In Attendance: John Broyles, Skip Budny, Troy Grover, Gus Gustafson, Ken Hill, Doug Moncreiff, Michael Mossman, Mark Rottler, David Stucker, Vern Sullenger, Paul Vogel and Steve Weathers. If you were there but we didn't record it, let us know.
Where has the summer gone? The fly-ins for 2006 have about come to a halt, the tree leaves are changing color and coming down, the first snow showers have occurred, and very soon we can put the lawn mower away until next year.
All the chapter 1311 members that attended the October meeting want to give a big "Thank You" to Doug Moncreiff, his wife, Susan and her mother for hosting the meeting at their home...and quite a home it is! You can describe it with one word, BEAUTIFUL. For after the meeting, the ladies had set up a great buffet. If you went home hungry, it was your own fault. To the members who did not attend, you missed a good meeting. Thanks again to Doug and the ladies.
This week (October 9 through 12) I finally got my Stearman wings up north and delivered. Dave Clark gets a big thank you for all his help in accomplishing this feat. I will do a column later on.
I'll end my remarks this month with reminding everyone to send in your vote for next years officers.
In Attendance: John Broyles, Skip Budny, Troy Grover, Gus Gustafson, Ken Hill, Doug Moncreiff, Michael Mossman, Mark Rottler, David Stucker, Vern Sullenger, Paul Vogel and Steve Weathers. If you were there but we didn't record it, let us know.
Guests: Tessa Grover and Susan Moncreiff.
Treasurers report: The chapter has $1,676 in the account after buying the 50 chairs from the church. These are stored in Dave Clark's hangar.
Project reports: Skip Budny reported on the restoration of an H-model Huey helicopter. Vern Sullenger reports that his RV-7A is repaired.
Election report: The chapter now has a full slate of candidates for the November election.
New Business: Gus asked if the chapter should have name tags available at the meetings and asked Michael Mossman to come up with a design. Doug Moncreiff added that the tags should travel with someone who will attend all of the meetings, otherwise they'll never get used.
Refreshments: Susan Moncreiff prepared a full dinner spread of meats and cheeses for sandwiches, plus other snacks and drinks.
Program: Doug Moncreiff showed his work to date on his scratch-built Hi-Max aircraft. See story at end of newsletter
Web Newsletter in Two Sections
The web 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.)
Welcome New Members
Mooresville resident David Stucker joined Chapter 1311 at the September meeting. He started taking lessons in 1979 and continued through 1981, then took a 24-year hiatus while building his career and starting a family. He writes "I was lucky enough to have a Dad that was an air traffic controller. It was through him letting me spend time at the tower that I really became interested in anything aviation related and that flew. I didn't quite hit that goal of becoming a professional pilot though."
He did become a professional physicist, though. He works with high-powered solid state industrial lasers for material processing, i.e. cutting, welding, drilling, and other uses. Lately, he's been more involved with military lasers than the industrial type. The military projects requires a significant amount of extended travel to points anywhere but locally. He does feel fortunate to be able to directly support laser programs for the military.
Within the next month or so he plans on finishing his Private Pilot Certificate within the next month or so, the afterwards he'd like to tackle a couple of projects. "For fun, I'd really like to build a Sopwith Camel for myself to be able to buzz around locally and for short trips. For a traveling machine, I've been looking at the F1 Evo/Rocket; well, okay, with some insane fun thrown in there as well." But until he is able to secure adequate shop space and enough time a home to build, his realistic short-term goals are to build a Sopwith 1 & 1/2 Strutter that he has promised to his and his wife Janet's two young children, David (8) and Thomas (6). He's tried to get them to relax their aircraft choice but they just wouldn't budge . "I wonder where they get that," he adds. He's also open to helping someone on their aircraft as well, at this time.
Ultimately, his aviation interest is clearly defined: "If it flies, I'd like to be in it."
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
Aviation on the Web
One of the most harrowing stories I've ever read is that by journalist Joe Sharkey, who describes his flight in an Embraer Legacy 600 jet that suffered a mid-air collision with a Boeing 737 over the jungles of Brazil. Although everyone on the Embraer survived, all on the 737 perished. This fascinating story is a "must read" for anyone interested in GA. Check it out at http://www.nytimes.com/2006/10/03/business/03road.html?_r=3&oref=slogin&oref=slogin&oref=slogin
Chapter Elections Next Month
Michael Mossman will be receiving the ballots but will not open them. They will be opened at the meeting with another member of the elections committee but we will not know how any individuals voted so all voting with be private.
