---------------------------------------------------------------------------- CO-OPA Newsletter April 16, 2002 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= IN THIS ISSUE - April Meeting - Guest Speaker - Update Membership - Hangar Flying - New Spirit of St. Louis - Local Update - Survival Follow up - April Fly-Out - March Fly-Out - FAA Public Notice - From The Tower - Owyhee Work Party - Check This Out =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= APRIL MEETING This months meeting will be on Thursday, April 18th, 6:00pm at the Bend Airport (S07) in the Flight Services building. GUEST SPEAKER by Clay Trenz Mr. Parker Johnstone will be our guest speaker this month. Parker is a former IMSA Indy Car race car driver. Now, he is an ESPN racing commentator when he is not flying. Also, he spends many hours raising money for non profit organizations through aviation. His aeronautical experience includes Commercial/Instrument/Flight instructor - SEL. Specialized training in aerobatic and formation flight with tailwheel/complex/high-performance aircraft endorsements. Last year he completed the race around Oregon. Soon he will attempt the race around America. He also teaches the Unusual Attitude Survival Course and gives aerobatic lessons in his very own Super Decathlon. His company is Cascades Aerobatics, LLC. and is operated out of Roberts Field, Redmond. He will be discussing his nonprofit aviation experiences and giving us a presentation on his experience during his race around Oregon. UPDATE MEMBERSHIP by Don Wilfong Please do me a favor and go on to our web site: http://co-opa.rellim.com and pull up the membership list The User Name is S07 (that is S zero 7) and the password is 123.0 to get into members only info. Please check all information about you on the list and if there are any corrections please e-mail them to me at dwnw@bendnet.com and I will see that the list is corrected. Also you will note that the first column on the list is used to indicate those who have paid (Local Chapter Dues) You can find the form for Membership Application or Renewal on the web site too. If you wish you can print out a copy and use it to send in your Dues to Gary Miller.....address is on the form. Thank You All Very Much for helping me keep the list up to date. If you have any additional questions you may email me, dwnw@bendnet.com HANGAR FLYING by Joel Premselaar I'll be gone for the next two months, so I'll fill my allotted space with a couple of Stephen King like stories, i.e., horrible stories. We were 12 budding Naval Aviators assigned to our first solo night flight. Snoopy would be proud of us for it was a dark, cold, and monocles night. We would generate our own stormy situation. We mustered in the ready Air Station was located in Millington about 15 miles north of Memphis has some significance in this tale. the Chief Flight Instructor began briefing by dividing us into two flights. Flight one, to which I was assigned, was to take off first, climb to 2,000 ft, and set up an orbit within gliding distance of the field. The second flight was directed to take off second, remain the the traffic pattern, and shoot "touch and go" landings (for student pilots it was termed "crash and dash"), i.e., land and immediately takeoff. A green light (our aircraft had no radios) from the tower signaled, "cleared for taxi and takeoff." A green flare fired from the tower meant that the flights were to exchange places. A red flare fired from the tower was the recall signal for all aircraft to land, ending the exercise. Firing a red flare from an aircraft meant that it was experiencing an emergency and all other aircraft were to clear the landing pattern. That was it! Sounding like the voice of doom, the Chief flight Instructor's next words were "All right Men (we were barely over twenty), man your aircraft. It wasn't easy climbing into an open cockpit, fabric covered biplane while garbed in heavy winter fight gear. I couldn't strap myself in wearing thick and stiff leather gloves, so I had to do it with numb hare hands. I stuffed the tails of my white silk scarf into my jacket, donned a navy blue woolen face mask (I think it was cut out of some swabby's navy blue uniform), and finally put on my helmet, goggles, and gloves, I felt like a knight preparing for a joust. I was the fourth plane to enter the upper pattern. Now six strong, we circled the field, each following the navigation lights of the other. A line from Mac Beth flashed through my mind - "this place is too cold for hell!" I didn't know that the south