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Our next meeting will Monday, March 15 at 7:30pm Chapter Hanger at Gundy’s.
If your last name starts with G-H, it’s your turn to bring snacks.
Spring is almost upon us and here come the showers. What lovely weather we have had to start off the first of March. We are now starting to see signs of warmer weather on the horizon. I cannot wait!! We are just about to kick off our flying season. Things this month start to be real exciting as Hollywood comes to EAA 10's monthly meeting. Also Sun-n-Fun is just around the corner next month.
There are a few things on the national arena that are worth mentioning. EAA National makes strong mention about the new proposed Amendment to the Homeland Security Act of 2002 (HR 3798). They say that it will place greater restrictions on General Aviation than ever before. Please go to the EAA web site to read more about it. On a sad note we lost a great EAA member last month. Duane Cole (EAA #8) passed away on February 3rd. I will never forget seeing him flying his Taylorcraft. The Southwest Regional Fly-in has announced that it will be honoring Duane at it's fly-in this year. The dates are May 14-15 in New Braunfels, Texas.
This month we are planning a great meeting with a Hollywood script and everything. I really mean Hollywood!! One of our great sponsors of EAA on the National and local scale and especially to EAA 10 is Aircraft Spruce and Specialty. Greg Merrill and all the people really work hard to support us here at the local level. They are working on their own engine lubricant for aviation engines. In working through the certification process they have used many resources in the process.
One of these resources is Mr. Edward B. Kollin. Mr. Kollin is the former director of the Engine Research in the Advanced Fuels and Lubricants Group for Exxon Research and Engineering. This guy knows oil, airplanes, and racecars! His research spanned almost twenty years at Exxon. While at Exxon, Ed Kollin and his team developed new lubricant additive technology including antiwear, antioxidant, dispersant, and friction modifiers. He also developed new engine test methodologies to rapidly screen new lubricants and additives. Naturally this technology was perfect for military and aviation applications.
After Exxon, ED became director for Lubrication Science in Scotch Plains, New Jersey. While there, he created designer lubricants to solve special problems in high performance engines. In addition to books on lubricant related development, Ed has a number of articles for Aviation Consumer, Car and Driver, and other trade magazines. He helped Superior develop new cam profiles for aircraft engines using his Indy racecar experience as a foundation. He has also developed other engine components for both Lycoming and Continental engines.
Oh, by the way, I forgot to mention that this meeting would be professionally video taped for play at various fly-ins. Please make every effort to be at this month's meeting not just to be on the video but to support some of our local folks too.
Next month we will have another great program with our annual kick off to flying season party with B&B. Yes, Brats and Corn and all the fixins for a fine meal. We will also have a program on a 3/4 scale P-51.
See you at the meeting
Bart
Well it's March already and if you have not paid your 2004 dues by the end of this month you will not be getting the April newsletter. You will be receiving the March newsletter and if you get a hard copy through the post office there will be a little reminder attached to let you know that this will be your last one if you have not paid your dues. If you have paid your dues and you get a notice please contact me, as I have been known to make a mistake or two.
I also want everyone to know that the excessive amount of rain that we have had the first week of March is Craig Loomillers fault. For those of you who don't know, Craig plans our poker runs and every time he plans one it gets rained out. In the last 6 years we have had only 1 that was not rained out and I believe that one was flown on the rain date. This month at the board meeting Craig mentioned he might plan the poker run for the near future. I believe that Mother Nature gave Craig a warning. Just the mention of the poker run, Mother Nature says "sure Craig go ahead plan your poker run and just see what I can do". I think we will start calling the poker runs "the annual Craig Loomiller poker run attempts". I think Craig is going to go ahead and plan a poker run despite Mother Natures warning so be watching the newsletter for the announcement and bring your umbrella and rain suits. See ya at the meeting.