Our current slate of candidates for 2006:
How about you? Are you interested in helping the chapter to succeed? Now is the time to step up and offer yourself as a candidate. We need you consider the chapter's needs and your ability to fulfill those needs. Remember, this is your chapter. What you do for the chapter comes back to you. Please consider taking a leadership role in the future of the chapter.
Here's what we need and why:
Chapter President: The president's job is the PRESIDE over meetings. The president isn't necessarily the one who has to do all of the work, arrange for programs, chastise errant members, or flog the chapter into participation. The president is the main contact of the chapter, the one who sees that things get done, but doesn't necessarily have to do everything. It is perfectly acceptable (actually, preferred) that the president delegate responsibilities to members.
Chapter Vice President:The vice president's main responsibility is to step in for the president. Don't think that the vice president has to bear the brunt of the work. Remember, the president gets to delegate responsibility to other members. If the vice president had to fill in for the president, then the VP gets to delegate, too!
Chapter Secretary: The secretary's job is to keep the official records and perform the communications with members, EAA and groups as required by law. The secretary is not necessarily the newsletter editor; the newsletter editor is appointed by the president or the chapter board of directors, and can be done by someone other than the secretary.
Chapter Treasurer: The treasurer receives the funds, writes the checks and keeps a financial record of all transactions.
Each of the chapter officers is a member of the board of directors. In addition to the four officers the chapter has three Class II directors. These directors meet at the board of directors meetings and exercise full voting privileges.
The workload isn't that high but the rewards can be great. As an officer or member of the board of directors you can have a direct and positive influence on the present and future of the chapter. We strongly urge you to step up and offer to take a leadership role in the chapter.
Hitting the Fly-In Circuit
Lee Bottom field is an all-grass airport that's plenty wide and about 4,000 feet long, so getting in and stopped on time is no problem for most airplanes. But that day the wind was coming from the west and the air was rough. But the field is bordered by a large bluff immediately to the west, which effectively shut off the cross wind. Mike Laurenzano warned me about it just a few hours before, so I was ready for it. But some of the planes coming in a bit later looked like the pilots were stepping on roaches, trying to keep their craft squared up. Fortunately, every landing that I observed or heard about was safe and successful.
After leisurely strolling along the line, photographing airplanes and watching the fun, we headed over to the chow lines. In spite of the great turn out, the wait was remarkably short for the catered box lunch, which consisted of a turkey sandwich, chips, cookie, drink and a bowl of hot, spicy chili. Event host Ginger Davidson writes of the unusual coincidences of the folks catering for the weekend:
Ginger reports that about 150 airplanes flew in for the event, with an estimated 600 people attending. About 40 airplanes flew in on Friday, with some of their owners camping at the field and the others shuttled into town for hotel accommodations.
In his time off from flying the DC-3, Gryder flies for Delta but would rather everyone know him for the DC-3. Ginger writes, "He could be described as a grass roots aviation lover who trains others, including the FAA, in the operation of the DC-3. He is based in Griffin, Georgia, where he offers full type ratings as well as second in command ratings in the aircraft. Recently, he has developed an air show routine using the DC-3 and a Stearman — quite disparate aircraft but a very interesting and unique show. The other interesting thing about that airplane is that it is the same one that Rich (Davidson) got his DC-3 and ATP type rating in."
Fellow pilot Chad Williams commented that when we arrived there wasn't a cloud in the sky, but 20 minutes later it was completely overcast, and by about 2 p.m. it was starting to sprinkle, about an hour earlier than forecast. Nonetheless, there was plenty of action during the time we were there. But part of that action was the exodus of pilots and passengers trying to depart before getting weathered in. Ginger reports, "Although we were planning on over 300 aircraft, we were pleased with the turnout considering the weather forecasts. In fact, planes stopped arriving around noon and almost all were gone before 2 p.m. In previous years, we received over half our traffic after 12 noon. Yet, the funny thing is that without the runway extension we would have been almost maxed out. The new runway extension provides us with parking for an additional 300 aircraft."
