January - EAA Chapter 59

Chapter 59 membership is only $15 for the
first year, a bargain at
twice the price!
59 GRAPEVINE Waco, Texas
3 Time National Award Winning Publication of
EAA Chapter 59 ....and the LAST WORD on Sport Aviation in Texas!
Vol. 53, No. 1
January 20, 2013
Going Strong for 54 years!
EAA Chap. 59 meets the 1st Sat. of each month at the EAA hangar (PWG) VISIT
THE CHAPTER 59 WEB SITE AT:
WWW.eaa59.org
*READ THE CHAPTER 59 NEWSLETTER IN COLOR ON THE WORLDWIDE WEB*
ONEX FIRST FLIGHT—LIFT OFF
Inside this issue:
BOD Minutes
P2
NOTAMS/Prez Sez
P3
Upcoming Events
P4
Onex first flight
P5
Quiz Page
P6
First Solo Story
P7
P8
Dumpling Kings
P9
Grounded
P 10
Member’s Projects
P 11
P 12
Grounded continued
P 13
P 14
Calendar of Events . . . . P 15
Classified Ads . . . . . . . . P 16
Congratulations to Phil Davis and Derek Hodges on the first flight of their Onex.
MEMBERSHIP: Full membership in EAA Chapter 59 is $25 per year, which
includes the monthly 59 Grapevine newsletter. EAA national membership is
required. Introductory membership is $15 (first year only) and includes full
privileges. EAA national membership is not required. Send check payable to EAA
Chapter 59, to Kenneth Langley, 1103 Evening Sun Lane, McGregor, TX 76657 .
NEWSLETTER SUBMITTALS: The next 59 Grapevine will be published on Feb, 20, 2013. Please
submit inputs by Feb. 10, 2013, to Monty Suffern, 3901 N30th Street, Waco, TX, 76708, or via e-mail
to [email protected].. Business card display ads available. $10 per month or $100 per year
(two months free). Contact or mail ads to Kenneth Langley, 1103 Evening Sun Lane, McGregor, TX
76657.
The Chapter 59 Board of Directors
meets the first Tuesday after the first Saturday of each month in the Chapter
59 meeting room at 6:30 PM.
The February meeting will be
February 5, at 6:30 PM.
Page 2 - 59 Grapevine - January 20, 2013
EAA CHAPTER 59 - WACO, TEXAS
2010-11 OFFICERS:
President . . . . . .
Kenny Grisham
Vice President . . . . .
Pat Baucum
Secretary . . . . . . .
Monty Suffern
Treasurer . . . . .
Kenneth Langely
OTHER MEMBERS OF THE BOARD:
Brad Moffett
Bill Lloyd
Homer Dale Cox
WD Brown
Gene Franklin
David Wilson
CHAPTER 59 APPOINTED POSITIONS:
Technical Counselor:
Joel New
Flight Advisor:
Mike McMains
Membership Coordinator: Pam Brown
Building Ops. Chair:
Bob Coomes
(254)855-3777
(254)379-1382
(254)744-8841
(254)744-9313
John Lawson
Rich Hewgley
Jon Botsford
(254)867-0474
(254)848-9072
(254)723-2558
(254)715-5117
EAA Chapter 59 Board of Director’s Meeting
Meeting called to order at 6:37 pm.
Attendance: Pat Baucom, W.D. Brown, David Wilson, John
Lawson, Pam Brown, Ken Langley, Kenny Grisham, Gene
Franklin, Rich Hewgley, Bill Lloyd, Homer Dale Cox, Brad Moffett. Visitors: Bob Mangus, Jay Powell, Jake, Garrett, Victoria,
Janevah and Dawn Waterbury
Minutes: were approved as published on a motion carried by
Kenny Grisham/Pat Baucom.
Treasurers Report: Ken Langley tabled a Profit and Loss YTD
comparison and a Balance Sheet as of December 31, 2012
Old Business: On behalf of the Board of Directors, Kenny Grisham and Ken Langley said "thank you!" to Brad Moffett for his
exceptional work as president last term.
Pat Baucom presented invoice expense for new security system.
Upstairs construction: Kenny reported the progress of the upstairs construction is moving along well. Additional building of
the project is on hold for approval from city inspector.
Additional electricity needs on upstairs project has brought the
project slightly over budget, but President Kenny Grisham and
Ken Langley moved that we proceed as planned.
Membership Matters: Pam Brown reported 55 paid members to
date.
Tools and other purchases: Jon Botsford presented Equipment
report and expenditures were approved. The tools purchased
totalled $8,415.53 and included 4 sheet metal machines, an engine test kit, a used belt grinder and a propeller balancing kit.
Jon Botsford said that Bob Coomes will be doing the appropriate
study and conducting classes on the use of the Balancer in the
near future.
New Business: Chapter project: Pat Baucom suggested a
building project for the Chapter: Smyth Sidewinder- $12,000.
Project will require minimum structural work and asthetics. It has
been agreed to postpone purchase for the present time.
Donations: Brad Moffet proposed a donation for the Museum:
Condor Ultralight plane, parted out.
Chapter member benefits: Bob Mangus requested additional
funding for continuing the production of name tags for the Chapter members. Motion carries. Seconded by Pat Baucom and
Brad Moffet.
Pam Brown reported Chapter Store has increased the price for
polo shirts: S, M and L: $25 2X/3X: $30
Board member ballot comparisons: Pam Brown reported 7 board
members selected/12 total by previous ballot. Will possibly
amend terms for BOD requirements in future.
Education Coordinators
Activities Coordinator
Food Coordinator
Webmaster
Brad & Hollie Moffett
Kenny Grisham
Jon Botsford
Ron McKinley ..........
[email protected]
Web Editor
Dave Clay
[email protected]
Historian/Librarian
Jay Powell
Young Eagles Coordinator Bob Mangus
(254)205-8468
Newsletter Staff
Editor . . . . . . . .
Monty Suffern
(254)744-8841
Proofreader . . .
Position open
January 8, 2013
Brainstorming session overview: Kenny Grisham presented
agenda for enhancing the quality of our present outreach and our
member benefits. Kenny presented to the board the necessity to
encourage participation and growth of Chapter:
Kenny Grisham proposed need for non-aviation related promotions for the Chapter.
Pam Brown proposed active presentations. Kenny Grisham noted SportAir Seminar is planned to be conducted at the Chapter
facility in May.
Pam Brown proposed participation in Habitat for Humanity to encourage growth of corporate effort in the community.
Pam Brown proposed ownership of McGregor airport mile through
Adopt A Mile.
Ken Langley proposed participation in Toys For Tots.
Brainstorming session for community outreach: Jon Botsford
proposed community outreach through the establishment of a
separate flying club under the Chapter's ownership for the benefit
of the public and our Chapter association.
Richard Hewgley proposed the establishment of a Glider Club.
Janevah Waterbury proposed the use of the Chapter museum
and library as a way to attract new participants and increase aviation awareness in the community through historical tours hosted
on the Chapter anniversary.
Pam Brown proposed Chapter event hosted in conjuction with
McGregor parade to encourage local awareness of town history.
Kenny Grisham and Brad Moffet proposed more active involvement with Texas EAA chapters.
Richard Hewgley proposed petition signed by members for lowering local fuel prices.
