This is the month for the BIG ONE now called Air Adventure that will take place the last week of July this year. It is a Fly-In that aviation people look forward to attending every year. I started to go when it was in Rockford, Il. That was back in the 60's. Since I joined I have only missed one fly-in and that was in 1966. The fly-in (or convention) sure has changed over the years. It has grown in size and is so big that now an "old timer" can only recall the early days through their faint memories.
I am very pleased with the way the chapter's monthly meetings have been going. We have picked up two new members at the July meeting. Also, chapter members were able to fly 71 Young Eagles at the Boone County Airport Open House on June 17th. My thanks go to all who had any part in helping with the Young Eagles. Plan to attend the August chapter meeting. All of us that are able to go to Oshkosh should have good stories to tell.
Let's all of us KEEP IT SAFE!
Gus
IN ATTENDANCE: John Broyles, Dave Clark, Dale Gustafson, Dave Helton, Glen Matejcek, Dirk Melchior, Doug Moncreiff, Michael Mossman, Kim Shumaker, Vern Sullenger and Paul Vogel. If you were there but we didn't record it, let us know.
GUESTS: Amy McNaught, David Parker and Bryan Ruberson.
SECRETARY'S REPORT: Michael Mossman gave a brief reading of the minutes.
TREASURER'S REPORT: Vern Sullenger reports that the chapter has $1,681 in the checking account and $25 in cash.
PRESIDENT'S REMARKS: Chicago Mayor Richard Daley now linked to further scandals in the follow up investigation from the Meigs Field Closure. The Barnstormer's Tour will be departing from Kalamazoo MI on July 15 or 16 and visiting Smith Field in Fort Wayne on July 17, then on to Bloomington IN on the 18th. For more information see http://www.barnstormers.com and http://www.eaa.com.
NEW BUSINESS: The discussion of whether, when and how to send a youth to an EAA academy has been tabled until autumn.
SPECIAL RECOGNITION: The members recognized charter member John Beetham for his many years of service to the national EAA organization, especially for his service on the board of directors and as treasurer.
AIRPORT REPORTS: None presented.
NEXT MEETING: Wednesday, August 2, 6:30 p.m.
PROGRAM: The members present participated in a round table discussion of Sport Pilot privileges, limitations, and available aircraft.
Email Newsletter in Two Sections
The email newsletter is divided into two sections to take some of the sting out of the download time. If you receive only one section of the newsletter, or if the sections you receive are missing the embedded photo attachments please contact the newsletter editor at michaelandkatie@tds.net. The PDF version that gets posted on the website will remain as one file. See http://www.eaa1311.org/newsletters.html to download a PDF newsletter. (PDFs are posted within one week of the email version.)
We have had many guests over the past few months and many people have expressed an interest in our organization. Look around and see if you have any friends, family members or acquaintance that are interested in aviation. Take the time to invite them as a guest to the next meeting. If you see somebody new, introduce yourself, welcome him or her, and invite them to sign up.
To get a downloadable PDF membership application see http://www.eaa1311.org/PDF_files/membership_application.pdf
Mossman Places in EAA Newsletter Competition
If you are planning on attending AirVenture this year and will be there on Saturday, plan on stopping by the Nature Center during the Chapter leaders Breakfast and helping Chapter 1311 celebrate our top five (and maybe higher!) ranking.
Second Affordable Flight Open House a Success
Between 8:30 and 9:00 the bulk of the event volunteers arrived and lined up for the traditional hearty Volunteer's Breakfast, arranged by Pam Leucht and Diane Dawes. Consisting of coffee, juice, eggs, bacon, sausage, fruit and other delectables, it was the perfect sustenance for the long day working the "show."
With six remaining pilots and aircraft, it sounded like the group would have plenty of capacity for whatever size crowd turned out. But only two of the aircraft had more than two seats (both Cherokees), so the pilots flew a lot of sorties to handle the load.
