Time to change subjects. I was very pleased with the turnout at the May meeting. Also, seeing how Paul Vogel's project is doing. It looked to me like he is doing very well with it. The refreshments were good too! THANK YOU.
This month I'm giving a title to my column: "A Moving Experience" seems to fit. Most everyone in the chapter now knows that we've sold the hangar and lot in Florida. Cleaning out a place became a real experience. A person does not realize how much you can accumulate over 20 plus years. To start, we had planned to make quick trips to Florida, load up a vehicle and return. Had a lot of boxes to fill, which we did, but at the start of this process, we had a major setback. I came down with the flu and a day later, Faye got the flu too. This was during the first weekend in March. Both of us were so sick that we could not attend our own going away party that the neighbors were giving for us. They did give us a picture of them all waving "goodbye!" On Monday we managed to drag ourselves into town to one of those walk-in health care clinics to see a doctor. Spent two hours in the waiting room, finally got some RX's, and when we got back to our place we had been gone five hours. That day turned out to be a real winner when you feel terrible! After about another week to recover we made it back to Indy with a loaded pick-up truck.
After staying in Indy for about 10 days trying to get healthy, we then headed back to Florida. This time we were in Faye's Buick Rendezvous with a couple of our friends to aid us with the return trip to Indy. I had rented a 26-foot box truck for more of my things to bring back. Dave "Professor" Clark and I were to drive the truck and Faye and her quilter friend were to return in the Buick, loaded full with boxes of stuff. Got the Buick on its way back Wednesday, March 26th, and then Dave and I worked on loading the truck the rest of the day. We got back to the hotel in Gainesville about 10 p.m. and got some well-needed sleep. We were on the road headed northbound before daylight. Dave Clark did all the driving, which meant that would be the first time in 20 plus years I could enjoy the ride and see what was really out there! We stopped in Manchester Tenn., at what used to be a good Super 8 Motel. It has gone downhill to flea-bag status. We got ourselves on the way early again and arrived at Sheridan Airport in the middle of the afternoon. We got some extra help and had the truck unloaded in an hour's time. We called the wives and they met us at the truck return place then Dave and I were on our way home by 6 p.m. Friday evening. I now have a hangar full of airplane parts and tools, which will keep me busy this year.
You would think by now that everything would be up north, but that is still not the case. One more trip back to Florida in the pick-up truck was necessary. More boxes and a Jacobs radial engine needed to come north. After a trip to Oshkosh for the spring Board of Directors meeting, the Florida trip was made and turned out to be interesting. The second day on the road back, we saw two major accidents and got caught in a major traffic slowdown. That was enough to make you want to park the vehicle and walk.
Since the first of the year, we've made five round trips to Florida and each on trip the price of fuel has increased. Going anywhere this summer will be very costly! Our plans are to stay close to home as we have had our fill of interstate driving.
Time to change subjects. I was very pleased with the turnout at the May meeting. Also, seeing how Paul Vogel's project is doing. It looked to me like he is doing very well with it. The refreshments were good too! THANK YOU.
Lets all hope that this spring weather becomes decent very soon. It has been hard on people and the number of tornadoes is setting records. My best advice is "DON'T PUSH IT! FLY SAFE.
Gus
Guests: Jim Aikman, Cale Nelson and Tom Utterback.
Treasurer's report: $1,697.22 plus $50 in meeting receipts to deposit. Tool fund is a negative $31.26 before 50/50 drawing.
Secretary's report: Michael Mossman gave a report on the May meeting meeting.
Vice President's Report: Doug Moncreiff missed the last meeting due to illness (bronchitis) and is glad to be back.
Young Eagles Report: Chapter 1121 at Mount Comfort Airport will be hosting a Young Eagles rally on Saturday, May 17 between 8:30 and 1:00 and are looking for volunteers. Contact Leroy Wheel at 317-498-3728. Vern Sullenger reports that Young Eagles credits need to be used by August 30. We haven't had anyone to sponsor to the Youth Academy so they go unused. Jim Snyder recommends that we send them back to Oshkosh so that someone there can use them.
General Business: Glen Matejcek says that he has a couple gallons of "free" alodine available. New members Fred Baldwin and Ernie Winters need name tags. Mike Laurenzano says that FAA is moving their operations to an unmarked building in Plainfield. Ernie Winters reports that the EAA Ford Tri-motor will be a Greencastle on June 13 on its summer tour. Dave Clark talked about recent survey about gas influencing fly-ins; many pilots plan to skip the local events but will save up for Oshkosh. He reports that Oshkosh has never had as many reservations for type clubs as this year and expects that Oshkosh fly-in attendance will be big. Fred Baldwin stated that Sun 'n' Fun was down 40% this year.
