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Our next meeting will be Monday, November 20th,
7:30 pm at the chapter hanger at Gundy's. It's time for the Pie Auction!
Snacks: Last names starting with W-Z
by Craig Loomiller
I can't believe it is already November. The year has really flown by. It's been a good year though. We had several Young Eagle events this year. Our Chapter picnic in May was well attended and everyone had a good time. We were able to send two young men on scholarships to the Flight Academy in Oshkosh in June. The Tulsa fly-in in September had pretty good weather and also was well attended. We had excellent turnouts for nearly every one of our chapter meetings. Our Saturday morning pancake breakfasts had good turnouts and made us a little money besides. We had an influx of several new members as well as a number of new aircraft projects started within our chapter this year. I know there are a lot of magazine articles that could cite facts to prove me wrong, but all I know is that sport aviation in Northeast Oklahoma is alive and well. Every event that I personally attended this year had good crowds and everyone seemed to be in good spirits. Even the glider club I am a member of nearly doubled its membership this year.
The EAA B-17 aluminum Overcast came to Tulsa the first week of the month. I would like to thank everyone who had a hand in its visit. Unfortunately our gate will be down on this event due to maintenance issues and the weather. The B-17 had some main gear problems at the stop before Tulsa that had to be addressed before any further rides could be made. The aircraft arrived in Tulsa on Wednesday November 1st and went straight into the hangars at TCC over at Riverside airport. They ferried in two rebuilt actuators for the gear and began work. The B-17 completed its test flights two days later and we were able to conduct rides and tours starting Friday afternoon.
Saturday turned out to be a good day but Sunday ended up cold and rainy. We ended up canceling all operations early Sunday afternoon because of the weather. We were able to conduct a lot of ground tours but sold just four rides during this visit. Everyone who volunteered did such a good job.
The B-17 left Tulsa early Monday morning for Amarillo with six of our members on board. The following Chapter 10 members were able to make the trip: Bhrent Waddell, Michael Aichele, Roger Holland, Edgar Hellyer, Jack Nelson, and Jerry Thomas. It will be interesting to see how their ride turned out.
Officer Elections for 2007-2008 will be held at the November membership meeting. The following people have agreed to run for Chapter offices:
| President | Bhrent Waddell |
|---|---|
| Vice-President | John Nys |
| Treasurer | Michael Aichele |
| Secretary | Bob Thrasher |
Running an organization like Chapter 10 can be a daunting task. I think these guys will do an excellent job of it. Please let them know that their efforts are appreciated. As a side note, our current vice-president, Jeff Wedman has informed us that Jana has volunteered him to be our chapter janitor and pop man. Jeff will take care of the bathrooms each month while ensuring we all have something to drink. In addition, I will be taking over the chapter newsletter starting in January. I will be asking many of you for articles next year so be fore warned.
Our November membership meeting is the annual pie auction. In addition to elections, we will auction off pies to help with chapter expenses and the Christmas dinner. I have been the auctioneer for the last four years. I would have thought everyone would be tired of my lame auctioneering skills by now, but have been informed that I would fill that role again this year. Please bring your homemade pies out and help us in a good cause. I've fallen off my diet right now so will be in the market for regular pie. I can't wait to see what will be offered this year. I'll see if Bart's schedule will allow him to give me a hand this year up at the table. I really missed his help last year.
Our only event scheduled for December will be our Annual Christmas dinner on Saturday, December 9th. The dinner will be catered by Jamils again so the meal should be excellent. Please see Lynn's article in this newsletter about tickets. There will be no December membership meeting or pancake breakfast. Don't forget to come help us out at the Christmas dinner decorating party the Sunday after Thanksgiving. We'll be serving Charlotte's award winning healthy chili again this year. Her recipe garnered her second place finish in her office chili cook-off this year. The prize for this win was an extra vacation day, so it turned out to be a pretty good win for her. I wish my company had a contest like that.
