Since we didn't have an actual meeting this month I will take this opportunity to make a few announcements. First I want to thank Skip for sharing the Huey with us. I think all of us who were there got a good up close look at it and had a chance to get our questions answered. We had good enough attendance to justify holding the meeting but it was considerably less than our normal attendance when we are at Hendricks County. I'd welcome feedback as to your feelings about holding off site meetings to view projects.
May's meeting
May's meeting was held May 3, 2010, 6:30 p.m., at Indianapolis Metro Airport, and chaired by Chapter President Vern Sullenger.
In Attendance: Skip Budny, Mark Eminger, Dale Gustafson, Doug Moncreiff, Michael Mossman, Vern Sullenger, David Stucker and Jim Winings. If you were there but we didn't record it, let us know.
Guests: Mark Eminger, Jr., Scott Holley, John Hylton, Randy McKinney, Richard Mueller, David Stucker, Jr. and Thomas Stucker.
Vice President's Report: Not given.
Secretary's Report: Not given
Treasurer's Report: Not given
Program: Skip Budny presented the Indiana Air Search and Rescue's Vietnam-era Huey helicopter restoration at Indianapolis Metro Airport.
To get a downloadable PDF membership application see http://www.eaa1311.org/PDF_files/membership_application.pdf
Aviation on the Web
"The gun was a loaded 357 with long barrel and was held to his face. I was asked to do something about it. While running the other way I calmly explained that I investigate crashes and don't disarm crazy people. LOL. I told them to call the cops and boy did they ever come. During my press conference they were arresting the guy on the road behind the media. That is why you can see in the press briefing clip that I am looking at the ground most of the time. Talk about hard to keep my mind on the subject."
Read about this accident and the subsequent story http://www.aero-news.net/index.cfm?ContentBlockID=58d37b3c-571a-4d4c-9863-a66bbdf31528&
To see the video Tim mentions, see http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9gcHg070qv0&feature=player_embedded
Erika LeBaron Update
When you get a chance, send her a "congrats" email to ellebaron@sbcglobal.net
Restaurant Re-opens at Muncie
Mealy isn't just a restaurateur; he is a long-time aviation fan. He owns an Acro Sport and another small aircraft, and is a member of CAA Chapter 226 in Anderson IN. Mealy worked for the Academy of Model Aeronautics in Muncie for many years. He retired a few years and decided to get back to work.
Check out their menu online at http://www.kacyjs.com, then fly or drive over for dinner or lunch. Interested in writing a restaurant review about Kacy J's? We'd love to read about it.
Hitting the Fly-In Circuit
On Saturday morning, April 17, the weather was indeed permitting. From my home base at Boone County Airport, we had a half dozen pilots planning to go and many more passengers. But at the scheduled wheels-up time, only three airplanes were ready and able to go. Chad Williams departed first in his newly-repainted Cessna 172. His father-in-law occupied the right front seat, while his very young sons Clay and Eli nestled in the back. I departed solo immediately thereafter (my passenger was a no-show) and joined up in formation for the short trip. Kristen Henke and Charles Westerfield busied themselves in her Maule but her preflight took longer than planned so they met up with us on the ground at Purdue.
After a while it was time to head back home. I was the first one from our group to be ready, so I received my departure clearance and headed out, then turned southeast and towards home. Williams and Henke were in the air immediately after me. With a nice tailwind and sunny skies, we had an enjoyable flight home. I am looking forward to many more fly-ins this year and hope to see you at some of them, too. Check out the five-state schedule at the end of this newsletter. If you attend any of these, or another not mentioned, we're like to read about it. Send us a report and don't forget the photos!
Poker Run Planned
Airport destinations that will be distributing cards are Glenndale, Kokomo, Logansport, Marion, Frankfort, Sheridan, Wabash, Noblesville, Monticello and Delphi. If a pilot gets to less than five airports, Kokomo will make up the difference so you finish with a full hand. You can also improve your odds by buying additional cards at Kokomo for $5 each.
The Poker Run starts at 7 a.m. and lasts until 5. The group will be serving breakfast from 7-10 and lunch from 11 to 2. All proceed benefit the Indiana Pilots Club, which is non-profit corporation. For more information call 765-319-3295 or download their PDF flyer at http://glenndale.net/images/Poker_Run_Flyer_2010.pdf
Powered Parachute Crashes At Boone County
Chapter 1311 member Chuck Leucht and Charles Westerfield were preparing Leucht's RV-9A for a flight when the accident occurred. According to Leucht, Scott had laid out his powered parachute's canopy in the grass and attempted a take-off. With the light wind coming out of the northeast, the machine weathervaned into the wind. Scott safely shut down when the aircraft ended up in between to hangars. Scott then set up again for another attempt, this time a bit more to the west. He and his wife managed to get the machine into the air then it weathervaned again. The aircraft collided with the hangar about 10 feet above the ground, then fell to the pavement and grinded to a stop about 10 feet in front of an Aeronca Chief, which was undamaged.
Upon hearing the impact, Leucht immediately called 911, while Westerfield headed for his truck to get to the crash scene. The folks answering the 911 call alerting the Boone County Sheriff, Indiana State Police and of course the FAA, who all arrived shortly thereafter, sealing the accident scene and conducting a brief investigation. The aircraft and the Scotts were released thereafter.