could get this cold. My breath froze my woolen mask into a rigid shield hard enough to deflect a lance. Even though my goggles overlay it, the mask remained fixed in space. Unless I held the mask to my face, whenever I moved my head, my eyes would be displaced from the mask's eye opening, the consequences of this is clear to see - - NOT! To compound the problem, I couldn't feel the rudder pedals through my thick flight boots, to say nothing of the control stick in my hand. I was not a happy bird. Suddenly I realized that the lights of the air base were they should be. There was darkness below and the occasional lights of vehicles on the back roads. I was not the typical student naval aviator. I was a student because I had to learn the Navy's way and a good thing that was. I had more flight time than several of the flight instructors, consequently, I felt compelled to seize the initiative and lead the flight back to the field. Noting what I thought was a large gap between two of the circling aircraft, I headed for it confident that the sheep behind me would follow what ultimately turned out to be a Judas Goat - - me. Holding my mask, I twisted and turned to look for traffic when one tail of my scarf escaped from within my flight jacket. The slipstream captured the wayward tail of the scarf, which rose up and covered my face. Holding the stick between my knees, I alternately fought with the scarf and the mask. It became a game of peekaboo. Gasping with effort, my goggles frosted and I was forced to raise them out of the way. SPIT (oh you clever er devil, you caught that euphemism, didn't you). Consternation amplified - - now my eyes were tearing. It's a good thing tears are salty or my eyes would have iced up. I finally got everything under control, but where were my companions in misery? "Nuts," I told myself. Forget this initiative stuff. Latch onto the first set of navigation light you see and become a sheep to survive." Then, to my relief, slightly below and to one side I saw a white tail light with a green light to its starboard and a red on to its port. I eased the throttle to its stop and tailed in behind my new leader. Gradually I became aware that it was getting lighter, and then reality struck like a bolt of lightning. I was over the outskirts of Memphis. this time it was Oh Spit SPIT! Silhouetted against the now bright background was the aircraft I wa pursuing. It was an R4D (in mufti, a DC-3 commercial transport) approaching Memphis Airport for a landing. It would be a gross understatement to say that I was flabbergasted and if one could read the smoke signals coming from my mouth, I would be embarrassed. Oh well, At least I knew where I was geographically. I devised a plan for a surreptitious reentry into the upper flight pattern over the Naval Base. I would turn off my lights ad turn them on again once safely ensconced in the pattern - non would be the wiser for it. Even as I reached for the light switch, I looked back as every good pilot should do before turning. I experienced yet another shock for there, strung out behind me were five sets of lights. The entire upper circle flight followed me to Memphis! Boldly I left the lights on and led my stray sheep home. The Base was easy to find because the area was clearly marked with series of red flares fired from the tower. The now frantic Chief Flight Instructor wanted no mistakes made in recognizing the recall signal. We entered the lower pattern in response to the recall signal. Spooked by an almost continuous stream of red flares, many aircraft in the landing pattern aborted their landings as many novices are apt to do when stressed. Interpreting the aborts as a continuation of "touch and goes," the Chief Fright Destructor (these are not typos) was in an apoplectic frenzy and continued to shoot red flares until I thought h's set the Base On fire. The two flights were now a confused mixture of randomly bouncing up and down aircraft. Our Maker must have shut his eyes and prayed that we would not exchange paint with each other while airborne. Miraculously we all made it back to the flight line in one piece. This led me to wonder - - to who does our Maker pray when he prays? Fast forward to the ready room for the debriefing. I can't describe the Chief Flight Instructor's state. You wouldn't believe me if I did. His mail question was, "Who led the upper Flight toward Memphis?" We All looked at each other, then to our esteemed Instructor and shrugged our shoulders in eloquent silence. Our chagrined and completely defeated Chief Flight Instructor