1 ~\ J\ G J\ Z I I I r' - American Bonanza Society

Irequired slightly less than nine minutes, the cruise legs of thenight were wlel'ellljll/. and all 93 aircraft safely landed in 15minutes.There were no takeoff aborts and spacing on finalapproach yielded no go-arou nds. This was, by far. the best yearfor radio discipline - there was a 22-minute period of radiosilence!Upon our arrival. we were treated to a pizza, beer andmargaritas party hosted by the ever-generous KevinO'Halioran. As a surprise, when we piled out of our Bonanzasand Barons upon anival. all of us were wearing T-shins with acartoon drawing of Kevin in his beloved Debonair. After tentswere pitched, Kevin also threw an ice cream social for theB20sh kids.L-3 Communications hosted a hangar party in Rockfordthe evening before the night; Hawker Beechcraft provided anexcellent breakfast buffet the morning of the night; and GAMIsponsored the big raffie party Sunday in the B20sh camp areawith dozens of excellent items donated by generous aviationproduct-service suppliers.B20sh XIX was characterized by its community ofskilled pilots training to ensure safety, in order to assemble andenjoy great tlying, great food and most importantly, eachother's great company. Our common threads remain a passionfor tlying and for amazing Beechcraft nying machines.Texas V-Tails honor their ownFor the past several years, Bonanzas to Oshkosh has beenprivileged to ny in the AirVenture Showcase-of-Flight Hourthat precedes the professional air show each day. Each yearShowcase time becomes more precious as aircraft manufacturerstry to purchase it to show off their designs.This year EAA Air Boss Joe Schumacher carne throughwith a time slot for eight members of the Texas V-Tails tlyingteam to perform their 8-mi nute routine before the crowd ofroughly 80,000. Once again they nai led their times and tlewtheir positions with accuracy.Their hard work and sk illfu l airmanship was displayedwith fine precision as they were led by Wayne "Smudge"Mudge. a former USAF fighter pilot. It was fitting thatSmudge led, as his Bonanza is a 1968 Model 36 and this is the40th anniversary of the "Stretch Debbie."Smudge's wingmen included Jim Averett, Mike Parrish,Leldon Locke, Ray Lewis. Joe Sasser and B20 sh founderWayne Collins.If you were counting, on ly seven pilots were mentioned.The eighth team member. Bill Whitefield, bowed out at the Io;tminute when his father Don passed away unexpectedly Friday,July 25. Don was a B-24 navigator in the Mighty 8th, tlyingout of England in World War II. In honor of Don and Bill, duringthe team's signature 'T for Texas" formation pass overAirshow Center, they executed the Missing Man formation.@Anend a Savvy Owner Seminarand learn to save $1,0005 onmaintenance, year after yealiIn one informalion-packed weekend, Mike Busch(A&P/lA) can leach you to: Make smarter decisionsabout engine overhaul. cylinder replacement and otherhigh-ticket items • Communicate confidently with yourA&P or maintenance shop · Drastically reduce surprises,downtime and aggravation • Cape with mechanicalsthat occur away from homebase • Fly a safer, more rel i­able aircraft while saving literally S 1 ,0005 on parts andlabor, year after year.Be sure to catch the last seminarin 2008!Oct 11-12 Santa Maria, CA (SMX)You'll receive a $50 early sign-up discount if you registerat least 45 days before the class start date. If youregister early and have to concel, your fee will berefunded or transferred to another class. View furtherdetails and comments from previous seminar graduatesat .. I>.sa '0' • . C:OI ~Ol" " . 702-395-8 j 09ABS September 2008 www.bonanza.org Page 10967