Jeff
I hope everyone is drying out from the storms we received last week. We had over three inches of rain here in Owasso. It sure has an impact on the amount of flying we get to do. The good thing is that we have had several days last month when the weather was perfect, and boy did the airplanes come out then. Gundy's was very busy, especially after the pancake breakfast last month. There were people flying off in every direction. I did some traveling myself that day. I had intended to go to Pryor and fly gliders, but unfortunately the tow plane was down for maintenance, so we sat around and told lies for a couple of hours. I then flew over to Grand Lake and went on patrol. There were plenty of aircraft at Shangri-La and nobody at Ketchum International. Once I was assured the skies were safe, it was time to move on. I went up to Vinita to buy some beef jerky at the gas station and happened to run into Bhrent Waddell while parking the Warcoupe. No, I didn't really hit him! In fact, he saved the day for me. It seems the Warcoupe became possessed and started to roll away all on its own. Bhrent secured her until I returned. I'm glad he was there. He asked if I wanted to go to Grand Lake, but I had already been there, done that. So I declined the offer. The trip back to Gundy's was uneventful even with four other aircraft in the pattern. All in all, it was a good day to fly and I thoroughly enjoyed it.
For the last couple of weeks, you've probably been reading about general aviation security in the newspapers and on all the aviation web sites about a bill introduced by a Senator from New England. His bill would mandate that the Department of Homeland Security require that all airport operators formulate a plan to increase security at their airports within the next calendar year. Both the AOPA and the EAA have articles concerning this bill on their web sites that you all need to read. It seems that both the Press and the Federal Government have determined that general aviation is a threat to our nation's security. Many of you saw the CBS News report on general aviation airparks and just how unsecure they are. The focus of both the press and the government are on the airports that we typically fly out of here in Oklahoma. Their perception is that the activity on a small rural strip is a threat to national security.
Even state aviation officials are even getting into the act. The National Association of State Aviation Officials (NASEO) published a report on security recommendations that should be implemented at all of our nation's airports. Some examples are:
What can you do? I can think of a couple of things. Number #1 is to learn the facts and write your Congressmen and let them know your feelings on the subject and number #2 is practice voluntary compliance concerning the security of your aircraft. At minimum, take the keys out of your aircraft. Last week a 21 year old non-aviator broke into six hangars at a Houston airport until he finally found a Cessna 172 with the keys in the ignition. Stealing the aircraft, he took off and made it about two miles away before he crashed into some power lines. If we don't help ourselves, then nobody else will. I just don't want to see a sport I really enjoy and consider one of the rights of being an American go away. Remember, it's up to us!
It sounds like our meeting this month is going to be a good one. I know I'm looking forward to it.
I'll see you there.
Craig
It took me more than six years and a lot of money, but my RV-8 will out-climb, out-cruise and out- distance a brand new standard A-36 Bonanza, while costing about one tenth as much! I just can't tell you how proud and happy it makes me feel. Of course I'm not alone. According to Van's web site, through 2003 there are at least 3,528 stories like mine. None can deny that these RVs are very fast and a lot of fun.
After accumulating more than two hundred hours on my 8, I can tell you that it is not hard to fly. And with all that power and speed it can get me very quickly to my destination, or to the scene of MY ACCIDENT. Although handling is basically docile, these are high performance aircraft and we need to recognize and mentally prepare for that fact. The delightful handling and power to weight ratios can turn these RVs into P-51s in our mind's eye. Therein lays the problem. In the main we are not physically or mentally equipped, nor experienced enough, to follow our minds eye. We tend to crash. We crash a lot. Since the first RV accident twenty-five years ago there have been 254 RV accidents, 80 of them fatal in which 109 people have died. There was one accident in 1978, 2 in '79, 3 in '80 and 4 in 1981. There were no RV accidents in '82, '84 or in 1987, but there were 29 last year. (During that same 25-year period, 247 Champs, 747 Cherokee 140s, 1,195 Bonanza 35s and 5,656 Cessna 172s have been dinged or worse.)
