The EAA Chapter 79 Newsletter

The EAA Chapter 79 Newsletter
“All the News That’s Fit to Print about Airplanes”
P.O. Box 11132 Spokane, WA 99211-1132
www.eaa79.org
December 2010
Chapter Meeting:
Christmas Party, Saturday, Dec. 11
Elks Lodge, Happy hour starts at 6:00 p.m.
This month’s program:
CHRISTMAS PARTY
This year’s Christmas party is once
again being held at the Elks Lodge at
2605 Robie Court. To get there take the
Pines exit from I-90 and go north to Marietta. Turn West on Marietta till you
come to Robie. Turn South on Robie,
head up the hill where on top you will
find the Elks Lodge. Its right behind the
big water tank.
Dinner is your choice of Prime
Rib or Salmon. Cost is $25 per person.
If you want to attend, but have not yet
purchased your ticket, please do so ASAP. The restaurant needs a
count for the number of dinners. Once again we will have a live auction following dinner, awards and Young Eagles recognitions. Items
for auction include: Boeing 40C ride, T6 Texan ride, all day boat ride
on a lake of your choice, weekend use of a Montana cabin, Stearman
Ride, Europa motor glider ride, home made wall hanging, Garmin
GPS, 3rd class medical exam, aviation goodie basket from Western
Aviation, some avgas from Spokane Airways, and a biennial flight review. Also, you will have a chance at winning a raffle prize of 25 gallons of avgas just by attending. Chapter 79 member John Labbe will
be providing the live music.
LAST MONTH’S MEETING - WEATHER
Mike Fries, of the National Weather Service, was our guest speaker
last month. He gave us a good education, on weather systems, icing,
and radar tracking of rain and snow. He emphasized considerations
for pilots. He also pointed out that La Nina is particularly cool this
year and should bring us lots of moisture for another wonderful Spokane winter.
In this month’s issue:
Larry Howard Bio by
Marian Heale page 3
UPCOMING EVENTS
Saturday, Dec. 11
Chapter Christmas Party
At the Elk’s Lodge in Spokane
Valley.
Dec. 17, 1:00 p.m.
Memorial Service for
Bob Strader
Heritage Funeral Home
508 N. Government Way
Spokane
Friday, January 14
EAA 79 Chapter Meeting
Guest Speaker Skip Davis, the
new Airport Director, will be
talking about the future plans
for Felts Field and Spokane
International Airport.
Friday, February 11
EAA 79 Chapter Meeting
Program:
Dave Holms on Flying in a
Wire Environment—
Qualifies as a Wings program
Page 2
The EAA Chapter 79 Newsletter December 2010
Gone West
Two of our chapter members recently have
passed on.
Bob Strader
Bob became active with Chapter 79 in the
sixties and hung around the clubhouse and airport so
much that he was a permanent friendly fixture. He
had a long flying career that included ferrying
aiplanes for Hensley Air in Havre, Montana, cropdusting in an Aeronca Champ, and towing for the
glider club at both Henley’s and Deer Park. He also
trained as an officer during world war II.
Bob was married for 58 years to his wife,
Lois. Most of his career was spent as an inspector
for the Washington State Highway Department.
Some of the airplanes he owned and flew
over the years were a Cessna 120, J3 Cub, Cessna
172, Citabria, a Sonerai built by Ted Farmin, an
EAA Biplane and most recently, a Volksplane. An
interesting footnote is that Bob’s brother flew P-38’s
during the war and went down in Oregon on a training mission. His remains were recovered just 15
years ago.
Another highlight of Bob’s aviation involvement was volunteering at the Reno Air Races. He
worked on the Lickety Split T6 race team and also
the Sheeba T6 race team for Keith Antcliff. He also
could often be heard on the loudspeaker system at
the Silverwood airshows and at Felts Field airshows.
He gave a moment by moment narrative for the airshow performers.
Bob was a friend to everyone at the airport
and will be sadly missed. His memorial service is:
Dec. 17, 1:00 p.m.
Heritage Funeral Home
508 N. Government Way
Spokane, WA
Lou Collins great restoration of our roof biplane
Louis Collins
Lou only recently became active with Chapter
79. However, he immediately jumped in and offered
his services on various projects. The one project he
really latched onto and did a wonderful job was the
restoration of the little biplane that is now on the roof
of our clubhouse. He was very proud of the first class
job he did on this EAA chapter mascot and signed his
name on the side of the fuselage. This will serve us as
a modest memorial to how he became our friend and
eagerly helped the chapter.
Blue skies and tailwinds to Bob and Lou.
SKYWAY CAFE
HOME OF THE DAILY BARNSTORMER’S SPECIAL $8.50
TRY OUR NEW SKYWAY
DIP SANDWICH
WIRELESS INTERNET ACCESS
WWW.SKYWAYCAFE.COM
OPEN 6:00 am to 2:30 pm Mon-Sat.
