|
|
 |
|
|
For Navigation Menu, Click anywhere on the Page with the LEFT Mouse Button! This newsletter is also available in printable
PDF format.
The Air Academy Scholarship Application form is also available in printable
PDF format.
|
||
Our next meeting will Monday, February 16th at 7:30pm at the chapter hangar at Gundy’s.
If your last name starts with D-F, it’s your turn to bring snacks.
I cannot believe that February is already here. Before you know it we will be back into great flying weather. However we have had some very nice weather along the way so far this year. For those of you who attended our last meeting we had a wonderful demonstration of how to keep a marriage together. I am speaking of the Jeff and Jana Wedman RV-8. We were presented with some very interesting information on the up's and down's of aircraft building. It was a very neat and interesting program. Thank-you Jeff and Jana. We also had a good turnout for the pancake breakfast. I was unable to attend as I was out for my yearly "flying the box" check ride.
This month's meeting will be a continuation of our February 2003 meeting. We will have Geary Vaughn continue his requested program on heat treating. This time he will focus on other metals with the direction mainly going toward steel. The program that he did last year was very interesting and I am sure this one will be also. We are very fortunate to have so many diversely talented people in our chapter who are willing to step up to help when ask.
The sport pilot certificate is getting closer to being final. I thought I would never see this get this far but once we see the final draft and see it approved then I think we are in for a whole new twist to general aviation. It looks like many aircraft will fit into the sport category.
"Earl Klebs" I have not forgotten you. It has been too cold to get out to see your airplane. I will be in touch shortly to finalize your paperwork. Many projects are nearing completion for many of our members. I know that John Hudec is ready to fly his Waco just as soon as he can get a prop. If you are building an aircraft we will be wanting some progress reports at our next meeting.
Plan on passing the word about the chapter scholarship to the Air Academy. We really need to get the word out to many kids. Don't forget this Monday to come to the Meeting and those of you (including myself) whose names fall within the letters on the snack page to bring some goodies to snack on. I will see you at the meeting.
Bart
I don't know about you, but I'm sure sick of this weather. It seems like there is one good day of flying followed by 4-5 days of just really rotten weather. It didn't seem to stop the ultralight guys last weekend though. I swear I saw one take off with a ceiling that couldn't have been more than 200 feet. I guess the ultralights just don't require as much airspace as the rest of us. It seems like whenever there is a good day though, I have to go do something else. It's just not fair!
If you didn't go to last month's meeting, you sure missed a good one. Jeff Wedman gave a presentation on his RV-8. It is a beautiful aircraft. But the part of the program that kept everyone's attention was his recounting of all the problems he had with the engine and prop that he purchased for his bird. Jeff is an experienced and knowledgeable mechanic and if he can be fooled, then the rest of us are really in trouble. I know it had to have been painful for him to tell the story; but I'm glad he did. What I can't believe is that the government won't go after these guys and make them stop. It will probably take somebody dying using one of these engines before they will act. I guess the old adage "Let the buyer beware" still applies.
OK, I've got to come clean. The poem in last month's newsletter that was attributed to me was really part of an e-mail that was sent to me by an acquaintance. I thought parts of it were kind of funny, so I sent it on in to Lynn to include in the newsletter. I guess I should have edited parts of it out before I sent it in. I had thought that Lynn would have put it into the newsletter anonymously, but he didn't. Thanks, Lynn! Boy did I catch a lot of grief because of it, especially with my wife. I had to show her the original e-mail to get off the hook. I was only in the doghouse for a day or so.
At the January meeting I asked if anyone had a parachute for sale. It turns out that Gerry Vaughan had one but didn't know what shape it was in. I took it up to Skiatook and had Mel Tilley inspect and repack it for me. Those parachute guys are crazy. On a Saturday morning when the outside temperature measured 37 degrees and the ceiling was 1500 and broken, these guys were jumping. I figure the wind chill at 120 miles per hour at a temperature of 37 degrees must have been 70 to 80 degrees below zero. Several of them jumped once, repacked their chutes, and then went up again for another jump. I thought they were out of their minds. I guess it takes all kinds. The good thing is I now have a parachute for this year's gliding season.