The vast majority of RV accidents can generally be classified as 'loss of control'. According to the data, if you don't stall/spin first there is a good chance you will flip over during an off-airport forced landing. Most forced landings are due to engine or engine systems failures (builder induced). Many forced landing victims simply ran out of gas. Even many on-airport accidents result in the RV flipping over. In most 'flipping' accidents, the pilot was unable to get himself out without help. In some cases the pilot burnt to death, unable to escape the inverted aircraft. One trapped pilot had a forced landing and flipped over with no witnesses. Although hurting, he was able to use his cell phone to call a friend who rushed to his rescue. I recently witnessed a flip over accident at a central TX fly-in. A dozen people were there within 15 seconds, none with a fire extinguisher (initially). It took several minutes to extract the shaken pilot. If that plane had caught fire.... Since then I have installed an extinguisher, primarily to use as a battering ram to break my way out of an inverted cockpit.
Most accidents are tragic and implicate the pilot but some of the reports are just plain silly. Take the guy who left a part of his landing gear assembly off, then replaced it after his taxi accident. Unfortunately for him the airport manager had taken a picture of the miss-repaired assembly prior to his attempted cover up. Then there was the guy who had an "unexplained" engine failure resulting in a damaging forced landing. The inspector arrived soon after and determined that the tanks were dry. Later the pilot, unaware of the inspector's arrival, went back to the scene and added gas to the tanks!
Fourteen RVs have been involved in two separate accidents, the second often fatal. There were five RV-4 accidents in which the pilot died but the passenger survived. One RV-6 accident resulted in the passenger's death but the pilot survived. The general term "stall/spin" can be applied to the vast majority of the fatal accidents. Many involved poorly done aerobatics, like showing off over relatives or acquaintances, but most happened during take-off or landing. Sixty-two of the reports were too old to include weather conditions or time of day. Of the rest, 4 were at night, and 9 were in IMC, of which 7 were fatal.
California had 43 accidents, followed by Texas with 20, and Oregon with 17. Colorado and Washington tied for fourth with 16 each. Florida had 14 but no other state had double digits. Ten states, KS, OK, KY, WV, DE and the New England states had no RV accidents at all.
Statistically the RV-3s are the most dangerous with twice the fatal accident rate per aircraft built as the RV-6/A. Six RV-3s have had their wings separate in flight. Of those, three were built by the same guy. (Van's has since redesigned the wing and its attachments.) Actually I'm not sure how significant the accident rate figures are since they follow the longevity per model. Unlike this article, accident rates are typically reported as fractional events per hour flown.
| Model | Number Flown | Accidents | Acc Rate/AC | Fatal Accidents | Fatal Acc Rt/AC | # Fatalities |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| RV-3 | 215 | 34 | 15.81% | 13 | 6.05% | 13 |
| RV-4 | 1093 | 91 | 8.33% | 36 | 3.29% | 49 |
| RV-6/A | 1731 | 109 | 6.30% | 25 | 1.44% | 38 |
| RV-7/A | 51 | 2 | 3.92% | 1 | 1.96% | 1 |
| RV-8/A | 368 | 15 | 4.08% | 4 | 1.09% | 6 |
| RV-9/A | 70 | 3 | 4.28% | 1 | 1.43% | 2 |
| RV-10 | 1 | 0 | 0.00% | 0 | 0.00% | 0 |
| Totals | 3529 | 254 | 7.20% | 80 | 2.27% | 109 |
We pilots really need to think about and practice emergency procedures more than we do. One RV-8 pilot had the misfortune of an in-flight, blown engine and resultant fire. Tragically, he jumped clear of the cockpit rather than burn further. However, the NTSB report says that the fuel selector was still in the 'on' position. Nobody knows if switching the fuel off would have made any difference, but it might have. As long as the prop turns, the mechanical fuel pump of an 'IO' engine will continually pump out 25 pounds of fuel pressure. If we don't practice emergency procedures during routine flights, how can we be expected to perform correctly under extreme duress?
Besides the info from Van's web site www.vansaircraft.com, this article is based primarily on those data available from the NTSB web site www.ntsb.gov, through 12/31/03. Six 'Rocket' accidents are not included in this report, but two RV8s that taxied into each other on 6/20/03 are. That "substantial damage" report was logged, and then later removed from the NTSB files. Somebody has some major pull! The newer NTSB accident reports listed in their database (since 1993) are fairly detailed, although inconsistent in format and content. Prior to 1993 the reports lack time-of-day, meteorological data, and are sometimes vague and always terse. I printed and filed all 254 reports into a thick binder. I also accumulated the reports into an Excel spreadsheet in order to sort, dissect and analyze the data.
