WV Fun Flyers - October - 2003
Winter Comments From Your President
Cold in the Cockpit
As the crisp, fall mornings dawn we become increasingly keen of the cool (cold) air when we fly. Some will merely put the doors on and turn the heater up and continue their flight, warm and cozy. Most of us, however, will have to deal with a certain amount of air "leakage" in our aircraft (whether it is a gale force leak as in a Pterodactyl or an open window leak as in a Challenger).
We can prepare by first sealing air leaks in the obvious places, such as, pod landing gear openings, windshield edges and control entrances to the cockpit. After winterizing the plane we must then turn to preparing the pilot.
(In case you haven't noticed the trike has no pod, windshield or doors to seal, so the pilot is required to "wear" the cockpit for warmth).
To begin with:
1. Full face helmet or helmet with a shield.
2. Neck gaiter/wind seal.
3. Multilayer (inner/outer) gloves.
4. Insulated layer next to the body (long underwear).
5. Wind proof and insulated outer layer (ski parka, pants, coveralls, snowmobile suit , etc.).
6. Insulated boots (moon boots, snowmobile boots, mukluks).
Remember it is important to have both insulation and windproof ness (water resistance is secondary as it is usually cold enough to freeze any precipitation).
Plan now so you can enjoy those lovely, clear, "see forever" fall and winter days.
Fly Safe - by Curtis Pack
Mini - Fly In a great Success
On Oct. 11th, the 7th Annual Leon Community Oktoberfest was held on a beautiful fall day and a few of the West Virginia Fun Flyers showed up to help out. The festivities began with a parachute drop/flag display with the national anthem by our very own "Ron the parachute guy". He was assisted in getting altitude by Mickey several times during the day. Kevin provided a candy drop for the kids with several bombing runs of candy strewn about.
Ten ultralights flew over from the field to land on the somewhat rough field, brush hogged out by Mickey Watson with the generous permission of Henry Upton. The crowd really enjoyed seeing the cars and the planes close up with several introductory lessons given by Dave G., Mickey W., Steve D. and myself. By 3 p.m. the pig was ready and folks (pilots and non-pilots alike) increased their wing loading. Steve and I were able to test the Airborne Outback's gear on the rough field and even though there was a lot of "Jelly" in the jar the Airborne gear held firm and the trike performed flawlessly (Steve did a good job as pilot as well).
Rainey was able to claim this as his "first" fly-in although the total distance is probably no more than an 1/4 mile away from the field. We really enjoyed having all the planes over . Thank you to Melvin, Captain, Linzy, Rainey, Glen, Bret, Mickey, Gretchen, Ron, Rick, Kevin and all others who flew or drove over and lended their support including Karla, Laura, Kathy, Rose. The community had a great time and enjoyed the festivities. Curtis
Minutes
Old Business
We have new chairs and a fire extinguisher in the lounge.
New Business
1) New road behind the hangers is done.
Some of the fence is down and some is still scheduled to come out. The plan is to put down gravel. The club is not paying for the gravel, so if you would like to make a donation toward the costs please give your money to Captain Rogers.
2) Curtis has received calls with regards to low fly by’s in communities close the airfield. THIS IS A SERIOUS ISSUE!!!! Please watch your altitude!!!
People in the communities surrounding the airfield are watching us when we fly and become concerned when we fly low and buzz fields and people's homes. This is a very serious issue because we not only want a good reputation and good working relationship with the towns around us, but we also don’t want community concerns to lead them to call the FAA and have the FAA out to the field to investigate.
3) There will be an Oktoberfest celebration for the local community on the second Saturday of October. It will be held at Curtis’ clinic. Captain and Mickey mowed a landing strip over there so any one who wants to fly over and display their plane is welcome to do so.
4) Steve told us his story of real dead stick landing survival.
5) The guys will cook for the ladies in November. It was decided to have spaghetti. Curtis, Chuck, Mickey, and Rick will be in charge of bringing the sauce, spaghetti noodles, bread and salad. All the other guys are asked to bring a dessert and a bottle of pop.
6) Chicken Award - Lindsey was the only nominee and so he won. He was nominated for not making good preparations to take off after making an emergency landing in a field. The field he landed in had an area that had the vegetation cut down and was smooth enough allow him to take off. Instead of pushing his plane over to that area, Lindsey choose to take off from the bumpy area with the high weeds that he had landed in. Needless to say, he did not make it out. Fellow Fun Flyers drove over across the river and hauled his plane back to the airfield.