Lee Bottom Field is an easy hour or so flight from the Hendricks County Area, but significantly longer if you are driving. I looked it up on MapQuest, which said "you can't get there from here." Nonetheless, at least two chapter members, David Stucker and Steve Weathers, followed the Davidsons' directions and had no problem driving there. But if you missed the fun, don't despair; the media attended in force. "We ended up with representatives from four magazines on the field in addition to the producers from Sport Pilot TV who were on hand to film for their show. They all said they thought it was one of the last great grassroots events. Look for articles in several magazines including AOPA Pilot and Air Classics and keep an eye out for the TV show about Lee Bottom and its aviation family. All of these will feature people who attended and flew in to the event as well as the field," Ginger concludes.
In spite of falling off of a ladder while getting ready for the fly in and breaking a foot, Ginger and Rich managed to gather up an excellent group of volunteers and hosted one truly excellent fly-in. The grounds were immaculate, the people were friendly, the scenery was incredible, the food was good, and man, what a great gathering of airplanes!
This year, the weather for Noblesville's October 8 fly-in was stunningly perfect: clear skies, visibility of at least 20 miles, temperatures in the 70s and smooth air. The smooth air was an added blessing because this year Katie was flying over with me.
No sooner had I announced that I was in downwind for 27 then a Bonanza cut in front of us and banked sharply for a low-pass over the field. I spit out a few expletives into the intercom, only to be admonished by Katie; "Be quiet, I'm trying to say my prayers." OK, I can take a hint. She hadn't been flying with me for more than a year, but I didn't think that my airmanship had deteriorated that much.
Airplanes or not, Noblesville would always draw a crowd, even if the attendees had to ride in on bicycles. Their claim to fame is their barbecue. As in years past, Maurice Hobson was on site in the wee hours of the morning with his volunteers, firing up the massive grills for the chicken barbecue. And like before, the food was fantastic. The menu consisted of a barbecued quarter chicken, pork barbecue, hot dogs and hamburgers, plus baked beans, macaroni and cheese, salads, drinks and a huge spread of diet-busting desserts.
While eating lunch and swapping lies with our fellow diners, we couldn't help but notice how long the food line was. The chapter had a steady crowd until shortly after 2 p.m., and that was on a weekend with the Colts playing at home. Yes, folks, the food is a real attraction.
Coming Up: Kokomo's Glenndale Airport is hosting their annual Glenndale Days this weekend (Friday through Sunday, October 13-15). Weather permitting, we'll be there and report on it in the November edition.
Project Updates
Mark Rinehart reports that even though he hasnšt been able to do much on his Kolb Mark III Classic in the past year, hešs still working at it. Hešs recently completed the finishing tapes on the horizontal stabilizers and should have the tapes on the rest of the control surfaces done in about a month. All that will remain to cover is the wings and the fuselage.
Vern Sullenger reports that the RV-7A that he, Jon Byrum and Bart Ng have built and co-own has now had its engine re-installed and has flown to 2R2 from Boone County Airport, where it suffered a nose wheel leg collapse. The three are working with Troy Grover to resolve some engine temperatures issues and correcting some old squawks. While the engine was out, they had the propeller tweaked with an extra inch of pitch. They donšt claim to need the climb-out but really want the speed for the long distance travel that the airplane was built to accomplish.
'Any traffic, please advise' — NOT!!
The inane practice of using the phrase "any traffic please advise" has become so wide spread that the FAA has finally included a "do not do this" in the latest version of the AIM. You will find the following quote at paragraph 4-1-9 G1 in the latest version of the AIM:
Self-announce is a procedure whereby pilots broadcast their position or intended flight activity or ground operation on the designated CTAF. This procedure is used primarily at airports which do not have an FSS on the airport. The self-announce procedure should also be used if a pilot is unable to communicate with the FSS on the designated CTAF. Pilots stating, "Traffic in the area, please advise" is not a recognized Self-Announce Position and/or Intention phrase and should not be used under any condition.
If you do not have a current copy of the AIM, you can reference one online at: http://www.faa.gov/ATPUBS/AIM/
From the Freeman Flash, Seymour, IN, Bob Linenweber, ASI 314-890-4864
Sport Pilot Report
Battle of Midway News
This August, Dusty Kleiss wrote a detailed, first-hand accounting of the development of the battle. With most of the witnesses now gone, Kleiss could have claimed all of the glory he wanted. Yet within his report, he paints his own different picture:
"The ENTERPRISE saw me arriving and headed directly into the wind so I could land aboard without circling. Of the half of us dive bombers who made it back, each landed aboard with less than 10 gallons of fuel. We all started out with 310 gallons. Many of our planes had to ditch after running out of gas.