aped our gesture and, no longer the erect image of authority, shambled out of the room all the while shaking his head in disbelief. Mindful that our all-knowing Maker is cognizant of the truth of my incredible blunder, I write this in deference to my surviving fellow airmen and to clear my conscience. Those who reside above already know the truth and I don't care about those sweating in the lower reaches! NEW SPIRIT OF ST. LOUIS by Jack Kohler Today, 03/29/2002, was a special day at our Bend Airport (SO7). The Lancair Columbia factory was the location for an historical aviation event. Eric Lindbergh, the grandson of the late aviator Charles Lindbergh, was presented the keys to his new Lancair Colombia 300 "The New Spirit of St. Louis" in which he will recreate the 1927 New York to Paris flight of his grandfather. Lance Neibauer, CEO and founder of Lancair, presented the keys to Eric with one condition. That Eric ceremoniously hand the keys back to him when he lands in Paris, since Lance will be in Paris upon his arrival. Eric's choice of the Lancair Columbia 300 was based on several factors which included Lancair's technology, safety and performance. Erik gave an emotional "Thanks", pointing out the help and support provided by the entire Lancair team. After the presentation Erik preflighted the "New Spirit of St. Louis", climbed aboard and entered the Columbia with a thumbs-up gesture and continued his checklist, started the engine and began taxiing to active runway 16 for a few laps around the pattern. Which included a low level fly-by providing not only a great photo opportunity, but the opportunity to hear the sound and watch the beauty of this high performance Experimental Lancair Columbia 300. Eric has overcome several medical adversities, including rheumatoid arthritis, which he attributes Enbrel, a drug developed by a Seattle based biotech company named Immunex which contributed to the return of his active lifestyle. Erik says he has been given second chance at life and would like to give others the inspiration for possibly their first. He hopes this flight will bring more awareness to individuals with this and other debilitating diseases and give them inspiration to follow their hopes and dreams. Erik was very passionate and gracious while answering questions regarding the upcoming flight. When asked if he would be carrying any momentos of his grandfather's flight he said he'll be carrying his swiss army knife. Eric displayed a great appreciation for his granddad pointing out the odds were not good for success and it was not just his sheer will power and luck but his attention to detail and the incredible amount of planning prior to his flight. The same passion to detail and planning has been incorporated in the choice of the Lancair Columbia 300. I contacted the Lancair team regarding detailed specifications for the "New Spirit of St. Louis" but due to the Sun And Fun event in Florida there was no one available for comment. We'll just save that for another issue, stay tuned... LOCAL UPDATE Bend Public Works update. The original plan called for the AWOS to be installed during last years budget. but due to management changes no one was prepared to see the project to completion. The plan now calls for the AWOS to be installed this summer although Public Works has not yet received a grant to cover the cost which could postpone the scheduled summer 2002 install. The budget for this coming fiscal year, 2002-2003, is in the final approval stages and the improvements for the FBO upstairs and funds for a half time airport manager have been included. Upon final approval of the upcoming 2002-2003 budget the Public Works department will place ads requesting potential candidates for the Bend Municipal Airport Manager position to apply. The relocation of Nelson Rd. and the runway is on track, the environmental work has been scheduled and the project completion is projected to take place in the summer 2004. The communication between the airport community and Bend Public Works has improved citing the complaints regarding flying activity by the airport neighbors has reduced, although some complaints are occasionally reported especially in the Alfalfa area. It's recommended the Bend Municipal Airport Fly Friendly noise abatement procedures should be reviewed by all pilots not familiar with this procedure. The final La Pine Airport Feasibility Study been completed and is available online. The document is in Adobe Acrobat format (this document is approx. 