Even though this will be only my second year flying sailplanes, I am making plans to compete in the U.S. 1-26 Association championships this August in Texas. As of the beginning of February, there are 28 gliders entered into the competition so far. Each racer is required to wear a parachute in case there is a mid air collision. The Championships consist of 7 days of racing over a series of closed courses. Each racer is scored on both time and actual distance flown in each event. There is no way I'll finish any higher than last place but just the experience will make me a better pilot. I'm really looking forward to going. The only drawback is that it is scheduled for the same week as Oshkosh this year. This will be two years in a row that I'll miss the Big Show.
There is only a couple of months left to get applications in for the chapter's Flight Academy scholarship. This scholarship is a really good deal for one young aviator. It is tuition and airfare to attend one of the youth camps up in Oshkosh. If you know any kids or grandkids between the ages of 12-15 that would like to be considered, please pick up an application form from Bart and get it filled out. We have sent a scholarship winner the last 4 years and I think it is a good experience for both the student and us. I just wish I were that age again because I want to go too!
See you at the meeting next week.
Craig
Those that missed the last meeting missed a really good talk by Jeff Wedman about the building ,trials and tribulations he went through to build his RV8. The hangar was really packed so fortunately not many missed the meeting.
It is an excellent example of an RV8 and his workmanship is really good. Below are a couple of pictures from the meeting.
Click the image for original full size pics. (Beware, they're large and painfully slow for non-broadband readers.)
Jeff said last month's meeting brought in dozens of membership renewals. If you haven't paid up for 2004, please fill this out the application for renewal and get it to Jeff Wedman. The dues are $20.00 per year.
You can use your browser’s Back button to return to this page after you’ve printed the form.
Here's a thing I knocked together, or actually screwed together with sheet rock screws. The beauty of this type of construction is that it goes together quickly and can be disassembled so the material can be stored or disposed of easily. I got the idea from Art Saunders (an RV Builder) who got it from some one else. It keeps and protects the plans, takes up little precious floor space and can be rolled on it's casters to be near your work or out of the way.
I have purposely not furnished any dimensions or specifications. You can customize it to suit your situation, the size of your drawings and the material you have available. I saw one that has shelves on the back for fittings and fasteners. One could even put an electrical outlet of air source on it. How about lights and whistles, T.V. , a horn?
I had enough scrap material for most of the project. I only bought a 2x4 which I ripped to 2x2 and some cheap casters. A sheet of 3/8 or 1/2 plywood or waferboard should take care of the material if you haave to buy it. Oh, yes that black thing in the picture is a trash bag I use to cover the drawings when not in use. It protects them from the light and dust. I attached the bag at the top and put a strip of wood in the bottom for weight and covering. You could add lettering to the bag, "Restricted " or "secret" to add a little mystery. You may have to pre-drill the holes in the plywood or waferboard. If you don't have a screw gun, a screw driver bit for your electric drill will do.
The two or three hours I spent designing and putting it together was well spent for convenience and space saving, to say nothing of time saved walking from the work bench to and from the drawing table or where ever you keep the drawings.
Roger
The other day I was at the barber shop waiting for my turn when the barber asked me how the airplane was flying and I told him "just fine". The gentlemen in the barber's chair asked me where I kept the plane and I told him "Gundy's". He then inquired if it was one of those little mosquito looking jobs where you're just hangin out in the breeze. I said no it's not an ultralite. He then asked me what it looked like. At this point I knew he wasn't an airplane person, so I just told him that it was unpainted and that it was silver. He said he had seen that silver airplane. He asked me if I was one of those guys that go "zooming" down low. I thought for a second, what is this guy getting at? After all, his questions were in a serious tone of voice. I told him that I have made low passes over the runway but they were precautionary go arounds, but I wouldn't call it "zooming". Now the truth comes out, the gentleman owns a house just north of Gundy's and he doesn't like airplanes. He went on to tell me in a very stern voice that if one of you guys end up in my back yard garden I am going to be very unhappy. I didn't know what to say. Thank goodness barbers are good talkers. The barber sensed the tension in the gentlemen's voice and started asking him about other things to get his mind off the present subject. The gentlemen never asked me another question.
