Next Meeting

Our next meeting will be Monday, September 19th, 2005 7:30pm at the chapter hanger at Gundy's.
Snacks: Last names starting with Q-S

Table of Contents

• President's Report for August
• Prop Tips: Dynamic Balancing
• Terry and the Spaceship
• Ford Tri-Motor visits Tulsa
• Writing for a Newsletter: How to make your newsletter editor happy
• EAA 10 Prop Balancing Special
• New Chapter Postal Address
• Items For Sale
• Calendar Of Events
• Who Brings Snacks????
• Web Page Newsletter

President's Report for September

by Craig Loomiller

I can’t believe it! It is already September. Where has the year gone? When September rolls around each year, the local aviation scene is in full swing. As I'm writing this article, the EAA Ford Tri-motor is in town. We spent all last week trying to round up some volunteers to baby-sit it while it is here. I'd like to thank everyone who took part. The Chapter couldn’t have done it without you guys, and you know who you are.

Tulsa Fly In

The Tulsa fly-in is next weekend, September 16-17. If the weather is half as nice as last year's event, we will do all right. We are going to need a big turnout of volunteers to make it happen though. We are going to man an EAA booth as well as our usual aircraft parking and registration assignments we have done in the past. This year's fly-in will feature former Flying Tiger Tex Hill. Tex Hill shot down 18 enemy aircraft during the war, and later became the youngest general in the U.S. Military. There will be a Curtis P-40 Warhawk slated to arrive to help commemorate his visit. This will be in addition to all the other aircraft that attend. There will also be a variety of forums to sit in on as well as several aircraft manufacturers displaying their products in attendance.

September Program: Marvin Ortbals And His Jabiru SP

The following Monday (September 19th) after the fly-in will be our regular Chapter membership meeting. This month's presentation will feature Chapter member Marvin Ortbals. Marvin completed his Jabiru SP aircraft just last month and has been busy flying off the restrictions. It's a nice looking composite aircraft that I think will qualify under the new Sport Pilot regulations. The Jabiru SP is an Australian design with a high wing kind of like a Cessna 150 in appearance and uses a Jabiru powerplant. I’ve heard a lot about this engine, and I think Marvin is the first in our area to operate one. Come to the meeting to find out more about this aircraft.

Dr. Dan's Propeller Balancing Deal

The following Saturday, the 24th will also be very busy. We will have our regular pancake breakfast and aviation Flea Market running from 7:00 to 9:30 like we always do. In addition, we will have Chapter Member Dan (the Prop Man) Cork performing Dynamic propeller balancing. Through a kind offer from Dr. Dan, he will perform these procedures for $125.00 of which $50.00 will go to our Chapter's Young Eagle Program. This price is already a discount from his normal price for this service. There are some restrictions to this offer though; they are outlined in the flyer that you will find enclosed in this newsletter. Dan has been looking for ways to support our Chapter, and came up with this idea a couple of months ago. From what I hear, there are several of our members who are looking forward to this. Thanks Dr. Dan!

Airman Acres Bean Dinner

After you have filled your belly with pancakes, had your propeller balanced, your next stop must be at Airman Acres! That Saturday is also the same day as their annual Bean dinner. If you haven’t been before, this event is probably the social event of the fall flying season. Just be sure to bring your own spoon and bowl though. You’ll need them. Each year they cook up two of the largest kettles of beans that I’ve ever seen. This event is usually well attended. I'd wager that Airman Acres handles more traffic than Tulsa International that day. I’ll see you there.

Gliding The Summer Away

With all this flying going on, it's hard to get any glider flying in. I'm still managing to get at least one day in every week, though. The conditions for the most part have been pretty tame for this time of the year. I took my daughter out the other day for her first glider ride. I'm not sure that she liked it, though. Every time we hit a little bump on tow, she would brace herself by pushing against the canopy. I thought she was going to put her hand through it a couple times. We finally got off tow, and she grew more nervous the further we flew away from the airport. She kept looking over her shoulder at the airport for the longest time. I got a big kick out of that! Eventually we had to come down and land. I guess I should have warned her about the brakes on a training glider. To stop the glider, you lower the nose until a skid mounted on the bottom contacts the pavement. When this happens, a lot of noise is generated. When we touched down and I hit the brakes, I thought she was going to climb into the back seat with me. She had thought we had crashed. I took her up a couple more times that day and she finally got used to it though. She said it reminded her of a roller coaster ride and that she thought I was crazy. Well, maybe I am, but at least I'm having fun!

