Hello to anyone who reads this monthly newsletter. I do not have much to write about this month except to remind all of you that election time is coming up so think about who you would like for your chapter officers next year.
September's meeting
September's meeting was held on Wednesday, September 3, 2008 at Hendricks County Airport. Chapter President Dale Gustafson opened the meeting with the Pledge of Allegiance.
In Attendance: Bob Braaf, John Broyles, Skip Budny, Tom Chapman, Mark Eminger, Dale Gustafson, Doug Hatfield, Mike Laurenzano, Doug Moncreiff, Michael Mossman, Gary Reynolds, David Stucker, Vern Sullenger and Paul Vogel. If you were there but we didn't record it, let us know.
Guests: Larry Chenoille and Richard Metz.
Treasurer's Report: $1,777.22 in the account, of which $41 is for the tool fund, plus $15 and $10 rebate from Tom Poberezny, plus another $75 cash for the tool fund.
Secretary's Report: Michael Mossman read the minutes from the August meeting.
President's Report: Dennis Crawley is now working out of state and will be not able to attend any more meetings in the near future so he has resigned from the board. He is also looking for a partner in his Grumman aircraft, which is hangared at Mount Comfort Airport. Because the last time we tried to have a board of directors meeting and we didn't have enough for a quorum, Gus is recommending that we have only five directors the next election rather than seven. Gus will be forming a new election committee, which will consist of Glen Matejcek, Michael Mossman and Paul Vogel.
Vice President's Report: We have chapter hats for sale, they are $12 each.
New Business: Dale Gustafson now has the chapter hats. Michael Mossman made a motion to give a hat to the non-chapter members who present a program; Vern Sullenger seconded. All voted in favor. Motion passed.
Young Eagles Report: None given
50/50 Drawing: Not held but a collection for the tool fund was conducted
Program: Oshkosh Debriefing along with a short amateur Oshkosh video.
To get a downloadable PDF membership application see http://www.eaa1311.org/PDF_files/membership_application.pdf
Building Tip
Here is a tube notching pattern program I found within my favorites folder to which I have no idea where I got it from. It seems like a great idea for those of us notching 4130 for our homebuilt airplane projects and is very easy to use. I actually have made my own patterns of various notched tubing ends in the past and use them wherever I can. I'll try this out this weekend to see how accurate they are. Anything to shorten the time needed to notch tubing ends would be a big help.
The program is available online at http://www.metalgeek.com/static/cope.pcgi
Project Update:
Aviation on the Web
Hitting The Fly-In Circuit
On that beautiful Saturday morning, Zach Rogers and Chuck Long boarded Chuck's Zenair, and Chuck Leucht and I boarded mine for a short formation flight to 2R2. And what a beautiful day for flying it was! With light, puffy clouds at least a thousand feet above us and perhaps 20 to 25 miles of visibility, it was a nice day to be in the air. And the air wasn't too rough, either.
One of the first things anyone notices about an aircraft is its paint job, and both of the RV-3s had beautiful schemes. One had a very nice military trainer paint design that would have made anyone proud. Unfortunately, this owner parked beside another RV-3 that had the most provocative paint scheme that I had ever seen: The nearly-black aircraft was covered with the most realistic painted-on flames that I have ever seen. If the weather had been cooler I might have tried to warm my hands over the wings, it was that realistic. But not just the wings, the cowling, fuselage, tail, landing gear, even the spinner and stripes on the propeller were all painted as if they were on fire! It was stunning and almost intimidating to stand by it. If you read Gus Gustafson's column in the August 2008 newsletter you'll know that he doesn't like flamboyant paint, but I had to get a towel to wipe the envy off of me. Gorgeous!
The four of us then headed over to the food line; after all, that's why we were really there! The folks from the HCAA had a menu consisting of three weenie entrees (mild sausage, hot sausage or hot dogs) plus baked beans, onions and peppers for your sausage sandwich, chips, and a huge tray of fresh raw vegetables, plus lots of other goodies. The lunch price included tea, or for a buck more you could get a bottled water or soft drink. All of the food was good and there was plenty of it. I didn't make it to the dessert table but some of the kids around were raving about it. All of the tables under the pavilion/shelter were filled up with people, so you have to look for a place to sit.