Since that day I have tried to figure out why that gentleman had such a negative attitude towards airplanes. I can only speculate. I find it odd that he mentioned his backyard garden and not his or his family's well being if some unfortunate accident did occur. I have to remember, that what's important to me may not be important to someone else. That gentlemen's garden must be a very important part of his life and I must respect that. As I takeoff to the north at Gundy's now I look down to see if maybe I can figure out which house with the garden in the back yard is that gentlemen's from the barber shop. It's hard to tell because there are many houses with gardens. As you look down as you fly along you will notice that there are a lot more houses with gardens in the back yard than houses with hangers. We private aviators are in a very small world. Van of Vans Aircraft put it better than I ever could in one of his newsletters. "The philosopher Thoreau once said "I would rather sit alone on a lowly toadstool than to share a crowded velvet cushion". Most of us would probably subscribe to that philosophy. We don't mind that as private pilots we are in a small minority. This is a fact of life that is not likely to change much. "Just let us do our thing, and you do your thing". The possible problem with this attitude is that perhaps those in the majority may interpret that majority position as "right vs. wrong" and then use the strength of that majority to take away even our "lowly toadstool". While we don't necessarily mind being a silent minority, we need to consider that this position could leave us just one step short of the "Endangered' or Extinct" species list."
Wow! I've never really thought of us private aviators as the minority. If you go to Oshkosh or Sun-N-Fun we are wall to wall. But in reality we are in our own very small world. It frightens me to think what could happen if an unfortunate accident was to occur and an aircraft ended up in that gentlemen's garden, after all he is the majority. What is the majority capable of? I know what the majority is capable of. I was fortunate enough to have a hanger on Down Town Airpark or Tulsa North to others. Life was good. I had private aviation all around me. Tulsa Vo-Tech was there as well as the OSU flight school. There were 30 to 40 private airplanes based there also. Vo-tech moved to the new facility on Riverside as did the OSU flight school. The notices of closure were sent out to hanger owners and renters. I told myself that they would not close the airport, there are too many aviators using this airfield. It closed anyway. Why? Because the city council represent the majority and not the 30 or so crazy private aviators that were left on the field. Could we 30 or so aviators have stopped the closing? Probably not. But we could have done more. Another case and point is Miegs field in Chicago, no explanation necessary.
In Van's article he used the words "while we don't necessarily mind being a silent minority, we need to consider that this position could leave us just one step short of the "Endangered" or "Extinct" species list." When I read that statement it reminded me of a trip to the Smithsonian museum of natural history that I made in my high school days. I found myself standing in front of a small glass box that had a stuffed passenger pigeon in it along with some actual photographs of thousand and thousands of passenger pigeons in a mass migration. The explanation for the display said that this pigeon "Martha" was the last passenger pigeon to die and was the only extinct species that man new the exact moment that extinction occurred, Sep 1, 1914, and that man had hunted the passenger pigeon to extinction. The passenger pigeon was the most numerous bird on the face of the earth in 1850 but was extinct in 1914. To this day I cannot believe that we allowed the extinction of the passenger pigeon. We did not realize just how fragile the pigeon was until it was too late. We must realize just how fragile private aviation is before its too late, When you hear news cast like CBS had a few weeks ago about "the growing popularity of airport communities and the possible risk to the public they could cause" should be a wake up call to us. (You can read about the news report on the EAA web site)
In the Vans Aircraft new letter there is a challenge to the attendees at the "Land of Enchantment" RV fly-in in Las Cruces N. M. from one of the speakers that I would like to pass on. "At the 2004 "Land of Enchantment" fly-in I'd like to see reports from attendees detailing what they have done to advance aviation, as well as enjoy it. What have you, individually or collectively, done to strengthen the General Aviation community to improve its image in the outside community, to draw members of that vast community into ours? This way, we can learn from each other, be shamed into action by others, or whatever it takes. Let's devote ourselves not only to having fun, but also to helping create an infrastructure that will assure that our children and grandchildren are deeded even better building and flying opportunities." When I read this challenge to the attendees of the "Land of Enchantment" fly-in, I asked myself what have I done to improve the relationship between the public and private aviation? Have I promoted private aviation to others? Many of you have done more than your share to promote aviation, for me, I'm going to do better because I don't want my great great grandkids standing in the Smithsonian Air and Space museum looking through a large glass window looking at a Cessna 172 with photographs of hundreds of airplanes at fly-ins and the information for the display reads, "This is the last private airplane to have landed upon the earth. At one time there were thousands of these craft flying in the air. They used a small stretch of land called an airstrip to return to the earth. The extinction of the private airplane was caused by the narrow minds and the selfishness of man, for they did not know how fragile freedom was.
(Please note that the quotes from Vans Aircraft were in the sixth issue of 2003 "The RVator" from the article titled "Las Cruces......and Beyond")
Jeff
Editor's note:
Jeff's article reminds me that I have
received several phone calls through the years from
neighbors that do not care for airplanes. They
wanted to know who that was flying too low over
their house!! One of these calls came from a man
that actually lives on 86th street and some distance
west of the runway.
