CASCADE FLYER August 2009, Vol. 09, Issue 8 Website: http://co-opa.com/ President's Message: Last month we tried something a bit different and moved our meeting a tad north on the field to the Stratos Aircraft hanger. A few people neglected to read Ed's program announcement and showed up at the Flight Services Building but it looks like we redirected all of them to the right place. The theme of the night was "4 people, 400 knots, 1500 nm", the performance goal for the Stratos 714 single engine jet that they are working on. The hanger was all decked out with new posters and brochures ready to be moved to Oshkosh and we were lucky to see a dress rehearsal for their Oshkosh program. Now all they need is a little more than $100M and 2 years before we can expect to get a demo flight in one. We wish them luck; we know that if they can raise the money that Central Oregon has the talent to make it happen. For those that missed it you can get a taste of the project from their website: http://www.stratosaircraft.com/ Ed Endsley is working diligently on the next program (see Ed's item later … ED) so be sure to come early for our August meeting, back in the usual location at the Flight Services Building. We will also discuss the flyout to the upcoming Central Oregon Airshow Friday night the 21st and Saturday the 22nd. This year they even have a B-17 showing up! Flying is usually a lone eagle pursuit but having such a great airshow in our backyard will give us a chance to see a great airshow and socialize with the local pilot community. Check out their website for the whole story: http://www.cascadeairshow.com/ Pilots and friends will start to gather around 6pm for stories of derring-do followed by our award winning potluck at 6:30pm and the always engaging formal program at 7pm. Calendar: 20 August - Monthly Meeting 21-22 August - Central Oregon Air Show @ Madras 22 August - Monthly Flyout 29 August - OPA Annual meeting @ Albany Air Fair 17 September - Monthly Meeting 19 September - Monthly Flyout 15 October - Monthly Meeting 17 October - Monthly Flyout 19 November - Monthly Meeting 21 November - Monthly Flyout Web doings: Late word is that the 2009 OPA State convention at Albany (S12) will feature Greg Pecoraro, AOPA VP for Airports and State Advocacy as the keynote speaker. Seminars start at 10am Saturday August 29 leading up to the keynote and steak dinner at 5:30pm. They promise to be done by 7pm so everyone can fly home easily that night. Advance tickets are $19.50 if you order by the 21st, and $25 at the door. More details here: http://www.oregonpilot.org/convention2009/index.htm While you are on the web check out our website: http://co-aop.com To access the members only areas the username is "BDN" and the password is "123.0". My Inbox: The rumours are now confirmed, Epic Aircraft has shut its doors and its owner has repossessed the building. There are partially completed kits stuck in the building and the hope is that some group might be able to raise financing to see them completed. I wish the employees and kit owners the best of luck, but... Random Thoughts: I hope everyone is getting out and flying instead of spending time watching the news or reading newsletters (except this one). Unlike last winter, and surely unlike the winter to come, the weather has been great for flying and the potential destinations myriad. In just the next few weeks we have the Central Oregon Airshow and the Albany Air Show/OPA Convention (mentioned above), as well as the massive Oregon Airshow in Hillsboro, the McMinnville fly-in, the WAAM/Hood River fly-in and many more. Not sure what to do in the last bits of summer before the weather turns? The OPA web site has a nice calendar of aviation events: http://oregonpilot.org/calendar.html and there are many others. By now I hear the cynical among you silently complaining that these events are all overcrowded. And for those of you I suggest it is the perfect time to head out to one of our less crowded jewels, like Prospect Airport, because you know you will have the place to yourself! Recent studies have shown that spending more time recreating is actually the best way to clear our heads and get more work done when we return than if we had not take a break. So get out of the house and get flying! Advice that I am going to take for myself right now. FLY-OUT FUN !!! --- WOW !!! Hey Gang...We had our July Fly-Out to Johnson Creek, Idaho. This beautiful long wide grass strip has hot showers, flush toilets, fresh