BTP News - Pittsburgh – Butler Regional Airport

BTP News Butler County Airport Authority
475 Airport Rd., Butler, PA 16002 724-586-6665
The Collings Foundation Visits BTP
On August 12 the Collings Foundation, a private not-for profit educational
foundation located in Stow, Massachusetts, visited Butler County Airport as
part of their Wings of Freedom Tour.
Actually, it is more accurate to say a
small part of the foundation visited us.
The aircraft originally scheduled to
arrive at Butler County Airport included
a B-24 J (Witchcraft), a P-51 Mustang
(Betty Jane), and an old friend of the
area, a B-17 (the 909).
et racers, trucks and farm vehicles and
more. . .
The visit to Butler Coulnty included
walk through tours and Flight Experiences. Betty Jane, the venerable P-51,
didn’t make it to Butler this trip. She
had to change her heading and scoot
for home to receive needed repairs.
Summer
Summer 2013
2011
Volume 3,
Volume
4,Issue
Issue1 1
Butler County
Airport Authority
Richard “Ike” Kelly
Chairman
Jim Opalka
Secretary
Edward Rawlings
Vice Chairman
W. Gregg Kerr
Thomas Roe
Bill Giallombardo
Harry W. Boben
Members
Michael J. Pawk
Solicitor
A. Dale Pinkerton,
Butler County Commissioner
Advisory Member
The 909 spent quite a bit of time in
our area at BVI. The ship suffered a
runway overrun mishap on August 23,
1987 at the Beaver County Air Show.
She was lovingly restored after thousands of hours of TLC at Air Heritage.
Since the restoration she has flown
over 1200 tour missions.
The group, founded in 1979 by Robert F. and Caroline Collings, is dedicated to the preservation and public display of aviation and automobile history.
What is more, if you research their collections you will see a listing of some of
their mechanical treasures under topics such as: Sports race cars, Indy 500
Cars, Roaring 20s cars, flyable aircraft,
static display aircraft, aircraft restoration projects, brass era vehicles, midg-
Many WWII enthusiasts attended the
event. Some had emotional and sentimental attachments to the warbirds.
One such individual was Tom Menchyk
of Butler.
Tom’s father, Sgt. Tony
Menchyk (US Army Air
Corps, 467th Heavy Bombardment Group; 8th Air
Force) was a control tower
operator at Rack Heath Air
Base, England. The very
same Witchcraft visiting
Butler was among the Consolidated B-24 Liberators
attached to Rack Heath.
Thank you Sgt. Menchyk
for bringing Witchcraft in
safely from her missions
during your year in England. It is greatly appreciated.
1
Ivan Longdon
Airport Manager
Eileen Albert
Administration
Chuck Ritchey
Maintenance
A Note From Ike Kelly
Butler County Airport Authority Chairman
As I am putting my thoughts to
print, the “heat wave” of July has
left us, as well as the Collings
Foundation bomber tour that recently visited Butler County Airport. The turn-out for the aforementioned tour was impressive,
so much so, that the PR man for
the Collings Foundation (the organization that owns and operates the aircraft) expressed their desire to make our airport a regular
stop on their annual schedule.
tion. As a result of their support Butler County
Airport has been able to continue with scheduled
projects that help us maintain the facility in a topnotch manner. Airport Manager Ivan Longdon details those projects elsewhere in this newsletter.
I encourage airport tenants to attend the Authority
meetings to stay abreast of airport operations, as
well as to voice your thoughts on relevant issues,
or to make suggestions that you feel will enhance
operations at the airport. Also, I thank the Airport
staff for operating and maintaining the airport in an
exemplary fashion, and the Airport Authority memIn addition to the bomber display, the Penn Town- bers for their dedication to the “cause”. Thank you
ship VFD Mega Cruise was also a huge success. all.
Also, the addition of the fly-in and helicopter disIn closing I want to emphasize the Boards priorplay was a popular attraction as well. My hat is off ity is in providing a safe environment from which to
to the Penn Twp VFD staff, and to Harlan Simon conduct aviation operations, and encourage airport
and Steve Setnar for their efforts in organizing a users to conduct their activities in a similar fashion.
successful event.
Thank you all, and BE SAFE!
Despite funding constraints, we have had invaluable assistance from the PenDot bureau of Avia-
Dave Parker Always on the Job for Butler County Airport
Be the Job Large or Small – and They Never End up Being Small
Dave Parker, Engineering Project Manager for Region #1 for
the Pa. Dept. of Aviation, is not
always behind a desk. Well, he
may begin his day there but in
this particular instance Dave devoted quite a few days out of his
workweek to Butler County.