Homer Dale proposed involvement with SpaceX.
(continued page 4)
The next general Chapter 59 meeting will be the Pancake Breakfast, Feb. 2
EAA building at PWG.
January 20, 2013 - 59 Grapevine - Page 3
NOTICES TO AIRMEN
Don’t forget our annual awards banquet to be held on the Hangar on Friday, February 22nd. EAA National supply award certificates for various office bearers which are presented on the
night, but we also have a tradition of acknowledging the completion of homebuilt aircraft in the Chapter with the Jake Parrish
“keep em flying” awards. Dress up and come along.
Anytime our U.S. President is traveling, TFRs go with
him. TFRs also go into place at special events. A quick & handy
source of planned TFRs can be found on the internet. Just type in
www.faa.gov, then click on TFRs. Mapped details are available
there. It just takes a minute to do this before each flight. P-49
has shrunk to a 2 mile radius up to 2,000 feet MSL.
Talking of Jake Parrish, please make a point of attending the
Jake Parrish flyby on February 10. We will meet at the hangar
at 2:00 pm for a safety briefing, and plan that the slower aircraft
will take off at 2:30 pm, followed by faster aircraft, with the aim
of all arriving overhead Cranfills Gap at the same time
The advertisers in this newsletter allow us to produce
it and the web site at a very minimal cost. They are our sponsors
and support us, so please support them. Don’t forget to tell them
you “saw it in the 59 Grapevine!”
Prez Sez – Kenny Grisham
Well here we are with another fantastic year behind
us. I appear to have woken up as the Chapter President. Its like deja vu all over again. After some great
leadership we now have the largest paid membership in our history. 162 members. Our Chapter has
come a long way in just a few short years.
So what lies ahead? Maybe you shouldn't have
asked...first the Chapter now offers its members
more than most chapters anywhere in the country.
Shortly we will have one of the best chapter owned
tool cribs in the country. We now have a brake, a
pan brake, a shear, a radial drill press, a 48" belt
sander with a 10" disk sander, an aircraft tune up kit
including a magneto timing box, a compression
gauge, a mag wire tester and a few other items, aircraft scales, and an electronic prop balancer. We
also have some sundry hand tools, compressor, table saw and other items to round out the beginning
of our tool room.
Whether you have used it or not, we have an extensive library of flight videos both entertainment and
instructional, books both fiction and non fiction,
some research literature and other items. Enough to
fill a wall with more knowledge than you can handle.
Some of the videos and cds were used in our 13
week ground school - yet another benefit.
We have become a dealer for ASA aircraft products
to include books videos, logbooks and more. We are
also dealers for charts of all kinds. You can buy tee
shirts, headsets, caps and other quality stuff. As a
member you can save as much as 50% off of retail
for any of these items. I would venture to say you
can't get a better deal anywhere.
In the works are all five of the EAA Sport Air Workshops held at our facility, chosen because of what
we can offer and our location. We are working on a
fly in, produced by the City of McGregor, the
McGregor Chamber of Commerce and our Chapter.
We have young eagles that are working with our Coordinator, Bob Mangus, to get a flight simulator project underway. Our museum is being completed and
readied for displays. There is just a lot happening.
So, I've been asked on several occasions, "what do I
get out of paying my dues?" Well I can safely say,
more than $25 would get you anywhere. Camaraderie, a wonderful facility, and tools that you couldn't
get anywhere else. Wow, aren't you lucky we found
you and let you become a member! What a privilege!
Be ready. We have a lot to do. There is a lot of fun
to be had. There is a lot of flying to be done. Put
your leather helmet on, wrap your scarf and pull
down your goggles, we're cleared for take off!
See you in the air,
Cap'n Ken
EAA Chapter 59 Pancake Breakfast & Monthly Event – Feb. 2nd, 2013
EAA Chapter 59 Hangar (PWG)
Page 4 – 59 Grapevine –January 20, 2013
Upcoming events
EAA Chapter 59
Annual Awards Banquet
Date
February 22nd
Time
6:30pm
Place
EAA Hangar
Cost will be $16 per person
Please watch you email for further details
Minutes (continued)
Richard Hewgley proposed involving Chamber Of Commerce.
Kenny Grisham proposed articles to be published in local magazines: WACOAN, Waco Magazine and spread the word through
notorious local radio stations such as 94.5.
Pat Baucom offered to attend next meeting with radio broadcasters and proposed local DJ to come on site.
Kenny Grisham proposed getting involved with college aviation
clubs.
Jake Waterbury proposed a Chapter booth for transporting to
county fairs and other appropriate events hosted locally and in
surrounding metroplexes.
Brainstorming session for member benefits: Kenny Grisham
emphasized the member benefit to access new tool inventory,
with permissions.
Pam Brown proposed a mentoring program for the members.
Kenny Grisham outlined the benefits available for members participating in the WINGS program, hosted by Mike Monefusco.
(sp) Additional credits can be attained by attendance of three
seminars/yr, including additional flight hours and/or flight time
with an instructor to account for your bi-annual flight review.
Brad Moffett related the invitation has been extended to Mike M.
to use the Chapter facility as a base for his safety seminars.
Ken Langley proposed addressing the city for permissions to
attain self-serve pump for fueling.
Jon Botsford proposed link on Chapter website to list fuel prices
of surrounding airport facilities available to members.
Ken Langley proposed adjusting time for 1st Saturday pancake
breakfasts, to better serve the members. Rebutted by Kenny
Grisham. Alternative proposition is offered to provide a lunch on
a quarterly basis.
Simulators: Pam Brown proposed a quarterly debut to introduce
members to the newest developments and offer demo flights to
exhibit.
J. Bond Browder, M.D.
Internal Medicine
FAA Class I, II, & III Physicals
Kenny Grisham emphasized no shortcuts need to be taken in
offering the membership this tool to encourage flight proficiency
and offer retired pilots the opportunity to fly again.
Bob Mangus expressed enthusiasm from Young Eagles to participate in furthering this project, as well as hosting fundraisers
to raise the money necessary to secure the best setup.
Kenny Grisham proposed addressing vendors with petitions
signed by members requesting discounts/ promotional offers for
the Chapter.
Saturday Breakfasts: Pat Baucom proposed more structure with
the judicious use of speakers presenting organized speeches
and "program briefings" highlighting a more distinctive timeline
of events.
Brainstorming session for more lucrative venues: Kenny
Grisham affirmed necessity to find lucrative ways to "bring more
people in and further aviation in the community:"
Pam Brown proposed continuation of expanding the Pilot Shop.
Bob Mangus proposed for the Young Eagles to host fundraisersconcession stands for special events hosted by the Chapter.
Kenny Grisham proposed flying activities for public.
Kenny Grisham proposed need for a Chapter project, but possibility of raffle for a plane that is in demand.
Jon Botsford proposed kits to be built that would then be sold
and/or donated to Toys For Tots.
Ken Langley proposed LegalEagle assembly line building project to be sold and/or donated to Toys For Tots.
Jon Botsford proposed Open House for the McGregor airport
complete with vintage cars, motorcycles and possibly a model
airplane exhibit.
Pat Baucom proposed assisting Civil Air Patrol.
Pat Baucom proposed fly-bys, hosted by the chapter. Preparations are being thoroughly examined to prepare for a tentative
fly-in of all Texas chapters hosted in May.
