I've known for the last two weeks what my subject is for this month but it seems like other things kept me busy and now I'm up against a deadline. This last Saturday and Sunday (11th and 12th) I spent my time at Sheridan Airport moving equipment around in my hangar so we can get an airplane again in it. Saturday, during the middle of the day, it sure did rain and then Sunday became a beautiful calm day. I thought there would be a good amount of flying, but that was not the case. The amount of aircraft movements you could count on both hands and have a couple of fingers left over. Let's hope the amount of flying will improve over the next few years, especially flight training.
July's meeting
July's meeting was held July 1, 2009, 7:00 p.m., at the American Military Heritage Foundation (AMHO) building at Mount Comfort Airport. Due to low attendance, no official business was conducted.
In Attendance: Dave Clark, Dale Gustafson, Glen Matejcek, Doug Moncreiff, Michael Mossman, Paul Vogel and Jim Winings. If you were there but we didn't record it, let us know.
Guests: Two aviation technology from Vincennes University
Program: Glen Matejcek led the group in a hands-on tour of the American Military Heritage Foundation's Lockheed PV-2 Harpoon aircraft and their support facility. See story later in this newsletter.
To get a downloadable PDF membership application see http://www.eaa1311.org/PDF_files/membership_application.pdf
Ask Your Tech Counselor
During the engine disassembly, inspectors observed approximately two fluid ounces of oil drain from the rotary valve shaft "oil bath" chamber when the shaft assembly was removed from the engine case. According to the Rotax installation manual, approximately 310cc (10.5 fluid ounces) of oil is required to fill the rotary valve shaft lubrication system. With only two fluid ounces of oil in the rotary valve shaft "oil bath" chamber during engine operation, the rotary valve disc drive gear was subjected to significant heat, causing catastrophic failure of the brass drive gear due to insufficient lubrication. It is important to note that inspection of the engine components prior to removal and disassembly of the engine revealed that the externally mounted oil tank for the rotary valve shaft lubrication system was filled to the proper level.
Rotax service center technicians confirm that is it possible for the rotary valve shaft lubrication system externally-mounted oil tank to contain a full quantity of oil without the rotary valve shaft "oil bath" chamber within the engine case actually being full of oil. This phenomenon can occur in Rotax 582 engines mounted on an airframe in the inverted position (spark plugs down) if the rotary valve shaft oil is installed without removing a vent plug in the engine case to vent the system during oil installation. Failure to remove the vent plug will cause an "air bubble" to form in the rotary valve shaft "oil bath" chamber, thus preventing oil from filling the chamber. If this occurs, the oil tank will indicate full, but insufficient oil will have been introduced into the rotary valve shaft "oil bath" chamber, causing failure of the rotary valve shaft brass drive gear during engine operation.
Builders who are installing the Rotax 582 in the inverted (spark plugs down) position should be aware that they need to remove the vent plug when filling the oil tank for the rotary valve shaft lubrication system so as to avoid engine failure due to insufficient lubrication. Refer to the Rotax installation manual or talk to Rotax service center technicians for guidance on this issue.
From EAA Safety Wire publication, July 2009
Air Show Circuit
Leaving town on Saturday morning, we weren't sure if they would be able to hold the air show; it was raining here and the ceiling was very low. But the forecast was for clear along Lake Michigan so we crossed our fingers. As we headed north, the weather improved a bit every mile and by the time we got as far as Merrillville it was severe clear.
Once you get to the beach, you simply find a place for your beach towel or chair and sit down to enjoy the show. As often happens during air show season, the weather can be unbearably hot, so hosting an air show on the beach has a great benefit: when you get a bit overheated, just wade into the lake and cool off. In fact, many of the air show fans watched the entire program while in the lake.
The air show organizers booked a first-rate line-up of performers for the show. When we arrived, Jim Marony was already into his routine, flying a Super Chipmunk. Next, Bill Stein wrung out his brilliantly-painted Zifko Edge 540. Katie's favorite performance was the Lima Lima team, which was billed as the world's first six-ship civilian formation team, flying Beechcraft Mentors.
While the Army's Fokker C-31 was climbing to altitude, carrying a full load of skydivers, the Air Force conducted a heritage flight, consisting on a WW-II P-51 Mustang and the F-18. The announcer said something of an original Tuskegee Airman flying the Mustang, but with all of the noise it was hard to be sure.
Other scheduled performers that we missed were the Vanguard Squadron, a 100% ethanol-powered formation aerobatic team, and an L-19 civilian jet demonstration flight.
For next year's summer entertainment, consider the Gary Air Show. Your cost will barely be a tank of gasoline, and it's an easy drive both ways up I-65. The parking lots are just a mile from the interstate and are a safe place to leave your car. Check it out at http://www.garyairshow.com.
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Newsletter concludes on Section 3
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.
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.
Rotax Installation Issue
By Corky Smith, NTSB
An experimental amateur-built Zealot powered glider sustained substantial damage during an off-airport landing following an engine failure. Post-accident disassembly and inspection of the Rotax 582 engine revealed destruction of the rotary valve disc drive gear due to insufficient lubrication. This failure caused the rotary valve shaft and attached rotary valve disc to cease rotation, resulting in engine stoppage due to the inability of the rotary valve disc to introduce the air/fuel mixture from the carburetors into the intake portion of the engine's cylinders.
By Michael Mossman
Katie and I planned a weekend getaway at Michigan City the weekend of July 11. After rummaging around on the internet looking for things to do, she happened upon a website promoting the 10th annual Gary Air Show. She wasn't excited about attending and air show but thought that I might like it so we made it a priority for our Saturday schedule.
The Gary Air Show is held over the lake at Marquette Park, which is a very pretty beachside park in Gary. There is very little parking, so the air show organizers arranged for parking at several vacant malls and parks in the area and hired a fleet of school buses to shuttle fans from the parking lots to their cars. The air show is free, and so are the shuttle buses, all of which is a very welcome benefit for such a hard depressed town.
But the weather wasn't that hot during the show. As a matter of fact, it was absolutely beautiful, with the temperature in the low 80s with a bit of breeze coming across the lake. The skies were nearly cloudless and the visibility was so good that you could clearly see the Chicago skyline across the lake about 30 miles away. You just couldn't ask for better weather.
The military flights always "wow" the audience, and the Navy's F-18 Super Hornet's performance shocked the crowd with its high speed passes and tight maneuverability. Equaling the F-18 routine, the Air Force's F-16 Fighting Falcon showed its stuff.
After the heritage flight, the Army Golden Knights dropped in for the fun. The show organizers roped off a small section of the beach immediately to the west of where Katie and I were sitting. The first skydiver ‹ a female ‹ landed dead center in the cordoned-off space and placed a large fabric "X" marking the target zone. She then served as the group's announcer for the remainder of their routine. For the next 10-15 minutes skydivers dropped out in pairs and did their routines in the air then systematically made their trademark stand-up landings on the X. One skydiver seemed to be freefalling quite a bit further than the rest, then dramatically cut loose his parachute and finished off with his reserve chute. The Army sent out a jet ski to retrieve his main chute. He didn't seem too upset, as he dropped in directly onto the target then lined with the rest of the team for the introductions and photo shoots.
The air show concluded with a performance by a British-built Sea Harrier F/A2, which was billed as the world's only civilian-flown Sea Harrier. The pilot did the obligatory slow flights, pivot and turn and flying backwards, and the always-impressive hover flight. The Sea Harrier was out over the lake during this performance, but even then the noise from the jet engine is simply unbelievable. Katie and I had backed up about a quarter mile for this performance but some of the people still on the beach were just wincing with pain; it's that loud.