Dave engineered, supervised,
and got down-and- dirty with the
all-important duties of crack patching and line painting on our field. He described the various types and
degrees of patching needed at the airport. We are
not talking your basic patch here. See the photo of
Dave’s assistant along with the depth, width, and layers of patching devoted to one area of taxiway.
“While the money lasts,” Dave explained, “I will look
for places to make improvements and will stay here
until I am done.”
In addition, he pointed out a number of areas on
ramps and taxiways that needed some special attention. Some were taken care of on this trip. Others
were noted and earmarked for when more money
comes available.
Thank you Dave for all you do. Remember, you are
adding to the cause. Some Pittsburgh Steelers fly in
and out of this airport. It is even rumored there may
have been a Cleveland Brown once. But no one is
talking.
Boy Scouts of America
at Butler County for National Aviation Day
On Monday, August 19th Boy Scout Troops from around
the area worked on their Aviation Merit Badges at Butler
County Airport.
Funded in 1910 and chartered by the US Congress in
1916 the Boy Scouts of America continue to serve youth
in the US, plus the Pacific Island nations of the Marshall
Islands and Micronesia.
Butler County Airport Staff, tenants, and volunteers provided educational and experiential events for the troops. The
Butler County Airport Authority thanks all of the participants
who made this worthwhile event take place.
If you have related KBTP stories, events
or photos for our newsletter, please contact
Jim Opalka at
[email protected].
Wings Weekend – Not an Easy Task
But Worth a Million Bucks and your Ever Loving Life
At times it appears as though events simply materialize out of a thin layer of moderately transparent air. In other words when the event suddenly
emerges as an attraction in an announcement,
newspaper article or aviation periodical, one suspects an ad was placed and the event occurred
with little or only moderate preparation. Wrong,
especially when one considers gravely important
occasions such as the Federal Aviation Administration’s Wings Weekend 2013.
The word “gravely” mentioned above is not used
for drama. At the recent organizational meeting in the conference room of the admin building
here at Butler County, that word was used in all
seriousness by Henrik Vejlstrup, FAASTeam Program Manager. Although Henrik’s sense of humor
always makes meetings much more pleasant, he
is clearly dead serious when it comes to aviation
safety and the life saving Wings Weekend curriculum and experiential events.
From the three hours of free flight instruction
available to the seminars for both pilots and me-
chanics, there is no question that attendance at
this annual event (this marking the 20th year) can
save your life.
Henrik shared the statistics with we who attended the meeting. Here is the important part of his
data. Isn’t it nice when you don’t have to think and
ponder complicated statistics? Henrik said, “I can
almost guarantee you that you will not be killed in
a flying related accident if you participate in the
Wings Weekend program.”
I think that is where this article ends. Henrik said
it all. Really, listen to Henrik. He’s seen the results
of not attending. And don’t get him started on recurrent training. That would really cut the accident
rate down within our 660,000 pilot population in the
U.S.
Do yourself and your family a favor and attend
the Wings Weekend at Butler County.
Questions – contact either Henrik at 412-8862580 or Marlene Basinger at 724-775-0447.
The Butler County Airport Authority
Welcomes Bill Giallombardo to the Board
Bill Giallombardo, the most
recent addition to the Airport Authority, lives in Center
Township with his wife Bonnie. They have been married
for 36 years and have two
daughters: Sara and Julie.
He explained that he is the
“very proud grandfather to
Liam (10 months.)”
To round the family out they
have a West White Hiland
Terrier named Tucker.
Bill is a graduate of Slippery Rock State College
(now University). He earned an MBA from Robert
Morris College, again (now University.)
Bill’s career started at TW Phillips and from there he
moved on to Heckett Engineering. He eventually be-
came involved in health care services. He has been
in that field for 23 years and is now CFO for Concordia Visiting Nurses (the Home and Community based
services of Concordia Lutheran Ministries), located in
Cabot. In addition he is a contracted CFO with Good
Samaritan Hospice and Concordia Medical Equipment in Cabot as well as VNA Alliance in Meadville.
Bill’s hobbies include golfing and woodworking.
I am not certain if Bill is aware of this or not. He has
contracted the bug. He has been bitten and hooked.
He show the signs. It is clear. All of the symptoms
are there. Bill is an aspiring pilot.
We are exceptionally happy to welcome Bill to the
Airport Authority. We especially welcome his vast
and varied experience as a Chief Financial Officer.