Pam Brown proposed looking into the legalities for banner towing within the area at football games, McGregor Founders Day
or any other special local event.
Pam Brown proposed hangar hops, to increase interaction between members.
Jay Powell proposed private commercial pilots hosting a giveaway prize for a reasonably short cross-country flight, to encourage new-comers.
Richard Hewgley proposed provision of printed certificates for
one flight by certified pilots stating a low-rate cost to be offered
to adult wanna-be or student pilots desiring to fly, but under financial constraints.
Announcements:
Pam Brown announced Gatesville Cola Run January 20.
Jake Parrish Memorial Fly-In Feb 10 2:00pm Flight briefing,
depart at 2:30pm.
Kenny Grisham requested Pam Brown to extend announcements for fly-ins to surrounding chapters.
Ken Langley requested Pam Brown to formulate list of
"registered" participants who will be participating in fly-ins.
Meeting Adjourned 8:03PM
Browder Clinic
7005 Woodway Dr. Suite 201
Waco, TX 76712 254-732-3633 FAX 732-3661
January 20, 2013 - 59 Grapevine - Page 5
Onex Serial Number 0056 took to the air on a cool, crisp
Saturday December 22, 2012 just 13 months after arriving
at the Con-way dock in Waco. Now known as N491NX.,
this was a 50/50 partnership of Phil Davis and Derek Hodges both of Temple, Texas.
Both Phil and Derek were pilots and had a love of aviation.
Phil is a Dentist in Temple and Derek drives for UPS.
Derek began working on an RV-7 in 2005. Phil had become interested in building an RV and had consulted
Derek about his project. About that same time Phil had begun construction on his 1800 square foot dream shop
known as the Man Cave, with intent of having a comfortable work area for future projects such as airplane building.
The two of them decided to share tools and equipment as
well as working together to have a build partner on the
RV’s when all of a sudden the Onex was introduced.
The mutual thought was almost instant: “Hey, let’s go
halves on this thing and get in the air so we can have
something to fly while working on the long term projects!”
With both having experience with flush solid rivets, this
thing should be like cheating! Pulled blind rivets, prepunched skins, pre-made laser cut parts!! The folding
wings and gas sipping motor would make for a fun little
fighter that is very affordable to fly around and keep in the
corner of a mutual friend’s hangar.
They decided to go with all options to expedite the build
and maximize Sonex offered discounts. Premade Spars,
Laser cut parts, formed parts and machined parts.
When the pallet arrived in Waco, they got up early on a
workday morning and made the 30 minute trip to the Conway Terminal. It was easily loaded into the back of Derek’s
truck and strapped in snuggly for the trip to its new home
south on I-35. All boxes and crates were in perfect condition and packed with unbelievable care and efficiency for
shipping. Soon after that, began the task of unpacking, inspecting and inventory. Missing a few items that had been
back ordered but nothing that was supposed to be there!
As the construction began, it was pretty straight forward
but it wasn’t long before a few things became apparent.
First, this was definitely going to be a great learning experience. Working together nearly every weekend it was also
discovered that having a build partner incredibly magnified
the results. 1+1 was more like 3 in terms of the speed and
quality of building due to the other set of hands. It was also
more confidence inspiring due to a second set of eyes and
ideas. As the project went along, there was a need for
some Sonex type aircraft building experience which just
9-04
happened to be less than a mile away. Neighbor and
Scratch Sonex Builder David Clay who was right around
the corner! He was an invaluable resource! He knew the
plans and he knew the tricks to assist in building the best
plane possible. Phil and Derek credit David for the help
and consulting that made for the successful completion of
the project. One of the best parts of this hobby is meeting
some of the best people in the world. Making new friendships around the corner and around the world!
Phil and Derek had also met Mike Singleton and Robert
Barber at the Annual Great Southern Sonex Gathering in
Bryan, Texas in 2011. They also proved to be great advisors, technical counselors as well as friends. Brad Moffett,
A&P of Waco helped the team with Aerovee engine build
assistance. Another wonderful learning experience for
Derek and Phil. John Jacobsen, A&P and RV builder of
Taylor also was there to lend a hand and guidance as well.
Many others were also there along the way for help and
support. Thanks to all the friends and members of EAA 59
in McGregor, TX.
The day finally came for N491NX to take to the air. Mike
Singleton was asked to be First Flight Test Pilot because of
his extensive experience in flying Sonex aircraft. A handful
of friends and family were there for the big day. Robert
Barber and John Jacobsen flew their airplanes as chase
planes carrying Derek and Phil for an up close view of their
baby.
Derek says, “Words just cannot describe the sense of pride
in your heart to see a creation that you built with your own
two hands leaving the runway behind and taking to the
sky!” It was a very proud moment and will never be forgotten.
Now that the Onex is ready for test flying phase for the
next 40 flight hours, Phil and Derek look forward to many
more flight and build adventures to come.
Page 6 - 59 Grapevine –January 20, 2013
More Onex first flight pictures
Quiz Page
Answer to November’s quiz
There are still no correct entries to November’s quiz, so the prize money doubles again. (In fact, there were no entries
to last month’s quiz, so no wonder there
were no correct entries). You may use
email to submit your answer.
Hmmm. This doesn’t look right. Hope they remember to put that
wing down before takeoff.
Video of the month
go to
http://www.youtube.com/
watch?v=KIyYK9oz9Go
Many thanks to John Fry for submitting this.
Write an opinion of this video, and send it in.
Another New Feature
You are challenged to write about
your first solo.
Rich Hewgley has taken up the challenge and sent
in his first solo submission (see page 7).
We must have at least 100 more pilots in the
Chapter, so I should have stories for the next 8
years and 4 months.
Hmmmm. I am not sure Derek was really at the first flight. I
thought I saw him lurking around Germany. This picture indicates
he may have been in Rothenburg ob der Tauber on Dec 20th
delivering stuff to the Christmas markets there. Go on—look it
up on Google Earth.
airimpressions.com
Looks like they sorted out the wing thing. Taxying out to the
runway threshold prior to first flight.
January 20, 2013 – 59 Grapevine - Page 7
My First Solo Flight, with History—Rich Hewgley
When my Dad put me and my brother, side by side, in
the back seat of his brand new 1946 Aeronca 7AC Champ, we
had no idea what we were in for.
I remember that day started with Mother telling my Dad
to take the boys (me and my brother) and go to Stinson Field and
pick up the car that Mr. Dick Hair had at his hangar #3 for us. Dad
had only been home from the four years he spent in a Mugden
Manchuria prison camp for about six months. During that time
Mom had been “Rosie the Riveter", working as an ammo can assembler, building AT-6's and in "Shipping and Receiving" materials to the Alaskan front.
We really needed a car and dad's friend Mr. Hair had
located a used car that he thought my Dad would like. So, we took
the bus across San Antonio to a bus stop as close to Stinson
Field as we could get, and hitched hike and walked the rest of the
way through a cemetery with really tall evergreen trees towering
over thousands of burial headstones. I started wondering why all
of these people had to die. I think this was the first cemetery that I
really remember and it was scary to me.
Dick Hair had been my Dad's flight instructor, back in
1935, before the war started. He was also Tex Hill's (AVG Flying
Tiger pilot) flight instructor. They both learned to fly in a Curtis JN4 Jenny and had their first airplane ride with him before starting
lessons.