7:00 am to 2:30 pm on Sunday
Bob Strader helping out at Young Eagles
Chapter Member Profile:
Larry Howard
By Marian Heale
Our flying community generally consists of people that are a cut above the rest, but Larry Howard stands
out as a real gentleman. When he had some health problems a few years ago, rather than wait for another doctor’s
opinion, he took himself off flying status. Then, when a
friend pointed out that if he wanted to fly he didn’t necessarily have to fly the most challenging aircraft such as the
Laird or the “Super Stinker” Pitts, he disregarded the fact
that he already had his multi-engine rating, and started all
over. To personally assure himself of adequate flying proficiency, he again passed his written, flew the necessary
hours with an instructor, and again obtained his private
pilots license. That shows a lot of will power, and a lot of
class.
Larry was born in Spokane, and grew up in Colville. As a kid he was always interested in science, being
an avid reader of both Popular Science and Popular Mechanics Magazines. He cut out the ads and sent off for
more information about aircraft advertised in the magazines, thereby gaining a collection of large, color photos of
airplanes.
Larry completed high school in Colville, and went
to WSU in Pullman for his undergraduate work. He then
attended Creighton University School of Dentistry in
Omaha, Nebraska. After graduation Larry completed his
military obligation by spending two years in the Air Force
in Great Falls, Montana at Malmstrom AFB.
Because of school and monetary constraints, Larry
didn’t start flying till 1990 when he was in his 40’s. His
first ride in a small, non-commercial airplane came that
year from the spouse of a co-worker, whose husband
owned a Piper Arrow. After that he began taking lessons,
and gained his pilots license later that same year. He went
on to obtain both his instrument and multi-engine ratings.
Larry’s first aircraft was a 1957 Cessna 182 which
he purchased about the same time that he settled at Sky
Meadows. From there he went to an S35 Bonanza V-tail,
and then to a twin-engine E55 Barron.
After Larry began hanging out with Addison
Pemberton, he got the urge to build or restore an airplane.
It was through Addison that he heard about a Great Lakes
that had crashed in Guatemala, and needed restoring.
Larry purchased the Great Lakes and took three years to
restore the aircraft. With the Great Lakes Larry got a taste
of aerobatics, and then purchased the S1-11 Pitts, dubbed the
“Super Stinker” by Curtis Pitts.
At that point, Larry was very into building and decided to take on the restoration of the 1930 Laird Commercial. Larry says Addison told him that he had gone from
grammar school with the Great Lakes to graduate school
with the Laird project. The aircraft had a very colorful past
going from the Cadillac of aircraft in its day, to being a target tug in World War II and a crop duster after the war.
When Larry obtained the airplane it had corroded into a
derelict, and the fuselage came in a cardboard box.
The restoration process took about eight years, but
as anyone who has seen the beautiful black with gold trim
Laird can attest, it was well worth the time and effort. The
Laird has taken several trophies, among them the Bronze
Lindy at Oshkosh as the Champion Antique Aircraft in
2009.
When asked about his favorite aircraft, Larry said he
can’t choose just one, that it would have to be in categories.
His favorite in which to travel is the Barron; his favorite to
fly is the Pitts; but he says for arriving at an airport, nothing
can beat the Laird.
Larry married Joan 15 years ago after he had started
flying. When asked if Joan flies, he responded, “Not voluntarily.” Larry currently owns the Laird, a Cessna 182, and is
working on a Sopwith Pup. His goals are to finish the Pup,
and to get into the back seat of the Laird.
Page 4
The EAA Chapter 79 Newsletter December 2010
Bill Abel EAA 79
The 100LL Dilemma
So, what is going on with our fuel these days?
Well, The need is still there of course and the desire
by Swift Enterprises Ltd to solve the problems and
move toward a product that will be acceptable is still
unfolding. As of August of this year, testing has been
ongoing and an evaluation by the FAA has been released.
I have included an excerpt from the FAA report for
2010. This will be an item of interest to all of us
probably until such time as we get into overhauls after having reached TBO using an alternative fuel.
FAA Report:
A Lycoming IO540-K, six-cylinder, 300horsepower, piston aircraft engine was tested using
the Swift fuel for a total of 150 hours. The remanufactured engine was torn down and the critical, highstress components were measured by Textron Lycoming and shipped to the AFETF. The engine was
broken in and operated solely on the Swift binary
blend at the AFETF. After of the endurance test was
completed, the engine was sent back to Textron Lycoming for teardown, inspection, and remeasurement. The tests followed the Title 14 Code of Federal
Regulation 33.49 endurance test block power setting
procedures. The Swift binary blend weighed approximately 1 pound per gallon more than 100 low-lead
(100LL) and contained 96.7% of the specific energy
content, thus on a volumetric basis, the Swift fuel
contained 13% more energy per gallon than 100LL.
