Next Meeting

Come early (6:30pm) to the chapter hanger at Gundy's for this year's Brat feed. Later, Brhent Waddell will present his RV-6 project.
Snacks: Last names starting with I-L

Table of Contents

• Young Eagles Rally (Second Reminder)
• President's Report for April
• 2006 EAA Air Academy Scholarship Awarded
• Poker Run – Huge Success (yeah right)
• Lightning Strikes
• Newsletter Editor Relief
• Items For Sale
• 2006 Calendar Of Events
• Who Brings Snacks????
• Web Page Newsletter

Young Eagles Rally (Second Reminder)

by Charles Freeland

Bhrent Waddell with a crew of young eagles.

The Tulsa Chapter 10 of the Experimental Aircraft Association will conduct a Young Eagles Rally at Gundy Airport east of Owasso on Saturday, May 13th, from 9:00 AM until noon. (Rain date: May 20th)

Ground Crew needed

We will need all of the help we can muster. We will need at least 10 pilots and planes, and 8 – 10 ground crew. Ground crew include:

• car traffic detail (working, hopefully, with 3 Boy Scouts)
• "the paper chase" of forms and certificates (5)
• safety officers on the flight line (2)
• digital photographer, and
• ground school instructor.

Please volunteer immediately by calling Charlie Freeland (272-9829) and leaving a message on his answering machine if necessary!

Pilots, get ready! Finish your annuals - Check your medicals – BFRs - fly off your landings & takeoffs - dues paid up at EAA National - insurance paid up. Speaking of insurance, each pilot must have aircraft passenger seat liability insurance. For those EAA members who choose to insure at a level of $100,000 per passenger seat, EAA will automatically provide an additional $1,000,000 liability umbrella policy. This coverage is only in effect while participating in Young Eagle Flights. Pilots who choose to insure at lower levels may still participate. However, the additional insurance will not apply.

For further information and volunteering, call Charles Freeland, 272-9829 or his office 272-0691.

Charles

President's Report for April

by Craig Loomiller

Well, I missed another EAA business meeting. My wife and I took a trip to Las Vegas the first week in April. Boy has that place changed. If you go, be sure to hang onto your wallet. We aren't probably going to go back there for a while. We still had fun though. I really need to thank Jeff for taking charge while I was gone. He has had to do that a lot this spring.

Poker Run results

On Saturday April 1st, we set out on our first poker run in a while. I rode along with Gerry Vaughan in his sidewinder. We both fit in it ok but it sure was snug. Gerry and I were to drop off the cards at each airport so we left ahead of everybody else. We didn't have any problems until the Vinita-Bartlesville leg; it was then that "all hell broke loose." We ended up getting on the radios and calling for an abort. But by that time, everybody else was already in trouble and most were well into plan B. There are a couple of other accounts of what happened elsewhere in this issue. We had a pretty good turnout though. There were 15-16 contestants in all. We'll schedule one later in the summer when we need some more rain.

Flight Academy scholar selected

The board chose our 2006 Flight Academy scholarship recipient last Monday. The board had several excellent applicants to choose from. After looking all the applications over, I was told that they had a hard time narrowing it down to just one. Their final selection was Ben Hill from Owasso. Hopefully we can get Ben to come by this month's membership meeting where we can all meet him.

Our guest speaker last month was unable to attend. This is the second meeting since the beginning of the year where we have had a cancellation. In this case, our guest speaker was dealing with over a foot of snow in Wichita, so I don't really blame him. Hopefully we can get him rescheduled for later on this summer. We still had a good time though. Roger White's account of building his first homebuilt back in the fifties was pretty interesting. This was followed up by a brief overview of the Lycoming crankshaft AD by Alan Barrett of Barrett Performance Engines. I'd like to thank both of them for stepping up to the plate in an emergency.

I'm heading out again this weekend to go soaring for the first time this year. There are a bunch of us going down to the Talihina Ridge to have some fun. There will be glider pilots arriving from several nearby states all with one goal in mind and that is to soar the ridge. The ridge is 38 miles long and is the closest thing we have in these parts to big time soaring conditions. Most of the Oklahoma state soaring records were set down on the ridge. It should be a lot of fun. I'll let you know how it turns out.