My brother and I also had our first airplane ride with Mr.
Dick Hair. He took me and my brother up in a Stinson Voyager
and let us fly it from the front seat while Dad sat in the back seat.
Mr. Hair told Dad that we were going to make really good pilots
someday.
That day Dad was going to buy his first used car since
before WWII started. Dick had a 1939 ford for sale, but it would
not start. When they finally got it running something broke in the
engine, and the deal was off. Dad said, boys let's go home. It
looks like we'll have to buy a car some other day. Dick stopped
Dad and said, “Before you all go, I have something to show you
that just came in yesterday". We went into his hangar and there
sat a brand new Aeronca Champion 7AC, 65 hp, yellow with a red
belly paint job.
Dick was a dealer for the new 1946 Aeronca and as
soon as Dad saw it, I could see excitement come through his
eyes. A short walk around and we pushed the plane outside of the
hangar. Dad said, “Boys sit on that bench", located outside
against the hangar wall facing the runway. We watched as Dad
taxied out with Dick in the back seat and soon saw them climbing
out into a beautiful blue and peaceful sky. They flew out of sight,
while my brother and I wondered what was going on. Was Dad
going to buy an airplane and not a car? What was Mother going to
say? We were really hoping now that Dad would buy the airplane.
Soon we saw them entering the landing pattern and
watched as they did a few landings right in front of us. We would
gather a lot of memories setting together on that bench, watching
airplanes land and take-off when Dad would come to visit his
friend Dick. Sure enough, when they taxied back to the hangar
and got out, they started shaking hands and smiling at each other.
Frank Johnson
713-417-2519
www.performancepropellersusa.com
Dad had just bought his first new airplane for $1,400 dollars and
we both started our career in aviation with our Dad, now our flight
instructor.
Riding the bus back home, Dad told us not to say anything about buying the airplane and not buying a car. He said that
he would figure out how to explain the great deal that Dick gave
him on buying the brand new Aeronca Champ. I remember Mother's voice was higher than I had ever heard it. She was saying
something like WHAT!!! You bought an AIRPLANE!!! My brother
and I do not remember the rest of the discussion, because we
were told to go outside and play.
They must have worked it out, because we had the airplane for over three years and it was at least a month before Dad
bought a 1941 Chrysler Coupe. The Chrysler was our family car
until 1952 when Dad sold it because we were transferred to the
North East Air Command (SAC) in St. John's, Newfoundland,
Canada.
Back to the beginning, when dad put me and my brother,
side by side, in the back seat of his new 1946 Aeronca 7AC
Champ. I remember that I was on the left side of the seat and my
brother was on the right side of the seat. We could both reach the
stick, but the rudders were too far away during our first few flights.
Every fair weather weekend was spent with Dad at Stinson Field, flying in our family airplane, the Aeronca Champ. We
solved the reaching the rudder pedal problem with a large pillow
placed behind our backs, moving us within reach of my left rudder
pedal and my brother's right rudder pedal. We would share the
stick. When Dad told us to turn to the left, the left rudder peddle
and the stick was mine during the turn. Level flight was also
shared. When Dad said turn to the right my brother had command
of the right rudder pedal and the stick. We became Siamese pilots, but to avoid becoming only left handed or right handed pilots,
we switched seat positions in order to become trained in both left
and right turns. We shared this style of learning until we grew bigger and became uncomfortable. That was a good thing, because
we got to get in the front seat. When Dad moved to the back seat,
we started learning separately and faster. These flights with Dad
were the best memories a young boy could have during their
growing years.
Soon we had been flying with Dad in his Aeronca for
over three years. We learned to take-off and land on every flight.
During the last year, before Dad sold the Aeronca for a profit, at
$1,800 dollars, we could fly the whole flight without Dad touching
the controls at all.
Dad's last six years in the Air Force were wonderful
years for him and me and my brother. Dad was assigned to head
up the Perrin AFB Aero Club at the Sherman Texas Municipal
Airport. Special Services funded the Aero Club and Dad flew a T33, in a flight of two, to Iowa where he let out two other pilots to fly
back to Sherman, Texas, two Aeronca's. I think they paid $700
dollars apiece for them.
I was about to turn 16 years old when I got back into an
Aeronca front seat and my brother was 14 years old. It had been
over 5 years since we last flew consistently, except for an occasional yearly flight when Dad had access to a friend's plane.
This time Dad assigned Mr. Ed Jones to be my flight
instructor. Dad said it was better to make my solo an official FAA
event. Mr. Jones was a stranger to me, and for the first time I felt
uncomfortable in the cockpit. He was not like my father in his
mannerisms or when he spoke to me. He would raise his voice
and yell at me when I did not please him. I did not realize it at the
time, but I was being exposed to a demanding and controlling
kind of human that really did not care if he hurt your feelings or
10% Discount For EAA Chapter 59 Members
Page 8 - 59 Grapevine - January 20, 2013
not. He was what I would later learn, a negative and unhappy
personality type. You know them as just plain as_h_l_s!!!
On my first take-off, I had lost the touch needed to keep
the Aeronca steering straight down the runway. It wanted to go
left and when I gave it right rudder pedal to straighten it out, I
would give it too much rudder and off to the right side of the runway I would go. So I was doing “S Turns" until I lifted off of the
runway. I did not remember this being a problem during the last
take-off with Dad some 5 years earlier, but it was a problem for
me now!
I was OK in the air. My climbs, turns, stalls, and glides
were right on from the get-go. Even my landing was good and
controllable with the tail wheel on the runway being held there by
my full back stick pressure. I taxied back to the parking area and
Mr. Jones was hard and cold and said I had a ways to go before
soloing. He burst my bubble in front of my Dad and I just wanted
to go hide somewhere.
That night, lying in bed not able to sleep, I went over the
take-off and it dawned on me that Mr. Jones was the cause of my
difficulty, keeping the airplane straight down the runway. I suddenly remembered that Dad did not require me to put my tail up
so suddenly and as high as Mr. Jones was making me do it. Dad
taught me to let the tail fly up as we slowly added the throttle.
When the stabilizer started flying, more or less, on its own with a
slower advancing throttle, the steering was not a problem for me.
The airplane actually flew itself off of the runway when it was
ready and that was around 55 mph. All I had to do was trim a little
and we were climbing out at 60 mph.
Mr. Jones was having me jam the throttle up and force
the tail up to a very high attitude before we even had enough airspeed to control things smoothly. I later learned about the gyro
effect caused when the tail was forced upward with forward stick.
The force of the tail coming up applies itself to the top of the propeller's clockwise rotation and the gyroscopic reaction was at 90
degrees in the direction of rotation. This action took place on the
far right side of the propeller, causing the force of the tail coming
up, to cause the prop to pull the nose to the left. This was all happening without enough airspeed to allow enough rudder control,
to stop a left torque turn. When you gave it right rudder to overcome it, the lack of airspeed made the rudder have a delayed
action and then as you finally started accelerating, your rudder
was too far deflected to the right, causing you to over control behind the curve. This poor technique amplified itself all the way
down the runway and made me look the fool.
The next time we flew together, I was determined to do it
the way Dad taught me and not listen to Mr. Jones. Well, at least I
thought I was until during my take-off acceleration, he over powered the controls in my hands and jammed the throttle and stick
full forward like someone was after us and we had to get away.
