This Month's Meeting: - EAA Chapter 1000 Home Page

THE LEADING EDGELast Month's MeetingEAA Chapter 1000Scobee AuditoriumUSAF Test Pilot School, Edwards AFB CA17 October 2006Gary Aldrich, PresidingThe monthly meeting was held at the Edwards AFBTest Pilot School Auditorium, with the featuredpresentation being a “death by Powerpoint ® ” review of“Paco, Lothar and Erbman Do Oshkosh”. KommandantGary Aldrich, Commandant Andy Gerner and RussErb discussed their recent trip to EAA Air Adventure 2006with a 377 (!) slide briefing. Our intrepid trio crewed theVC-170 Fightin’ Skywagon including a stop in KRAP.Having had their fill of KRAP, they arrived at KOSH thenext day and were able to snag the last parking spot.Unfortunately, it was at the farthest possible point fromtheir accommodations provided by Rob “Zipppydogg”Gaddy. Fortunately, ground transportation was providedwith the world’s only VW stretch Beetle.Lots of nice pictures, Russ played “name thatairplane”, and complained about his capital expenditure forhis Bearhawk avionics.Nearing the lowest point of the Powerpoint ® phugoid,the Kommandant exercised his keen ability to sense themood of the audience and his own hunger pains, anddeclared that “Victory!” had been won. Per our custom(and an actual chapter bylaw), we exited the TPSauditorium with wreckless abandon (there were norecorded wrecks) and proceeded to the BK lounge andconsumed mass quantities.We also discussed the movie “Flyboys”, and those ofus who had seen it expressed our disappointment at theextent of CGI usage, and the improbable likelihood that theFrench would provide brand new Nieuports to noviceAmerican pilots, and that the German squadron wascomposed completely of red colored triplanes, except forthe really bad guy whose triplane was black (of course).- Kent “Cobra” TroxelMinister of PropagandaKommandant’s KornerI’m sad toreport that themighty VC-180 washangar-bound from 21September (when Imade a quick out-andbackto SBA) until last Sunday(5 November) when Ms Kommandant, 1 st Puppy, and Itraveled up to Kern Valley (L05). This time I can’t blamethe inactivity on some new gadget I was installing, badweather…or even on some grievous maintenance issue.Nope, the problem was lack of aircrew; or to be moreprecise, lack of time for the aircrew to aviate. The dreaded“AuSepTober” conglomeration of events conspired toground the large majority of the Chapter 1000 executivetransport fleet. With that as a lead-in, I wouldn’t blameyou if you skipped directly to the “Aircraft Spotters’ Quiz”.(not included this issue – EE Zurg)However, I will tell you that I was surprised by anoticeable degradation in my piloting skills after thismonth-long dry spell. This occurred even after havinglogged well over 50 hours in the Skywagon during thepreceding two months. I’m not talking about basic aircrafthandling skills…those never were very sharp. I’mreferring to the “small stuff” (that can bite you just aquickly as the big stuff) like forgetting to set the DG beforetakeoff and trimming the airplane at cruise altitude andthen realizing the prop was at full pitch. I probably wouldhave forgotten to turn on the transponder, too, if Mr.Garmin hadn’t configured it to switch on automaticallyduring the takeoff roll. (Note to Ms Kommandant, whoreads this stuff…at no time was safety of flightcompromised!) More good news is that the weather wasgorgeous and the flight plan so simple as to allow the rustflakes to fall harmlessly off without serious impact to themission. Had I been launching off into the clag…atnight…for a bladder-busting duration followed by alocalizer back-course to minimums in moderateicing…well, the story might not have had as happy anending. As it was, by the time of the letdown into KernValley’s runway 17, I felt more comfortable and “back inthe game”. After packing away a goodly portion of thebest airport-blueberry-pancakes on the planet, I rewardedmyself with a flawless approach to a “are we down yet?”squeaker of a landing back at the home ‘drome.Why was I surprised by the above? Having amassednearly 4000 hours and 34 years of piloting stuff, I guess Ithought I was immune to rust. I should know better.There’s a reason for the endless stream of touch-and-go’sthat occur in the Edwards pattern everyday. As seeminglyun-exciting as pattern work is, there’s as much value inpracticing the “small stuff’ as there is in making repeatable,world-class touchdowns. I hereby resolve to waste…Imean spend more time practicing the small stuff…and youshould, too.Hey! Here’s some advance intel…Festivus will againbe celebrated in fine style on the “normal” Decembermeeting night (19 Dec) at the Kommandant’s Kwarters.In keeping with the tradition we started last year, there willbe a gift-thievery session so prepare a suitable somethingto surrender. There will be more details forthcoming in theDecember issue of the ‘Edge. I’m working on MsKommandant to get her to generate some of her famous“death-by-chocolate” dessert. This would entail, of course,soiling her newly-renovated kitchen…something thathasn’t happened thus far. (Just kidding, dear!)Check six…and get out there and practice!- Gary AldrichKommandingPAGE 2

