Fly-in to Meno, Doane Field, for October’s Meeting!

Photo from Burlington, KS fly-in.  Thanks to Dwayne Lee

 The October meeting of the EAA Chapter 455 will be held at Doane Field in Meno, Oklahoma, Sunday October 20^th 2002.  Members are encouraged to FLY-IN weather permitting, or make the short drive west from Enid.  Mica is planning on making chili, members can bring cornbread, dessert, etc. Lawn chairs are also a good idea.   Mica will have the dishes, silverware and drinks.  Let's start about 2:30 and then eat about 5:00 p.m.  The field is 2 miles south and 1 mile east of Meno or 1.5 SE of Decker field.  Signs will be posted on 412.  See you there! 

The September meeting of EAA Chapter 455 convened at Woodring Regional Airport, 2:30 p.m.  President Ken Sumpter presided.  The following individuals were in attendance:  Ken Sumpter, Charlie Calivas, Gene Martin, Ron Decker, Cass Montgomery, Mica Doane, Syd and Diann Nelson, Ken Hollrah, Mike Kitterman, John “The Darter” Jameson, Greg Miller, Roy Camp, Tom Nicholas, Mike Nicholas, Wayne Janzen, Dwayne Lee.  One visitor, Jerry Winkleman, was a guest of Greg “Retired Man” Miller.  One member on this list is not current on his dues – can you guess who he is? 

Ken discussed nominations for next year’s officers.  If you are interested, please let Ken know prior to the next meeting.  The Christmas party is almost here, but we’re almost out of cash.  We might have to charge a very nominal fee to pull it off.  Don’t forget that we still owe for insurance and EAA Chapter HQ payments at the end of the year.  Ron Hazlett was not available for a treasurer’s report.  

Meeting was adjourned – let’s fly! 

 Syd and Diann Nelson:  We have “maxxed out” the RV8A.  Syd's brother, who is 6'4" pretty well filled up the back seat of the RV.  The 8 is designed to handle tall pilots, but is limited for the passengers.  It was a tight fit, but he made it into the back seat, without cushions and my booster seat.  The real test was getting his 16 year old son in.  He's 6'9", that's no typo, this boy is TALL!  It took us awhile to get him in, we were persistant as the kid likes flying.  It was a challenge getting those long legs in the tunnel by Syd's seat.  The canopy was in the way too, but take it slow and he got in.  They both had a great time flying and were impressed with the RV's performance.  It was a little warm and bumpy to be flying, but they still enjoyed it.  We don't think he would've fit in our RV6 as it was a jam fit to get him in the 8!  Sorry, no pictures and that would've been an excellent one.  He's hard to believe he's so tall.  His brother is a senior this year and is a little shorter than his brother, but not by much, maybe an inch or two.  I'll try to get a picture of our nephew sometime.  No he doesn't like basketball either.  We introduced him to Ringwood's basketball coach.  He's short, about my height, (Diann).  Chris, our nephew was sitting when Syd introduced him.  When he stood up, the coach's mouth dropped and followed his ascent up.  His only question was, “what grade are you in?”

Ken Sumpter:  The C-150 is in for the annual inspection, and he’s having a M20 air-oil separator installed at Airman Acres.  Should be ready soon.  He also went on a really fun soaring trip to Utah, and flew several sailplanes in HUGE thermals (that took him almost into Class A airspace!).

Dave Chael:  Dave took Steve Janzen and Terry Cox to Neosho, Missouri to look at a Tiger!  Looks like a sharp airplane, and a sure bet for Terry.  Dave is headed to the American Bonanza Society convention in Wichita on September 18-21.  Bonanza heaven!  The Bonanza annual started Saturday October 12^th with a “SVFR fly-by” at Woodring.  Plans include replacing control cables, an old vacuum pump, ignition harness, an array of filters, sheet metal repairs, and a list of thousands of little things that keep cropping up an a contemporary old airplane.  Lots of fun and frustration!

Gene Martin:  Working on new intake seals.  Airplane is running great!

 Ken Hollrah:  Ken and the Mrs are sprigging the runway, since a significant majority of the bermuda seed has probably blown well into Kansas by now!  The new runway is 2 east and 1 north of Fairmont.  Future EAA Chapter 455 fly-out for sure!

 Doc Camp is looking forward to his medical renewal in December! 

John Jameson:  John flew-in to the meeting in the Darter!  John says it flies well, and it looks great too (photo attached).  The airplane is hangared in Medford.

 Mike Kitterman:  Mike is soon to be the proud owner of a HummelBird, on the way being delivered by truck at meeting time!  Details listed in last newsletter, but here’s a quick rundown:  ½ VW engine, 37 HP, +/- 6 Gs, 300#.  Hope to see him flying very soon.  Mike plans to hangar it in Medford.