The Swift binary blend did not meet the current aviation gasoline specification ASTM D 910 at the 50%,
90%, or end distillation points. The endurance test
results indicated that the engine experienced normal
levels of engine wear during the 150-hour test, and
combustion, oil, and fuel deposits were light. Marks
in the secondary fuel pump diaphragm were discovered, and the fuel pump pressure remained within
specification limits throughout the test. It was difficult to start the engine the mornings after the engine
was left to sit overnight. When the engine was warm,
it started immediately. The effects on aircraft structure
or pilot operating handbooks from the additional fuel
weight and fuel aging effects were beyond the scope
of this research and were not addressed. Previous
AFETF research addressed the detonation and power
performance of the Swift binary blend. It is recommended that Swift perform additional engine, airframe, and fuel pump rig tests using a fuel made in
their biomass process and perform the engine tests using a straight weight mineral oil.
So, there's the latest report, a lot of work has been
done and has resulted in substantial success, but as
they say at the county fair, "No Cigar".
Back to the labs and keep on moving forward.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year with clear
skies and tailwinds for all!
Bill Abel EAA 79 Tech Counsl. & Flt Adv.
DON’T FORGET
EAA 79 CHRISTMAS PARTY
DECEMBER 11, 6:00 P.M.
ELKS LODGE IN SPOKANE VALLEY
LIVE AUCTION WITH NEAT STUFF
LIVE MUSIC BY JOHN LABBE
You could win a ride in this awesome airplane
at our Christmas Party auction.
Page 5
The EAA Chapter 79 Newsletter December 2010
Hohner’s Corner by
Jack Hohner
[email protected]
Too Many Projects and Too
Little Time
As 2010 comes to an end, I can’t help but reflect on what I didn’t accomplish in the last year. Or
to put it another way…where in the heck did this last
year go. One thing I have noticed in the 30 years I
have been bumming around EAA Chapter 79 is that
there exists a common malady amongst many of the
people drawn toward our club. Many of us just have
too many projects brewing at one time. This last year
I managed to divide my time between probably three
or four airplane projects. If you include my nonaircraft life…(yes, unlike many at the airport I do
have somewhat of a life outside airplanes)….I could
probably include another three or four projects.
Every time a friend introduces me to their latest acquired project, which in their enthusiastic aeronautical judgment is just too good of a deal to pass up…. I
suddenly feel like I am looking in the mirror…and
the reflection is very frightening. The fact is that if a
person spreads himself too thin, then nothing ever
gets done. But hey, look at all these half finished
projects I own. Wow, I got a lot of neat stuff! But if
none of it is in working or flying order then it’s useless neat stuff.
One nice thing about people, even strangers,
is they are always very generous with advice. And
who amongst can’t use some advice. Several years
ago I acquired a half finished LongEZ project from
Howard Alexander. Every year since, I walk the canard line at Arlington and drool over these neat looking airplanes, dreaming of the day when I will be
cruising at 200 mph in the neatest airplane around.
As I quiz the builders at Arlington, they beam with
pride as they show me their mods, super slick wings,
and beautiful paint jobs. Like any project (and I
learned this all too well on the Heath) mods can be a
bottomless pit. Once you enter you may never be
able to crawl back out. They are a real “time suck”…
beyond belief. So what is the number one tidbit of
advice these LongEZ builders always generously give
me for free? “Don’t get caught up in the mods. Just
build the basic plane and get it flying.” They usually
add that it is about the most fun airplane they have
ever flown and that I would be stupid to drag out
completion. Just get it flying and enjoy it. Now for
those amongst us who can’t resist a little customizing
here or there - and as we look at these beautifully
completed planes, it is tempting to not trust this advice. However, this particular advice does not seem
to come from just a few, it seems universal. And
now, with my Heath project completed, I find myself
giving this same free and unsolicited advice to other
builders.
My number one resolution for the New Year:
establish a consistent work schedule for the LongEZ
and stick to it. For me, this means planning on hitting
the shop every night after dinner. One piece of free
advice I often hear, and this is the strongest point that
Addison emphasized at one of our motivational meetings: “Do something everyday…. no matter how
small, do something every day.” This keeps your
head in the project. And my second resolution for
the New Year: don’t get caught up in modifications,
just build the darn airplane and get it flying.
There is nothing wrong with a guy owning a
lot of various projects. The problem is trying to figure out which one gets the attention. When there are
too many to choose from then it seems none of them
get chosen and they all just sit. So for what it’s
worth…more free advice here…just pick one, get it
done, then move onto the next one. Happy building
and flying in 2011.
You could win a ride in this cool airplane at our
Christmas Party auction.
PLEASE PAY YOUR DUES
EAA Chapter 79
P.O. Box 11132 Spokane, WA 99211-1132
E-mail: [email protected]
V ISIT US ON THE WEB:
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Projects—Neal Powell flying his new RV,
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Cub, Lou Collins completed the Jim
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