We are fortunate to have our chapter hangar at an
airport like Gundy's. Let us protect our good fortune
by being a good neighbor to the many neighbors in
the vicinity that don't care about airplanes. Please
realize it only takes one irate person to get up a
petition. So, fly neighborly at gundy's please. Also
realize that the more aviators that have an interest in
Gundy's the stronger the airport is.
Found this on the 'net. I think it was written by Dave Barry. Thought you might want this for the newsletter.
Although flying a helicopter may seem very difficult, the truth is that if you can drive a car, you can, with just a few minutes of instruction, take the controls of one of these amazing machines.
Of course, you would immediately crash and die. This is why you need to remember:
Always have somebody sitting right next to you who actually knows how to fly the helicopter and can snatch the controls away from you because the truth is that helicopters are nothing at all like cars. Cars work because of basic scientific principles that everybody understands, such as internal combustion, and parallel parking. Whereas scientists still have no idea what holds helicopters up. "Whatever it is, it could stop at any moment," is their current feeling. This leads us to:
Maybe you should forget the entire thing. This is what I was thinking recently as I stood outside a small airport in South Florida where I was about to take my first helicopter lesson. This was not my idea. This was the idea of Pam Gallina-Raissiguer, a pilot who flies radio reporters over Miami during rush hour so they can alert drivers to traffic problems.
I began having severe doubts when I saw Pam's helicopter. This was a small helicopter. It looked like it should have a little slot where you insert quarters to make it go up and down. I knew that if we got airborne in a helicopter this size in South Florida, some of our larger tropical flying insects could very well attempt to mate with us.
Also, this helicopter had no doors. As a Frequent Flyer, I know for a fact that all your leading United States airlines, despite being bankrupt, maintain a strict safety policy of having doors on their aircraft.
"Don't we need a larger helicopter?" I asked Pam, "with doors?"
"Get in," said Pam.
Now we're in the helicopter and Pam is explaining the controls to me over the headset. But there's static and the engine is making a lot of noise. "........your throttle [something]," she is saying. "This is your cyclic and [something] your collective".
"What?" I say.
"[something] give you the controls when we reach 130 metres," Pam says.
"WHAT?", I say.
But Pam is not listening. She is moving a control thing and WHOOAA we are off the ground, hovering, and now, WHOOOOOAAAA, we are shooting up in the air, and there are still no doors on this particular helicopter.
Now Pam is giving me the main control thing.
If anyone tries to give you the main control thing, refuse to take it!
Pam says: "You don't need hardly any pressure to ........"
AIEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE
"Now that was too much pressure," Pam says.
Now I am flying the helicopter. I AM FLYING THE HELICOPTER. I am flying it by not moving a single body part for fear of jiggling the control thing. I look like the Lincoln Memorial Statue of Abraham Lincoln, only more rigid.
"Make a right turn," Pam is saying.
I gingerly move the control thing one zillionth of an inch to the right and the helicopter LEANS OVER TOWARDS MY SIDE AND THERE IS STILL NO DOOR HERE. I instantly move the thing one zillionth of an inch back.
"I'm not turning right," I inform Pam.
"What?" she says.
"Only left turns," I tell her. When you've been flying helicopters as long as I have, you know your limits. After a while it becomes clear to Pam that if she continues to allow the Lincoln Statue to pilot the helicopter, we are going to wind up flying in a straight line until we run out of fuel, possibly over Antarctica, so she takes the control thing back. That is the good news. The bad news is she is now saying something about demonstrating an "emergency procedure".
"It's for when your engine dies," says Pam
"It's called auto-rotation. Do you like amusement park rides?"
I say, "No, I DOOOOOOO............."
Auto-rotation means "coming down out of the sky at about the same speed and aerodynamic stability as that of a forklift dropped from a bomber." Now we're close to the ground (although my stomach is still at 130 meters) and Pam is completing my training by having me hover the helicopter.
You can't hover the helicopter.
The idea is to hang over one spot on the ground. I am hovering over an area about the size of Australia. I am swooping around like a crazed bumblebee. If I were trying to rescue a person from the roof of a 100 storey burning building, the person would realise that it would be safer to simply jump. At times I think I am hovering upside down. Even Pam looks nervous.