On August 23, Chad Williams, Charles Westerfield and Chuck Leucht boarded Williams' Cessna 172, while Zach Rogers and I headed out in my Zenair for the Indy Air Show at Mount Comfort Airport. Although the weather was a bit murky that morning, it was nonetheless VMC and expected to improve throughout the day. I following Williams to the runway and taxied to the parking area, where the ground crew told us that they were having the most visiting airplanes that they had ever had. I was surprised, because there were only about 40 to 50 airplanes parked there. Two of the volunteers gave us a short ride on their golf carts toward the show aircraft area.
Shortly after we arrived, the overcast sky slowly cleared, leaving another stunningly beautiful day for checking out the many warbirds on close-up display. The five of us ate the typical carnival food (I had a gyros sandwich) and drinks, then headed over to our chairs to watch the airshow.
The Indy Airshow had a great lineup of performers. Gene Soucy did a great routine with his aerobatic Ag Cat, followed up by several other aerobatic performances, and a comical routine by the Flying Farmer, pretending to take a Piper Cub up for his first flight. There were several current military aircraft demonstrations, including two from the Raptor, and a nice WW-II re-enactment and fly-bys. They even had a full aerobatic routine flown in an ethanol-powered aircraft. My favorite performance was Gene Soucy flying again with wing walker Teresa Stokes on board. The moves were smooth and graceful, but seemed just a little bit north of crazytown with that woman standing on top, in the harness, with the airplane rolling and looping. They obviously had a great time with this type of flying, and it was certainly fun for us on the ground to watch it.
Marion had some excellent ground assistance for this event, as there were plenty of people to help direct airplanes to parking spots and keep on-lookers from getting hurt. They directed us to a back row, right beside a gorgeous Swift. Just moments after shutting down the engine and disembarking, the onlookers swarmed around the airplane and began asking questions about the airplane.
One unusual attraction to this year's event was five RV aircraft, all painted identical, and setup to fly on ethanol-enhanced fuel. Sponsored by an ethanol consortium from South Dakota, they were intended to show that ethanol-powered airplanes and operate and perform at high levels as well as strictly 100LL aircraft can. There's more to it than just pouring in a different fuel, but at least there are companies out there looking for new sources of aircraft fuel.
After lunch, Charles and I headed out to the airplane for our final departure from Elwood. Because the winds were calm and the runway is rough, we took advantage of the fact that no one was in the pattern and departed on runway 9 this time to save ourselves from a few thousand feet of bone-jarring taxiing. Typical for an Elwood departure, I kept trying to coax the Zenair off of the runway, then suddenly we hit the "ski jump" launching us into the air. We cleared the fence at the end of the runway with ease, then performed a right-hand pattern out to avoid a low-level departure over the town.
The air space at Greencastle was getting a bit crowded, as they had lots of aircraft coming in for the fun, plus several aircraft running Young Eagles flights. We asserted our position in the pattern and came in for a landing
Since it was past noon, Chuck and I made a bee-line for the large hangar where the local chapter 1374 set up a lunch line. They had a nice ala carte menu of hot dogs, bratwurst, hamburgers, cheeseburgers, pulled pork sandwiches, plus chips, desserts, baked beans, fruit cups and other delectables. Chuck went for the bratwurst while I gravitated to the pulled pork sandwiches. Yummy! We sat down with fellow chapter members Bob Braaf and Ernie Winters, and visited with Vern Sullenger, too. While eating Bob introduced us to their Young Eagles coordinator, who asked us if we were interested in flying a few Young Eagles. Their chapter was hosting the fly-in and rally in coordination with the Terre Haute chapter, who had its attendance split because of a conflicting event. They needed Young Eagles flyers and we were actively being recruited.
Greencastle had a nice Young Eagles operation running that day. They had a dedicated operations room with briefing materials and computerized registration, plus an outdoor booth for signups and a PA system for the announcer and scheduler. The ramp at Greencastle was big enough to accommodate many airplanes for simultaneous loadings, too. Chuck flew three Young Eagles flights then had to head back to 6I4 for family commitments. I stayed for a couple more then cut it off at five rides, as I hadn't loaded enough fuel for a full day of flying. I flew solo back to 6I4 in the rough but stunningly clear air, satisfied that not only had I gotten to get some flying in and have a nice lunch at a fly-in, but I got to help give some kids a really fun experience.