He yanked the airplane into the air and then said, "You have it". I
was not ready for this behavior and the whole flight was a mess,
with me doing nothing right.
My landing was really good though, but he just said
something like, “You were lucky on that one"! He did not even
want me to take-off again. We had only been up for 30 minutes
and only 20 minutes on the first flight. Again he embarrassed me
in front of the group all standing outside of the flight shack. I just
walked away and decided that I was going to solo myself when no
one was around. This guy was poison to me and a disgrace to
aviation in my judgment. How he became a flight instructor was
beyond my frame of reference and young years on this earth. I
thought all people were fair and good folk. How naive I was in
those years. That night I told Dad that I was not going to fly with
that man again and I was going to just solo myself when no one
was at the airport. Dad really understood my feelings and knew
what was going on. Mr. Jones never flew for the Perrin AFB Aero
Club again.
The next week, I was scheduled with an Air Force Captain named Mulkala. His last duty was flying the B-47 and now he
was instructing future F-86D pilots in the T-33. He and my Dad
also taught the solo stage procedures in the F-86D simulator. I
even got as good as you could get in the F-86D simulator a year
later, because Dad would let me fly it after 9:00 pm, when the
students were through training for the day.
Capt. Mulkala became my friend that day and me his. He
was a pilot's pilot and a great aviator. As soon as he briefed me
for our flight, I knew it was going to be good when he told me to
just fly the way my Dad taught me. You are not going to believe
the rest of the story. He had me take-off, my way, and stay in the
pattern. I made three landings and he never said a word. As we
rolled out on the third landing, he told me to pull over and stop on
the right side of the runway while he watched me fly from the
ground. I had a total of 50 minutes with the "a-hole" and only 30
minutes with Capt. Mulkala.
It is hard to describe the feeling that took my body over.
In one breath I was scared and in the next breath I was excited.
Capt. Mulkala was calm and that made me calm down and concentrate on his instructions. I listened with eyes and mouth wide
open. I think he said, "I want you to do three take-offs and three
landings", implying that if he wanted me to stop and talk about
things that he would cross his arms and if he wanted me to takeoff again, he would wave me on my way.
Wow, the feeling as the Aeronca lifted off was priceless.
It climbed so much faster. I was at 400 feet in what seemed like
10 seconds. The view out the front was even larger. The nose
was lower than before and I could see better over the cowling. I
felt like I was taller or something. I though how much more power
this 65 hp engine had with only me flying the plane.
I turned crosswind and was about to turn downwind
when I suddenly noticed a green Aeronca in front of me. I had
forgotten that a friend of mine was flying in the pattern with me.
He had told me earlier that his instructor may solo him today. I
watched his plane turn base and then final. I watched his three
point landing and then I saw two people standing together on the
right side of the runway.
Lonnie Schmitt was my friend's name, and we were in
Compliments of:
Aircraft oil, tools, & supplies
Brent Mattson
Brian Mattson
Blake Mattson
January 20, 2013 – 59 Grapevine– Page 9
high school together. When I turned final for my first solo landing,
I was thinking, he soloed before me!!! I should have been thinking
more about my landing attitude, because my main wheels
touched down first and I had to add power to cushion my second
touchdown while I transitioned into a proper three point attitude.
So my second landing, on my first approach was much better and
I just added power and took off again. I was climbing out and enjoying that wonder view through the Plexiglas when it dawned on
me that I never even looked at my instructor to see if he wanted
me to take-off again.
I flew the rest of the pattern feeling guilty that I may have
made my instructor mad at me. I saw Lonnie doing his second
solo landing about the time I was turning base, and I noticed he
bounced up in the air like I just did, but he recovered smoothly
and took-off for his third landing. I was turning final about that time
and was looking at both instructors look at me with a penetrating
effect. I just realized that two instructors were looking and judging
me at the same time. No pressure at all, I said to myself.
My attention became fine tuned as I flared to a three
point attitude and held it smoothly while my airspeed bled down to
stall only inches above the pavement. I timed the full back stick
just as the tail wheel touched a second before the two mains
touched, making no sound of rubber contact at all. During take-off
I did not push forward on the stick, as I slowly added power. The
tail came up all by itself and I just let the attitude of the wing fly me
off in a perfect 60 mph climb.
The climb out was still overwhelming me with joy and my
turn to crosswind was becoming routine to me. I had drifted farther back in the pattern from Lonnie, because he was already on
final starting his third and last solo landing. Then it dawned on me
to keep my distance, because he was going to stop and let his
instructor in the cockpit. I delayed my turn to base leg because
they were taking longer than I thought they would, in order to get
off of the runway. As soon as Lonnie's Aeronca started to move
forward, I turned base and hoped they would be out of my way. I
did not want to go around, because it meant that I did not plan my
pattern correctly and would be verbally corrected or something.
No problem, Lonnie cleared the runway in time and I made my
third and final solo landing.
I don't remember that last landing for some reason. I just
remember taxing up to Capt. Muklala and he was smiling at me,
so I felt good about it all. He got in the back seat and told me that
I really did a great job, but why didn't I ever look at him before I
took-off again, like he told me to do? I told him that I did look every time, but I had already passed by him before I remembered to
look, that I figured he would just stand in the middle of the runway,
if he wanted me to stop. He laughed at my answer and said, “it
was a great solo, Rich".
A first of many firsts in my life started that day. All of the
other firsts are still in my memory, but only flying gives me the
same feeling today. Every take-off and every landing takes me
back to that first solo sensation and all of those emotions felt on
that day, the 13th of November, 1956.
My thanks to Rich Hewgley for his recollections
regarding his first solo flight. I am hopeful that
others will follow suit, and share their first solo
stories with us. Submissions do not need to be as
long as Rich’s story.
Ed.
The Dumpling Kings. Jack Lee sets up a production line to produce dumplings for a lunch bunch.
He is being ably assisted by Jim Hail, Billy Jack
Waters and Dale Breedlove
Page 10– 59 Grapevine - January 20, 2013
Same thing – just five degrees of rotation and stall. So I took the
battery out to see if the contacts were corroded or maybe the
It was a beautiful August evening when I decided to take my
battery compartment didn’t ground well to the airframe. The
wife for a flight up the beach in South Haven, MI. I had flown
battery is located in the tail and requires putting the tail up on a
the plane over a few days earlier and we had been vacationing in chair and removing seven screws. I then dropped the battery out
and took off the leads. Other than a little oil and small oxidation,
everything seemed in order. I put it all back and pushed the
starter button. No go. So I took the battery out again and
Grounded by Ron Monsen
our trailer (summer home) right on the Lake Michigan beach.
The flight was uneventful and we had a nice view of our little
place along with all the rich big homes from South Haven up to
Sagata, Michigan. We came back to South Haven and after
landing I stopped at the self-serve gas pump. After finishing up I
hopped in to taxi back to my tie down but when I pushed the
starter button I was only greeted by a little cough as the starter
bendix engaged the flywheel and turned the prop about five degrees. Hmmm.. I hit it again. Same thing – barely moved. Ok
– so it was late and I decided to troubleshoot it in the morning.
The following morning I went out to airport and tried it again.
