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Our Annual Picnic is Sunday, May 18th 1:00 pm. Bring a covered dish or desert. Burgers and hotdogs provided. The picnic replaces the normal Monday meeting this month. |
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by Bhrent Waddell
Although our weather has been pretty damp, Roger White and I did manage to fly to Ponca City for breakfast on the first Saturday in May. It was a little bumpy, and I got to practice my crosswind landing technique at Ponca and at Sand Ridge. The night before had been a stormy one with small tornados touching down west of Hominy, OK, as a result, we looked for tornado damage on the way to and from Ponca. We didn’t see any damage, so the damage must have been pretty slight. Certainly, it was nothing like the Oklahoma City tornado that cleaned the grass and trees right out of the ground leaving a brown dirt trail through southern Oklahoma City and Moore.
We had a great turn out at the April meeting’s Brat Feed. While I was busy making a mess in the kitchen, Paul Shireman proved he knew how to grill the 100 brats prepared for the meal. By the end of the evening, all of the brats were gone.
Chapter 10’s Spring Picnic is Sunday, May 18. There will be no meeting on Monday night, May 19. The Chapter will furnish hamburgers and hotdogs and start serving at 1:00 p.m. Members can bring side dishes and desserts to help balance the menu. As always, let’s hope the weather will allow planes to fly (or taxi) to the picnic.
Don’t forget that the Biplane Expo will be June 5, 6 and 7 in Bartlesville, OK. If you can attend, you get to see many examples of classic bi-planes. If you would like to volunteer to help, I’m sure they would be glad to get your support.
See you at the picnic,
Bhrent
As all of us airplane engine owners know; when you change your oil it’s a good idea to cut the filter can apart to remove the paper element for inspection. We want to inspect the element to see if there are any metal particles trapped in-side. The best way to open the filter can is with one of the filter cutters sold in Trade-A-Plane, Wicks, Aircraft Spruce, and others.
Unfortunately, these filter cutters are expensive. I just finished checking current prices and found a cutter advertised in Trade-A-Plane by U.S. Tool & Supply for $50.00. This was the least expensive one I found, but it also comes from a supplier whose products I have found to be lacking in quality (what’s that old saying; "one gets what he pays for"?). The most expensive one, made by Champion, as offered in the Aircraft Spruce catalog, was $151.95. Aircraft Spruce offers a no name filter cuter for $89.50. The Wicks catalog offers a cutter for $85.00. All of these cutters work the same way. They use the same hard discs found in pipe tubing cutters to cut through the oil filter can.
If you look at the photos of these filter cutters you can see how they are made and how they work; and then when you realize you can buy replacement pipe cutter discs at Lowes for $1.95 you begin to think about making your own cutter…..which is exactly what I did.
In 1987 I served as the Director of Operations for the 405th Tactical Training Wing (TTW), Luke AFB, Phoenix, AZ. We flew F-15s and had a sister wing of F-16s, the 58th TTW. Our joint command post was under my authority.
Early one Saturday morning I was called by the command post because there were two F-16 Lawn Darts overhead that planned to land shortly after 0700 for fuel to continue their cross country flight to the west coast. Unfortunately, their crews misread the instructions for Luke AFB in the Enroute Supplement. Luke did not open until 0800 because Arizona did not observe Day Light Savings time. Neither of these aircraft had sufficient fuel to hold for another 45 minutes and if they landed at Sky Harbor Int’l. Airport they would cause an incident in spite of the presence of an Air National Guard KC-135 squadron. Further, the emergency power system of the F-16 must be pinned before shut down or it will activate and dump hydrazine over board requiring a hazardous chemical clean up.
There were two other military fields in the valley, Williams and Gila Ben, but they did not open until 0800 either.
I quickly instructed the command post to have the F-16s drag the field to ensure nothing was on the runway and to land. I had a government truck with a UHF radio so I could park and secure them. Further, I asked that the single fire truck on duty be alerted so they could stand by near the runway to supervise the landings in the unlikely event there was an incident.
As I drove to Luke from our home about two miles away the F-16s were in their approach. Both taxied in without a problem, were pinned, chocked and shut down. By this time someone from transient alert was there so we began servicing the planes. A major and two captains climbed out with the hung dog look of puppies thrown in the water. It was an embarrassing situation to be met by a colonel after failing to properly plan their flight because Arizona did not observe Day Light Savings Time. This was hardly a capital offense so I asked them for a favor. I knew their Director of Operations, Col. Jennings, if they would not tell him they landed at a closed field, I would not either!
