WV Fun Flyers - April - 2003
A word from your President
Aerial Recon
Do you hunt, hike, ride or participate in other ground bound outside activities? Your plane can provide a whole new way of exploring the areas you frequent.
An aerial view can be an eye opener on how the land is oriented. Most folds tend to build mental maps as we travel on the ground and this is how we navigate from here to there. These mental maps are prone to error from our perceptions of directions and orientation.
Twenty years ago, on my first ultralight flight, above y boyhood stomping grounds, I was amazed at how different the topography was from what I had imagined! Places that seemed miles apart were often just "over the hill" in a straight line distance.
My mental map was revised on that flight. A birds eye view is available to you from your plane to explore hunting areas, hiking trails, or to get a good look at your home town. Even if you do not have a plane, you can explore through the use of topographic maps (which are based on aerial photos).
When Bill Hughes (New Martinsville) planned his amphibious, multi-day, cross country, a few years ago, he used these maps to plot his course and develop a feel for the lay of the land before he flew over the terrain. This helped him to plan his pasage over rough terrain and to plan fuel stops and potential emergency sites.
So, either in the air or on the ground, through maps you can do a little aerial survey and explore the ground in a whole new way. Remember, as you study the ground from the air, to keep your head on a swivel and watch for other traffic - I may just be looking at the same piece of ground!
Note - West Virginia topographic maps can be purchased at Gulliver's Travels in South Charleston. The staff can help you find the maps you need and they run approximatley $8.00 for a map that covers an area close to 6 3/4 miles by 7 1/2 miles. They are available for all areas of the state. If you know of another place to obtain them, please let us know in the newsletter!
I hope to see you at the Fly-In/Camp Out the first weekend in May.
Additional Bits............
Kevin Pauley and Blair Ellison continue the development of the small two and four cylinder Teledyne/Continental four stroke engines. The Mine Max has served as a test bed for the engines over the past year and progress is being made using the 40 cubic inch, two cylinder engine in terms of acceptable performance.
The engines are of low horsepower (12 to 20 hp) but offer fuel economy and reasonable access cost. Several engine and prop variations have been flown and evaluated. If this peaks your interest, talk with Kevin or Blair.
Gretchen and Mickey's T-Bird is flying! After an intensive two months of building, the first flight was completed by test pilot Chuck Lewis on Sunday 4/13/03.
The big (38 foot wingspan), blue and orange (red) T-Bird, was a colorful sight at the field and in the air. All went well and they are looking forward to mastering the skills of flying a tail dragger.
Quite a change for a group of trike pilots!
Curtis Pack
Minutes Saturday, April 6, 2003
Old Business
1. Reminder about the May Day Camp Out/ Meeting.
Please remind everyone to bring a covered dish and a 2-liter of pop. There will be a lot of people at the meeting to eat and we want to be sure to have enough. The weekend prior to the may camp (April 26th and 27th) will be the spring clean up. Even if you can't attend the clean up weekend, please be sure to clean up trash and cut the grass around your hanger area. We want everything to look nice for any visitors. There will be a hot dog roast on Friday night of the May Day camp out and a bean dinner on Sunday of that weekend.
2. Just a reminder to everyone; please try and keep the bathrooms clean. If everyone will clean them as they see that it is needed, we won't have to do major cleaning. Guys this includes you too.
3. We had visitors Gary and Marsha Fisher, who were here looking into joining the club.
New Business
1. We have a new windsock, purchased by Henry and hung by Kevin. If you are the one hanging the windsock next time, grab Kevin's wrench - he left it up there.
2. Mason County is having a breakfast/brunch fly-in on May 11th. This is Mother's Day weekend and all moms get free rides.
3. Kevin will be donating a prop to the club to be raffled off at the May Day camp out meeting.
4. Rubber Chicken Nominations
John - for not flying his plane; he went over the hill as he was starting to take all. He and his plane are fine.
Brett - he failed to hook up the ill switch and the brakes on his trike. When he was taxiing in his subdivision at his home, he almost flipped it over.
John won the Rubber Chicken.
5. New additions to the airfield: Captain's new plane, Mickey and Gretchen's new T-Bird.
6. Kevin has a new (old) Fisher 303.
7. We talked about tables for the lounge again. We are going to see what happens with the offer made to get them from a chruch at a very reasonable price. At the next meeting we will discuss it again.
8. Just a reminder to Gil to mention in each newsletter to have everyone bring a covered dish and pop to each meeting. Putting this information next o or along with the meeting time/date may help to remind people.
(Minutes by Laura Jensen)
Member's Articles
This month's member story was written by Gretchen and Mickey Watson "Construction of our T-Bird II."
Other Articles
Article by Amanda Bohman, Staff Writer Sunday, (Alaska) April 6, 2003:
Gliding Through the Sky
Riding on the back of Rick Rocheleau's AirBorne 2000 ultralight is like riding on the back of a motorcycle but in the sky. Rocheleau, a contractor, is the president of the Midnight Sun Microlights. The Midnight Sun Microlights, a group with about 20 members, hosted its annual Fly-In and Barbecue on Saturday. In a flight at the gathering, Rocheleau's gas-powered ultralight traveled only a few feet before lifting into the air. Rocheleau used a bar to control the glider-like wings.
The pilot soared above the Chena Flood Control Project, then swooped down to within a few hundred fee of a moose bedded down in a cluster of trees.
"It's a stress reliever for me." Rocheleau said of flying his 400-pound open-air aircraft. "It's just being free and out there in the open. It flies like a bird." Construction worker Gene Rahoi, who has a bad back, said flying an ultralight is better than snowmachining.
"My favorite thing is running the rivers. It's like snowmachining with no bumps," he said. "It's the best when you're on skis. You can just land anywhere. This is an affordable way to go flying and have fun," he said. Ultralights cost between $16,000 and $30,000, according to Rocheleau.
Gil Watkins, News Editor
WV Fun Flyers
2721 Riverside Drive, St. Albans, WV 25177
304-727-6331
Email: gil@wvfunflyers.com