Scott holds a Sport Pilot license and recently receiving training in the powered parachute. He bought the machine new; it had only about 3 hours on it at the time of the crash. Being a trailerable aircraft, Scott's powered parachute is not based at Boone County Airport.
Correspondents Needed
We are looking especially for correspondents for some of the upcoming fly-ins. If you are heading to any fly-ins this coming year, would you please consider submitting a story and photo or two about the event? We'd love to hear about it and hope that one of our members or readers will be there and write about it. Please contact the newsletter editor at michaelandkatie1@comcast.net.
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.
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.
Former EAA chapter president Tim LeBaron, who is now an accident investigator with the National Transportation Safety Bureau, sends us the following links describing an accident he recently investigated in Texas. While attempting to meet with relatives of the pilot at the crash site, and man on a riding mower demanded that they get off of his property. When they tried to explain, the man pulled a gun on them. Tim write:
Tim LeBaron reports that his wife, Erika, will graduate from the University of North Texas Health Science Center on May 15 with the degree of Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine. Tim and Erika moved to the Dallas/Fort Worth area several years ago. Erika decided to pursue an advanced degree in medicine. As you may remember, Erika suffered a life-threatening brain hemorrhage last October. She has since fully recovered.
Looking for a fly-out destination for lunch or dinner? The restaurant at Delaware County Airport (Muncie IN) has re-opened with a new owner and new management. Jay Mealy, owner, is now doing business at Kacy J's, which advertises fine food and spirits, is open for lunch and dinner Tuesday through Sunday. Kay J's is closed on Mondays.
By Michael Mossman
It's been a long time since the fly-in season ended last fall at Noblesville Airport. More than six months have passed since there have been any pancake breakfasts, barbecue lunches, fish fries, cook-outs or aviation-related gastronomical adventures requiring aviation gas. Oh, sure, there have been plenty of Saturday morning trips to Greencastle for their breakfast buffet or great lunch menu, but nothing beats flying to a small, general aviation site to see who else flew in for their once-a-year delights. So when I discovered the flyer announcing that Purdue University was again hosting the first fly-in breakfast of the season, I committed to go, weather permitting.
Purdue's tower controllers had no trouble sequencing Williams and I into the pattern. Once on the ground, we had to taxi through a very busy ramp area. Being the first fly-in of the year, lots of hungry pilots turned out for the food. Even though the transient area was filling up fast, the student volunteers were on hand to direct us to our spots. They parked Purdue-grad Chad right under the sign advertising the airport. He was so proud that I was afraid he might repaint his airplane black and gold. Anyway, it made a nice photo op.
After joining up with Kristen and Charles, we toured the ramp, checking out the nice aircraft that had flown in for the fun. There were a couple antique military trainers along with Purdue's brand-new training aircraft. A pair of Pitts flew a low pass along the length of the runway, laying down a long trail of smoke for the crowd's amusement. After landing, they were directed to a parking area nearly in front of all of the other planes, which was along a sloping pavement. After getting the planes pushed into position, they noticed that there were no more chocks to keep the planes from rolling across the field. One of the pilots pulled off his shoe and chocked the Pitts with it!
Once hunger took overtook the desire for sightseeing, our group headed into the hangar where the breakfast was served. Although nearly all of the tables were full, the line was relatively short, with the volunteers dishing out pancakes, sausages, coffee and juice. I looked across the hangar and saw Vern Sullenger and Doug Moncreiff, who were just finishing their breakfast when we arrived. By the time I got through the line they had packed up and were outside checking out the latest arrivals, never seeing me. We caught up later out on the ramp and had a nice visit.
It's nice to see young kids coming out to aviation events. Williams' oldest son, Clay, is an airplane fanatic. He seems to know everyone's airplane and likes to talk anyone about it. Eli is still a bit too young to have an interest but wants to do whatever his brother does. Maybe there are two more future pilots in that family. Williams keeps a pair of kids car seats ready to install in the back of his 172 for the kids to ride in.
The Indiana Pilots Club is planning their annual Poker Run for Saturday, May 22. Pilots will start at any of the 10 named airports and pick up a playing card, then fly to their next airport location, picking up another card. They will then proceed to as many airports as they wish, ultimately ending up at Kokomo Airport, where they pay their $20 registration fee and turn in their cards. At the end of the day the pilot with the best poker hand wins. First place winner gets a ride in a T-6 Texan war bird. Other prizes include Discovery rides that can be given to family and friends.
On Saturday morning, May 15, a powered parachute crashed immediately after take-off at Boone County Airport. Pilot Rick Scott and his passenger, wife Janet, were attempting to depart from the grass runway 36 that morning when their aircraft impacted one of the hangars at the airport. Although the "fuselage" suffered a great deal of damage and the propeller was destroyed, as well as stripping some of the siding off of the hangar, both occupants were uninjured.
Chapter 1311 is always looking for correspondents and contributors to our monthly newsletter. Whenever you have a story or photo that would be of interest to our readers, we would like to publish it.