This is my last article as President of Chapter 10. This is a great organization to be a part of. The reason for this is that you, the members, are so outstanding. I am continuously amazed by projects our members are involved in. I am proud that you entrusted me to run the organization for the last two years. I would like to thank everyone for all of the help they gave me because I know I sure needed it. I especially want to thank the other officers I served with because it couldn't have happened without you guys. Jeff Wedman did an excellent job as Vice-President. He filled in for me the many, many times I couldn't be there. I know he "saved my bacon" more than once and I really appreciate his efforts. John Nys working as our Treasurer made sure we always had our bills paid up and our money was well taken care of. Secretary Bob Thrasher made sure everything we did was documented. I also liked the fact that as a fellow glider pilot he was able to cover my back at times. Charles Freeland served as the Young Eagles coordinator. I especially appreciated Charles's ability to schedule Young Eagle events that didn't conflict with other events. It sure made my life easier. I especially want to thank Lynn Coltharp. Lynn has been a member since the 1970's and has helped the chapter in many ways too numerous to mention. He kept everyone informed through the newsletter of all our chapter activities over the last couple of years. More importantly to me, he provided valuable guidance on a regular basis on how to run this organization. His wisdom concerning our chapter history and procedures was greatly appreciated. Thanks, Lynn.
Airspeed, altitude, or brains: Two are always needed to successfully complete the flight.
Craig
The Chapter annual Christmas party will be on Saturday December 9th this year. The dinner will be catered again by Jamil's (Touch of Class Catering). Food will be your choice of prime rib or chicken with the usual excellent sides offered by Jamil's. Social hour will start at 6:00pm and we should eat about 7:00pm.
BRING A "WHITE ELEPHANT" GIFT, one for boys and one for girls. We will distribute the gifts and have a grand opening of the gifts. Hmmm I wonder if Craig will bring his special gift for someone this year?
For reservations, contact Sallie Coltharp at 272-7255 or scoltharp3@cox.net or via postal mail:
Sallie Coltharp 16716 E. 80th St. N. Owasso OK 74055
As always she will need a check or cash to firm up the reservation and head count.
We will have the hangar decorating party on November 26 at 1:00. Craig has committed Charlotte to make chili so we can eat and decorate. This is always a fun time so come on out and help eat and decorate.
It was a pleasure to return to what I believe is the BEST general aviation fly-in in this part of the country. I looked back in my logbook to see when we first discovered Reklaw. It was 1990. Several of us were attending a fly-in at an airport called "Just Plain Fun" there in East Texas. A couple of guys flew in and in the course of visiting with them they told us that we should fly over to a good fly-in for breakfast the next morning. We did and have been going back to Reklaw ever since.
While not a record turnout, there were 319 airplanes of all types and models present. EAA 10 was represented this year by fly-ins Dwight Hardy in his Cessna 120, Earl Klebs in his Zenair 701, and Bhrent Waddell and yours truly in Bhrent's Cardinal. Another Tulsan, Bob Brown, Green Country UFO, accompanied Dwight Hardy in his RANS 6ES. Also present were John and Sue Kurt and Roger and E.J. White who drove in.
The weather, except for the wind Friday, was perfect for camping out and flying activities. The wind Friday was pretty ferocious. The wind was settling down a little when Brent and I left Gundy's at 3:30 P.M. and we still had a 40 knot tailwind. It took us a little under 2 hours to make the 269nm trip. Earl Klebs, who left about 8:00 A.M., experienced the wonderful tailwinds also but paid a pretty high price.
Earl landed at Cherokee County airport, which is 13 miles out of Reklaw, for fuel as none is available at Reklaw. As he taxied to the fuel pumps a gust of wind blew the plane up on its nose and one wing tip. Earl thought it was all over and released his seat belt to get out but another gust hit and the plane went over on its back. So Earl ended up with a sore neck and an even more damaged airplane.
This kind of put a damper on the event but we filled Earl up with ibuprofens and we all truly enjoyed the fly-in. Kicking tires, grading landings, and telling lies. Dave Mason at the Saturday night awards dinner presented the trophy for the oldest person flying in as pilot in command to Earl (86 years young).
After breaking camp Sunday morning, it was off to get a U-Haul truck and dismantle Earl's plane for the trip home. We were all loaded up by 3:00 P.M. and Earl and I headed for the house.
Hopefully, next year, we will have a gaggle of RANS 6ES making this annual pilgrimage.
Paul Shireman
by Bhrent Waddell
What happens when our fearless leader, Craig Loomiller, says, "There are six seats on the B-17, do you want to go?" Opportunities like this don't come that often, so six EAA volunteers changed their plans for Monday and signed up. The tour of EAA's B-17, Aluminum Overcast had been in Tulsa November 3 - 5 and had to fly to Amarillo, Texas on Monday. Although the plan was for the B-17 to give the public a chance to take a local flight in a B-17 and walk through the plane, the weather wasn't the best. It could only fly on Saturday and by Sunday even the static display was cancelled early.