Terry
The homebuilt movement is fast approaching a major milestone; 30,000 amateurbuilt aircraft certificated in the United States! And what better place to celebrate that achievement than at the event created by homebuilders more than a half-century ago, EAA AirVenture Oshkosh.
During AirVenture week, July 28-August 3, EAA will announce the honorary 30,000th milestone homebuilt, chosen from among the aircraft flown to Wittman Regional Airport. "Right now we are at about 29,800 certificated homebuilts," said Charlie Becker, EAA director of member programs. "We checked with the FAA and it is impossible to determine just which aircraft will be the 30,000th. This is a huge milestone for the homebuilt movement and EAA could not let this milestone go by unnoticed, so we've created another way to recognize this major achievement." At AirVenture, we will select an honorary 30,000th homebuilt to be the focal point of our celebration."
To be eligible, a homebuilt aircraft must be:
The owner must be present at AirVenture on Wednesday and Thursday (July 30-31). The honorary 30,000th homebuilt will be selected on Tuesday evening via random drawing from the eligible aircraft.
Other special events surrounding the honorary 30,000th aircraft:
We'll have more on this special milestone as the event approaches, so stay tuned. And for those of you who are close to completing your project, there are less than three months before AirVenture Opening Day!
AOPA Pilot — November 2007 Volume 50 / Number 11
A picture may be worth a thousand words, but is a picture worth being forwarded a thousand times? Starting in December 2006, a photo of a small airplane lodged in a large tree, framed by a "Learn to Fly Here!" sign, began its journey through the inboxes of the Internet public at an extraordinary rate. This is the true story of that photo.
Meadow Lake Airport, located in the shadow of Pike's Peak, about 15 miles northeast of City of Colorado Springs Municipal Airport in Colorado, and about 20 miles from the U.S. Air Force Academy, is one of the largest pilot-owned airports in the United States. With more than 450 based aircraft, it is a hub of general aviation activity in the region, relieving operational pressure from the air traffic controllers at Colorado Springs Municipal. Several fixed base operators (FBOs) also call the field their home; among them are Classic Air, which primarily rents Piper airplanes to flight students and pilots, and American Aviation, which rents mostly Cessna airplanes.
On the afternoon of December 7, 2006, Terry Brookham, an instrument-rated private pilot with more 30 years experience, rented a Piper Archer from Classic Air to practice his takeoffs and landings at night in order to maintain his night currency. He hoped to finish in time to make it to his karate lesson that evening. The Piper he rented for that winter afternoon was serial number 28-4917, now carrying the FAA tail number N6487J.
Brookham was no novice to flight. A graduate of Aviation High School in Redondo Beach, California (a bit of a misnomer, as the school's name referred not to flying, but rather to the road on which it was located), Brookham's desire to fly was sparked when he was enlisted in the U.S. Navy. There, aboard the aircraft carrier U.S.S. Hancock, he served as an airplane captain on the ship's flight deck. After his service was complete, the "brown shirt" worked toward and completed his private pilot certificate in 1975, adding an instrument rating a few years later. From 1984 to 1995, he flew as a mountain/mission pilot for the Civil Air Patrol, with one find and two saves to his credit. He also flew skydivers for two years with his own Cessna 206. In the time since, he had become self-employed with his wife, Debbie, selling premium pet food and working toward retirement.
The winds that afternoon favored Runway 15, a 6,000-foot-long by 60-foot-wide strip of asphalt. His engine set at 2,200 rpm, and the sun having set at 4:40 p.m., Brookham was flying the downwind leg of his first pattern to the northeast of the runway and starting to descend when, at around 5 p.m. and for no apparent reason, the engine lost power. Brookham's eyes darted to the vertical speed indicator, showing a descent of 500 fpm. Brookham immediately executed engine failure emergency procedures.
Referring to the checklist, he turned on the airplane's carburetor heat and advanced the throttle forward, but the engine showed no response. Checking the aircraft systems from right to left in an attempt to determine the cause of the problem and hopefully restart the engine, he checked the carburetor heat, fuel mixture, engine throttle, and magnetos. The engine sputtered slightly, but still there was no power.