Mica Doane:  The October meeting will be held in Meno rain or shine!  Weather permitting, Mica and Brenda Doane will host the Chapter at Doane field.  Fly-in or drive in for one of the best activities of the year!  Mica will make his famous “roadkill” chili (it’s outstanding), and members will be asked to bring a side dish/dessert (wonder if there will be lemon cake that I thought was cornbread for the chili – I’ll never live that one down, but it tasted really good!      ed).  Plan on a 2:30 p.m. show, and eating around 5:00 p.m.  Fly-in freq:  122.9  Don’t miss this one!

Ken Sumpter discussed a possible fly-out to Weatherford to see the museum.  Outstanding!

Lonnie Gillespie:  Lonnie Gillespie’s surgery results are great!  Here’s a recent e-mail received about Lonnie’s condition:   Hi, all!  Lonnie's operation went very well yesterday (Oct. 8). They wheeled him into surgery at about 1:15 pm, and were thru by about 3:15 pm. The doctor reported that he was able to remove the cancer, without a colostomy, and his other organs looked to be in good shape. We are still waiting tests on the lymph nodes, so we are still praying about those results. He came to his room at about 4:15 pm, and Peggy, Tommy (his brother), and I stayed until 9:30. Elsie spent the night. This morning he had a slight fever and the doctor had him sit up in a chair to help get rid of it. Within an hour, the fever has gone down.  It doesn't seem that the doctor had to touch Lonnie's sense of humor - he's already been cracking jokes and flirting with the nurses! He seems to have good care, with plenty of attention.  Thank you all for your continued prayers.  Doug Anderson

Submitted by John Jameson 

On Thursday my friend Mike and I packed up our little car to drive to Santa Fe for the 2002 Roadrunner 1000 Vintage Car Rally.  The rules for entry were a "run what you brung" pre-1978 format so I had devised an "anti-effete car snob" strategy and prepared my 1974 Toyota Corolla Coupe for the rally.  I had it cheaply painted white with blue racing stripes and world rally championship stickers on it.  Four big driving lights above the tiny bumper.  On the rear decklid, I had the following legend:

"1974 Toyota Corolla:  $275”

“Earl Scheib paint job:  $95”

“Roadrunner 1000 participation:  PRICELESS"

Mike and I drove halfway after work Thursday.  The pretty drive to Woodward and down through Pampa to Amarillo.  Stopped in Gage at the tiny airport to look at some ultralight airplanes.... overgrown grass and a nice hangar with about 7 ultralights in it.  An unfinished HummelBird for sale.  Two neat airbikes or skybikes.....  Arrived in Santa Fe in the early afternoon on Friday.  Beautiful two-bedroom condo on a hill overlooking Santa Fe.  Mike's wife had driven ahead and would join us for part of the event later.  Lots of beautiful exotic cars parked all around.  Gorgeous weather.  We went out to the airport and looked at the warbird guy.  He gives fun rides in his Mig 17,  Fouga, l-29 and Albatross.  Expensive, but might be worth it.  Also Ike's Air Force One Constellation the "Columbine" is on display.  No rope and we walked all around.  At the evening reception, we were treated to Greg Whitten's slide show of the Ferrari GTO reunion in France earlier in the year.  Greg owns one of the 39 GTO's in existence.  Value: over 9 million bucks, if you can believe that.  Greg is a low number employee at Microsoft and is obviously megarich, but is a great unassuming and friendly car guy.  Great pictures and with the first American world champion (and the only American-born world champion) Mr. Phil Hill, in the room, the mood was festive and fun.  The rally the next day was fantastic.  Beautiful weather and we followed a silver Ferrari 330 GT for a large part of it.  Lunch was at Rancho De Chimayo in the country.  I met a fascinating writer who ate with us at our table.  She was smart and attractive.  Before lunch I corner Phil Hill and his wife Alma and enjoyed a brief conversation with them.  Very gracious and nice.  Phil signed my copy of "YANKEE CHAMPION, the biography of America's only world champion, Phil Hill".  In the afternoon, during the competitive portion of the rally, despite our one wrong turn, the little Toyota did great.  We would later learn we took fifth place!!  Total rally miles: about 120...  The banquet in the evening was delicious (more Mexican!!).  Mr. Hill and pioneer woman racing driver, co-host, and racing author, Denise McCluggage narrated a great selection of Denise's vintage Formula 1 racing photo's.  Great commentary from a unique perspective.  It’s one thing to read about the glory years of racing, but its another to hear the Ferrari world champion discuss live what really went on.