Thank you Bill for your time and your service. We
hope to work with you for many years to come.
IMC Club at Butler County
Mike Neuman (CFII), member of the Butler County
Wings Weekend Committee and EAA Chapter 857,
is starting an IMC Club. Mike discovered the organization at OSH AirVenture this year.
The club’s concept is to bring together instrument
rated pilots who fly in real world IMC. Members share
stories, network with the larger pilot community, and
gain valuable insights and tips through the organizations network and assistance. Check out the website
at IMCClubs.org.
The first meeting will be on Sept. 18 at 7:00 PM in
the conference room of the admin building below the
Runway Restaurant. Future meetings will take place
every third Wednesday of the month.
IMC Club
President, Radek Wyrzykowski, will host the inaugu-
ral meeting.
There
is
no fee for
membership.
However,
you are encouraged to
join and take
advantage of
the benefits
offered
by
the national organization. If interested please contact Mike at: 724-766-6891 or email him at [email protected].
Memorial Day Ceremony at the end of the Runway
There are many to thank for the Memorial Day
Ceremony that took place at the end of the runway here at Butler County. It was indeed a community event. Many thanks go to the Penn Township Veterans, to the Fly-By pilots, to the Knoch
High School drummers and bugle player, the Penn
Township Volunteer Fire Department, the airport
community, Civil Air Patrol, Congressman, the lady
bagpiper, the general, Armstrong Utilities - Channel
10, the Bantam Marines Detachment 743, Chaplain from the VA Hospital, Gumto Greenhouse, and
Boy Scout Troop
53.
Any
veteran
looking down on
this display of gratitude, respect, and
admiration
had
to have one very
broad smile on their face on this beautiful Memorial
Day. God bless them and may they rest in peace.
Projects at our Airport
There are a number of projects in various stages
of development at Butler County Airport. Of course
just as everyone else on the field, the airport authority would like to see all of them increase their Vspeed completion rate. Unfortunately reality rears
its ugly head and gets in the way of expediency.
However, there is some light at the end of the
proverbial pitot tube. Richardson Tree Surgery and
Landscape of New Wilmington, Pa., by this writing,
will have completed tree surgery and trimming at
both ends of the runway. Naturally the purpose of
the cutting is to more completely remove unwanted
greenery from our nav areas.
In other matters of airport repair and improvement, runway crack sealing and remarking should
have been completed by August 9 depending on
weather. If it is not, we apologize and will re-double our efforts to complete this necessary project in
a timely manner.
The hard-to-pin down fuel farm for the GA side
of the field is to be up and running on 100 octane
soon. We are in the process of receiving the appropriate funding from the state and are optimistic
we will complete the project this fall.
The ever-elusive T-Hangar project is looking exceptionally good. The problem regarding funding
is lightening up but now we are looking at the ap-
proaching end of construction season. Sad to say
that realistically the best that we can expect would
be a groundbreaking date in the spring.
To follow up on the T-Hangars, we need to mention that the hangar waiting lists are published and
updated periodically. You can find them at the airport office area and the Life-Flight bathroom area.
The lists are comprised of the non-aircraft owners waiting in a sort of limbo at the bottom. The list
at the top includes aircraft owners who are in the
actual que for hangar acquisition. This method of
hangar waiting is used in surrounding airports also.
It’s no fun waiting, but what’s a pilot to do?
Mega Tool Bash – Penn Twp. VFD at BTP Strikes Again
Exceptionally large tools along with smaller garage items changed hands at the May 4th Penn
Twp. VFD tool bash at Butler County Airport. One
thousand tickets sold and 450 participants attended the event. Proceeds benefited the department’s
equipment upgrade process and extensive training
programs.
Kent Shoemaker, spokesperson for the department, expressed his gratitude for the airport’s efforts and support.
Grand prize at the event was a zero turn mower
donated by XTO Energy of Downtown Fort Worth,
Texas. The name truly is Downtown Fort Worth,
the Downtown indicating the central business district of the city.
Cash and tools were raffled off every 15minutes
for 5 hours at an average price of over 300 dollars.
The photo of the large mower in this brief article
wasn’t raffled off. The Cougar 1400 pictured here
is a 4-wheel steering, 4 wheel drive monster mower boasting a 450 hp Daimler / Chrysler Engine.