Finishing with a check of the fuel systems and unable to restart the engine, Brookham glided downward. But with only 40 knots of airspeed, in the pitch black of the night, and with a wind-milling propeller, his options were limited. He chose his base to land, lining up with the eastwest road running near the airport, Judge Orr Road, and continued to glide downward for a forced landing. He hoped to land on Judge Orr Road and to have the airplane stopped by the time he reached the intersection of Highway 24.
"I was just trying to get the airplane down safely," he says. He knew that there were homes in the vicinity of the airport and didn't want to hurt anyone. But in the darkness, in the seconds before touchdown, as he tilted the airplane's nose downward, he saw a frightening pair of lights—those of an oncoming car.
Maneuvering to avoid a potentially deadly collision, Brookham swerved to the left, cut a set of power lines, and smashed into a cottonwood tree near the intersection of Cessna Drive and Judge Orr Road. The airplane became lodged in the tree, crushing both wings rearward, snapping the engine nearly off, and wrinkling the vertical stabilizer.
I'm alive, thought Brookham, after the sickening sound of crunched metal passed. Dazed from the impact, and with fuel leaking out of the airplane's wings, Brookham sat stunned. Like an angel of mercy, an active-duty Air Force officer from Schriever Air Force Base, who was driving nearby, pulled up to the site and called up into the tree to find out whether anyone was alive in the wreck. "Yeah!" Brookham called back down.
The Air Force officer told Brookham of the leaking fuel and advised him to get out of the airplane as soon as possible. Brookham first shut down all of the airplane's still-functioning electronics and began to exit the aircraft. However, the design of the Archer's single cockpit door precluded his exit. The crash had warped the fuselage and sealed it in a coffin-like manner. The only option for a safe exit was through the windows. Brookham kicked out the left side window and began to climb down the tree, the smell of 100LL filling the air.
Almost as if it had been planned, a local roofer's truck pulled up to the tree to lend a hand with an extension ladder, greatly aiding Brookham in his climb down. In the climb, he received the only injuries of his ordeal —a pair of scratches above his left eye. Brookham gave his thanks to all those who helped him as emergency workers closed Judge Orr Road because of debris from the crash, which caused a power outage for the hangars at the airport, as well as about nearby 100 homes, for about two hours. But before the Falcon Fire Department and sheriff arrived on site, one group was already there—the news media.
After a visit to the responding ambulance, and giving several interviews to officials, Brookham headed home. "Any landing you can walk away from is a good landing," said Brook-ham the Friday morning after the crash. "I don't think anything's wrong with the airplane...maybe there's something wrong with me."
The airplane was removed from the tree and relocated to a hangar in Greeley, Colorado, for further examination. But before it was removed, news crews from the area documented the unusual crash, taking photos and video of the rare combination of tree and airplane. As Brookham had last heard, the airplane was being salvaged for parts, as most of the avionics and instruments were still in good working order.
An examination of the Lycoming engine and its systems by investigators revealed no anomalies. However, given the conditions at the time of the flight— temperatures below freezing and high humidity—were, according to the manufacturer's carburetor icing probability chart, conducive for "serious icing at glide power" and "serious icing at cruise power." Brookham did not turn on the carburetor heat because the manual for the Archer does not call for that when closing the throttle, unlike in some Cessnas, nor had he ever been taught to do that by any of his instructors. Knowing this, the NTSB concluded that the likely cause of the accident was the "loss of power due to carburetor icing," with contributing factors to the accident being weather conditions conducive to carburetor icing, unsuitable terrain available on which to make a forced landing, and, of course, the tree.
No one has publicly claimed credit for creating it, but the juxtaposed image of a crashed airplane with a sign offering flight instruction seemed to be the perfect fodder for the e-mail inboxes and blogs of Internet users everywhere, pilots and non-pilots alike. An additional, yet subtle, jab to Classic Air is that one of its airplanes is in the photo, yet the name of its airfield competitor is featured so prominently.
However, that photo is the product of some clever use of photo-editing software. The two signs do stand near the tree. However, they face the opposite direction from which the photo was taken. The image of the two signs was transposed onto the image of the airplane lodged in the tree to produce the comical image.