7) Eagle Award: We had four winners:
Steve for making a good dead stick landing under difficult conditions.
Gretchen for all her work on our Website.
John Bolton and Terri Hamilton for a great job on the pig roast last month.
Captain for all of his work on the new road.
8) Need to remind everyone to keep a tight pattern so you can make it back to the airport if your engine stops during your landing approach.
9)The December meeting, which is our Christmas Party, will be held at Curtis and Kathy’s house.
(Thanks again to the Pack’s for letting us have our party there!)
10) Bob McBee won the 50/50 drawing.
Laura Jensen (Thank you Laura: Gil)
Fly - In
Wood County Fly-In - November 8th, 2003. The Wood County Civil Air Patrol is sponsoring an informal Fly-In at Wood County Airport. They have invited us (WVFF) to attend. Remember, Wood County (Parkersburg) is controlled and a radio would be a good idea. You may also call the tower ahead of time and ask for permission and a time of arrival. Sounds like a good way to wrap up the fly-in season.
THIRD FLOCK OF WHOOPING CRANES HEADS SOUTH BEHIND ULTRALIGHTS
October 16, 2003 - Operation Migration's third ultralight-led whooping crane migration began Thursday morning at 7:44 local time when 15 juvenile whooping cranes took off on the first leg of their 1,228-mile journey south from Necedah National Wildlife Refuge in Wisconsin to their wintering habitat at Chassahowitzka National Wildlife Refuge, along Florida's Gulf coast.
They flew for 23 miles before reaching their first stopover in southern Juneau County. Nine birds flew all the way to the stopover behind the ultralights, while the remaining six cranes are being tracked by Whooping Crane Eastern Partnership crew members and will be transported to the stopover site.
"We're fairly confident now that these birds are away from the familiarity of Necedah refuge, they'll more consistently follow the ultralight aircraft," said Operation Migration's Joe Duff, the lead ultralight pilot.
The Whooping Crane Eastern Partnership (WCEP), an international coalition of public and private groups, is organizing the effort to reintroduce this highly imperiled species in eastern North America.
"As we see a new class of whooping cranes off on their first journey south, we are building on two years of success with this unprecedented project," said John Christian of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, a founding member of WCEP and the agency that oversees the National Wildlife Refuge System. "We are also anticipating that the first two groups of cranes will make the migration this year unaided by ultralights. Follow the progress of the migration, as well as of the cranes from 2001 and 2002 on their solo migration, at www.operationmigration.org
For the lucky recipients of the RUBBER CHICKEN AWARD past, present and future, the following should be of special interest...
Grandpa Boltons Recipies for Rubber Chicken
Baked Rubber Chicken
Take two rubber chickens (to have two the blunder must have been a doozy), cut carefully down the back from the neck to the tail with a sharp knife or scissors, stuff chicken cavities with prepared stove top or your favorite stuffing recipe, salt and pepper to taste, sprinkle with a pinch of thyme and poultry seasoning. Bake in a medium oven for 15 minutes. Remove stuffing carefully from chickens cavity and serve with potatoes, peas, carrots etc. and a nice cut of edible meat. Do not attempt to eat rubber chickens as they are tough and chewy but can now be used as galoshes or funky bedroom, slippers. GrandPa Bolton.
BAKED STUFFED RUBBER CHICKEN By Lindsey Hickman
1 rubber chicken, 1 cup melted butter, 1 cup stuffing (Pepperidge Farm is good), 1 cup uncooked popcorn (ORVILLE REDENBACHERS LOW FAT), Salt/pepper to taste. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Brush chicken well with melted butter, salt, and pepper. Fill cavity with stuffing and popcorn. Place in baking pan with the neck end toward the back of the oven. Listen for the popping sounds. When the chicken's butt blows the oven door open and the chicken flies across the room, it is done.
Ultralight News EXTRA
Thought some of you might be interested to read this. It was posted on another list in reply to a question asked of Sue Gardner (FAA Administrator).