16Mb). The Study will be presented to the Board of County Commissioners at an upcoming worksession (not yet scheduled). For information contact Steve Jorgensen via email Steve_Jorgensen@co.deschutes.or.us SURVIVAL COURSE FOLLOWUP by Jack Kohler "Next month I'll report on my progress and share with you my experience, I can hardly wait..." Those were my words last month when I was looking forward to my day in the air with Aerobatic Instructor Parker Johnstone. Well the day finally arrived, April 2, 2002, and I was ready. That morning I walked Pilot Butte getting my aerobic exercise and psyching up for the day's lesson. When I arrived at Redmond Airport Parker was waiting at the hangar and greeted me, we went over some preliminaries and our itinerary for the day. While Parker was preflighting the Super Decathlon he had me sit in the front seat and become acquainted with the instrument panel and look around for familiarity prior to our flight. This would be my first flight in a stick and rudder plane not to mention the conventional landing gear (taildragger for those of you that think conventional means something else)! After a thorough briefing on the packing requirements, use and donning of the parachute we were ready to climb aboard and buckle in. Prior to taxiing, Parker covered the controls (since we sit tandem and he's in the back, I would need to operate some of the controls and avionics) and how we will communicate during the lesson. Having NO prior experience in a conventional gear airplane Parker had me monitor the controls while we were taxiing and during the takeoff. For those of you who have your taildragger endorsements I have a great respect for your accomplishment. During our flight to the practice area Parker introduced me to a couple maneuvers (he has his own special box & circle exercise) that challenged my coordination and sharpened my cross control skills. Once we arrive at the practice area, at safe altitude and cleared the airspace the show began. Parker first would demonstrate a maneuver, then he would talk me through the use of the stick and rudder pedals as I would perform the exercise. During certain exercises the sensation of increased G's being placed upon my body was very noticeable and validated by the G-meter on the panel. After performing steep turns, stalls and cross controlled exercises the time was right for what I had hoped to experience, yes, the spin. The demonstration spin was just like the book, hold the nose up, stall, full left rudder, invert, spin, stabilize with opposite rudder, stick forward, ease back to controlled flight. WOW! It happened fast, I was totally amazed at what just took place. Since you can see out of the top of the plane, during the inverted part of the spin I was able to look up (really down) and see where we were going, reference to the ground, and anticipate the recovery. It was positively something I will remember for the rest of my life, my first spin. With Parker's excellent instruction I was able to enter and recover my own one turn spin. I have now experienced what had to be one of my major fears of flying, and I survived. What a feeling of accomplishment. If the instruction would have ended there that would have given me quite a bit to digest, but Parker senses how much the student can absorb based on their performance and understanding of these exercises, and I wanted more. He gave it to me, I was introduced to inverted flight. I must admit it was definitely an experience that rivals the spin, but this time I was dealing with a little more spatial orientation challenge and after the demonstration I was ready for some cold fresh air! On the way back to the airport Parker recapped our flight and reinforced the importance of the maneuvers I was learning as the building blocks for a confident understanding on how to apply the controls when and/or if you should find yourself in an unusual attitude. I discovered the plane really wants to fly, and it takes effort to place it into an unusual attitude. The skills I was learning provide the quickest and safest way to recover from an unusual attitude and the plane will actually help. I know this experience has given me some valuable practical skills to practice and an understanding of how and when to use them. I'm looking forward to our next session, this also introduced me to something else, flying that was really, really, REALLY FUN! APRIL FLY-OUT by Don Wilfong The plan is to meet at the Flight Shop at 08:45 on Sat. April 20 for departure at 09:00. Destination is the Flying "M" Ranch (OR05) over by McMinnville. The weather did not cooperate