CASCADE FLYER January 2010, Vol. 10, Issue 1 Website: http://co-opa.com/ President's Message: The weather outside was frightful, but the company inside was delightful. Turnout was light for our Holiday Party at the Black Bear but those that did brave the weather had a fun time. Most restaurants want 10 diners to reserve a private room so if we eat out again we'll need to be careful that enough members are committed to attending. This month it will be back to our usual time and place. We'll meet at the Flight Services Building at 6pm for pilot chatter, 6:30pm for potluck and 7pm for our formal program. At the top of the program will be a report from Don and Norma on this years Christmas Charity project. Early reports are that our faithful program chair should have some details for us soon. Calendar: 21 January - Monthly Meeting 23 January - Monthly Flyout 18 February - Monthly Meeting 20 February - Monthly Flyout 18 March - Monthly Meeting 20 March - Monthly Flyout 15 April - Monthly Meeting 17 April - Monthly Flyout Web doings: It is January and the full year dues for the OPA and the CO-OPA are due this month. Now that both are on the same annual schedule the confusion of the old OPA rolling dues will be a thing of the past. You can pay your OPA dues online here: http://www.oregonpilot.org/membership/dues/index.html The $10 for the local CO-OPA dues can be handed in to Don Wilfong. As always you can check out current and past CO-OPA newsletters, view our membership list and view hot aviation links on our website at: http://co-opa.com To access the members only areas the username is "BDN" and the password is "123.0". Random Thoughts: Last month I bemoaned much that should have happened in the first decade of the new millennium. This month in the same spirit I'll look ahead to the next decade. I'd rather be flying, but with the weather and the family bustle of the holidays I'm temporarily reduced to hanger flying, or in this case paper flying. At the top of my list for the 2010's is a viable replacement for 100LL aviation fuel. Lead is a pretty dirty word these days and lead additives are just going to get harder and harder to justify. Ideally this hypothetical 100LL replacement would be something that could be compatible with 80 Octane avgas to make it easier on distributors to supply both. There is some hope that 94UL may be an easy solution for some engines that need 100LL. 94UL is essentially 100LL without the lead, so it will be easy to produce. The problem is that it may cause detonation problems in some higher compression engines unless the engine is upgraded with FADEC. If it saves a good old airplane then adding FADEC might be an option, but for many older airplanes this would be a stake in the heart. Swift Enterprises has been pushing a biofuel they call SwiftFuel. They claim it would be cheaper than 100LL and contain 13% more energy per gallon than 100LL. Even better it is proven to work in high compression engines like the Lycoming 540 with only minor ignition timing adjustments.. You can read more about SwiftFuel on their website: http://www.swiftenterprises.com/ Outside of the USA it can be impossible even to obtain 80 octane avgas. Given the large number of airplanes with older engines we know avgas will be with us a long time, but the real future of GA needs to be JetA. Thielert Engines almost made it happen last decade. They had diesel engines in Cessna 172s and two Diamond aircraft models before becoming insolvent. They just might be able to reincarnate as Centurion Engines and now have STCs for C206's and PA28's. With luck we could see widespread diesel aircraft production this decade. More info on Centurion is on their website: http://www.centurion-engines.com/ In good news the FAA has big plans for ADB-B. Just for 2025, not the 2010's. How can such a simple technology take so long to push out? The potential gains in aviation safety and flight efficiency are huge yet the FAA clings to expensive RADAR systems basically unchanged from the 1960's. All that is needed to make an aircraft report its postion is a new GPS enabled transponder. This might be as simple as a slide in replacement but would also likely need the addition of a GPS antenna and HF antenna. Then ATC would get a much more accurate picture of air traffic. For an aircraft to receive ADS-B data it would just need a new HF receiver hooked to a display. This could easily be integrated in existing handheld moving maps. Why would these changes take 15 more years? For those of you that know me I'll spare you the rest of my ADS-B rant. Sadly for me, one oft-delayed 'innovation' from the last decade has now come true. LORAN will have its plug pulled this February 8th. That trusty LORAN in my panel will soon be another paperweight to add to my expensive paperweight collection. Even in the month before its demise it is still more reliable than any aviation GPS I have ever used. That's my aviation wish list for the decade to come. I'm curious to here what other aviators have in mind. With luck the weather and my personal schedule will align next month and I can actually get some flying done and write about that! Gary Miller Richard Benson's new book Fellow pilot and 30-year COOPA member Richard Benson is inviting us to read his new book. Although not exclusively on aviation, Richard does share his love of flying in Idaho and British Columbia, and explains how