"Wade McClusky had the least fuel, only five gallons. He let other pilots land ahead of him, lest he foul the deck with a poor landing. He had been shot through his right shoulder and was bleeding. He didn't allow medics to treat him until he had reported our actions to Rear Admiral Spruance."
Throughout Kleiss's report, he describes the heroism of the code breakers, mechanics, captured and tortured pilots, and all of the sailors who sweated and died in their dedication to the mission. Too long to republish in this newsletter, we've created a link on our website for those who wish to learn about a fascinating recollection of our military history. Read it at http://www.eaa1311.org/kleiss_prologue.html or download the PDF file at http://www.eaa1311.org/PDF_files/kleiss_prologue_060829.pdf It's an 18 KB file so it won't take too long to download. We are proud to offer this story to Chapter 1311 members and strongly recommend that you read it.
October 2006 newsletter continued onto Section 2
Wešve all heard about some recent high-profile general aviation accidents in the news. Just this past week, television news has had many reports on New York Yankeešs pitcher Cory Lidlešs crash of his Cirrus SR-20 into a New York City building. For more information, visit any news website. Theyšre all chocked full of sensationalism and inflammatory comments, then see the EAAšs response at http://www.eaa.org/communications/eaanews/061012_accident.html.
Chapter 1311 will hold its annual election of officers and board of directors at the November meeting. We will be mailing ballots to all members during the third week of October so that all members have an opportunity to vote. It is imperative that if you intend to vote by mail your ballot is returned and received by Tuesday, October 31, 2006. You may also vote at the meeting.
By Michael Mossman
The guys at Boone County Airport organized a large fly-out to Lee Bottom Field at Hanover IN for their annual Wood, Fabric and Taildraggers fly-in, scheduled for Saturday, September 30. Alas, the weather forecast kicked out a few players, and other circumstances grounded some others. But my weather briefing cleared the way for short visit, so four of us departed 6I4 for 64I in a Cessna 150 and my Zenair, flying in loose formation.
We encountered some wiggly air on the flight south, but once clear of Indianapolis International's air space we climbed up above the broken layer for a smooth ride. Eventually, though, we had to descend through the turbulent air and enter the pattern, which took us out over the Ohio River and in for a real flying lesson on final.
If you like old airplanes, Lee Bottom Field is the place to go. If it's old, they probably had it that weekend. The field is no dusty museum, though. Those planes that flew in were there for the fun, not static exhibition. And boy, there were a lot of them!
They had Wacos, Stearmans, Bellancas, Aeroncas, Stinsons, Cessnas, Pipers, Mooneys, and just about anything else you can imagine, including a few Model T Fords and some old, light military vehicles. Shortly after hopping out of my plane, a volunteer handled me a leaflet illustrating the fun activities for the weekend. Then it hit me: The event was called "Wood, Fabric and Taildraggers." Neither of our airplanes had wood or fabric and were taildraggers. No matter; everyone there had great fun and treated each other for what we all are: aviation nuts. Welcome!
"The Friday night barbecue was catered by Thomas Family Winery. The breakfast on Saturday morning was catered by West Street Bakery. The lunch on Saturday afternoon was catered by The Red Pepper Café and Deli. All of these are local businesses. The interesting thing is that none of them knew we existed prior to talking to them about our event but each of them had a family member that flew. The father-in-law of Steve Thomas (Thomas Family Winery) flew during WW-II and lives in Madison. He had a great time at the event seeing the Tiger Moth, which was the airplane that he soloed. The father of Jenny (West Street Bakery) was a regular to fly-in circuits in Michigan. Jenny went with him many times and was glad to participate in our event. The father of Joe and John Heitz (twins who own the Red Pepper Café) had a career in aviation and is currently on the Board of Aviation for the Madison Airport. I find his story about flying a P-38 under the Madison/Milton Bridge to be rather interesting." (We'd all like to hear more about this story!)