Tool Scholarship Report: Gary Reynolds says that we have 26 of the 57 required tools for a new set. The list of what we need for this set will be published on the web site and in the newsletter.
Buy/Sell/Trade: Fred Baldwin is selling his Sonex kit, new and still in the box. Mike Laurenzano is selling his RANS S-19 tail kit. See details in Classified Ads for both projects.
50/50 Drawing: Glen Matejcek won $23 and donated his winnings toward the tool fund.
Program: Paul Vogel opened up his shop and showed his Sonex project. See feature story toward end of newsletter.
To get a downloadable PDF membership application see http://www.eaa1311.org/PDF_files/membership_application.pdf
Ford Tri-Motor Returns to Indiana
The Tri-Motor is due to arrive at Terre Haute's Hulman field on Thursday, June 12, and will offer pre-scheduled flights, plus potentially "walk-up" rides. The Tri-Motor will offer rides at Terre Haute on Friday morning, then will take a short excursion over to Putnam County Airport in Greencastle on Friday, June 13, where rides will be available on a walk-up basis only. The Tri-Motor then heads back to Hulman field for Saturday and Sunday, June 14-15 for more rides.
Flights are $40 for EAA members and $50 for non-members. For a ride reservation, call 1-800-564-6322 or visit our website at http://www.flytheford.org.
ADs for Amateur Built Aircraft
In the course of doing my research I learned a number of interesting things. One of these things is that there are at least three factions with different perspectives within the FAA. They each hold their opinions dearly, and may be inclined to act as though they were law. One particularly strong piece of evidence is AC 39-7C, which states in section 8 that "Some aircraft owners and operators mistakenly assume that AD's do not apply to aircraft with other than standard airworthiness certificates, i.e., special airworthiness certificates in the restricted, limited, or experimental category." This would appear to make it pretty clear. However, as we all know Advisory Circulars are not regulatory, at least not until you find yourself in front of an Administrative Law Judge.
The controlling document on the subject comes to us from the Federal Register. The fact that this document is in the Federal Register is what causes it to trump all the other documents and opinions on the subject. The document itself is all about LSA's, and it contains a table entitled Light-Sport Aircraft Maintenance and Certification Requirements and is located within section IV, Comparative Tables. This particular table compares the maintenance and certification requirements of six different categories of aircraft, including amateur built, and it can be accessed at: http://rgl.faa.gov/Regulatory_and_Guidance_Library/rgFinalRule.nsf/c03aa95a6d5f3d57852564720071b601/1d47971728e12ba286256edf004385aa
Looking up the comparative data in this document at the cross reference of Amateur built and Airworthiness Directives, we find the statement "None issued against amateur-built aircraft." This wording by itself leaves some room for interpretation, namely that although the FAA will not issue an AD against a homebuilt aircraft per se, they can issue an AD against any certified item installed in/on the plane. Case in point: the recent RSA fuel injection servo AD. This is not an AD against an RV-8, but what if there is an RSA injector installed on an RV-8?
A look at the other entries for AD applicability yields the answer. For Primary aircraft as well as Standard aircraft, the entry is simply "Yes." For Ultralights, the entry is simply "None," and for ELSA (Experimental Light Sport Aircraft, or homebuilt light sports) the entry is "None issued against ELSA," the same format diction as used for Amateur built aircraft. However, for SLSA (Special Light Sport Aircraft, or factory built light sports) the entry reads "Yes-Type certificated TC/STC/PMA/TSO-approved products, if installed." This states quite plainly that AD's can be issued against certified appliances installed on SLSA aircraft. This difference in diction between the SLSA and Amateur Built entries indicates that AD's issued against appliances installed in Amateur Built aircraft do not require compliance.
The foregoing does not relieve us of our requirements to address AD's. We do not have to comply with an AD, but we do have to address an AD. For example, the recent RSA AD calls for an A&P to do the work to be in compliance. If I do the work myself I will have addressed the AD without being in compliance, as I am not an A&P. If we fail to address an AD, either as owner/operator doing the work or as repairman/A&P performing the condition inspection, we are liable for violation of FAR 91.13, careless and reckless operation. We are not liable under FAR 39, Airworthiness Directives.
Okay, we've checked the security of the plug highlighted in the RSA AD and it was fine, so we're all done, right? Not quite. The addressing of the AD needs to be documented, just like all other maintenance. This is another area where confusion pops up, and I'll address that in another article.