for the March Fly-out but we had a good time anyway. It is really not a difficult airport, several of us flew in when we went there before and found to be quite easy. If you have questions call me or bring them up at the meeting/potluck April 18. The weather alternative is to stay on this side of the mountains....we have not been to Chiloquin for quite some time so thought that would be a good spot to go and the access to the restaurant is a short walk across busy highway 97. The food and service has always been great. I am working on some other places we can go with things to do....but....could still use some suggestions for new ideas. Let me hear from you and I will check your suggestions out and try to include them in our plans. Be sure to set aside the weekend of May 18 and 19 for the fly-out with overnight camping at Owyhee Reservoir Airstrip (28U). It should be a lot of fun and how often do you have the opportunity to help install a real "outhouse"??? Next months news letter will have complete info on what exciting things are planned. Dale said he was going to check out the airport ahead of time so there will be no surprises. Don Wilfong, dwnw@bendnet.com MARCH FLY-OUT by Don Wilfong FLY-OUT FUN!!! Sunday 3/24 we met at the Flight Shop at 09:00. We reassessed the weather (South and West both looked kinda black) so we decided to take the easy way out and headed down to Christmas Valley. Those who went were Mike and Ann Bond (in their Cardinal RG), Gary Miller, his co-pilot Kimmy and Deane Cooper in Gary's (Turbo Centurian), Mike and Marcia Guth came in their beautiful (Lancair IVP) Deane rode back with the Guths, Norm Royse showed up in his snappy looking (Navion) and Norma & I flew our (Skylane). Mike Brownlie and Nancy Lecklider both showed up at the airport to see us off but Mike couldn't go as he had an appointment and Nancy went home to take care of Bob (Bob woke up not feeling well). Hope you are okay now Bob. We all walked over to the Lodge for breakfast.....well.....the wait was long and a couple of orders got mixed up but other than that it was enjoyable and we had plenty of time to visit, hangar fly and solve most of the world's problems. We plan to try the other restaurant next time. We had planned on flying to the Flying "M" Ranch or to Chiloquin but the weather did not co-operate. This time of year that happens but we always improvise and have a great time anyway. Again......we missed your smiling faces and would have enjoyed having you along. Maybe next time??????? See "APRIL FLY-OUT" for next months plans and don't forget the May fly-out and overnight camping trip to Owyhee Reservoir State Airport "28U" for an event you can really "dig". It should be a lot of fun. FAA PUBLIC NOTICE James E. Riley, Specialist Airspace Branch REPRINT FROM CO-OPA SQUAWK SHEET The Pamplin Broadcasting - Oregon, Inc., 10209 Division St., SE, Portland, Oregon 97266, is seeking permits for a group of four antenna towers 3.76 nm southwest of the Bend Municipal Airport (S07). The tower heights will be approximately 280 feet AGL (3800 ft. MSL). Since these structures exceed the FAA obstruction standards the FAA is conducting an aeronautical study. This will help determine it's effect upon the safe and efficient use of navigable airspace by aircraft and on the operation of air navigation facilities. In the study, consideration will be given to all facts relevant to the effect of the structure on existing and planned airspace use, air navigation facilities, airports, aircraft operations, procedures and minimum altitudes, and the air traffic control system. The impacts on visual operations are under study. The antenna tower group is approximately where Stover Park is located just North of Pilot Butte (see Figure 1). GCC Communication's studio, located on Butler Market Road at Wells Acres Rd. currently has two existing antenna towers. The current height of these towers are, tower one 280.5 ft., tower two 265.1 ft. According to Air Life Director, Vern Bartley, the additional four antenna towers will constrict the available airway for westerly egress and ingress to St. Charles Medical Center via Air Life helicopter rescue flights. This poses a serious safety problem for the operation and services St. Charles and Air Life provide for the Central Oregon community. Each of the FAA Public Notices can be read and viewed by going to the following link on our Central Oregon - Oregon Pilots Association web site. http://co-opa.rellim.com/s07/faa17apr02/ All members and interested persons are encouraged to participate in