Ivan may be looking for such a beast for the north
40. Good luck, Ivan.
Fixed-Wing and Helicopter Fly-In
Meets Mega Cruise at Butler County 2013
In the mid 1500s the famed inventor, Leonardo Da Vinci, sketched
what he called an ornithopter flying
machine. See faded photo. Some
experts say this was the beginning of
what we now affectionately call ‘helicopters.’
Later (much later) the Bell Aircraft
Corporation, in 1941 in just 6 months
designed and constructed the first
Bell helicopter. The rotor blades
were composites of fir and balsa
wood with steel reinforcement on the
leading edge.
A vintage 1947 Bell Model 47 – D1
owned by Steve Setnar made an appearance at the Fly-In / Car Cruise
at Butler County Airport. Those of us
who remember the old MASH television series with Hawkeye, Trapper
John, Hot Lips Houlihan and others,
have seen a similar Bell 47 with the
210 HP Franklin producing a top
sped of 98 MPH on the series.
Other helicopters came in for the
Butler event including ones from the
Spiker Helicopter Co. (www.spikerhelicopters.com), out of Zelienople
Municipal Airport (KPJC).
With all the new activity this year
what had previously been a megacar-cruise with venders, sundry
events, food, and noted radio DJs
with great music and fireworks has
transformed. It is now a fixed-wing
and helicopter fly-in with a 1,000 unit
mega cruise booster shot.
The airport in conjunction again
with the Penn Twp. VFD collaborated
to produce this year’s affair. The airport authority is proud to thank both
aviation and four-wheel participants
for their diligence and eye to safety.
Many thanks go out to the fly-in
pilots and devoted helicopter aficionados for their cooperation with the
airport authority. We all hope to see
similar events in the future.
Welcome to Our New Tenant – StructureTec
The Butler County Airport Authority extends a but not limited to corporate, institutional, municiwarm welcome and a thank you to Structure Tec. pal, and developers.
for choosing Butler County Airport as a home for
One of their projects included extensive work
one of their many regional offices.
on the University Of Pittsburgh Medical Center
Our new tenant has taken over the office area Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic.
recently vacated by Nation Air. James Hague,
Their website offers a detailed explanation of
P.E., is the regional manager of the Pittsburgh their offerings at (www.structuretec.com).
office. Raymond Nunamaker, CIT, is the Project
Manager.
According to StructureTec, they have completed thousands of projects since their inception.
Those projects range from roof replacements to
exterior wall remediation, and from data management to infrared surveys.
They have a diverse client portfolio including
Jim Savage’s Champion 1939 Spartan 7W N17634
Jim Savage won at OSH big time. The trophy
reads: Air Venture Oshkosh 2013 – Antique Bronze
Age (1937 – 1941) Champion, James Savage, 1939
Spartan 7W N17634.
Jim Savage’s prizewinning Spartan Executive aircraft had its origins in the oil industry. Founded in
1928, the Tulsa, Oklahoma based Skelly Oil Company formed the Spartan Aircraft Corporation. After a
series of acquisitions the company fell into the hands
of J. Paul Getty, who in 1957 was named by Fortune
Magazine as the richest living American.
Getty’s empire building included plans to develop
an advanced design aircraft in terms of performance,
appearance, and luxury. In addition it would be the
grandest eye-turner at any airport in the world.
The aircraft was the Spartan 7W “Executive.” This
golden age of aviation included events such as Pan
American World Airways building a seaplane base
for their trans-Pacific China Clipper flying boat flights.
This is the era in which Jim’s Spartan was constructed. It had a wide and varied history including a
stint with the British government when it was relocat-
Before
ed to the RAF Ferry Command in Montreal, Canada
(12/24/1942).
Returned to the USA in (10/4/1945) it was demilitarized for civilian use and registered as NC-17630.
From there it was sold to the Texaco Corporation,
then a private owner, and finally to the Lone Star
Flight Museum in Houston, Texas.
More owners came and went until it suffered substantial damage in a landing mishap in Sioux Falls,
S.D. on (7/13/2007).
Purchased by Jim and Anita Savage in April of
2008 the ship started what was not a magical transition to its now pristine and championship appearance. As anyone knows who works, sweats, bleeds
and spends money on large and beautiful toys such
as aircraft – the eventual arrival to flying condition, let
alone champion status, is not an easy one.
If you want to know the good, the bad, the very bad
and the ugly of Jim’s epic journey with the Spartan
– just ask him. It is a beautiful story to hear. I wish
there was time and space to tell it here. Congratulations Jim. Enjoy it now. It is the only revenge.