It is possible to fly without motors, but not without knowledge and skill.
       — Wilbur Wright

Craig

Prop Tips: Dynamic Balance

by Dr. Dan, The Prop Man!

September 01, 2005

Airplane Owner (we will call him) Joe asked, “Hey Dr. Dan, what’s all the fuss about Dynamic Balance? I just had my prop overhauled and the prop shop guy said the prop was static balanced in the shop. So why should I have my Prop dynamically balanced?”

Well Joe, that is a very good question, now let me try to answer that for you. Joe, I’d like for you to visualize that your holding a 1 lb weighted ball attached to a 3 ft length of chain. OK, now hold on to the end of the chain and let the ball dangle from the other end of the chain. Good visualization Joe! OK, about how much does that ball weigh?

“Hum about a pound.”

Very good Joe, you see that is static weight. OK now visualize that your swinging that ball in a circle and you continue swinging faster and faster.

Joe, “Wow! It’s starting to get heavier.”

That’s right Joe we call that dynamic weight. There are three elements that were involved in that little experiment they are: Weight, Distance and Speed. If you were to increase any of the three elements the end result would be greater and visa versa if you were to decrease either element the end result would be less. Now in the following example I will be talking about weight measured in grams.

“Wait a minute Dr. Dan. What is a Gram?”

Well Joe, just take a penny out of your pocket and bounce it around in the palm of your hand. That little penny weighs 2.5 grams. OK, we got that out of the way, moving on to the example. Lets say there are two each balance washers (AN970-3) mounted to the radius of the spinner to correct balance. Your spinner measures 12" in diameter so the radius or lets say the arm (distance) is 6" from the centerline of the crankshaft. Each washer weighs 4.5 grams for a total of 9 grams at 6". This is said to represent 36 inch grams (6*9=36).

Now your out be bopping around all the local airports showing off your freshly overhauled propeller and whoops, there goes a piece of paint chipped off out at the tip. Now you say ah no big deal just a chip or maybe a little nick it might only weigh ½ gram. Thinking back to the penny only weighing 2.5 grams. Ah heck, you say, that’s nothing. That little chip or nick is out on the tip about 36" from the centerline of the crankshaft so lets do some figuring. ½ gram times 36 inches (.5*36=18) equals 18" grams. So now all we need to do is add some RPM to it and the effect is even greater as you increase the RPM. I guess that 9 grams of weight attached to the spinner is not doing so great now.

So you see Joe, Static balance is just what it implies, “Static not moving”. When your prop was static balanced that is all that was balanced, just the prop. When we perform a Dynamic Balance we are running the engine at cruise RPM and balancing everything that turns with the crankshaft (prop, spinner, spinner bulkhead, starter ring gear, crankshaft, cam shaft) as one complete rotating package.

“OK Dr. Dan you convinced me of why I should have it dynamically balanced but I still don’t know what all the fuss is about. How will I and my airplane benefit from dynamic balance?”

That’s an easy one Joe. Here are the benefits:

1. Creates a smoother ride for you and your passengers.
2. Quieter Cabin noise.
3. Reduction in pilot Fatigue.
4. Extends service life of engine and aircraft components.

For example: A correctly balanced rotating assembly will help prevent Leaky or cracked oil coolers, cracked or broken exhaust manifolds, cracked cowling and spinners, cracked or broken engine mounts, vacuum pump failures, alternator failure, fuel control line failure, engine control failure, wire harness failure and other avionics components failure. Joe, that’s the scoop on all the fuss!

“Well Dr. Dan, Sign me up for a balance!”

Question for my readers

What does a modern U.S. naval destroyer have in common with a McDonnell Douglas DC-10?

Be the 10th person to email me with the answer and you will win a prize!

Please visit my web site, http://www.customprop.com/ for the answer and your entire propeller needs and prop information. Stay safe and stay tuned next month for the next prop tip.