Clifton
Hewitt
Lorena
McGregor
Marlin
Brady
Red Oak
Salado
Hubbard
brought it to an auto parts store to test it. They load tested it on
two different devices and said it was fine. Rats. Nevertheless, I
didn’t trust their test and thought maybe the battery was getting
old (2007 vintage) and had been in the hot Florida and Texas
heat so I decided to replace it. Of course in South Haven Michigan there was no Odyssey PC680 battery to be had. I then decided to look at the starter. I called Dan Weseman (builder of Rich
Hewgley’s plane – the clone of mine) who mentioned he rarely
sees any problems with the starter but there was a copper ring on
the starter solenoid that slams forward into two copper contacts
to provide the juice to the motor. Sometimes it gets pitted and
just polishing it up can do the trick. I reached the three screws
on the back plate through the cowl and took it out, polished it up
and put it back. Hit the starter – same old nothing. So I took off
the top cowl and removed the starter. My wife needed to be
back in Chicago for a family reunion party she was planning so I
decided to take the starter back and have it rebuilt or replaced. I
had also been in email contact with William Wynne – the most
notable expert on aircraft Corvair design, assembly and operation. He gave me the specs on the starter (a Subaru 80s vintage)
and also passed along some advice about how to test and troubleshoot. While I was in Chicago I also decided to replace the battery just as a precaution and to completely eliminate it as the
culprit.
I found a local alternator/starter repair store near my house. It
was very south-of-the-boarder “local” with starters, junk cars,
January 20, 2013 - 59 Grapevine - Page 11
Chapter 59 Member Projects
Bill Buchanan
David Clay
Bob Coomes
Phil Davis
Davis/Hodges
Jim Doyle
Dale Duke
Rick Fields
Terry Gerdes
Jim Hail
Russell Hall
Lambert Havelka
Eugene Herr
Rick Hingtgen
Derick Hodges
Johnnie Holick
Steve Howard
Howard/Moffett
Langley/Moffett
John Lawson
Mike McMurtrey
Don Ray
Kevin Ross
Monty Suffern
Jim Warren
Don Wiltse
Andrew Womack
Hummel Bird
Sonex FLYING!
Lake Amphibian
RV-7
Onex FLYING
Pitts S-1
CH 750
Ryan PT-22
RV-7
Flitzer
Lil’ Buzzard
RV-10
Long-eze
Kolb Firefly
RV-7A
CX-4
EAA Biplane/Pitts
Rans S-9
Challenger (restore)
Maule MX-7-235
RV-6
KR-2
Sonerai
Velocity
RV-4 FLYING
RV-9
Zenith 701
From the desk of the Editor.
Once again it seems I owe an apology for the lateness of the
Grapevine newsletter. I guess the easiest thing is to simply say it
is more likely to be late than not under my editorship, so I suppose you may as well get used to it as this is the last time I am
apologizing regarding the matter.
One of the mantras I try hard to live by, is to never make excuses
for things I might mess up. This is a hangover from my old motor
sport days, where I seemed to be uniquely situated to let the
team down with small mistakes here and there. By taking the
stance of “no excuses” I really did put sufficient pressure on myself to minimize the mistakes, and the team was quite successful.
Any I did make, I tried hard to “own”. Mind you, there may still
have been reasons why various things happened which impacted
negatively on the results for a given rally weekend, but these
were still not to be construed as excuses.
All that said, the main reason for the newsletter being late this
month is that I returned from a month of travelling through Europe
only two days before the publication deadline of January 20. The
purpose of the trip was to show my 11 year old granddaughter a
couple of the castles and cathedrals of Germany, Austria and
Italy. In summary, it was a wonderful trip which achieved its main
goal, and helped build a closer relationship with a grandchild who
lives some 10,000 miles from where I do. Of course a travel report about this trip would be out of place in an aviation newsletter,
so I will not describe the trip per se. However, there were a couple of aspects which some readers might find of interest, in particular with regard to the vehicles and fuel situation over there, so I
will continue this editorial along those lines.
One of the things which really surprised me was the lack of Toyota Prius’ around Europe in general – well at least the parts we
visited which involved driving some 3,000 miles in the 30 days we
were there. I saw only two, and they were both taxis in Florence.
The reasons for this are not too hard to discern. Cars in Europe
do get amazing gas mileage, with some of the very small cars
getting as much as 70 mpg. Small they may be, but slow they
sure ain’t. It is quite sobering, not to mention embarrassing, to be
driving at 80 mph plus down the Autostrada, and have a smart
car (a little two seat vehicle designed by the people who designed
“swatch” watches, and built by Mercedes Benz (or rather, Daimler
Benz)) whiz by you doing a likely 100 mph. There are still no
speed limits on much of the Autobahns in Germany – as fast as
the car will go is the upper speed limit, and although there is generally an 80 mph limit in Austria (only on the Autobahns – regular
country 2 lane roads are usually limited to 60 mph), people often
exceed these Autobahn speeds by a substantial margin. Of
course in Italy, it seems that the posted speed limits are taken
only as a “mere suggestion” of the sort of speed you might perhaps consider travelling at (if the mood strikes you), rather than
an actual speed limit. The end result is that even if you are travelling a lot faster than the speed limit, you need to keep a constant eye on the rear view mirror in case a big black BMW or Mercedes is rushing up on you, and flashing their lights to move you
over into the right hand lane (people simply do not pass up the
inside in Europe – well, except for Italy).
The cost of using these super freeways varies from Country to
Country. In Germany there are no tolls on the Autobahns, and it
would be political suicide for any politician to suggest they introduce one. In Austria, you are required to buy a “sticker” to show
in your windshield. We paid about $10 for the minimum time allowed which was one week, and that allows you to travel on all
their Autobahns without paying additional tolls, although there are
a couple of tunnels where there is an additional charge. In Italy
you pay for almost every mile of Autostrada you use at toll
booths, while in Switzerland you are required to buy a “sticker”,
but the minimum time is 1 year and it costs $40, and it includes
travel through their very impressive (16 mile long, 4 lane) tunnels.
Apart from gas mileage, there is also the issue of very narrow
streets in some City locations when considering the size of the
cars. It is not unusual to have to back up if you meet someone
coming the opposite direction on some of these “so called” roads.
Even when you have backed to someone’s driveway or some
other location to give a little more passing room, it is often necessary to slow to a walking pace, and fold in your mirrors so you
can miss the other guy by perhaps 2 or 3 inches – and sometimes less. I suppose these roads are as wide as two horse
drawn buggies, with houses built right up to the edges making the
prospect of widening the roads difficult. I further suppose that the
locals get used to it, but I do know that I would not like to have to
put up with it on a regular basis. On our arrival in Frankfurt, we
collected the rental car and drove to our motel. From the time we
first drove past the motel on a rather main road, but separated by
a wire mesh fence, it took an hour to actually arrive at the front
door due to narrow roads, one way roads, roads that led only into
factory premises, train lines and other obstructions which we had
to drive miles (literally) to find places to cross. Did I mention I
would not like to have to put up with it on a regular basis, but I
suppose the locals find their way around OK.
