Gus is in Florida at this time, getting a bit of a break from the bleak Indiana weather. When he returns, he and Faye will be hosting the annual chapter Christmas Party at their home on the northwest side of Indianapolis on December 9. Our previous Christmas Parties have had excellent turnouts, and we've all had a bunch of fun. I hope to see all of you there.
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.
Returning to the fold is Mike Laurenzano, who had been a member of Chapter 1311 since its inception. Laurenzano served as chapter vice president for two years, with much of that time carrying the president's responsibilities. He dropped out a few years ago in order to spend more time getting his and Livia's home built at Pegasus Farms south of Monrovia. He owned a Mustang II for several years and is now interesting in building something that may fit in the Sport Pilot category, though he would like to equip it for instrument flight. Currently, he is leaning towards a Sonex.
Aviation on the Web
The site is maintained by Mark Watt, a friend of Glen Matejcek, who is an airline pilot from Ontario and serious aviation photographer. Watt often travels to airshows and fly-ins for his photos shoots, snapping literally thousands of photos, striving for that perfect shot. His work is often featured on warbird calendars.
Check out the Warbird Depot at http://www.warbirddepot.com
Chapter Elections Results
Chapter 1311 Looking for a New Identity
Doug Moncreiff recommended that the chapter get a small case to hold the name tags, and that case travel with a member who is likely to be at the meetings. If the name tags leave with the members, they are unlikely to be available at the subsequent meetings.
Contributors don't need to be artists, but the idea should be very clear. If your submission is chosen, we'll help clean it up for print and web use. The logo should be simple and work well with both print and web use. Bright colors are a plus.
Once the chapter selects a logo, the design will be the property of the chapter.
Restaurant Review: Moonlite Bar-B-Que
From 2R2 it is a heading of 198, 124.8 NM, and 45 minutes in an RV-7A. MidAmerica does not charge a ramp charge whether you purchase fuel or not. They also give a $0.75 a gallon discount to EAA members if you stop for fuel, coming or going to Sun & Fun or Oshkosh. Call for hours before leaving.
Hitting the Fly-In Circuit
Since my trip to Oshkosh Glen Matejcek had been gently persuading me to do some extended partial pane flying, so I took him up on the opportunity. I picked him up at Hendricks County Airport, then we flew to Kokomo with me wearing Foggles and fighting his constant vector changes and unusual attitude recoveries. The air was pretty rough that day so I didn't hold my altitudes very well. But I didn't upset the apple cart, and that was my goal after all.
Neither of us have been to Glenndale before, so we didn't know what to expect. There's a small, private field less than a mile away, and that tended to create some confusion about which field we were flying into. It didn't help that the other field was active that day, too. But with a bunch of aircraft in the pattern for Glenndale, we sorted it out and set up for a tight left pattern for runway 36, which is all grass.
Once at Glenndale we caught up with my Boone County Airport buddies, who were spending the day judging the aircraft landings. Glen also ran into his friend Mark Watt, who is a photographer from Ontario. Watt came down for the weekend to shoot this fly-in.
The folks at Glenndale were serving a nice lunch, which was a hamburger, hot dog or nachos, plus chips and a dessert, all for a five dollar "donation." By the time we got to the food line they were backed up a bit, with the grills not able to keep up with the demand. But once we got the food, it was pretty good, and the folks serving were friendly.
Glenndale was selling aircraft rides; most riders were flying in Cherokee 180s and Cessnas, but a few who would pony up the extra bucks were getting rides in a Stearman or a T-6. Now if the idea of flying from a country grass strip in a Stearman is your kind of fun, you're in big company, because that old bird was busy most of the afternoon. The T-6 was fairly booked up, too.
Along with Glen and I in the Zenair, a nice assortment of homebuilts flew in, including a nice pair of Hatz biplanes. A very pretty Sonex was out on static display, and a few of the ever-present RVs were in force. An antique Fairchild trainer made numerous flights during the day.
The highlight of Saturday's flying was a high-speed fly-by of a P-51 Mustang. The Mustang pilot spend quite a bit of time circling the field and waiting for traffic to clear, then finally strafed the field after flying at an event at Grissom. There's nothing like the roar of the Merlin engine to bring the crowd to its feet.
Glenndale marks the end of the Indiana fly-in season. The food, friends and flying made it a great way to wrap up this year's fly-ins. It left my appetite whetted for next year's events, which I hope start even earlier.
Coming Up: Although there are no more fly-ins scheduled in the immediate area for 2006 or the first few months of 2007, there's still plenty of good flying to do. When the ground is dry, Elwood is open for breakfast and lunch. Columbus, Eagle Creek, Muncie and Rochester are all open year around and offer plenty of tempting fare. Flying a bit beyond 100 NM there are lots of interesting places to visit. Let's hit some of them this year!