Dr. Dan, The Prop Man

Terry and the Spaceship

On July 23, Terry Strickland and Leigh Strickland, both members of Tulsa's EAA chapter 10, had a close encounter with Mike Melvill, Space Ship One, and the mother ship White Knight while it was in Tulsa for a fuel stop and overnight stay. I know the manager of the FBO, and he allowed us access to Mike Melvill just as soon as he got out of the White Knight. I went up to him, introduced myself, and welcomed him to Tulsa on behalf of EAA chapter 10. Leigh and I both had our EAA badges on. We took 50 pictures, had a nice visit with Mike Melvill, and feel that it was a once in a lifetime experience that we will never forget. Terry Strickland EAA #10758

Terry Strickland with Mike Melville as White Knight / Space Ship One stop in Tulsa.

Ford Tri-Motor visits Tulsa

by Lynn Coltharp

A lot of us volunteered to help with the Ford Tri-motor tour through Tulsa this year. They were offering rides for a reasonable price and needed about four or five people per shift to provide ground support to park the airplane and get people on and off of it. --- Lynn Coltharp

Just like the B-17 tour, this proved to be a rewarding time for me. Many of the riders were getting up in years and some had some very qood times to reminisce about relating to the 1929 model airplane. One gentleman had been a Tri-motor pilot many years ago. He bought the right-seat ride two times in a row and the smile on his face told everyone that it was well worth the investment.

Lynn

Click images for full size pictures

The Ford Tri-Motor cockpit.

The Ford Tri-Motor passenger seating.

Tri-Motor parked at Tulsa Tech building at RVS.

Writing for a Newsletter: How to make your newsletter editor happy

by Lynn Coltharp

Now I know most of you are not concerned about keeping your newsletter editor happy. I did read an article in EAA Sport Pilot magazine recently that said a lot of things a lot better than I have ever been able to say in my pleas for articles. The article is a bit long for our tiny newsletter but I will try to capture some of the thoughts anyway.

If you fly, you have stories to tell which means you could do your Chapter a favor and tell those stories in your Chapter newsletter. Most newsletters very often run pleas for your contributions and never, ever run a notice saying, “because of excess material, we are asking people not to submit any more stories.”

Consider that a Chapter's newsletter can be one of the single most important factors -- along with involved, active officers – in holding a chapter together and building it and making it fun by creating a sense of community. Most people will happily tell their stories to friends and relatives, even to those not quite as interested as the taletellers would like. But when it comes to telling their tales in print, they get bashful. Maybe it is like the unwillingness most people have to getting up in front of a crowd to sing a song or give a speech – a prospect that gives me the same creeps it gives anybody else. It’s the fear of making a spectacle of yourself.

It might also be that many people worry their grammar, spelling and punctuation are below par. To that I can only say: Forget about it. Do your best and let the editor take it from there.

Here are some guidelines:

• Almost anything you can think of to say is of interest.
  Remember that you are writing for people who share your love of flying, so it’s almost impossible to bore them. People are passionate enough about their hobby to plunk down cash for magazines and books. So, yes, they are interested in your stories too.
• Write it the way you say it.
  It’s easy to slip into a solemn, plodding, official style: “Concluding our noontime meal, it was determined that the weather forecast included the possibility of thunderstorms; taking into account numerous and varied meteorological factors many of which did not lie within the scope of standard operational parameters of our flight regimes, it was decided to begin the return flight.” Very official but --- How about: “After lunch we called Flight Service, who said possible thunderstorms were headed our way. We talked it over and decided to head back while we could.
• After telling it, show it.
  The winds were 15 gusting to 25 is good but what really put the readers in your place is to include something like “After takeoff I looked down at the highway and the cars were passing me.” The plane was really dirty can be really emphasized by “The mouse nest had to go and when I pulled it out the mouse and his family took several years off my life”.
• There is no joy in a hobbs meter.
  While reporting all the facts and numbers from a trip is interesting, the more fun reading might be gleaned from things like I flew over fog shrouded valleys, nudist camps and bears cavorting in sunlit clearings as I flew between towering battlements of cloud. Tell the readers what you saw, what pleased, dismayed, annoyed, amused, scared or encouraged you. If you saw sailboats with spinnakers collapsing for lack of wind, that’s going to mean more to the reader than what the anemometer said. And don’t leave out that nudist camp!
• Answer every possible question generated by the story.
  For example a recent article in a major aviation magazine blasted the idea of putting a Rotax model ABC in a particular airplane seeming implied that anyone even contemplating that installation would be a complete lunatic but he never delivered all the reasons for that. It left the feeling that one would be crazy to even ask why. Not a good move. Leaving your readers with the impression that they're stupid for not knowing what you know, is bad writing.
• Do not unintentionally create mysteries.
  To make an example: “Marty and I gave the Everson farm a wide birth, which made us late arriving.” Okay, and what exactly is wrong with the Everson farm? Is it part of the Bermuda triangle? Inquiring minds want to know.
• Remember the who, what, when, where and why.
  Whether you are writing about the last fly-in or an account of a Chapter member’s building project, you have to answer all five of those questions. Leave any one of those out at your peril. (The “who”, by the way, includes the first and last name of anybody you mention. Not everybody in the Chapter knows which “Jim” you are talking about.)