The car show was on Sunday morning.  My little Toyota was on the plaza next to four Panteras.  Whitten was showing his million dollar lightweight e-type Jaguar.  There were about 100 cars entered and parked all around the plaza.  When the awards were presented, the little Corolla won "PEOPLE'S CHOICE"!!!!  What a great surprise!!!  Mike took my picture as I accepted my award from Phil!!  What a great memory!!  We stayed over Sunday night and gambled at the nice Camel Rock Indian Casino.  When I’m lucky, I’m lucky, as I won 60 dollars at blackjack.  On Monday, we drove the 600 miles home.  The little Toyota purred like a kitten and didn't miss a beat all the way home.  Nice trip!!  I'd like to do it again. 

The Association of Facility Engineers (AFE) has scheduled another tour of the project to make “Doc”, a B-29B Superfortress, fly again.  Doc was built in Wichita in 1944 and is now in the midst of a complete restoration.  When the project is finished, Doc will become only the world’s second flight-certified B-29! 

You are invited to see a Wichita native on it’s way to becoming a flying museum.  The date is November 14, from 6:00 to 7:30 p.m. at Boeing Plant II.  Call Herb Coin at 316-262-0401 for reservations.  There is no charge for the tour. Thanks to Ken Hollrah for this submission 

 Your newsletter editor is proposing a slightly modified dues structure for the coming year.  The most significant cost-saving initiative we’ve ever seen is the advent of e-mail!  We’ve saved literally hundreds of dollars over the past couple of years, which has enabled us to keep the dues at a ridiculously-low and paltry sum of $10.00.  I’d like to keep dues low, but we need to remain solvent as well.  E-mail is virtually free for the Chapter to send.  However, snail mail is costing us a lot more to send out to those who do not have e-mail. 

 Here’s the breakdown of estimated costs to publish the newsletter in hard-copy: 

Postage:  $0.37

Printing:  $0.20 (assumes a 4-page newsletter, five cents per page)

Envelope/paper:  $0.03 

Other costs not recaptured:

Newsletter editor mileage to post office, laser-printer toner, etc.

At an approximate cost of approximately $0.60 per month to mail out, those who do not have e-mail “cost” the Chapter about $7.20 per year more than those who do not.  As the Newsletter editor, I certainly a am NOT proposing the cessation of a hard-copy format.  I’m happy to do it for those who do not have e-mail.  Bottom line:  what’s fair for the entire Chapter?  Should those with e-mail continue to subsidize those who do NOT have this capability?  Or am I whining about nothing?  Here’s my proposal.  Let’s have several dues structures base on delivery method.  For those with e-mail, I recommend keeping the dues at $10.00.  For other members without e-mail, I recommend stepping-up the dues to a modest $15.00. 

 Also, we’re currently exchanging newsletters with several chapters who do not use e-mail.  I recommend we offer to exchange free, but only on an e-mail basis.  If they want to receive our newsletter, I recommend a nominal charge to cover the cost of postage and reproduction, say around $7.00 per year.

 Another proposal would be to raise dues for everyone to around $15.00 and not worry about the e-mail issue.  What do you think?  In my humble opinion, dues should stay as low as possible, and yet the Chapter must be solvent enough to cover anticipated expenses for the year.  Please respond to my e-mail address and I’ll publish some or all of the recommendations (no names).  Remember, it’s YOUR EAA Chapter! 

 Question: Is there any difference between airport identifiers that are all letters instead of letters and numbers?

Answer: According to FAA Order 7350.7A "Location Identifiers," there is a difference in the identifiers. It states that "three-letter identifiers are assigned as radio call signs to aeronautical navigation aids; to airports with a manned air traffic control facility or navigational aid within airport boundary; to airports that receive scheduled route air carrier or military airlift service, and to airports designated by the U.S. Customs Service as Airports of Entry." Some of these identifiers are assigned to certain aviation weather reporting stations. Public-use or private-use landing facilities that do not meet the requirements for identifiers in the three-letter series are usually assigned a letter/number combination identifier. See AOPA Online. 

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On September 26, EAA filed a petition requesting that the self-certified medical venture reach beyond its current bounds of hot-air balloon and glider pilots and into the field of Recreational Pilot certificate holders. Learning from past attempts, EAA is proposing in its petition to establish a five-year test to assist the FAA in building needed data.  The organization feels the data "captured from this study, when combined with the lessons learned from the sport pilot medical rule, would be sufficient to expand the use of the driver's license medical authority to recreational pilots."  Keep your fingers crossed ….. for the next five years. 

Thanks to our newsletter contributors this month:  Syd and Diann Nelson, Ken Hollrah, Dwayne Lee, Mica Doane, John Jameson, and Mike Kitterman.

If your news isn’t here, it’s because we didn’t know about it! 

Fly Safe! 

 Dave