Tehachapi Celebrationof Flight Young EaglesReportMUROC EAA CHAPTER 1000 NEWSLETTERSaturday morning,October 14, 2006 dawned inTehachapi under a soggy 200-foot overcast which persistedmuch of the morning. A largecrowd convened to partake of the 7am pancake breakfast,bake sale, and aircraft static display, but those who showedup for Young Eagles rides were asked to try again Sundaymorning. Well, they took us up on it and by Sunday noonwe had given 41 kids, as well as several parents andyounger siblings, a taste of what it’s like to “break the surlybonds”.Thanks to all the pilots and ground crew who wereable to juggle their weekend schedules and commit asecond day to making the Young Eagles portion of theTehachapi Celebration of Flight a success. Area pilotsparticipating in the rally were:Ron Alldredge’s T-34Ron Alldredge T-34 Mentor 4Miles Bowen Cessna 170B 13Eric Hansen Cessna 195A 11Jim Roberts Bellanca 14-19-2 11Hal Underwood Thorp T-18 2Ron, Miles, Eric and Jim are Tehachapi area residentsand members of the Tehachapi Society of Pilots. Specialthanks to Lancaster resident and EAA Chapter 49 memberHal Underwood for flying up in his Thorpe T-18 to help usout. Your time and effort is much appreciated!Those helping with registration and ground crewduties included:Miles Bowen’s Cessna 170B, Eric Hansen’s Cessna195A, and Hal Underwood’s Thorp T-18Paula AlldredgeKaren BowenReggie PulleyLucia Sandy- Miles BowenDennis BrimleyHenry ForbesKevin RoskamProject Police at Airventure 2006: A PictorialEssayJim Roberts’ Bellanca 14-19-2We arrived just in time to get one of the last spaces—cleverly placed as far as possible from our campsitePAGE 3

THE LEADING EDGEAll aircraft must be tied down. EAA does not wantairplanes cruising the flight line looking for other cuteairplanes and making little pedal planes.The world’s newest P-51A. This Allison-poweredMustang has been built from the original drawingsover the last decade or so.Sure, Rank Has Its Privileges (RHIP), but we’re notsure that extends to Oshkosh transportationReplica of Alberto Santos-Dumont’s 14 bis, sponsoredby Embraer of Brazil. Built by Alan Calassa, it has atotal of over 50 flight hours on it. The original had 20minutes.A first for Oshkosh this year—a visit by a flying AvroLancaster (far less common than B-17s or even B-24s).This one is from the Canadian Warplane HeritageMuseum.It’s no wonder this flew with a V-8 engine of somesmall horsepower and a highly efficient canoe paddlepropPAGE 4

MUROC EAA CHAPTER 1000 NEWSLETTEREclipse was on hand for their big semi-certifiedannouncement. In the building was a cutaway “PartialEclipse”Right next to the Cessna 172 was the prototype CessnaSport, Cessna’s entry into the LSA arena. At thispoint, the interior was not complete, but this airplanehas since flown.Honda had their jet on display after finally deciding toproduce some. The engine pylon has a noticeableinward camber that no one seems to have talked about.One of many One Six Right booths, this one with aPiper Cub suspended to replicate the cover photo (seeinset). Evil Editor Zurg has the DVD, and may share itfor a future meeting.Grandpappy of them all—the first Cessna 172 soldWhat to do when Garmin throws you a curve—AOPAalready had a bunch of these printed up with a Garmin396 pictured. Then word leaked out of the release ofthe Garmin 496, and since you can’t give out last year’smodel, they quickly patched the posters rather thanreprinting themPAGE 5

THE LEADING EDGEThis P-38 escaped the tie-down clause, and was seenroaming the grounds in many places. This one is fromthe Chino Planes of Fame museum, and used to bepainted as “Joltin’ Josie”B-25s (or in this case, a Marine PBJ) have strangeeffects on the Kommandant. He seems to take on thecharacteristics of their nose artThis P-40K was rebuilt from a very damaged hulk.There’s not a lot of original Curtiss parts in it, but therebuild is extremely authenticHis mood miraculously improved once we got him awayfrom the B-25 areaThe Kommandant noticed that the text that wascommon to all P-40s was stenciled on, but the textunique to this tail number was hand-writtenApparently one of the privileges not extended to highranking Air Force personnel is the ability to enter offlimitssections of the flight linePAGE 6