What does one think of when thinking of what it's like to fly on a B-17? It will be cold, loud, vibrating, and cramped. Not exactly a pleasure trip. The six of us were about to find out for ourselves. Monday morning started appropriately with London fog and mist -- perfect for today's mission. The ground crew (our six volunteers and the B-17 flight crew) pulled each prop through to prepare for engine start. The passenger safety briefing included the location of aircraft exits, the location of airsickness bags, and the friendly rule, "if you mess it up, you clean it up."
Once buckled in, the engines were started and the brakes squealed loudly as the plane taxied to the end of the runway. The overcast skies required the plane to wait for an IFR clearance before takeoff. Once cleared, the takeoff was much smoother than expected and, after a short climb, the plane entered the clouds. Smoothly flying through the clouds, and we reached the top of the overcast at about 4,000 feet. We cruised just above the top of the status layer and could enjoy the speed sensation of passing them at 170 miles an hour.
When it was okay to unbuckle and move around the plane, we explored every crew position. Going forward to the cockpit meant one had to pass through the bomb bay. Easy enough for those not weight challenged, but requiring additional care for some. Certainly not something that could be done easily with a parachute. Although we couldn't occupy the pilot's seats, standing behind them we could observe it all. Just behind the pilots' seats, near the top turret position, the noise level prevented any conversation without the intercom. With headsets, the noise wasn't uncomfortable.
The bombardier's position is below and forward of the pilots' seats so it is best entered on one's knees. The farther forward one progressed, the more one's head bumped something. Head protection is not required but beneficial. The view from the bombardier's position was outstanding.
Looking forward, nothing obscured the view. As the clouds cleared and gave way to broken then clear skies, landmarks were easy to find. If we had had a map, we might of known where we were. Interestingly enough, the forward position wasn't drafty. With the sun shining through the cockpit and nose, it was warm. Especially warm for one dressed in wool long handles and a ski sweater. (It was supposed to be cold and drafty in a B-17.) To cool off it was best to go back to the waist position and stand behind the ball turret position. As the air flows up and around the ball, it passes through the half-inch gaps around the ball. It felt cool and refreshing, but at high altitude it would be frosty. It looked like every crew position had an electric plug for their heated flying suits. The fuselage would never be temperature controlled. As we approached the state line, the skies cleared. The landscape was dotted with oil and gas wells, cattle ranches, feedlots, and a couple of areas of large wind generators. With clearing skies and increasing terrain, we began to feel a little turbulence but nothing for any length of time. Overall the flight was very smooth, but the plane did vibrate as expected. The padded seats kept the vibration from being annoying.
When we entered the traffic pattern at Amarillo, lowering the gear and flaps was hardly noticeable. The landing was smooth, but it was a little strange to look to the rear and see the runway through the tail gunner's position. The flight had taken about two hours. We could not help but imagine, at least partially, what it was like to be a part of a B-17 crew during WWII. It was a memorable event for each of us and we appreciate what will probably be a once in a lifetime experience for us.
Bhrent
As I write this article, It's just 2 weeks to Thanksgiving Day. This is my favorite time of the year. We get to spend some extra time with our families and friends. This months meeting, the Monday before Thanksgiving is the pie auction. Craig Loomiller’s auctioneering is just about the funniest activity that I've ever been involved with. The proceeds go towards making our Christmas party a little more fun. We buy gag gifts, door prizes and such. I invite you all to attend both. This has been a great year for the Chapter. A lot of new friends have been made, several new birds in the air and 2 deserving young men sent to the Air Academy. My association with the people of Chapter 10 has been one of the most gratifying experiences of my life. Thank you one and all!