he's been able to afford A/C Ownership since 1981 and how he retired from the work force at age 44. In February Stepping Into Your Personal Field of Abundance will be released to the public as an E-book at a price of $9.95, however you may currently purchase a Digital Copy (E-book) for just $5.95 A really low pass … A Navy F/A-18F Super Hornet crew got permission for a low-level demonstration flight, as part of the opening ceremony for a speedboat race on the Detroit River, recently. This is what it looked like, for Motor City residents. This is the moment a US Navy pilot gave a shocked resident a very close look at his F18. The fighter/bomber streaked past an apartment block on the banks of the Detroit River at the weekend. It was part of a tactical demonstration fly-past to open a speedboat race in the North American city. Officials waived rules to allow the Navy flyers to swoop under 100ft along the waterway. One resident said, "I couldn't believe how low they flew and how close they came to our building, I'm sure the pilot waved at me." The jets had flown in from the Naval Air Station Oceana in Virginia to put on a spectacular show for thousands of spectators. Joint EAA and Leading Edge meeting The local EAA chapter 1345 invited Leading Edge Aviation flight instructors and management to their Jan 13th meeting. The topics were: Understanding helicopter operations and review of an Oct 2009, 'near-miss' between a runway crossing Robinson R-22 and a departing Pitts. Also present were Airport Manager, Gary Judd, and an FAA representative. Although no specific preventative actions were proposed, the unanimous conclusion was that it was a very useful and informative meeting. Four Bidders For Epic (From AvWeb) The Chapter 11 bankruptcy of Epic Aircraft continues to wind its way through the courts and the next hearing was set for Dec. 7 in Portland. Spokesman Christopher Sanders said there are four bidders vying to buy the company out of Chapter 11 bankruptcy including one established aircraft manufacturer. The names of the bidders are confidential for now but Sanders said at least two of them would be well known to those who follow aviation. There are currently 15 incomplete aircraft at the Bend, Oregon plant and Sanders said he's talking with all the owner/builders to try and ensure they can complete their projects. Epic sold a $1.8 million kit that produced a six place turboprop aircraft called the LT and the 15 unfinished aircraft are in varying stages of construction. Sanders said he was hired shortly after the departure of former CEO Rick Schramek and his role is to "maximize the value of the company and to make the company viable again." The company ran into trouble earlier last year and the doors shut in August. By September, lawsuits were flying and the company was formally in Chapter 11. There have also been allegations of wrongdoing by some Epic executives but none have been proven in court. EAA Chapter 617 (Prineville) Biennial Flight Review Training Syllabus This program is open to all, not just Chapter members, but you should RSVP Dave Waltman (EAA617 President) at dwaltman.1@juno.com so they have an idea of how many will be attending. Note: The training program is this Saturday morning, Jan 23rd. Participating students are required to bring a smile, and their pilot's logbook. There will be no charge for attendance. There will be a $20.00 charge for pilots seeking a Certificate of Completion towards a 2010 Biennial Flight Review. All training materials and handouts will be provided without cost. Your class coordinator will be RG. Tracy, CFIA, and Chapter 617 member. Our guest lecturer is Dr. Daniel Skotte, DO. PC. and FAA Medical Examiner from Sun River Family Medicine, Sunriver, Oregon. This training is sponsored by EAA Chapter 617, and will be held on Saturday, January 23, 2010, in the EAA Chapter 617 hangar located on the Prineville Airport (S39). The hangar doors will open at 8:00 AM. An introduction and opening statement by President Dave Waltman begin at 08:45 AM. The training will commence after the introduction, and will conclude at 11:30 AM. The log book endorsements will follow immediately after class. CLASS SCHEDULE AND TOPICS 08:45 AM - Introduction and Records 09:00 AM - Part 61.57 Biennial Flight Reviews Part 61.15 Offenses Involving Alcohol & Drugs Part 61.23 Medical Certificates: Requirements & Duration 09:30 AM - Dr. Daniel Skotte Medical Standards 10:00 AM - Part 91.3 Pilot Responsibility and Authority Part 91.103 Preflight Actions Part 91.107 Passenger Briefings Part 91.151 VFR Fuel Requirements & Aircraft Fueling 10:30 AM - AIM SEC 3 Airport Marking Aids & Signs Runway & Taxiway markings 11:00 AM - Safety Programming - Runway Incursion & Situational Awareness 11:30 AM - Presidents Closing Remarks - Log Endorsements ================================================================== COOPA officer contact info: President Gary E. Miller 109 NW Wilmington Ave Bend, OR 97701 541-382-8588 gem@rellim.com Vice President --------OPEN---------- Secretary/Treasurer Don Wilfong 210 SE Cessna Dr Bend, OR 97702 541 389-1456 Temp Fly-out Chair Don Wilfong 210 SE Cessna Dr Bend, OR 97702 541 389-1456 wilfong.d@gmail.com Program Chair Ed Endsley 63505 Bridle Ln Bend, OR 97701 541 382-6414 ed@edendsley.com And finally, send Newsletter inputs to Mike Bond 22052 Banff Drive Bend, OR 97702 541 317-8443 mvbond@spiritone.com