MUROC EAA CHAPTER 1000 NEWSLETTERThese gentlemen next to the Ju-52 “Tante Ju” told methat this was Randy Kelly’s dream German motorcycleOutstanding Workmanship Kit Built RV-8, showingthat insanely pristine and complicated paint jobs canstill win awards, another “Rosales” effectOne of several Sea FuriesThe Little Wing Autogyro with a Rotec radial enginemounted. NLE Erbman talks about building a two seatversion as a future project...that is, if Erb the Elder canever resurrect the set of plans he lost...TBM Avenger—some engineering solutions justcontinue to fascinate usA Rutan Defiant, the base design from which BrianMartinez is creating his own airplane (see it on theProject Tour)PAGE 7

THE LEADING EDGEThis all-wood Falco was the Grand Champion PlansBuiltLancair 4s aren’t all that uncommon anymore, but thisone flew up all the way from Argentina. And youthought we had a long cross-country.Ray Jarvis’ full scale Nieuport 28 with a Rotec R3600radial engine. Built by Robert Baslee, the guy whobuilt the airplanes for the Flyboys movieFirst public showing of the RV-12, Van’s entry into theLSA world. What about the RV-11? That’s amotorglider than hasn’t been released yetAn endangered species—actual flying Prescott Pushersare only slightly more common than Dodo birds.Another early promising design with a lot of hype thatjust couldn’t find a good solution to longitudinalstability with a very short coupled tailPAGE 8A 1956 Piper PA-11 Cub Special. Only produced forone year, the Kommandant learned to fly in this type ofairplane with this paint scheme. The big change fromthe J-3 was moving the gas tank to the right wing sothat it could be soloed from the front seat

MUROC EAA CHAPTER 1000 NEWSLETTERThe highly complex instrument panel that theKommandant had to learnSean D. Tucker is back in the airshow business withthis new airplane. Was there any doubt? Never one topass up an opportunity, there was a big picture of hiscrashed airplane and him with his parachute at theSoftie parachutes booth.Legend Aircraft picked the PA-11 to copy for theirLSA. It can be soloed from the front seat. The PA-12was too big for the LSA rules with a two-place rear seatLothar spent some time looking at the “vaporware”products. This was a HUD you could retrofit to yourairplane, though I’m not really sure why you wouldwant to.So what’s so special about a Seawind? This one sportsa sign saying “To be CERTIFIED 2006”. Very similarto the sign we saw on it two years ago that said “To beCERTIFIED 2004”. Maybe they’d finish up if theydidn’t spend all of their money reprinting signs.This way to the seaplane base. Free bus to get there, $2fare to get back. Clever system.PAGE 9

THE LEADING EDGEValet parking at the Seaplane BasePresumably the oldest flying airplane on the field, aLaird Swallow. This was built by Matty Laird’scompany, where Clyde Cessna, Walter Beech, andLloyd Stearman got their start. It is owned by Charlieand Chuck Laird, presumably descendents of Matty.This example has been modified with brakes and atailwheel.Cessna C-something landing at the Seaplane BaseI took this picture because the paint scheme was verysimilar to mine. Turns out this was a Shell companyairplane flown by Jimmy Doolittle. JDIII told us abouthow Granddad picked it up at the factory and severalother things.Speaking of complex panels, this IFR setup was seen ina Kitfox (!). Thankfully it includes the all-importantADF and CD player. I wonder if he has modified it toallow him to plug in his iPod? How many extraalternators can you hang on a Rotax 912?Ever wonder what happens if you’re not carefulblowing that canopy? Note the distortion.PAGE 10

MUROC EAA CHAPTER 1000 NEWSLETTERFord sponsored the Beach Boys in concert on Monday.What’s not so obvious is that it’s raining during theconcertThe largest missing man formation I’ve ever seen—aLancaster, two B-17s, and a B-24 (LB-30)Start of the EAA Chapter 439 Swinefest, which westayed long enough to attend this year. Well worth it.The annual Bearhawk Barbecue, or “cookout” as LeighKelly would insistThe Navy Blue Angels did a fly-by show this year. I’mnot sure what the fuel truck had to do with it.Our host, Rob “Zipppydoggg” Gaddy with the limosees us off Saturday morning.Web Site UpdateAs of 12 Nov 2006, the hit counter stood at 111618,for a hit rate of about 25 hits/day for the last month.Just a reminder that the EAA Chapter1000 Web Site is hosted courtesy ofQuantum Networking Solutions, Inc.You can find out more about Qnet at http://www.qnet.comor at 661-538-2028.PAGE 11