On a lighter note. Reports of my demise have been grossly exaggerated. For those who heard those rumors, let me explain what happened.
| Oct 25 | made doctors appointment for next day, feeling worse |
| Oct.26 | woke up with baseball size protrusion on left side of face, went to doctor for misdiagnosis of mumps. Actually had it been mumps it properly should have been called a mump. Only one side of my face |
| Oct 27 | Confirmation of misdiagnosis of mumps by the lab. |
| Oct 28th - 31st | Quarantined to my bedroom, pain and size of protrusion growing exponentially. The doctor was no help here except for pain pills that at the end were no more help for pain than M&M's. The emergency rooms wanted no one with Mumps. Midday the 31st my wife decided I was going to St Francis emergency. 911 and I was there. |
| Nov 1 & 2 | a huge blur, more drugs than an addict could dream of and a few gallons of super high test Antibiotics. |
| Nov 3 | Returned to the world of the living. So hungry I contemplated taking bites out of passersby. They were in no danger; I had to pry my mouth open to get the occasional pill past them. |
| Nov 4 | Another Cat-scan, a couple of pills, and 24 hours worth of begging, pleading, threats pays off with a supper of meat loaf, potatoes and gravy. The most superb meat loaf on the planet. Forced to smoosh it with my fingers thru the tiny gap between my teeth. Full to the max with that tiny piece of meatloaf and skimming the gravy off the lump of potatoes. |
| Nov 5 | Real breakfast. I think I squealed like a little girl when I took the lid off, and the wonderful smell of Bacon, eggs and pancakes hit me. It took a while, but I finished every delicious morsel. Mid morning pronounced cured by Dr. Shepherd. Asked what about this baseball still hanging off the side of my face and not being able to open my mouth. He said that would be handled by draining the pocket of puss in the office of a Dr. Loehr on Monday. My son Shawn picked me up and brought me home. HOME, SWEET HOME. |
| Mon Nov 6 | Dr. Loehr, a magnificent doctor, punctured under my jaw, and proceeded to smoosh 15 cc's of the grossest substance on the face of the earth from the side of my face. A story for Shawn to tell for a long time. No anesthesia, some pain, but a wonderfully satisfying experience. Suddenly my mouth can open enough for real food. |
| Nov 7 | provided entertainment for my son Broc and his friend by smooshing a few ounces of puss from side of face. A stand up ovation. |
| Nov 8 | Dr. Loehr very happy with progress. See you next week. |
| Nov 9 | Today. First attempt at doing something. Wrote 3 checks, cleaned 20 e-mails off computer, made 2 phone calls. Exhausted. Rest for couple of hours. We are here in the present. |
If I had known it would take this long, probably wouldn't even have started, but I’m feeling O.K.
Thank you all again for being part of my life.
John Nys
Described as "World’s Oldest Free Fly-In & Airshow", this was their 55th year. It was started by Davey and Bessie Martens. The fly-in continues as a one-day fly-in on the Saturday that falls closest to Veterans Day. The Fairview Flying Club, the city of Fairview merchants/businesses and the FBO operator (the Regier family) do an outstanding job of putting this event on each year.
For the past several years a group of our local chapter members have flown in on Friday and camped out at the airport for the event. Due to two of our die-hard campers being without airplanes and the weather not exactly cooperating I was the only one that showed up and landed in a 36mph wind. Two airplanes from Texas did come in later and camped out.
With a free breakfast for fly-in pilots, a turkey for every tenth plane landing on Saturday, a sunny day with light winds and a short airshow with a good crowd, I would say the Fairview Fly-In was a success again this year.
John Kurt
by Lynn Coltharp
This is the last newsletter for the year. Craig Loomiller will take over the newsletter starting in January.
I have been doing the newsletter for more years than I can remember and it will be great to get some fresh ideas and enthusiasm into the newsletter. Thank you Craig for taking on this job. Also thanks to all the people that have contributed articles for the newsletter through the years. This month we had really great contributions by our membership (maybe a record).
Thanks --- Lynn Coltharp
FOR RENT 60X24 Building with heat and air at Gundy's See Roger Wieden 798-2060
To list your aviation items for sale, contact newsletter editor Lynn Coltharp.
| Day of Week | Date | Event |
|---|---|---|
| Monday | November 20th | Chapter meeting / Pie Auction @ Gundy's 7:30pm |
| Saturday | November 26th | EAA 10 Pancake Breakfast and Fly Market 7:30-9:00 @ Gundy's |
| Thursday | November 23rd | Thanksgiving |
| Sunday | November 26th | Hangar Decorating 1:00pm @ Gundy's |
| Saturday | December 2nd | Ponca City Breakfast Fly-In |
| Sunday | December 3rd | Chili Feed @ Vinita |
| Saturday | December 9th | Christmas Dinner 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 (or home page) 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 & Fly-Market | Chapter hangar | 7:00-9:30am |
If your last name starts with W, X, Y, or Z, then November is your month to bring a snack for the 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 (no Monday meeting) |
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.