So I am very happy when we finally get back on the ground. Pam tells me I did great and she'd be glad to take me up again. I tell her that sounds like a fun idea.
Sometimes you have to lie.
total time 4281 hours engine total time 2347 hours CONTACT Kenneth Gates 9biplanepilot1@sbcglobal.net (918)396-0968 (evenings from 6:00 to 9:00 please) See picture/ad at www.eaa10.org/chap104sale.htm
Each year our chapter Sponsors a youth between the ages of 12 and 15 to send to the Air Academy put on by the Experimental Aircraft Association in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. We request that interested youths fill in the application found below in this newsletter. Follow the information on the application about the letter and recommendations. Then mail it to one of the addresses shown on the application
Our chapter will pay all the expenses of the trip including airfare to and from Oshkosh. The academy lasts 5 days and will be held at the EAA Aviation Center facility which includes the Air Academy Lodge residence facility; Buehler Eagle Flight Leadership Center Classroom, laboratory and computer facility, EAA Airventure Museum and Pioneer Airport in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. There are two separate classes; one for 12-13 ages and one for 14-15 ages.
After receiving the applications and information, a committee will review and evaluate each application and pick a deserving individual to sponsor. We request that the selected youth prepare a presentation about his experience at the academy for our August meeting. The deadline for the applications is April 15 and we will make our selection by April 30.
We will have flyers about the Academy available at our February meeting for passing out to interested parties.
| Day of Week | Date | Event |
|---|---|---|
| Monday | February 16th | Meeting @ Gundy's |
| Saturday | February 21st | EAA10 Pancake Breakfast 7:30-9:00 |
| Saturday | March 6th | Ponca City Breakfast Fly-In |
| Thursday | April 1st | Air Academy Scholarship Applications due |
| Monday | April 19th | Regular Meeting and Brat-fest |
| Sunday | May 16th | Annual Chapter Picnic @ Gundy's |
| Saturday | December 11th | Christmas Party @ Gundy's |
To add an item to our calendar, get the information to the newsletter editor Lynn Coltharp. See the contact info on the cover for e-mail, phone, and mail addresses.
| Day of Month | What | Where | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st Monday | Board meeting | Chapter hangar | 7:00pm |
| 2nd Monday | Newsletter Folding | Chapter hangar | 7:00pm |
| 3rd Mondy | Chapter meeting | Chapter hangar | 7:30pm |
| 1st Saturday | Ponca City Breakfast Fly-In | Ponca City | |
| 1st Saturday after 3rd Monday | Pancake breakfast | Chapter hangar | 7:00-9:30am |
If your last name starts with W-Z, then November is your month to bring a snack to the chapter meeting.
| Month | Initial letter(s) of last name |
|---|---|
| January | A-C |
| February | D-F |
| March | G-H |
| April | I-L |
| May | Annual Picnic |
| June | M |
| July | N-P |
| August | watermelon provided |
| September | Q-S |
| October | T-V |
| November | W-Z |
| December | Christmas party |
Experimental Aircraft Association Air Academy
Oshkosh, Wisconsin
June and July 2004
Experimental Aircraft Association Chapter 10 located in Owasso, Oklahoma will award one scholarship to attend the Experimental Aircraft Association Air Academy in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. The Air Academy is five days long and will require one day to travel to Oshkosh by air and one day to return. Possible camp dates are in June 2004 (ages 12 and 13) and July 2004 (ages 14 and 15). The scholarship will pay the cost of tuition, transportation, housing, meals and snacks.
To be considered for the scholarship, the student must apply to EAA Chapter 10 by April 1, 2004.
This form is also available as a
PDF file
for easier printing.
Name ___________________________________________________________________ Address ________________________________________________________________ City, State, Zip _______________________________________________________ Phone __________________________________________________________________
Requirements for the scholarship are as follows:
EAA 10 Air Academy Application PO Box 205 Owasso, OK 74055-- or --
EAA 10 Air Academy Application 16280 E. 81 Ct N. Owasso, OK 74055
Additional information about EAA and the Air Academy can be seen on the internet at www.eaa.org and www.eaa10.org.
If you would like to get the newsletter on the chapter website ( http://www.eaa10.org/ ) every month, this saves us on mailing and printing costs, helping to keep your dues low. Just send Jeff Wedman or Bob Minich an e-mail and we'll stop the paper version and send you a monthly e-mail when the newsletter is posted online.