After
An Update From Ivan Longdon, Airport Manager
Here is an update of the projects that have started
since July 1 and have been completed. Richardson
Tree & Landscape Service has completed the obstruction removal project. They cleared the obstructions on both the 8 and 26 ends of the runway.
Pave Care from Grove City was awarded the bid for
crack sealing and painting the runway. As the project
progressed, it was noticed that there were far fewer
cracks than were first calculated. Because of this, we
were able to seal most cracks on the entire airport,
mill out and repave some more serious blemishes.
Also, all of the painted areas were repainted.
Dave Parker of PennDOT Bureau of Aviation deserves a great deal of thanks for pursuing and getting
all of the extra work done. It is a huge improvement
for the airport.
We have a tentative allocation for the fuel farm.
That project is moving along. We recently found that
the block grant money from the FAA has been released.
There are two projects that we can move ahead
on. Land acquisition in the RPZ at the 8 end of the
runway can begin this fall. The other project will be
widening the south side taxiway so the new T-Hangar project can begin. However, because the funding
came so late, we have lost our construction season.
Construction will begin as soon as the weather permits next spring.
Butler County Airport Authority Thanks go out to Commissioner Pinkerton
The following is a brief thank you
to Commissioner Dale Pinkerton
for his hard work and devotion to
the goals and efforts of the Butler
County Airport Authority. We are
happy to see him turn the corner
and enter the meeting room during our regular and special sessions. What is more, the chartreuse sport coat, matching belt,
and tie brighten things up.
Much of the time he is up at 5:00 a.m. to do his
bike-ride on the Rails to Trails route. From there
he is off to the Butler County Government Center.
If you spend time with him during the day you will
spend a great number of hours in and out of his office.
If you stick with him after his official work hours
at the government center you ultimately realize that
the day has just started. In other words, the trip
home after his workday is not a direct route. There
are miles to go before the exercise ride the next
morning.
There is a small reprieve after the dinner hour.
This, I figure, must be the time he decides to change
and go with the pink coat, plaid tie, and white belt.
Off to another meeting.
All kidding aside – the commissioner is a sartorial perfectionist with a keen and shameless eye for
color. Whatever tint, shade, or hue he wears when
arriving at our meetings, we are glad to see him.
Thanks you for all you do above and beyond the call
Commissioner Pinkerton.
Welcome to EAA Chapter 857
The Butler County Airport Authority welcomes
EAA Chapter 857 to BTP. We are happy to have
them as part of our airport facility. The chapter officers provided us a summary of the EAA and in
particular some important informational points regarding Chapter 857. Rather than reinventing the
proverbial VSI, here is what they have to say to all
of the crews here at Butler County:
EAA
Chapter
857 is pleased to
call KBTP our new
home; thank you
Butler for welcoming
us onto your field!
Our chapter is part
of the worldwide
network of EAA chapters headquartered in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. The Experimental Aircraft Association originated in 1953 to connect hobbyists engaged in designing and building their own aircraft.
Over time the organization expanded its mission
to those with other aviation interests: restoration of
antiques, classics, and warbirds. Other members
focus on aerobatics and aircraft, ultralights, helicopters, or contemporary manufactured aircraft. EAA’s
170,000 plus members enjoy the fun and camaraderie of sharing their passion for all things aviation.
We are a group of aviation enthusiasts, aircraft
builders, and pilots who get together with like-minded people to share ideas, exchange information,
encourage safety, serve the local aviation community and have a lot of fun doing so.
Most of our local membership of about 60 are pi-
lots with a variety of private, commercial, and military experience. Many members own and operate
their own aircraft or are members of the Condor
Aero Club. A significant portion have or are actively
building / restoring their own airplanes. You may
have seen a yellow and blue Van’s RV-12 based
here at Butler - it was built by several of our members. As a chapter we have demonstrated and
taught aircraft welding, fabric recovering, fiberglass
layup, and sheet metal seminars. We have held
Chili, Spaghetti, and Breakfast fly-ins, with plans for
this summer in Mid August and September.
Several chapter members are student pilots recently introduced to general aviation through the
EAA’s Young Eagles program which seeks to engage youth in aviation interests. International Young
Eagles Day 2013 on June 8th was our first event
held at Butler County. Nearly 40 youth had the opportunity to learn about aviation and flight concepts
followed by an opportunity to ride in a member’s aircraft.
Whether you fly, build, restore or simply enjoy
airplanes and aviation, you are welcome to attend
our events and join our chapter. More information
can be found on our chapter website: http://857.
eaachapter.org