"The ultralight-like aircraft (single or two-place that exceed part 103) or two-place training vehicles (which should be registered with association) do not have to be registered anywhere to register the aircraft with the FAA and receive and "N" number and then have the aircraft inspected by an FAA Designated Airworthiness Representative (Amateur-built or Light-sport DAR). The FAA is telling the industry that you have two years (24 months) to register for an "N" number and 3 years (36 months) to find a DAR and have it inspected. Upon inspection the aircraft will be issued an experimental light-sport airworthiness certificate and the appropriate operating limitations. We do not care where the aircraft has been, how it has been built, or how it was operated (legally or not). All we are looking for is that it is in a safe condition for flight. We will provide more details as to what that means in the guidance we are developing, but it is pretty common sense stuff. The pilots need to be registered with the organization in order to credit ultralight experience towards FAA pilot certificate experience requirements. This is because we are recognizing the FAA recognized ultralight organizations training programs that must have been completed prior to becoming an student pilot, ultralight pilot, or instructor pilot. OUR 1st GOAL: Certify all illegal and legal two-place training vehicles within three years. We are looking for compliance with the new rule and will be as proactive as possible in the transition period to gain that compliance. OUR 2nd GOAL: After the transition period -- Identify any illegal ultralight-like aircraft and pilots that are still operating in the system and enforce the regulations. The two-place will be easy to identify, if it has two-seats you need an "N" number, airworthiness certificate, operating limitations, and the pilot needs a pilot certificate. The single place will be more difficult, but we are working on a plan to address that so our inspector workforce know what to look for. This means we NEED USUA and the other organizations to help bring these aircraft in by streamlining the certification process for them, help to transition the ultralight pilots and instructors by building training programs so they know what to study to pass the knowledge tests and practical tests (we assume they know how to fly and understand part 103, but may not know the applicable regulations in 61, 91, NTSB rules, weather, airspace). I hope this helps...Sue Gardner, AFS-802 National Program Manager Sport and Recreational Aviation."
HOMEBUILT AIRCRAFT NOW TOTAL MORE THAN 25,000 IN U.S.
EAA SEES MORE GROWTH AHEAD
EAA AVIATION CENTER, OSHKOSH, Wis. - (Oct. 14, 2003)
While the general aviation industry has had its ups and downs over the past 25 years, the homebuilt aircraft segment has shown steady growth and now comprises more than 15 percent of the single-engine piston-powered general aviation fleet.
The Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA), which has provided support and activities for aircraft builders for more than 50 years, sees this trend continuing as the total number of homebuilts registered has surpassed 25,000 in the United States alone.
"While EAA has always been open to anyone with an interest in any facet of aviation, its core constituency has been those who build their own aircraft," said Tom Poberezny, EAA President. "A vast majority of those 25,000 homebuilt aircraft builders and owners are members of EAA, because there they find the information, support and activities they need. We look forward to serving them even more extensively in the future, along with the increasing number of people who discover that a homebuilt aircraft is a safe and fun to enjoy the world of personal flight."
Since the late 1980s, about 1,000 additional homebuilt aircraft have received their airworthiness certificates and been added to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) register each year. In many of those years, the number of new homebuilt aircraft registered annually surpassed the number of factory-built airplanes produced. Even as factory-built aircraft enjoyed a resurgence in the late 1990s and early in this decade, the number of homebuilt aircraft continued to grow.
That growth can be traced to a number of factors, such as:
Impressive and positive safety and operating histories of homebuilt aircraft;
The growing number of aircraft kits that allow builders to create a personal aircraft with enhanced quality and standardization;
EAA programs that assist builders with solid, usable evaluations of an aircraft project and its owner's flying skills;
Improved information capabilities, including through organizations such as EAA as well as informal groups such as those found on the World Wide Web;
Exciting new designs and performance standards that fit an individual's flying preferences.
"What homebuilt aircraft offer are a myriad of choices to the pilot," said Bob Warner, EAA Executive Vice President. "No matter what type of flying a person enjoys, there is a homebuilt aircraft that can help him or her realize their dream. In addition, the true education and recreation aspects of aircraft building remain, just as they did when modern homebuilding began more than 50 years ago."
Warner added that he foresees continued growth in the homebuilt fleet as new models are introduced, including many that will be eligible within the upcoming sport pilot/lightsport aircraft standards expected to be published early in 2004.
EAA offers a large number of services for aircraft builders, such as one-toone Technical Counselor and Flight Advisor programs; Aviation Information Services that provides background information on almost any model of homebuilt aircraft; SportAir Workshops at many locations throughout North America that teach the key concepts of aircraft construction and restoration; local grassroots support through EAA's extensive Chapter network; and many more. A new program to benefit aircraft builders will debut soon, as EAA has worked with FAA to develop standards for Designated Airworthiness Representatives, considerably shortening the time period needed to receive approval to fly a completed aircraft.
EAA, The Leader in Recreational Aviation
Gil Watkins, News Editor
WV Fun Flyers
2721 Riverside Drive, St. Albans, WV 25177
304-727-6331
Email: gil@wvfunflyers.com