Chapter Fly-Out Breakfast Planned
Pam's Place has a 4,000-foot grass runway with clear approach and departures at both ends; estimated field elevation is 795 MSL. Communicate on 122.9. If you plan on flying in, enter 39 degrees, 30 minutes 2.7 seconds north and 86 degrees, 41 minutes 24.7 seconds west into your GPS. No GPS? It's about 9.8 nm 144 degrees south of Putnam Co. Airport ("Greencastle" 4I7), or 10.3 NM 254 degrees west of Pegasus Farms, where we had our fall fly-out. Aircraft parking will be available. Note that there is no fuel available on the field.
Turns out they were wrong; fiberglass structures were actually stronger at minus 40F than at room temperature.
But the idea of buying a composite aircraft of a type I had not even seen before was scary, so I called the GROB dealer in Ohio and spoke with a service technician for about an hour. Calling the factory representative was a great way to get the information and confidence I needed for making a pre-purchase inspection. I recommend this first step for anyone thinking of buying an unusual aircraft.
The GROB representative said, "cracks in the gelcoat are normal as long as the cracks are across the wing, chordwise. Spanwise, cracks are not normal and would indicate major damage." He said, "cold weather is not a structural problem; the aircraft are made in Germany and it gets cold in Germany."
When inspecting the wing, I am mostly concerned with looking for a separation of the wing spar where it is glued to the wing skin. The wings are made with top and bottom shells that are glued together at the leading edge, main spar and trailing edge. The problems lies in the fact that a spar debond cannot be seen from the outside. (Debond is just another word for unglued.) The GROB G-109 doesn't even have any inspection holes other than the wing root openings.
The standard FAA inspection handbook AC 43.12-1B describes several subsurface inspection methods. The first is called tap testing. It consists of lightly tapping the surface of the part with a coin or other suitable object. The tap test is limited by the inspector's subjective interpretation. I don't use the tap test unless an area is suspected of damage. It would be impractical to tap test the whole plane. The other methods require expensive machines that use methods such as acoustic-emission and thermography.
I have found a nifty and simple way to visualize a possible subsurface defect such as a spar debond. Sometimes around an hour or so after sunset on a clear evening, moisture will condense on the wing skin but not over the warmer massive spar bond. The spar bond is clearly visible. The reverse happens in the evening
Tech counselors, A & Ps and other skilled builders: How has your experience helped another builder or restorer? We have lots of builders in our chapter who may have encountered similar problems. Please share your skills and opinions in this newsletter.
Aviation on the Web
There may be downsides to the new fuel, one could be the "new and improved" price. For more information, visit the web site http://www.insideindianabusiness.com/newsitem.asp?id=29204
New Endorsements Required
Chapter 1311 Builders' Local Resource Directory
Local sources:
Chance Aviation, 4444 Decatur Blvd., Indianapolis, IN 46241, 317-486-8802, http://www.chanceaviation.com. Chance is a parts supplier tailored to the local FBO's,
Earl's Indy, 302 Gasoline Alley, Indianapolis IN 46222, 1-800-331-INDY http://www.earlsindy.com. Earl's specializes in hoses and related supplies and service, plus AN fittings and hardware.
McKinney Corp, Lafayette, IN http://www.mckinneycorp.com. They stock a wide variety of 4130 steel and 6061 aluminum tubing, AN hardware, NACA scoops, and other items.
Northwest Lumber Company, 5035 Lafayette Road, Indianapolis, IN 46254, 317-293-1100, http://www.northwestlumberco.com. Stock of quality woods and woodworking tools.
Check out our online directory at http://www.eaa1311.org. Click on the link "Homebuilder's Resources" on the left. Note that all resources listed are merely suggestions; as a chapter we do not endorse any of them. Our recommendation: "Caveat Emptor" (let the buyer beware).
May 2008 newsletter continued onto Section 2
May's meeting
May's meeting was held on Wednesday, May 7, 2008 at Hendricks County Airport. Chapter President Dale Gustafson opened the meeting with the Pledge of Allegiance.
In Attendance: Fred Baldwin, Skip Budny, Dave Clark, Dennis Crawley, Mark Eminger, Troy Grover, D.A. Gustafson, Robert Henderson, Mike Laurenzano, Glen Matejcek, Doug Moncreiff, Michael Mossman, Gary Reynolds, Bryan Ruberson, Kim Shumaker, Jim Snyder, Vern Sullenger, Paul Vogel, Steve Weathers and Ernie Winters. If you were there but we didn't record it, let us know.