This month's guest speaker will be Bhrent Waddell. We will finally be able to get a look at Bhrent's new RV-6. Bhrent has spent several years on its construction and is pretty happy that it is finally in the air. It's fitting that in addition to Bhrent, we will also have the 5th Annual Bhrent's Bhrat Feed right before the membership meeting. I think we will start serving around 6:30. Bhrent started this event 5 years ago as a way to start getting everybody excited about going to Oshkosh. It's only 3 ½ months away after all. Come on out early and get yourself a couple of Bhrats and then sit down to a lively evening of Bhrent. You had better be there!

Craig

2006 EAA Air Academy Scholarship Awarded

The 2006 Air Academy Scholarship recipient is Ben Hill. Ben is the son of Marc and Theresa Hill of Owasso. Ben is a 15 year old who has logged 5 hours of actual flight training. We are pleased to have Ben Hill as chapter 10's 2006 Air Academy Scholarship winner. Ben and his family will be attending this month's meeting to meet our members. Congratulations Ben!

Poker Run – Huge Success (yeah right)

by Jeff Wedman

As you all may know, April 1st (April Fools Day), was the Poker Run that Craig Loomiller was to coordinate due to the fact that we need rain. The Poker Run has consistently been rained out every year so the officers decided that Craig should schedule "The Run". He wasn't there to defend himself, so we all elected him to do the prep work. The day started off bad for me and my passenger, Jerry Miller, Jana's dad. It was the first Saturday of the month so we decided to go to Ponca City for breakfast.

Off to a good start

We left Sageeyah at 6:30, plenty of time to eat and get back to Gundy's by 9:00. As we taxied out for run up I noticed we had a very, very light breeze straight out of the east. No problem. When we arrived at Ponca, the wind was straight out of the east at around 15 knots, gusting to who knows what. Ponca traffic was landing to the north, so I lined up with 35 and found the nose of the little RV pointing to about 060 degrees to maintain alignment with the runway. I sure was glad the runway at Ponca is very wide because I used every bit of that width to get this tail dragger stopped!! As I got the speed down to where I could maintain control without panic, I said to Jerry, "That was exciting." "It @%($*^% was."

We got into the dining area and the topic at every table was about the horrible crosswind and what awful landings were being made. I had already decided that if the crosswind was as bad in the Tulsa area we were not going to play Poker. Well, it was April Fools' Day.

Jerry & I departed Ponca at 8:15 or I should say we taxied to the runway and waited 15 minutes to take off, as the traffic was backed up as usual. I "poured the coals" to the engine and I got airborne ASAP. The crosswind seemed much worse. I was glad to be taking off instead of landing. Wait!! I still had to land.

On the way back to Tulsa I listened to ATIS and it was reporting winds at 6 knots at 060 degrees. Hey, now that's more like it. Deal us in. We're ready to play some poker after all.

Dark cloud on the horizon

Some of the poker players.

Craig had a good turnout for the run. After we had our briefing we all headed out after Jerry Vaughn and Craig, as they were delivering the cards. The first stop was Haskell. As we approached Haskell we noticed that it was getting pretty dark to the south and west. Jerry and I were the 4th plane to arrive. I jumped out and got our first cards and as I was walking back to the plane lightning struck within a couple miles of the airport. We needed to get out of the area now!! I had some trouble getting started, dang fuel injected engines. I was back-taxiing at a good clip when I noticed Bhrent Waddell on final so I turned off to give him the right of way but he called me to say he wasn't landing and was getting the heck out of Dodge and would we go back and get his cards. "No", I said. Jerry is thinking "good call".

Picking up cards at Pryor.

Next stop was Pryor. The weather was dark and I made a radio call that I think I will throw in the towel on the Poker Run. But, fools will be fools. As we got closer to Pryor the weather had let up a bit. Terry Hines was giving weather reports. He has all the fancy gadgets and said there was a cell building between Vinita and B'ville, our next two stops after Pryor. I did get a call from Lynn Coltharp asking what the heading was to Pryor from Haskell. He was with Shawn in his 172. I guess he doesn't have any fancy gadgets. They did not land at Haskell. Good idea. Pryor was no problem so off to Vinita. On the way there we got a call from the lead airplane, Jerrys sidewinder, that we were not to go to BVO. Return to Gundy's for the last two cards and to please pass the word on.