this aeronautical study. Comments can be FAXed, 425 227-1530, to James Riley followed by sending the original to the FAA branch Office. FROM THE TOWER by Dwight Coker Starting April 8th the Redmond Airport will be experiencing the beginning of a fairly large construction project that will last into December 2002. During this period of time there will be runway and taxi closures like the April 8th closure of Runway 4-22 and ILS for approximately 30 days. It will be important for pilots to monitor NOTAMs during these construction dates. Example of current NOTAMs Redmond OR (Roberts Field) [RDM]: April NOTAM #8 Runway 22 ILS out of service will be effective April 08th, 2002 at 10:00 AM PDT (0204081700) - April 30th, 2002 at 07:00 PM PDT (0205010200) Redmond OR (Roberts Field) [RDM]: April NOTAM #7 4/22 closed will be effective April 08th, 2002 at 12:00 AM PDT (0204080700) The plans are to increase the terminal ramp to approximately three times the current size and provide a new taxi way "N" off runway 4-22 that will proceed west to taxi way "F" and continue to the Forest Service (Fig 1). This will help facilitate ground traffic and improve navigation to the Forest Service. There have been several questions concerning why the ILS is Out of Service during the taxi way and ramp construction. The answer is, the equipment being used during this construction has the ability to interfere with the localizer signal affecting the accuracy of the ILS. Since the accuracy of the ILS cannot be guaranteed the FAA requires that it be placed Out of Service and the signal be turned off. NOTE: In the past the FAA posted NOTAMs indicating an ILS was Out of Service due to similar circumstances yet the localizer signal was still transmitting. A pilot, ignoring the NOTAM, shot the approach and it ended tragically with a fatal crash. If you have any questions I can be reached by calling RDM tower 541 548-2574 or email rdmserco@aol.com OWYHEE FLYOUT WORK PARTY by Don Wilfong CENTRAL OREGON CHAPTER is hosting a fly-out, work party, barbecue & overnight camp-out at the Owyhee Reservoir State Airport (28U) on May 18/19. The main project is to dig a hole and erect a genuine, fully functioning "outhouse" for the use of the flyers and boaters who frequent the area. We will also police up the area as needed. We plan to have fun too. We will arrive fairly early Sat. Then around 14:00 hrs. there will be a potluck barbecue with hamburgers, sausage dogs, chicken breasts, buns & etc. provided by the Central Oregon Chapter. We will also furnish paper plates, cups, paper towels and plastic silver ware. You are asked to bring something like salad, chips, desert or whatever and something to drink. Be sure to bring your drinking water (there is none available on site). If you plan to spend the night plan for your other meals. Bring your tie downs, camping gear and whatever else you might need. The barbecue is early as some people do not plan to stay overnight. The airport is 1840' x 30' @ 2680' and is dirt. Let's all be safe. Use your good judgment in making your plans. Call or e-mail Don Wilfong (541 389-1456 or dwnw@bendnet.com ) if you are planning to be there. CHECK THIS OUT by Jack Kohler Last month the Today Show was having Matt Lauer do a broadcast from the aircraft carrier Theodore Roosevelt. If you watched the Today Show you know the broadcast was a success and crew was welcomed home as they returned from their tour of duty in the Middle East. But Here are a couple of pictures I don't think they will show, this happened just prior to Matt and the Today Show television crew arriving onboard (March, 2002). CHAPTER OFFICERS 2002 President: Nancy Lecklider 3054 NW Clubhouse Dr Bend OR 97701 541 330-1853 nancybob@teleport.com Vice President: Dean Cameron 20015 Chaney Rd. Bend OR 97701 541 389-8285 dcameron@empnet.com Secretary/Treasurer: Gary E. Miller 109 NW Wilmington Ave. Bend OR 97701 541 382-8588 gem@rellim.com Flyout Chair: Don Wilfong 210 SE Cessna Dr Bend OR 97702 541 389-1456 dwnw@bendnet.com Program Chair: Clay Trenz 2314 Monterey Pines Bend OR 97701 541 317-2899 claytrenz@aol.com Editor: Jack Kohler 63070 Deschutes Mkt. Rd Bend OR 97701 541 389-1493 jkohler@mactechsys.com Visit our web site at: co-opa.rellim.com for more info and link to the state OPA web site. For members only lists: User name: S07 Password: 123.0 =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= For information or questions regarding this news letter contact: Jack Kohler via e-mail: jkohler@mactechsys.com Newsletter submission: co-opanews@mactechsys.com