Young Eagles pilots Jon Byrum flew 7 Young Eagles riders, Chuck Leucht flew 8, Chuck Long flew 8, Michael Mossman flew 10, Vern Sullenger flew 27 and Susan Zellers flew 11 for a total of 71 Young Eagles riders, making the event by far the largest Young Eagles turnout that the chapter has had to date.
During the lunch, the 300-400 airport visitors and volunteers feasted on Hobson's roast hog, hamburgers, hot dogs, chips, cole slaw, potato salad, and more, then cooled off with ice-cold sodas, water and some fresh ice cream.
After the Young Eagles rides concluded, the association's volunteer pilots began flying the general public in an assortment of homebuilt and type certificated aircraft. With the temperatures approaching the 90s, the last of the riders emerged from the aircraft at around 5 p.m., dripping with sweat.
After finishing his lunch flying his last load of Young Eagles, Jon Byrum suffered a collapsed nose wheel on his RV-7A from the rough area of the grass field. Airport volunteers quickly moved his airplane out of the way. Fortunately, his beautiful RV didn't suffer any engine damage.
For more photos visit http://www.booneairport.org, then click on the "Affordable Flight" link.
Great Day for Shawnee Field Fly-In
We departed 6I4 at about 10 a.m. under gorgeous skies in a three-aircraft formation for Shawnee. The airspace above the 2,168-foot grass strip got a little busy when we arrived, with a mix of aircraft ranging from true ultralights to F-1 Rockets converging on final for runway 36. With our formation consisting of two Cessna 150s and one Zenair 601, we merged with the UL traffic comfortably and let the RVs and Rockets in front of us.
I immediately searched out field resident Mike Combs, who had build a Zenair 701 from scratch several years ago, completing his aircraft for well under $10,000, including engine, instruments and paint. Mike bought a junked Subaru engine and rebuilt it for the Zenair. He has had many years of trouble-tree flying.
Eventually it became time to head home. We climbed up over the broken layer to about 7,000 MSL and flew in the smooth, cool air and practiced our "formation flying" and did a bit of air-to-air photography.
We'll be doing some more airport hopping and hitting a few of the regional fly-ins this summer and autumn. Come join us!
Ruberson Attends Middletown Fly-In
Since Aeroncas were built in Middletown OH, he wanted to attend their fly-in this year. Middletown is located about 145 miles from Pam's Place, about half-way between Dayton and Cincinnati. He departed from Pam's Place and headed east, paralleling Interstate 74, and noted with amusement that the semi trucks far below were passing him. There was no way that they were having as much fun, though.
Bryan reports that an unusually high number of Aeroncas made the fly-in this year, with about 125 of them present. He says that all of them were nice, plus a couple of military PT-19s that Aeronca built.
The fly-in lasted for three days but Ruberson stayed for only two. Aeronca was giving tours of the old factory site. Aeronca is still in business, making navigation equipment, nose cones of the space shuttles, and other aerospace components; they are no longer building completed aircraft.
LeBaron Makes the News Again
According to the report in The Oklahoman, 61-year-old William Barnes departed from a private airstrip on July 2 and landed successfully on a neighborhood street. While attempting to depart, the aircraft contacted a traffic sign while taxiing. The pilot then proceeded to attempt a takeoff and hit a power line, then nose-dived into a yard. Barnes' 11-year-old grandson suffered critical injuries.
(Editor's note: By publication date we have not received permission to publish The Oklahoman's story. To read the full story please contact the newsletter editor or visit http://www.newsok.com)
Too Late To Classify
The 32-page printed NOTAM, which is in effect July 22-31, outlines procedures for the many types of aircraft that fly to Oshkosh for the event, as well as aircraft that land at nearby airports.
Call 800-564-6322 to order a copy, or view/print a downloadable PDF from the EAA website at http://www.airventure.org/2006/news/060502_avnotam.html
Members With the 'Right Stuff'
Support Our Servicemen
SERVICEMAN UPDATE NEEDED: In December of 2002 Jim Griffin joined Chapter 1311. Shortly before the war with Iraq started Jim signed back up as a Major with the Marines and has been serving in Iraq. He had been receiving the newsletter via email but this past couple of months the emails to him have come back as undeliverable. If anyone knows how to contact Jim, or knows of his whereabouts or of any way to track him down, please contact the newsletter editor at michaelandkatie@tds.net.