To go back to the small cars for a minute. Some of the smaller
(but still four seats) Fiats, Renaults and Peugeots are blessed
with engines as small as 1000cc (about 60 cubic inches), but
many of these are available with turbocharged diesel engines. In
Italy, diesel engines were so prevalent that the gas stations in
smaller towns often had just three options for fuel – two styles of
diesel, and one unleaded gasoline – usually 97 octane, although I
think they might define octane differently there. (I know they do in
Australia). Despite the small cars, the road fatality rates are relatively low, particularly in Germany. Italy and Austria are rather
higher per 100,000 of population. All these countries are among
the safest to drive in in the world on a statistical basis. (France,
Switzerland and England also show low vehicle fatality rates)
Page 12– 59 Grapevine - January 20, 2013
parts of engines, and all kinds of bits everywhere. The owner
(Juan) took my starter, put it into his beat up old testing machine,
flipped the switch, and it ran like a top. I asked him if he could
load test it so he took the back of a wooden hammer handle and
pressed it against the starter gear while I pushed the button. That
is a Mexican starter load test. He proclaimed it healthy. I told
him to rebuild it anyway. A few hours later the starter was ready
to pick up. He had not been able to definitively find anything
wrong, however he had increased the size of the copper contacts
that are engaged by the starter ring. In the meantime I managed
to find a replacement battery and purchased it about ten miles
from my house in the Chicago area.
I had to wait a day or so because my wife had the party and was
leaving for Saudi the next day. I finally headed back to Michigan on a Monday morning with a rebuilt starter and a new battery. I went straight to the airplane and installed both. I pushed
the starter switch. Same cough and five degree prop movement
–arghh - it must be something else. My next suspect in the continuity chain was the master solenoid. Flipping the master switch
on engages a solenoid that provides panel power and makes the
main positive power lead live all the way to the starter. If it was
bad there might not be enough oomph to turn the starter. So I
very carefully moved the wires from the bottom of the solenoid
to the top – bypassing it. The word very careful is notable because that is the main positive lead from the battery. When the
two wires are together the “Master” is effectively on and just
brushing a wrench handle while tightening the bolt against the
bare aluminum fuselage would cause a dead short. It went well,
I got the two linked together and pushed the starter button.
Nope.
the panel. Smoke? – it did not seem possible. Events were really heading downhill. I could not understand how there was any
“smokeable” current getting to the panel. When you push the
starter button two itty bitty wires provide a small amount of voltage to a small solenoid that sends more current to the starter –
which initially engages the starter solenoid and then the real
power is through the contact ring on the starter. There are no
high amperage power circuits in the panel! It didn’t make sense
but I needed to look anyway.
I pulled the instrument panel off. That only requires taking off
about one hundred screws (just kidding – about twenty I guess)
and folding it back. I looked under there and inspected everything. Other than a few “close calls” with switches nearly reaching two junction blocks, I could not find any damage or burned
wires. I did find one screw that was the wrong type for the junction block and while screwed all the way in, did not secure the
connector it was attached to because it bottomed out before locking it down. So I moved it to the opposite side of the junction
block on the same screw as the incoming connector. I tracked it
back to the right mechanical ignition switch. Of course this was
not part of the starting system so could not be part of the problem. Note: there are two redundant ignition systems. One is
electronic and the other is traditional mechanical points. Starting, takeoff and landing with both on, and then turning off the
mechanical side in cruise.
So I called Dan again. I was at my wits end. Smoke now coming out of the panel, every part of the continuity path check (or
so I thought) and no change in the condition. Then Dan mentioned the possibility of the engine ground being loose. The engine is mounted with rubber grommets between the engine and
In addition – and this was a something I had noticed a time or
two before – there was a puff of smoke coming up from under
motor mount which requires a grounding strap to get the engine
connected to the airframe. In fact he even mentioned that if there
January 20, 2013 - 59 Grapevine - Page 13
was not a good ground when you push the starter button, the
electricity gods will try to find a path to ground – anyway they
can. So maybe the electricity was flowing back to the panel area
through the mixture or throttle cables, heating up and causing
smoke. Quick way to test: hook up jumper cables to the engine
and the airframe and push the button. I did. The prop spun happily for the first time in days! Found it! Now where is that
ground strap? I called Rich Hewgley and we finally decided the
ground strap on my plane was on the opposite side as Dan’s
plane (now Rich’s). So I pulled the securing wire on the left
bottom side cowl and it popped open. I immediately saw the
the gauges. Everything was fine. I let it run about 10min, shut it
down and then decided to just restart it “hot” to make sure. I hit
the starter switch and the starter went “wheeeeeeee” spinning
like crazy but not engaging the flywheel. What the heck now?!
It was too late and too dark to mess with it so I went back to my
trailer to get night’s sleep.
Bright and early the next morning I went out to the airplane
again. I pulled that damn cowl off for the 3 rd time or so. I
glanced at the starter and discovered that of the two bolts holding
it on the engine one of them had cracked off the front aluminum
bracket. The bracket was broken. Whether it had been previous-
ly cracked and the trauma of removing and reinstalling did it in –
ground strap dangling loose. It looked like the bolt securing the or the starter guy had dropped it or somehow torqued it on his
strap to the back of the head had come out. Of course that meant bench – I have no idea. But now I am stuck with a broken starter
another trip to town to find a new bolt the right size and install it. bracket in a little town in Michigan. So I took the starter off
again. I went to the first auto parts store I found and asked them
if anyone did aluminum (TIG) welding. They said they didn’t
know and that I should just get a new starter. I pointed out that it
wasn’t that easy. The front aluminum cast bracket had been customized with another tab welded on. I needed the existing
bracket fixed. So they told me to see Wally. Wally had an auto
repair place. It was 9:00am but they said it was too early to see
Wally since he didn’t start work until maybe 9:30am. Luckily
Wally’s place was .5 miles from my trailer so I went back and
waited awhile and popped over to Wally’s place about 9:30am.
It was an auto repair shop right out of 1952 and Wally looked a
little like Goober from Any Griffith. I show Wally the starter
and he shook his head and said, “I don’t do that kind of welding
but maybe Marty can help you.” “Who is Marty?” I asked. “Oh
Marty does TIG welding and is a general handyman. He gives
me Marty’s number. I call it and a girl answers and I ask for
Marty. She hangs up. I call back and a women answers deBy the time I had everything back in place it was pretty late –
manding why I am calling the cell phone of her 14 year old
like 8:00pm. I started the engine, let it warm up and watched all daughter. I apologize and hang up. I ask Wally for the number
again. He corrects the area code and I try again and this time I
get Marty. I tell Marty I am at Wally’s and he said he would be
there in a few minutes. When he shows up he looks at the starter
and says, “Yep I should be able to fix that.” So I follow his beat
up old van about 20 miles into the countryside where we end up
at a rundown farmhouse with lots of junk laying around. The
barn is Wally’s workshop littered with half finished projects.
The first sign of trouble was when Marty apologized for having
to spend 20min installing a plug on his TIG welder. The second
sign of trouble was when he began studying the instructions for
the welder. “These things are very complicated”, he says. So he
clamps it on a workbench, I turn my head and the buzzing be-
Page 14– 59 Grapevine –January 20, 2013
gins. A minute or so later I look at the result and am horrified
by a completely botched weld job with the little broken part being completely melted in two and puddles of aluminum in the
bolt hole. Marty tells me this was not going so well (really?)
and he knew another place we could go. I follow him to another
workshop in the country. My luck finally changed and it was
clear these people were professionals. They had CNC machines,
did all kinds of race car and
boat welding as well as
industrial robotic repair.
