Charles M. Schulz-Sonoma County Airport. That year he retired as deputy director of utilities for Santa Rosa.

The museum is a nonprofit with about 700 members, including about 250 people who volunteer to put on the annual event, board president Allan Morgan said.

Pinsky and a development/sales manager are the only paid staff, Morgan said.

The museum board already has begun drawing up a job description and is making plans to search for Pinsky's successor, Morgan said.

Pinsky's resignation was a mutual agreement, Morgan said. "He is going to be very difficult to replace."

The air museum was founded in 1989 by a group of pilots who wanted to show their planes to the public at monthly events.The museum has grown to include 30 aircraft and is certified by the National Museum of the United States Air Force.

Pinsky was instrumental in building a memorial to the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks that features a F-15 fighter that was the first in the sky over Manhattan after the attacks.

"I have worked for 51 straight years, had three successful careers," Pinsky said. "We have done a lot with the museum and the air show and it is time to spend more time with my wife."