Newsletter Publication Schedule
Get back editions of the newsletter at http://www.eaa1311.org. Click on the link "Members Only" at the left (no passwords required) then when the members Only page comes up click on the link "Newsletters."
Hendricks County Airport News
Zoning: The Airport Development District Zoning was approved on June 27 by the Hendricks County Board of Commissioners. This means, in part, that the airport is protected from large housing developments being built very near the airport. Good News!
GPS Instrument approach: The survey (for flight obstructions) will be completed in about 30 days. Then it will be "ABOUT" 12-18 months before the instrument approach will be operational. It will be an approach from the North to the South only. If ceilings are OK, you can circle to land on the runway 36 if needed.
T-Hangar development status: The Airport Authority is hiring the engineering for the construction on one more row of 16 hangars to be constructed west of the existing hangars. The Airport Authority is funding the construction. The final approval must be given by the Airport Board at the August 4, 2006 meeting. They think the hangars could be completed by the time "snow flies." They did say that they have reservations for all 16 of the hangars and that the "waiting list" is rather small at this time.
Ultralight operations at Hendricks County Airport: The proposed rules for the operation of ultralight aircraft that was drafted by the Hendricks County Aviation Association was distributed to the committee. We are to review it and report to Bob Duncan at the September meeting.
Danville Annexation Update: The process to annex additional land into the town of Danville, which includes the airport property, will begin about the first of September.
Dave Clark is a member of the Airport Advisory Committee
Boone County Airport News
Former airport tenant Bob Wilson joined the association and moved his Cherokee from the outdoor tie-downs at 2R2 to an open-air hangar at Boone County Airport.
Hangar Space: There are several hangar vacancies available. Anyone desiring to base an aircraft at the airport or use the maintenance hangar will be required to join the association. For more information contact Michael Mossman, association secretary, or see the website http://www.booneairport.org.
Young Eagles
Let's continue to introduce kids to the experience of flight and share our passion for aviation. Hopefully we'll inspire more kids to seek careers in aviation or maybe to just study hard, get good jobs and follow in our footsteps. If you would like a copy of the Young Eagles form download it at http://www.eaa1311.org/PDF_files/Young_Eagles_form.pdf
EAA Young Eagles Update: By newsletter publication date more than 1,245,014 Young Eagles have taken their first airplane ride.
Editorial Comments Sought
July 2006 newsletter continued onto Section 2
Brenda Anderson from the EAA national headquarters informed Michael Mossman via letter that his 2006 entry has placed in the top five of the Newsletter Editor of the Year competition. Mossman and the four other top five newsletter editors will be recognized at the awards ceremony to be held at AirVenture on Saturday, July 29, at about 9 a.m. EAA officials are mum on the final rankings of the contestants and will not name the Newsletter Editor of the Year until the awards ceremony.
By Michael Mossman
Photos by Mark Helminger
Sunny skies prevailed on Saturday, June 17, when Boone County Airport Association hosted its second annual "Affordable Flight" Open House. After watching the stormy weather predictions daily for the preceding week, members weren't certain that they would be able to have a dry open house. Regardless, during the weeks before, and especially the last few days before the event, volunteers turned out to mow the grass, paint the fence, clean up the property, buy food and supplies, make signs and do any other tasks necessary for a successful event.
Well before the crack of dawn, long-time airport regular and Chapter 67 member Maurice Hobson arrived to light the charcoal with sufficient time to roast the 270-pound hog. Maurice and his crew then relaxed for a few hours while monitoring the process. The delightful aroma permeated the airport and probably got the neighboring farmers hungry long before their work day started.
The Open House began with a Young Eagles rally sponsored by Chapter 1311. Coordinator Chuck Long had eight pilots and planes lined up, but the ever-ready Jim Snyder had to drop out due to unscheduled surgery just a couple of days before. Then the day before the open house, long-running Young Eagles volunteer pilot Gary Reynolds had to drop out for undisclosed reasons.