The flock regroups

Does anybody know how big the hail is between Vinita and Tulsa?

We landed at Vinita and regrouped. I went to Micky D's for a coke and when I returned, Terry had one of his fancy gadgets out looking at the weather. Storms were moving into the area. It was determined that maybe we should stay in Vinita for awhile and let the storms move on out. Jerry and I talked about it and we decided to go straight west to Oolagah Lake then turn south to Sageeyah. It looked fairly clear to the west. We took off and had no problems getting home but we did not finish "the run".

Bhrent Waddel, Terry Heinz and John Kurt looking for tornados on Terry's fancy gadget.

It's interesting to note that the Poker Run is normally rained out early in the day, but on this April Fools' Day the weather played the games. I did get a call from Jerry Vaughn wanting to know what had happened to everyone. It seems that no one made it back to Gundy's. I did hear that Lynn and Shawn made it back later of course. They are based at Gundy's. What an April Fools Day. The Poker Run was a huge success. After all, the only reason we have it is so it will rain. P.S. Sageeyah didn't get a drop.

Jeff

Lightning Strikes

by Dr. Dan, The Prop Man!

An April shower brings thunder to the skies and lightning leads the way! Hopefully you’re not caught flying your airplane in a thunderstorm but if you do get caught, my explanation in this article will help show you what to look for when performing your preflight inspection on the propeller and what to do about it if a lightning strike is found.

• Check for burns or signs of arching on the blades and hub area.
• Using a magnetism detector check all steel parts for signs of magnetism.
• Look for any signs of localized melting or metal flow, particularly around the blades.
• For electric de-ice systems check for broken or burned leads & terminals.

If you find any of the above indications you have had a lighting strike. So what can you do about it? First, lets discuss the indications you found. A burn or arch anywhere on the propeller indicates either an entrance point or an exit point. Can you tell the difference? Not really. This means the propeller would have to come apart in the case of a constant speed propeller to look for the entrance or exit point. In the case of a fix pitch propeller, it would need to be removed from the crankshaft and all bolt holes and attach surfaces inspected.

If you found any magnetism, the propeller would have to come apart to be completely de-magnetized. (Could you imagine how your compass would react?) Any arching damage would have to be repaired by a certified propeller shop. Even a composite blade can have an arch or burn mark in which a tap test would have to be conducted to check for de-bond surface. What does all this mean? Overhaul! McCauley and Hartzell propeller manufacturers require a complete overhaul for any lightning strike so a thorough inspection and repair can be accomplished. The good news is: In some cases the manufacture will allow as much as a 10 hour grace period to get your aircraft back home or to a propeller repair station after a preliminary inspection and minor repairs have been accomplished. It will be up to the operator of the aircraft to consult with the aircraft manufacture and or propeller manufacture for permission to operate the aircraft after such a strike. Below are a few examples of a lighting strike.

Question for my readers #11

What well-known civilian landplane can land with a gear retracted during routine operations?

As always you can visit my web site, www.customprop.com, to read up on this article or any past articles that I have written, for the answer to this month's question and your entire propeller needs and prop information. Stay safe and stay tuned next month for the next prop tip. Until then y'all have a great day and be careful!

Dr. Dan, The Prop Man

Newsletter Editor Relief

by Lynn Coltharp

I have been doing the newsletter for longer than I can remember and it would be good for the chapter to get a new slant on the newsletter.

Sooo --- this is a plea for someone to take over the newsletter for a while!!!!!!!!!!! Don't be afraid you will get "stuck" with it forever. Like last time, when Bob Minich stepped in, I will be willing to get "back on the job" after I have enjoyed a period of time away from the newsletter.

Please let me, or one of the chapter officers, know if you would be willing to take over the chapter newsletter for a while.

Thanks

Lynn Coltharp, Newsletter Editor

Items For Sale

*** 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.

2006 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 I-L, April 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.