Nevertheless, the photo has also been published in numerous aviation publications, as an interesting snapshot that seems to strike a chord with readers everywhere. "It is funny," said Brookham, in response to the photo.
Christopher L Freeze, Martinez, California
Click photos for larger versions.
FOR SALE 5 acres (2 lots) on Airman Acres, Collinsville, OK. 2650' grass strip. Private lot with trees. Utilities available. $110,000 Contact Darren @ 857-2728 (Keller Williams Reality)
FOR SALE BY OWNER Glasair I/II RG 300 hrs TTAF Lycoming O-320 70 hrs SMOH Lightspeed electronic ignition High compression pistons Large rudder Dual sliding canopys Panel mount GPS, xponder, intercom and more New 3 blade MT propeller New custom interior Extended wing tips 80% completed Ready for your paint $55,000 See at Gundy's (O38), Owasso, OK Contact Mark Fridley @ 918-274-3574 or 9rmfridley@cox.net (NOTE: remove the leading 9 to make email work)
Franklin Aircraft Engine Model 4AC171 60 HP 37/8 bore x 33/8 stroke 6/2 C.R. s/n 2052 17/32 venturi Eisenman magnetos complete No log book $1000 Contact Ken Smith 698-4129.
Lycoming O-235-0 T.C. 223, 100 HP, 2600 RPM, SM 1571-15 Two magnetos, no carburetor, otherwise complete. No logbook $1,000 Contact Ken Smith 698-4129.
Lycoming O-290-D2 135 HP, T.C. 229, no magnetos, has vacuum pump engine damaged at L/H magneto mount area L/H crankcase broken out accessory case broken out data plate is titled Lycoming Aviation Engine No logbook $1,000 Contact Ken Smith 698-4129
Waco UMF-5 Biplane Waco UMF-5 218 hours TTAE 240 HP W-670 Radial Radio, intercom, and ELT 40 gal fuel 350 mi range 110 lbs baggage 3 place 25 awards: Grand Champion @ Bilplane Expo AAA Blakesburg, TX, Nebraska & Kansas, Oshkosh & Hondo, TX
This stunning beauty is built to Waco prints from
the Smithsonian and flies better than it looks.
9500 hour build time over 12 years.
Finished 2004.
$200,000.
Contact John Hudec, 918-371-5029.
To list your aviation items for sale, contact newsletter editor Craig Loomiller.
| Day of Week | Date | Event |
|---|---|---|
| Sunday | May 18th | Chapter Picnic @ Gundy's 1:00pm |
| Saturday | May 24th | Pancake breakfast @ Gundy's 7:00 - 9:30am |
| Saturday | June 7th | Ponca City Breakfast Fly-In |
| Thursday - Saturday | June 5th - 7th | Biplane Expo @ Bartlesville ( BVO) |
| Friday - Saturday | June 13th - 14th | The 2008 Ada Air Expo - Ray Stout Memorial Warbird Fly-in and 2nd Annual "Pigs Can Fly" BBQ Cookoff Contest @ Ada ( KADH) |
| Monday - Sunday | July 28th - August 3rd | Airventure 2008 @ OSH |
| Saturday | December 13th 2008 | Christmas Dinner Party @ Gundy's |
To add an item to our calendar, get the information to the newsletter editor Craig Loomiller. See the contact info on the 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 Monday | 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 |
Everyone! Since the Annual Chapter 10 Picnic is this month, we ask that everyone bring a covered dish, desert, or snacks to the picnic. The chapter will provide hot dogs, hamburgers, buns, and fixings.
| Month | Initial letter(s) of last name |
|---|---|
| January | A-C |
| February | D-F |
| March | G-H |
| April | I-L (Brat feed) |
| 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 receive the newsletter electronically off of the chapter web site (www.eaa10.org) every month, just send Secretary Bob Thrasher or our web editor Bob Minich an e-mail. This action saves the chapter money on printing and mailing costs, which in turn, helps keep your dues low. It's really simple to do. We send you a monthly e-mail notice when the latest newsletter is posted online. Just click on the provided link and you are there!
If you haven't taken a look at our web page lately, you should check it out! Bob has started putting a picture of the author along side the articles, which really adds a lot to the newsletter. Many organizations have gone to an all-online newsletter which really reduces costs. Hopefully, we can get our own chapter moving in that same direction. We are supposed to be a progressive-thinking organization, after all.