With a couple of church groups preregistering for Young Eagles flights, we concentrated on flying those kids first, then moved on to the walk-in riders next. The biggest majority of the pre-registered riders flew before the field was shut down for lunch and the radio-controlled model airplane "airshow." After lunch the remaining Young Eagles pilots flew the last of the Young Eagles riders.
Masterfully handling the crowd of applicants, chapter members David Kopeschka and Doug Moncreiff handled the registration and scheduling, which is often a difficult and unappreciated job. Chapter member Erick Roldan coordinated the "ramp rats" volunteers Gary and Zach Rogers.
Chuck Leucht and Chad Williams entertained the crowd at lunch time with their radio-controlled model airplane "airshow." The highlight of the R/C demonstration was Williams' aerobatic model helicopter, which he wowed the crowd with its loops, rolls, and other "impossible" helicopter routines, all flown under complete control.
The safe and well-run event wasn't without a few mishaps, though. Prior to the airport opening for the event, Wayne Deckard flew his recently-restored Cessna 401 for one last shake-down flight. Deckard lost an engine just after take off. With a light load (no passengers) and cool morning air, Deckard elected to continue the departure on one engine. He completed the pattern at crop dusting altitude then brought the 401 in for an uneventful landing. Deckard grounded the 401 for the day, deciding to trouble shoot the problem during a less hectic time.
Perhaps the ultimate examples of affordable flight, several ultralights and their pilots made it to the open house, along with a few based ultralight aircraft. Unfortunately, the winds were a bit too strong for comfortably carrying inexperienced passengers and kept most of the ultralights grounded for the duration. A powered parachute arrived in an enclosed trailer but didn't fly. Some of the ultralights flew home after the event, but a pair of "trike" ultralights decided to remain on the field for a couple of days until the weather better favored their departure.
By Michael Mossman
On Saturday, July 8, Chapter 1311 members Erick Roldan and Michael Mossman, accompanied by Boone County Airport frequent fliers Chuck Leucht and Chad Williams, departed for the annual fly-in at Shawnee Field near Bloomfield, IN.
Shawnee is a fairly small field that was absolutely packed with airplanes. The volunteers did a commendable job guiding visitors to parking spaces and keeping airplanes from crumpling. We parked along a row of RVs and strutted around like we were flying grand champion aircraft. Nobody minded!
Shawnee is the home of Rollison Sport Aircraft, so we headed over to their hangar next. They were displaying a new EuroFox aircraft from their pristine hangar. The fit and finish of the aircraft was very nice. Equipped with a 100-hp Rotax 912S engine, transponder, radio, intercom and wingtip strobe/LED position lights, the aircraft costs about $56,159 at the current Euro-to-dollar exchange rate. Since April, Rollison has sold six EuroFoxes. Rollison also offers the German-made Remos G-3, which costs about $89,536 at the current exchange rate.
Like other fly-ins around these parts, the RV airplanes were represented with at least ten good looking examples. Chuck Leucht was particularly impressed with the stunning paint job on an RV-8A. This beautiful example had a fine checkerboard pattern on the tail that was painted in 1-1/4 inch squares. Running you hand across the tail, you couldn't feel any "levels" from one color of paint to the other. The builder's wife said that of the entire paint scheme, the only part that was done with decals were the military emblems on the wings. It was a very beautiful and well-detailed airplane.
Being a very short, grass field, the only military aircraft making the show was a large helicopter. With an air force background, Erick Roldan made a bee-line for the chopper.
No fly-in is complete without food. Fortunately, Shawnee not only had food, but they had some very good food. With a cadre of volunteers staffing the grills, Shawnee served some of the most delicious ribeye steak sandwiches I have ever had. These weren't little, bitty sandwiches; they were full-sized slabs of steak spread on the grills and cooked to a juicy, succulent perfection. Complemented with a bag of chips and cold drink, you couldn't have asked for a better lunch. And at $5.50 for all three, the deal couldn't be beat. The sandwiches were so good I seriously considered (very seriously) about going back through the short line a second time but after a walk around the property I thought that I'd better decline.