THE LEADING EDGEChapter 1000 CalendarNov 21: EAA Chapter 1000 Monthly Meeting, 5:00 p.m., EdwardsAFB. USAF Test Pilot School, Scobee Auditorium. (661) 609-0942Dec 5: EAA Chapter 49 Monthly Meeting, 7:30 p.m., General William J.Fox Field, Lancaster, CA. (661) 948-0646Dec 12: EAA Chapter 1000 Board of Directors Meeting, 5:00 p.m., HighCay, 4431 Knox Ave, Rosamond CA. (661) 609-0942Dec 19: EAA Chapter 1000 Annual Festivus Celebration, 6:00 p.m.,Kommandant’s Kwarters. Quartz Hill CA. (661) 609-0942Jan 2: EAA Chapter 49 Monthly Meeting, 7:30 p.m., General William J.Fox Field, Lancaster, CA. (661) 948-0646Jan 9: EAA Chapter 1000 Board of Directors Meeting, 5:00 p.m., HighCay, 4431 Knox Ave, Rosamond CA. (661) 609-0942Jan 16: EAA Chapter 1000 Monthly Meeting, 5:00 p.m., EdwardsAFB. USAF Test Pilot School, Scobee Auditorium. (661) 609-0942Feb 6: EAA Chapter 49 Monthly Meeting, 7:30 p.m., General William J.Fox Field, Lancaster, CA. (661) 948-0646Feb 13: EAA Chapter 1000 Board of Directors Meeting, 5:00 p.m., HighCay, 4431 Knox Ave, Rosamond CA. (661) 609-0942Feb 20: EAA Chapter 1000 Monthly Meeting, 5:00 p.m., EdwardsAFB. USAF Test Pilot School, Scobee Auditorium. (661) 609-0942Mar 6: EAA Chapter 49 Monthly Meeting, 7:30 p.m., General William J.Fox Field, Lancaster, CA. (661) 948-0646Mar 13: EAA Chapter 1000 Board of Directors Meeting, 5:00 p.m., HighCay, 4431 Knox Ave, Rosamond CA. (661) 609-0942Mar 20: EAA Chapter 1000 Monthly Meeting, 5:00 p.m., EdwardsAFB. USAF Test Pilot School, Scobee Auditorium. (661) 609-0942May 19: Sixteenth Annual Scotty Horowitz Going Away Fly-In,Rosamond Skypark (L00), Rosamond CA. (661) 256-3806MUROC EAA CHAPTER 1000 NEWSLETTERTo join Chapter 1000, send your name, address, EAA number, and $20 dues to:EAA Chapter 1000, Doug Dodson, 4431 Knox Ave, Rosamond CA 93560-6428.Membership in National EAA ($40, 1-800-843-3612) is required.Contact our officers by e-mail:President/Flight Advisor Gary Aldrich: gary.aldrich@pobox.comVice President George Gennuso: pulsar1@sbcglobal.netSecretary Kent Troxel: kenttroxel@sbcglobal.netTreasurer Doug Dodson: douglas.dodson@pobox.comTechnical Counselors: Gary Sobek GASobek@Comcast.netRon Wilcox avi.ator@verizon.net Bill Irvine wgirvine@yahoo.comEAA Chapter 1000 Technical AssistantsComposite ConstructionDoug Dodson douglas.dodson@pobox.com 661-256-7276George Gennuso pulsar1@sbcglobal.net 661-265-0333Brian Martinez brianmmartinez@cs.com 661-943-5379Bob Waldmiller waldmilr@qnet.com 661-256-0932Wood ConstructionBob Waldmiller waldmilr@qnet.com 661-256-0932Aluminum Sheet Metal ConstructionBill Irvine wgirvine@yahoo.com 661-948-9310Miles Bowen cessna170bdriver@yahoo.com 661-822-0806Russ Erb erbman@pobox.com 661-256-3806Welding/Welded Steel Tube ConstructionRuss Erb erbman@pobox.com 661-256-3806Engine InstallationBob Waldmiller waldmilr@qnet.com 661-256-0932Doug Dodson douglas.dodson@pobox.com 661-256-7276Electrical SystemsMiles Bowen cessna170bdriver@yahoo.com 661-822-0806Instrumentation and avionics requirements for VFR/IFRGary Aldrich gary.aldrich@pobox.com 661-609-0942Inputs for the newsletter or any comments can be sent to RussErb, 661-256-3806, by e-mail to erbman@pobox.comFrom the Project Police legal section: As you probably suspected, contents of The Leading Edgeare the viewpoints of the authors. No claim is made and no liability is assumed, expressed orimplied as to the technical accuracy or safety of the material presented. The viewpoints expressedare not necessarily those of Chapter 1000 or the Experimental Aircraft Association. ProjectPolice reports are printed as they are received, with no attempt made to determine if they containthe minimum daily allowance of truth. So there!THE LEADING EDGEMUROC EAA CHAPTER 1000 NEWSLETTERC/O Russ Erb3435 Desert Cloud AveRosamond CA 93560-7692http://www.eaa1000.av.orgADDRESS SERVICE REQUESTEDTHIS MONTH’S HIGHLIGHTS:PROJECT TOUR 21 NOVTHE KORRODED KOMMANDANTTSP YOUNG EAGLES REPORTOSHKOSH PICTORIAL ESSAY