I suggest that you do the same. At first you'll tend to dismiss the accidents as the result of stupid pilots. But by definition, these homebuilders are not stupid people. Most of the accidents appear to be the result of 'stupid' decisions, but put yourself in those reports and figure out what you would have done differently. After studying several curious reports, I personally think medical incapacitation plays a much bigger role than we know. Nobody can say for sure. But I do know one thing for sure: I'm a much safer pilot having studied and relived the tragedy of other RV pilots.
Ron
Ron Dunn is a 3400 hour Commercial Pilot with M/E, INST, and CFI ratings. In 1961, at age 17, he soloed in a Champ then bought a Chief. He has since owned a variety of Piper and Cessna aircraft. His RV-8 was featured as 'RV of the Week' #73 in the VAF WWW link from Van's web site. He works for FlightSafety International and may be reached at 9dunn@ssd.fsi.com. (Note, remove the 9 to make the email address work.)
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We really had a good turnout for the pancake breakfast in February. The weather was in between you know. Not good enough to go fly or work in the garden and too good to stay at home. We even had a "PROPELLER HEAD CHEF". I was busy cooking pancakes and did not really get to see all the people who were there. Some of them would get their pancakes, eat and leave before I knew they were there. On the other hand, most of them got their pancakes, ate them and stayed to tell copious quantities of lies. Anyway I could tell by the amount of supplies we used that it was a very good turn out. Come on out and join us on the 20th of March and bring some great big fibs to spread amongst the well- fed hoards. |
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March 27 is the date of the always-popular Wild Onion Breakfast at the Cookson Airport. It will be on Saturday the 27th. If the weather if good they always get a good turn out and everyone enjoys it a lot. You can just see the "cabin fever" being removed from everyone who attends.
In the past some of us have gone down on Friday and camped out at the airport in anticipation of the great breakfast. We have not talked about it this year but maybe we could round up some enthusiasm for an early campout.
This is the most amazing, yet true story of a first flight I have ever heard.
Back in the 70's in Schenectady, NY, a man, who later became my A&P advisor, met with the FAA examiner to get approval (the rules were different back then) for his first flight in a homebuilt bi-plane (I don't remember the type). The flight was to be made from a grass strip where a jump school was located. After granting approval for the flight, the examiner said that it would have to be made with the pilot wearing a parachute. My friend allowed as to not either having or having ever used a parachute. "No chute, no flight", said the examiner.
Well, my friend ran into the hanger used by the jump school and asked to borrow a chute. They had one, but it was out of currency (I don't know how often they have to be repacked). My friend said that he didn't care, all he needed was a chute to wear - he did not plan to use it.
He made his flight with the examiner watching. At about 2000 feet AGL, the struts on one of his wings failed and folded up. The plane started spiraling down. My friend actually got out of the cockpit and made a successful jump.
| Day of Week | Date | Event |
|---|---|---|
| Monday | March 15th | Meeting @ Gundy's |
| Saturday | March 20th | EAA10 Pancake Breakfast 7:30-9:00 |
| Saturday | March 27th | Wild Onion Breakfast @ Cookson |
| Thursday | April 1st | Air Academy Scholarship Applications due |
| Saturday | April 3rd | Ponca City Breakfast Fly-In |
| Tuesday - Monday | April 13-19 | Sun 'n' Fun Fly-In |
| Monday | April 19th | Regular Meeting and Brat-fest |
| Friday - Saturday | May 15-16th | Southwest Regional Fly-In @ New Braunfels, TX |
| Sunday | May 16th | Annual Chapter Picnic @ Gundy's |
| Friday - Saturday | June 4-5th | Biplane Fly-In @ Bartlesville |
| 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 G-H, then March 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 |
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.