They oozed competence.
They look at the part and
say they should be able to
do it in a couple of days.
“No!” I said. “Can you do
it today?” and I gave them
my sob story. They said
maybe and I went back to
the trailer and just paced
around. About two hours
later they called and I
drove back out there. It
was fixed and looked better
than original. In fact the original part is a little weak with thin
webbing. They had built up the area nicely, fixed all of Marty’s
booboos, and it looked solid. I took it to the plane, installed it,
started the engine, restarted the engine and decided life was
great again.
I closed up the trailer, got my stuff, headed to the plane and took
off for Chicago for about an hour flight. All went well and I
landed back at Clow airport in Bolingbrook about 6:30pm. The
last bit of a hassle was that I now had a rental car two hours
away at South Haven Airport. My son shows up and we immediately drive to South Haven pick up the car and drive back to
Chicago. By the time we did all that and had dinner it was nearly midnight. My plan was to fly to Waco the next day. I would
have preferred a day of rest but the predicted enroute weather
was too perfect. So I got
up and took off at around
8:00am arriving in Waco
(about 900 miles) at
4:00pm with three very
fast fuel stops.
Troubleshooting stuff like
this reminds me of my
past job as an engineer for
a wire line service company in the oil field. There I
used to lower instrumentation into oil wells at the
end of a 20,000’ spool of
cable. The equipment
utilized electrical, acoustic, radioactive measurements of the rock. We even did various
explosive (perforating) activities. Actual electronic failures
were rare. Almost all of the problems were caused by a continuity problem. A pushed in pin on a connector, an electrically
“leaking” (shorted) wire, or something stupid like that. Now I
can add “grounded” to the list…..
www.fortparker.com
January 20, 2013 - 59 Grapevine - Page 15
Calendar of Events:
Every 1st Sat.
Waco, TX
Pancake Breakfast Fly-in McGregor Airport (PWG) 8-10 am followed by occasional programs
Every 2nd. Sat.
Groesbeck, TX
Second Saturday Sundaes Fort Parker Flying Field 2000’ grass 122.8. Ice cream social
Every 3rd Sat.
Jasper, TX
Free BBQ lunch Fly-in
Every 4th Sat.
Granbury, TX
Granbury Airport Pancake Breakfast Granbury Airport (KGDJ)
April 9 to 14, 2013
Lakeland, FL
Sun n Fun International Fly-In and expo (and splash-in) Lakeland Airport (K
Jasper County Airport (KJAS) -fuel discount
EAA AirVenture Oshkosh
July 29—Aug 4, 2013 Oshkosh, WI
Whitman Field (KOSH)
Chapter 59 Events
Every 1st Sat.
Pancake Breakfast Fly-in
8-10 am
EAA hangar (PWG)
Every Thursday
Thursday Lunch Bunch
11:45 am
EAA hangar (PWG)
Feb. 2, 2013
Monthly Breakfast & Event
Starts 8 am
EAA hangar (PWG)
Feb. 5, 2013
Chapter 59 BOD Meeting
6:30 PM
EAA hangar (PWG)
Feb 10, 2013
Feb 22, 2013
Jake Parrish Flyby.
Awards Banquet
2:00 PM
6:30 PM
EAA hangar (PWG)
EAA hangar (PWG)
Thanks to the following for contributing to this month’s 59 Grapevine:
Rich Hewgley, Ron Monsen,
Derek Hodges, Monty Suffern
EAA CHAPTER 59 MEMBERSHIP/RENEWAL FORM –2013
DATE:________________
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Application for introductory (new) membership___Renewal___Associate Membership_______
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HOW DID YOU FIND OUT ABOUT CHAPTER 59?____________________________________________________________
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Having accurate, up-to-date information is important to your Chapter and to you.
MEMBERSHIP: Full membership in Chapter 59 is $25 per year, which includes the monthly publication of 59 GRAPEVINE newsletter.
Introductory memberships are available for $15 (first year only). The year begins in January for all members. Associate memberships are
available to businesses and those interested in getting the 59 GRAPEVINE newsletter but who cannot participate in the regular events of the
year. These memberships are $15. Student memberships are available to full-time students at $6/six months upon proof of enrollment. Regular
members are also required to join National EAA after their introductory year. Forms for joining National can be obtained from the Secretary or
Treasurer. Make payment to: EAA Chapter 59
Mail to: Kenneth Langely, 1103 Evening Sun Lane, McGregor, TX 76657
Page 16 - 59 Grapevine– January 20, 2013
CLASSIFIEDS:
For Sale: 5606 Aviation grade hydraulic fluid at $50.00 per case (6 gals). Or $4.00 per quart. B. J. Waters – call 254 8532426 or 495-5106
MiniMax for sale. Open cockpit with Zenoah engine. In great shape and ready to fly home for only $5,995 firm.
Contact Brad Moffett 254-855-3777
Advanced Aviation “Explorer” project for sale. This is a complete, unregistered E-LSA airplane project similar to a strut
braced “Drifter” only better. Has a Rotax 582 Model 90 (grey Head) engine. Very easy project and nice 2 place LSA .
$11,500. Contact Brad Moffett @ 254-855-3777
For Sale: Condor 3 axis ultralight with Rotax 377 engine. Aircraft has ailerons and will need a new sail set. $950 contact
Brad Moffett @ 254-855-3777 for details.
For Sale: Lycoming O320-E3D 0 SMOH (test stand run only) comes with serviceable: starter, carburetor, slick mags,
harness and new auto-lite plugs. Engine has prop governor pad. Cylinder cooling nozzles were installed at overhaul in case
new owner to convert engine to IO320 w/ prop governor. Fuel pump also available but not installed - $16,200 • Contact: Mike
McMurtrey • Telephone: 651-206-8777
Continental O300 / O200 chromed cylinder - repaired and yellow tagged $550 obo. • Mike McMurtrey • Tel. 651-206-8777.
Lycoming O235C case - yellow tagged for standard bore and no cracks! $550 plus shipping obo. • Mike • : 651-206-8777
RV-6/6a kit (wings and tail sections) as seen in EAA59 McGregor, TX hanger - Some clecos included. Fixture and tools not
included - $2750 OBO• Contact Mike McMurtrey •
AVAILABLE FOR IMMEDIATE SALE • Sonex Corvair powered called Miss Cleanex. ASKING: $38,500. New Top Overhaul
by Falcon Machine with inconel valves and rotator cups. Built by Dan Weseman, a one of a kind. This is the original Corvair
powered Sonex with the fifth bearing and produces 120 hp. Great cruise at 160 mph and aerobatic. • Contact Richard W.
Hewgley, Owner - located Waco, TX USA • Telephone: 254-412-0646(home) or 254-715-6259(cell).
For sale: RV-6A project by a EAA Chapter 187 member in Austin for $25,000 including O-320 engine & prop. Contact Tim
Willis at [email protected] for a detailed description.
For sale: 1975 Cessna 150M N63234. I have two airplanes, one has to go. http://cad-mastergraphics.com/
63234_for_sale.htm
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FROM: Monty Suffern
EAA Chapter 59
2774 Highway 84
McGregor, TX 76657
FIRST CLASS MAIL – PLEASE FORWARD