Project Updates
Is your project finished and flying? We've love to report on it. Consider submitting a flight and performance report for the newsletter. Your experiences and insight will help other members who are building the same or similar model aircraft, and will positively influence others who may be contemplating an aircraft project.
If you aircraft has been flying for several years now, you might not be finished with the building process. What adjustments or modifications have you undertaken since the airplane first flew? Any significant repairs? Any memorable flights? Share them with your fellow chapter members!
Download a Microsoft Word copy of the Project Questionnaire at http://www.eaa1311.org/PDF_files/Project_Questionnaire.doc.
Tim LeBaron Takes on a New Restoration
2007 EAA Air Academy
Reservations should be received by the EAA by March 1. Full payment is due 30 days before camp.
Chapter President Gus Gustafson has challenged the chapter to consider sponsoring or co-sponsoring a youth to the Air Academy this year.
For more information on the Air Academy visit the EAA web site at http://www.youngeagles.org/programs/airacademy/classoverview.asp.
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@insightbb.com.
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."
Membership Roster Updates Needed
November 2006 newsletter continued onto Section 2
The internet is turning out to be a fantastic place to research aviation facts. One site that I've recently visited is the Warbird Depot, an excellent repository of information about warbirds owned and operated in North America. Most aircraft listed are available for air shows and exhibition. Full contact information is provided, along with a brief history of the aircraft type, and more about the specific aircraft, if available. Each featured aircraft has an excellent photo attached to the listing. Additionally, the site offers free downloads of photos and calendars for your desktop (please check with their terms of use page).
Chapter 1311 held its annual election of officers at it regular meeting on Wednesday, November 1, 2006. 25 members mailed in their ballots that were received in time to be counted in the final tally. The winners for 2007:
With 49 members, our 25 voters reflected a 51% response. But we had about more six members who sent in ballots that arrived too late. If you consider these late ballots as interested voters, we had an overall participation of 63%, which is pretty good.
At the October meeting, Gus Gustafson asked that the chapter consider having some name tags made for members to wear during the meetings. Most of us only see the others only once a month or so and don't know each other very well. Gus thinks that name tags could help with the recognition process.
Michael Mossman designed a few sample name tags that were shown during the November meeting. Although no official action was taken, the members present thought that the larger tags would be appropriate. Current designs have the member's name in large type, the chapter logo and a photograph of the member's aircraft or project. Members without a project would have a name tag with the EAA logo.
Michael Mossman designed a few sample name tags that were shown during the Gus commented that the chapter needs a logo for the name tags. We've been using a logo for several years but it has never been officially adopted by the chapter or the board of directors. Perhaps it's time to decide what the chapter's logo should look like. We'd like to invite the chapter members to submit their ideas for a new chapter logo. This logo would be used on the front of the newsletter, chapter web site, all official correspondence as well as the forthcoming name tags.
By Jimmy Lewis
About three weeks ago my wife, Peggie, and I were walking toward our plane at Lexington, KY, Blue Grass Airport after spending the night with her sister. We noticed four uniformed policemen coming towards us and met us there. One explained that they had been waiting for us to show up so they could see the plane uncovered and talk to us about it. After answering all of the questions about the plane, Peggie had a conversation with one of them about High Standard and Colt handguns, which she collects. During our conversation, the subject of food came up and we were told to be sure to go to the Moonlite Bar-B-Que Inn in Owensboro, Ky. If you like barbecue, the Moonlite is a must. Here is a place we had never heard of, and we found out many famous people, most NASCAR drivers, President Clinton, Bobby Knight, Governor Bayh and his secretary of state, just to name a few, have been there. Oh well, you get the message.
Back to Lexington for a minute, as we taxied to the runway, Peggie looked behind us and said that were getting a police escort! Sure enough, bubble lights and all, they followed us to the end of Runway 4 and gave us a wave goodbye.
The Moonlite is owned by three brothers and a sister, Ken, Hugh, Fred and Janet Bosley, with a fourth generation to serve you. Their buffet features a variety of barbecued mutton, pork ribs, chicken, smoked ham and beef. They also serve country ham and the best vegetables you have ever eaten. There was so much that we could not sample everything. The buffet also features Burgoo Soup, which Robin Leach of "Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous" enjoys. Several magazines have praised their food, including Southern Living, voted best barbecue in Kentucky in 2005. Ken Bosley picked us up at the airport and was a very gracious host. As we were a little early for the 4-to-9 p.m. buffet, he gave us a tour of the restaurant with a description of how it had grown from a roadside stand seating 30 people when his parents bought it in 1963 to its present size. It now seats 352. Ken told us he serves about 500 each weekday night and about 1,200 a night on weekends. Ken also brought us back to the airport after we had eaten. The Moonlite will have someone pick you up at the airport or for $8 MidAmerican will rent you a car. So please enjoy! We certainly did.