Coming up: Winters Airport 13th annual Fly-in on September 20, Lee Bottom Field's annual Wood, Fabric and Tailwheels fly-in is on September 28 and Noblesville Chapter 67 on October12.
Newsletter continued on Section 2
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.
Mark Eminger provides this month's building tip:
Skip Budny reports that the Huey H-model 20 that his group is rebuilding will be rededicated at a ceremony on September 27. Governor Mitch Daniels is expected to be there, along with Mayor Ballard. The group is also working on a C-47 in Georgia that is being rebuilt. Both aircraft will be part of a flyable museum, and will be based at Indianapolis Metro Airport, with three aircraft in one hangar.
By Mark Poliak, President, Indy Flyers
Starting September 13th, the Indy Flyers will travel to Monument Valley, Utah for 3 days of flying fun in an ultralight and then return home. Just imagine, 1750 miles one way on a lawn chair! Well, OK, we aren't giving up the GPS, color radar and radios! But I will find out what it will be to fly most of the way across the US in my open cockpit trike! My trike is easiest described as a powered hang glider that cruises at 60 mph. Three other planes from the club (two from Wabash, IN and one from Indy) will join me. You can check out our progress at http://www.indysportaviation.com/mv. Actually, three planes left this morning (Wednesday, September 10) due to the incoming hurricane, so look for updates later this week. We will try and give you a part of what flying across America at 1,000 feet will be like. We hope to be home by the 23rd if all goes well and the hurricanes stay away.
By Michael Mossman
This hasn't been a good year for me to hit the fly-in circuit. It seems like too many have been scheduled for weekends when I've been out of town or were on weekends when I was ready to fly but the weather wasn't cooperative. So when the Hendricks County Aviation Association scheduled a "cook out" for August 16, it sounded like a good opportunity to fly and see some airplane people, regardless of what they wanted to call their event.
After we landed, we were directed to some convenient parking spaces by several ramp rats with orange vests and batons. Hmm, I thought that they said that they couldn't host a fly-out. Regardless of the reasons for scheduling a cookout, it sure was nice to have the ramp so organized and flowing smoothly, as the ramp was already starting to fill up with aircraft. We parked both of our Zenairs beside two gorgeous RV-3s, and for a brief time the Zenairs weren't outnumbered by RVs. Not for long, though. Over the next hour or so several more RVs came out to play, along with some Rockets, and soon we found ourselves as a minority again.
Chuck, Zach, Chuck and I headed over to the line to pay for our lunch and had a nice visit with Dave Clark. Zach will be attending Vincennes University to study for an A&P license, so Dave took the opportunity to give him some pointers on how to start the year off right. If Dave gets tired of classroom work he could go for a third career marketing the university.
After lunch, Chuck Long and I both found an opportunity to take some friends for rides. Always the instructor, Chuck got Susan Zellers in for a Zenair introductory flight while David Stucker and I did a little sight-seeing over his neighborhood in the Monrovia area. Shortly thereafter, the time came for the ride home, as the inspiration bug bit Chuck Leucht in a serious way. He had some challenging tasks he wanted to get accomplished on his RV-9A project, and seeing all of those RVs got him jazzed up for some creative work.
Early in the afternoon the airshow was over, so we all headed back to the airplanes. Since we were parked right by the taxiway, we were practically first in line to depart. Williams announced his intentions to the temporary tower, and was told to taxi to position and hold. I announced mine, too, and was given the same instructions just as soon as Williams was cleared to depart. Unfortunately, I never got my clearance to depart. Zach and I held in position in the eerie silence for several minutes, wondering if they forgot about us. All of the sudden, a helicopter air ambulance took off, leading me to believe that they were holding us for it. I announced that I was still in position and ready to depart but no response. Zach looked around him and noticed that some of the airplane behind us were trying to get around us on the end of the runway. For a very brief moment I heard someone crackle on the radio "hurry up, buddy, you're holding up the whole airport." I realized then that I had a radio problem and shoved the throttle forward. (For anyone who was waiting behind me, sorry for your wait.) Zach and I had a nice, uneventful ride the rest of the way home. (Yes, I fixed the radio problem before the next weekend.)