Although the event was a fly-in and not an air show, there was plenty of exciting flying to watch. During the afternoon a B-17 flew over head but didn't land. Perhaps the highlight of the day was watching a DC-3, piloted by Dan Gryder, who flew some rather precise low pass figures over the field, down through the river valley and just off of the edge of the bluffs. I'm sure those river barge captains got a thrill being buzzed by a DC-3! Gryder flew a couple of passes with just one main wheel contacting the runway, and a couple of times did a fly-by, mowing some corn at the north end of the field with those massive props and extended landing gear.
Fortunately, the field was in great shape and plenty wide to handle the many aircraft trying to depart. Plus, the Davidsons had recruited plenty of volunteers — family members, local people, local pilots, Boy Scouts and neighbors — to help with the event, so there was no problem getting started, taxiing out, getting lined up. True to the feel of an old-time, grass field catering taildraggers, they had no one barking orders on the radio. It was all orderly, self-regulating and fun.
We departed at about 11:30 or so, and flew in a loose formation with Chuck Long and his son Nick in Chuck's Zenair. Within a few minutes we were dropping down into the left pattern for 27 at Noblesville.
Anyway, we plopped in for an acceptable rough field landing and taxied up to the parking area. Noblesville had a excellent group of ground volunteers directing airplanes to parking spots, clearing passers-by and making announcements on the radio.
We hopped out and went looking at airplanes. Noblesville always has a great assortment of airplanes: antiques, biplanes, homebuilts, a few military planes, type-certificated military models, aerobatic aircraft, and other aeronautical goodies. This year was no different; there were plenty of beautiful aircraft to photograph, including Jeff Chapman's Tri-Pacer. Katie's favorite this year was a very pretty clipped-wing Taylorcraft with a red and black art deco paint job.
Although the food line was longer than normal this year, the wait wasn't too bad. The group had plenty of tables set up in a hangar and outdoors, and they were all full. Being such a beautiful day, my sweetie and I elected to sit outside for lunch and soak up the best of autumn's sunshine.
After lunch I spread out a blanket for Katie to relax, then I went looking at more airplanes and meeting up with friends. Finally, the time came to depart, so we boarded the Zenair and lined up to depart. Even though Noblesville is a small, uncontrolled field with a lot of airplanes on that day, getting out was a snap. The ever-ready volunteers helped control crowds and made it easy to get to the taxi way without cutting off other airplanes. In just a few minutes we were in the air and on our way home with our camera full of photos, our hearts full of new memories, and our bellies stretched beyond comfort. Oh my gosh, I can't wait until next year.
Skip Budny is participating in the restoration of an H-model Huey helicopter that saw service in Vietnam, qualifying it for true warbird status. Based at Indianapolis Metro Airport and sharing hangar space with a Shrike, it will be sued for Search & Rescue and making the local airshow circuit. Budny says that he goes to work on it every Thursday evening, and the group hopes to have it flying by late spring or early summer.
By Bob Linenweber
Even the FAA has finally gotten sick of the useless practice of pilots transmitting the phrase "any traffic, please advise." Your editor railed against it at the safety seminar we had here in June. Now it's official; stop using it! The following message was received from our local FAA office (Indianapolis FSDO) on 8/26/06:
By Larry Bothe
The new Sport Pilot rule has been in effect for 2 years now. There has been a lot of talk about it, but what has really been accomplished? Below is presented a numerical scorecard of Sport Pilot activity. The data is from the EAA, as copied out of an Aero News Network electronic newsletter on 9/2/2006
The Light Aircraft Manufacturing Association (LAMA) has created an audit program that assures manufacturers and consumers that new light-sport aircraft meet established ASTM International standards.
Larry Bothe is an FAA Designated Pilot Examiner and is the newsletter editor of the Freeman Flash (Seymour, IN).
At the May 2006 meeting, Chapter 1311 had one of its best meeting turnouts, as many came to hear aviation artist David Gray come to speak about his passion — aviation art — and the circumstances that led him to create his stunning work about the Battle of Midway, which featured a painting of Norman "Dusty" Kleiss's Dauntless aircraft in action. To create a truly realistic painting, Gray had to research the battle and the events leading up to it. Part of the research was traveling to Texas to interview Kleiss to get his first-hand account. Gray declared the quiet and modest Kleiss to be one of the main heroes of the battle; Kleiss claims otherwise.