By Michael Mossman
Last year the guys at Boone County Airport raved about the fun that they had at Kokomo's Glenndale Days. Some of them spent all three days at the field, watching the aerobatics, fly-bys, static displays, ultralights and other general flying. I've been looking forward to their open house for quite some time.
The weather for the weekend of the open house was expected to be quite unfavorable. In fact, they predicted snow on Friday, October 13, the opening day. Saturday was expected to be a bit warmer but quite blustery, and Sunday came with the potential for rain. So Saturday was my day.
We arrived at Glenndale under some severe clear conditions. In retrospect, it seems a shame to waste that kind of visibility flying "under the hood," but any day that I get to go flying is a good day.
Glenndale is a small fly-in community with some pretty nice facilities. They've got the usual old maintenance hangar but some of the buildings are fairly modern. The hangar at the north end end even has a observation tower.
Last year, Glenndale held some aerobatic demonstrations, including some low-level aerobatics by a pilot that pranged the prop on his Extra. No such performance this year. Their "vomit comet," a Decathlon, was down for annual so they weren't giving any high "g" rides this year.
That Saturday was a cold, blustery day, with strong breezes coming directly from the west, so I really surprised me to see the ultralight guys take to the air. With practically no ground roll, they popped off the ground in a hurry and wobbled their way skyward.
Eventually, it was time to head home, so we piled in the Zenair and made our way to the runway. Departing at close to gross weight from a soft, grass field, those high-tension wires off of the north end of the field looked really close. But we cleared them by more than 100 feet, as I knew that we would.
On the way home Glen put me through some more hood work, including multiple recovery from unusual attitudes. I felt OK with the whole thing until he demonstrated one with the foggles off. But the airplane held together and I didn't throw up, so all turned out well. The afternoon air was even rougher than before, so I busted every altitude he assigned me. I'm not making excuses; I'm just not that good.
Zenair photo courtesy of Mark Watt, Warbird Depot
With the shorter days and colder winter weather on the way, many chapter members are spending their evenings and weekends in their basements or garages, hunkered over the work bench and building airplanes. We'd like to report on the status of these projects, as our members are interested building airplanes Help us with a project update on your aircraft. You can write the story, if you'd like, or you can download our project update questionnaire from the web site. Answer as little or as much as you'd like, then send it to the newsletter editor. If you have any photos, we'd love to see them. Just attach your JPG photos to an email.
Former EAA Chapter 1311 president Tim LeBaron recently purchased an RV-4, N834JA, that came to grief in a botched landing this past summer. Tim bought it from the local salvage yard. Tim writes "It was too good of a deal to pass up. I hope to have it flying in the Spring." There's more damage to the airframe than just the landing gear and prop, as quite a bit of metal has been bent. Fortunately, Tim has the experience and credentials to get it flying safely again.
Tim adds, "I think it must be diagnosable. Every time I get around a damaged airplane that strikes my fancy, and can be had for a fair price, I have a hard time walking away from it. Now add to that a wife who is encouraging you to buy it and there is no escape. Such is the case for my latest project."
Currently, Tim has the RV-4 in his garage, tucked away beside his father's old Ercoupe. He's also got a Breezy that he's been working on, and started an RV-8 prior to his assignment with the NTSB. We look forward to reading about these interesting projects in future editions of the newsletter.
As it has since 1984, the EAA is again offering its annual Air Academy at its "Oshkosh campus. The Air Academy has become a springboard for aviation careers and personal growth for many of its participants. A limited number of openings are available.
The EAA hosts three different age-based categories: The EAA Young Eagles Camp is for youths aged 12 and 13. There are two sessions available for the Young Eagles Camp. The registration fee is $600 for a 5-day session. The EAA basic Air Academy is for youths ages 14 and 15, with three sessions available. The registration fee is $800 for a 6-day session. The EAA Advanced Air Academy is for youths aged 16 through 18, with two sessions available. The registration fee is $800 for the 8-day session, or $1,000 for the 10-day session. The first session starts June 14; the last session ends August 10.
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 notice on the 15th of each month. A PDF will be 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.
If you change your email address or internet service provider, please be sure to let the newsletter editor know of the new address. We've recently starting getting some "Undeliverable" messages from our monthly newsletter email publications. If you don't notify us, we can't get the newsletter or other chapter information to you. If you have changed your email address lately, or if you know of a chapter member who's changed the email address or is no longer getting the newsletter, please let us know. Contact the newsletter editor at michaelandkatie@insightbb.com