On August 30, Charles Westerfield and I headed up to Marion IN in the Zenair for their annual Fly-In/Cruise-In. That Saturday, we had more of the stunningly beautiful weather that we've enjoyed for this late summer's fly-ins. Evidently, the beautiful air attracted more airplanes than in the years past, as there were perhaps 8-10 airplanes in the pattern when we neared the airport. We heard someone announce something like "welcome to Indianapolis International" as all of the airplanes tried to merge into position.
Charles and I didn't have an agenda for the day so we just started looking around at as many airplanes as we could. Charles as a soft spot for Aeroncas, so we headed over to where three nearly identical Chiefs were parked. We talked with Bryan Ruberson for a while and checked out the other beauties there, too.
Marion never has any trouble attracting a wide assortment of aircraft, custom automobiles and motorcycles, so there is always something to see and do. One particular exhibit that attracted my attention was the Douglas C-54 that had flown in the Berlin Airlift. Compared to the modern airliners and freighters flying today, it's hard to imagine the thousand of tons of food, materials and fuel that the Allies flew in these airplanes into West Berlin to keep the city from falling to the Soviets. It's a great inspiration. We both bought hats to commemorate this flying museum.
Marion's event is all centered on their annual pancake breakfast, which donates its proceeds to their high school marching band. The breakfast turnout was incredible. Gus Gustafson said he arrived at about 7:45 and the line was about 45 minutes long. At 10 or 11 o'clock the line snaked around for hundreds of yards, and was alleged to be about 2 hours long. The workers were hustling like crazy but they can only get a limited amount of people seated, even in that cavernous hangar. I like to eat and support good causes, but two hours was a bit too long for me, so I can't report on the quality of the food or the service. At last year's event both were in good quality and quantity, so I'd expect that this year they were, too.
Since it was getting close to noon and I had a bad case of the hungries, Charles and I decided to head south to Elwood for one last lunch at the Airport Restaurant. Elwood's runway is now closed, so this was kind of my last "hurrah." While flying up to Marion, we over flew Elwood and saw six airplanes clustered around the restaurant so we knew that the field was still flyable. When we came in for lunch, there was a lone EAA biplane parked by the restaurant. I landed on runway 27, with one last bounce on the "ski jump" for old times sake, then slid into a parking spot by the biplane. We found an open table in one corner of the restaurant. I got my all-time Elwood favorite, their hand breaded tenderloin sandwich. I could only eat half — and I skipped the fries. They also have "giant" breaded tenderloin sandwich. I wondered if they made a mistake and brought me the wrong one or if perhaps their menu descriptions were a bit understated. Elwood has a full menu and daily specials. One of their specialties is elk burgers, which are low in fat and cholesterol but high on flavor. I've had them before, but I really wanted my "usual" for my last fly-in lunch there. The restaurant is expected to stay open but the runway will be gone forever.
On Saturday, September 6, Chuck Long and I were back in the air flying our Zenairs to Greencastle for their hog roast and Young Eagles rally. Amazingly, the temperature was in the low 70s when we departed, with nearly unlimited visibility and reasonably smooth air. We even had a bit of tailwind on the trip to 4I7. About halfway there, with Chuck in close formation, I looked to my right and saw three Yak and/or Nanchang aircraft in close formation, right off our wing. Had I been thinking a bit faster, I would have announced "Lima Echo, commies at your three o'clock." We made some funny comments about not challenging them to a race, then they peeled off to the right, always in a nice formation.
I was surprised to see as many airplanes at Greencastle as were there; I wasn't expecting to see a full-blown fly-in, as they hadn't advertised it much. They had several twins, including the diesel-powered Diamond Twin Star, four Diamond singles (are these the dealer's showcase?), lots of nice antiques, some RVs and other homebuilts, helicopters, a gyrocopter, and other aircraft that I didn't get a chance to view.