Lynn

EAA 10 Prop Balancing Special

A printable flyer version of this article is available.

EAA Chapter 10 and Custom Propeller of Owasso, OK (O38) would like to invite all aircraft owners to our monthly pancake breakfast on Saturday September 24th, 2005 to take advantage of a win win opportunity. Normally, a dynamic propeller balancing costs $175 but Dr. Dan the Propeller Man is taking $50 off that price for this special event. Of this special $125 price, $50 will be donated to the Young Eagles program.

• Save $50.00
• Smoother ride!
• Increase service life of engine and components!
• It's a charitable donation!
• Help the Young Eagles program!

Rain Date

Dynamic balancing depends on light or no wind conditions (less than 10 knots) for accuracy and, due to the electronic equipment, we must have dry conditions. So, if we have any rain or wind greater than 10 knots during this event, we will give it another try the following Saturday, October 1st (sorry, no pancakes). So lets hope for good weather!

For any questions, please give Dr. Dan a call at (918) 272-3567 or email him at propdoc@aol.com

New Chapter Postal Address

Please note: Our chapter now has a Post Office Box for our permanent address. Any communications to the chapter should be addressed to the new address.

EAA Chapter 10
PO BOX 1985
OWASSO OK 74055-1985 

Items For Sale

*** 1959 PIPER PA24 - 180 COMANCHE ***
Airframe Total Time  4300  (times as of 6/20/2005)
<10 hrs on Major Overhaul
New Hartzell Prop.
Accessories overhauled.
Excellent Paint & Nice Interior.
Nice avionics
$58,000.00
Ken Gates 918 396-0968

*** 1998 FISHER CELEBRITY ***
Airframe Total Time  150 hrs,  Since New
Engine Total Time     152.0 hrs. SMOH	
Dual LightSpeed CDI Ignition (No MAGS)
Culver Wood Prop.
KX78A XPDR w/ Encoder
KLX100 GPS/COMM hand held
August Condition Inspection  
$25,000
Ken Gates 918 396-0968

*** Completed RV-9 empennage kit and more *** 
Completed RV-9 empennage kit
Wing kit with completed flaps, ailerons, pushrods, left wing, and 50% complete right wing
Located in Claremore, OK.
Please email 9daleb@ssd.fsi.com (without the 9)
or call 918-527-3724 for further details.
Dale Bramer

*** House at Skyhaven Airpark  ***
3 bedrooms and office
2600 sq ft.
60x80 hangar with office, shop and motor home space.
Convenient to Tulsa and Owasso.
Price recently reduced by $50,000.
Lorin Wilkinson 371-6668

*** House at Skyhaven Airpark  ***
4 Beds
2 1/2 baths
3 car garage backs to airstrip
formal living or dining
$219,900
Kimberly 378-1089 owner/associate

(Please note the “9” preceding everyone’s email address in our newsletter. Delete the “9” if you want to email anyone. This is to help deter junk mail that gets picked up on the internet.)

To list your aviation items for sale, contact newsletter editor Lynn Coltharp.

Calendar Of Events

To add an item to our calendar, get the information to the newsletter editor Lynn Coltharp. See the contact info on the cover (or home page) for e-mail, phone, and mail addresses.

Recurring events

Who Brings Snacks????

If your last name starts with Q-S, September is your month to brink a snack for the meeting.

Web Page Newsletter

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 John Nys or Bob Minich an e-mail and we'll stop the paper version and send you a monthly e-mail to let you know when the newsletter is posted online.