President's Report: Gus Gustafson says that he is now officially out of Florida. On his last trip home he carried a 300 h.p. Jacobs radial engine on the back of truck. At one point he was nearly forced off of the road and worried that the truck might tip over due to the high CG of engine. He says that after 22 years of going to Florida, nearly every trip there has been a close call on the highway. Gus's Florida neighbor who built the Sonex with riveting problems got a guy to fix it by putting in doublers. Gus says the guy's wife wouldn't let him fly it until after last Saturday, which was their 50th anniversary. He had done high-speed taxi tests and "accidently" got it off of the ground before that time. Gus Auto gas is now $3.85, We are going to be looking at more green grass than airplanes at fly-ins this year. Gas at Sheridan is $4.75 but transient pilots can expect to pay $5.00 per gallon. The price of crude oil closed at above $123 a barrel. The former $100 hamburgers are now $100 for a pancake. Finally, Chapter award nominations have been submitted to Oshkosh
Web Newsletter in Three Sections
The web newsletter is divided into three 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 michaelandkatie1@comcast.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
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.
EAA's 1929 Ford Tri-Motor returns to Indiana in June, offering one-of-a-kid flight experiences. The airplane was fully restored by the EAA over a decade-long span and first flown again in the mid-1980s. Visitors will have the opportunity to take a historic flight aboard this unique aircraft, nicknamed the Tin Goose.
By Glen Matejcek
Recently, there was a rather protracted debate on a particular homebuilt list server about the applicability of Airworthiness Directives (AD's) to homebuilt aircraft. I had certain ideas on the topic going in, but some interesting points were raised, and I figured I'd better go to the source to get a definitive answer. Well, nothing in aviation is as simple and straight forward as it seems at first, and I ended up doing quite a bit of research that culminated in a call to the EAA Legislative Affairs office.
Chapter 1311's first fly-out breakfast will be on Saturday, June 14 at Pam's Place (78I), a small aviation community airport about three miles southwest of Eminence in Morgan County. Mark and Tina Eminger will be hosting the 9 a.m. breakfast to chapter members and their guests. This will be a "rain or shine" event; if it rains, come out for breakfast and camaraderie, and check out Mark and Tina's Christavia Mk1 project. (How about heading over to Terre Haute after the breakfast to see the Ford Tri-Motor?)
Driving directions from Indianapolis:
If you would like to come, please RSVP Mark and Tina so they know how much food to prepare. Call 765-528-2146 (home phone) 317-31-0285 (Mark's cell phone) or 317-331-0235 (Tina's cell phone). You may also RSVP by email at tjemee@yahoo.com
Ask Your Tech Counselor
Inspecting Ideas for the Aging Composite Aircraft
By Bill Berson, TC#4919
When I was thinking about buying a GROB fiberglass motorglider, several pilot friends advised me to never bring a composite aircraft to the cold environment of Alaska where I lived. They said it would not last and I should get an aluminum plane.
From EAA Safety Wire, January 2008
Glen Matejcek provides this month's like to aviation news on the web. It's about a research company from Indiana that claims to have developed a new 100LL aviation fuel replacement that is synthesized from biomass materials. They claim to have no lead in the fuel, less toxicity, greater range, no carbon emissions, lower freezing point, no stabilizers required, etc. And to create 1.8 million gallons of fuel per day, which is GA's 100LL requirement, they will only need five percent of this country's existing bio-fuel plant infrastructure.
Mike Laurenzano reports that on March 5, 2009, pilots flying out of the United States will be required to have an "English Language Proficient" endorsement on their certificate. This is an international aviation law requirement, and will be required, even if flying to Canada. All new certificates will be plastic, and will require a $2 fee for updating. For more information, see http://www.faa.gov or check back in this newsletter in a few months for an update.
We've all been around town trying to scrounge up a few AN bolts or perhaps some 4130 tubing to finish a last-minute weekend building or repair project. How much easier would it be to know where the best supplies of quality parts and materials are?
AED Motorsport Products, 5375 W. 86th St., Indianapolis IN 46268, 317-334-0569 http://www.aedmotorsport.com. AED specializes in 4130 chrome moly, stainless, aluminum, titanium, FK rod ends and spherical bearings.
Start thinking of the places where you locally buy for AN hardware, sheet metal, paint, tools and other items. We'll need an address, phone number and web site, if they have one. Be sure to let us know if you would recommend them to others or not. The idea here is that members should be able to look to suppliers that you trust and would continue to do business with. Please forward your ideas and recommendations to Michael Mossman at michaelandkatie1@comcast.net
May 2008 newsletter ends on Section 3