New Chapter 1311 member Bryan Ruberson has not been flying under Sport Pilot privileges very long. When he became aware of the Light Sport Pilot requirements, he realized that with his private pilot's license and valid Indiana driver's license he could continue to fly without the hassles of aeromedical exams. Ruberson bought an Aeronca Chief that was an Oshkosh Grand Champion about six years ago. He did have to get a tailwheel endorsement to fly the Chief.
Chapter 1311 member Tim LeBaron, who is a NTSB investigator based in Arlington TX, headed to Owasso OK to research the crash of a Cessna 180 in a residential area.
By Glen Matejcek
Refer to the discussion at the July meeting about how the price of LSA has jumped, see the below. I think this fellow is a pilot for Chautauqua and is building an RV-8, and is motivated to sell now. If I fit in the darn thing, I'd consider it myself!
FOR SALE: 1946 11AC Aeronca Chief, TT 1605, Engine TT 1442, 97 hours time since top overhaul, fresh annual Aug 2005. $16,000 or best offer, NORDO News Special Price $13,500, LIMITED TIME. New Items on Aircraft: Engine: Exhaust shrouds, all scat ducting, magneto switch wiring, oil pressure line, new primer lines; Airframe: Tachometer and cable, main tires and tubes, tailwheel to rudder springs, left lower tail brace wire, spinner and bulkhead, 2" venturi, fuel gauge gaskets, cabin air vents, seat belts and shoulder harnesses. Recently Replaced Items: Engine: Both exhaust stacks, yellow tagged engine mount; Airframe: Front windshield and both side rear windows. Contact: Charlie Laird, 760-963-3207 or LSpeedwing@aol.com
EAA AirVenture NOTAM Now Available
Condensed from EAA website
The official EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2006 Notice To Airmen (NOTAM) booklets are being mailed out to pilots who plan to fly to AirVenture on July 24-30. The Oshkosh NOTAM is also available in easy-to-print PDF document form on the AirVenture website.
Recently, Chapter 1311 has had several new members join who have expressed an interest in learning to fly, building an aircraft, partnering in an existing aircraft, or were looking for a Tech Counselor or other aviation-related service or skill. While the newsletter editor knows most of you he doesn't know all about you. We'd like to offer to our members to opportunity for more of you to network with the new members and make your skills known.
Be sure let the newsletter editor know if any of our members or their families has someone in the service, especially if they have been called up for active duty. We'd like to recognize them and thank them for representing us so honorably.
In order to report on the monthly meetings and programs, and give adequate notice of the next month's schedule, the EAA Chapter 1311 newsletter is published by email on the 15th of each month. PDF and HTML versions are available on the chapter web site on or around the 20th of each month. Newsletter contributors: Please email your material to the newsletter editor by the 14th of the month.
By Dave Clark
The Hendricks County Airport Advisory Committee met on July 10, 2006. Items of interest:
Prior to the Affordable Flying Open House, the Boone County Airport Association members built an observation tower in front of the operations building. The tower is tall enough that observers can see aircraft the entire length of the field.
On Saturday, June 17, Jon Byrum flew 7 Young Eagles riders, Chuck Leucht flew 8, Chuck Long flew 8, Michael Mossman flew 10, Vern Sullenger flew 27 and Susan Zellers flew 11 for a total of 71 Young Eagles riders. Chapter 1311 members David Kopeschka and Doug Moncreiff handled the registration and scheduling for the largest Young Eagles turnout that the chapter has had to date.
If you have an opinion on any story that appears in the newsletter, or any other aviation-related issue, we want to read about it. We will make editorial space available for your responsible comment. Please contact the newsletter editor at michaelandkatie@tds.net then send it to the newsletter editor at michaelandkatie@tds.net. Or just write what you wish and send it as an email.