cold water at all of the camp sites, a fire pit, free fire wood, free ice for your ice chest, barbecues (bring your own charcoal), garbage cans and a couple of courtesy vans to go into the little Mining town "Yellow Pine". Yellow Pine has a Tavern/Cafe, a Bar, a General Store, a Hotel, an RV Park and quite a few other things of interest. It is the home of a rousing Harmonica Festival once a year. The famous Stibnite Mine has been closed for years....but......they now have a crew of 20+ men doing testing to see if they want to reopen the mine. Johnson Creek Airfield is at approx 5000 ft. and we thought that being in the mountains it might be relatively cool........wrong........it was cool at night and your sleeping bag felt good up around your neck but in the afternoons it got up into the 90s. We arrived early Friday afternoon and set up camp. We looked around, and visited with several others who had also chosen to enjoy Idaho's premier fly-in spot. We snacked on stuff we had brought with us for lunch and then whipped up a nice evening meal, had a glass of wine (or two) and retired fairly early. Johnson Creek (more like a river) was just over the bank and the sound of the water pouring and tumbling over the rocks lulled you right to sleep. "Dawn Patrol Don Wilfong" was up, as usual, at 0500, long before anyone else, built a nice fire and made coffee (weak decaf), which, when Gary Miller got up later, he said he couldn't handle. We decided to fly to breakfast at Sulphur Creek. (Sulphur Creek Lodge is within the Wilderness Area and no motorized equipment is allowed except airplanes and any equipment that was on sight when the Wilderness Area was created.) The Sulphur Creek strip is a one-way dirt strip (like most of the back country strips) and has an excellent approach. You can see the dust trail as Gary landed his plane. Quite a few people had already flown in to enjoy the more than ample breakfast. They served real coffee, orange juice, biscuits and gravy, eggs, bacon and sausage (Yes all of it). Needless to say we left a little heavier than when we arrived. They take checks or credit cards but DO NOT accept cash. We noticed a couple of nicks in my prop and one of the other pilots there grabbed a file out of his plane and dressed the nicks out.....Lots of friendly and helpful people everywhere we went. We had very interesting flights going to and coming from Sulphur Creek as we took a different route each way. This is tall country and it is necessary to climb to 9,000+ feet to have adequate clearance when flying from one drainage to another. We saw a number of other airstrips "way down" in the bottom of the canyons but did not elect to try any of them. It should be an early morning venture to fly into almost any of the backcountry strips. The local pilots recommend that you plan all of your flights before noon or later in the evening as winds and high temperatures can create unhealthy situations. Gary, another couple and I drove up to the "Ice Hole" and went for a very cool dip in the creek on Sat. afternoon. Due to the relatively still and deep water this is where they were able to saw big blocks of ice, each winter. This is why they named it the Ice Hole. They then stored the blocks in Ice Houses, insulated with sawdust, so they had ice well into the summer. I have to admit the water was anything but warm but really refreshing on a hot afternoon.. Norma and I had gone swimming there on a previous trip to Johnson Creek. We rented a van and drove into Yellow Pine for a beer and our evening meal. It is exactly 5 miles from the airfield to Yellow Pine, so the fee for the van was $5.00, plus .30 per mile, which figured out to a reasonable $8.00 for the round trip. Sunday morning we thought about flying to West Fork Lodge, Montana for breakfast...but....we didn't get around very fast and it was some 90 miles each way so we cooked and enjoyed our breakfast in camp. We had heard about a bathtub way up on the side of the mountain, above the airport, which you fill from a hot spring. Gary and his dog Maxwell headed up the trail on what was supposed to be a 45 minute walk.....well...it was a little more than that and even though they had a great time they were both pooped by the time they got back. Gary shampooed his hair in the sulfur water and it left his hair a little wild. Gary had decided he needed to head home that afternoon. We had planned to stay until Monday but decided to head home also. It was hot (93F and the density altitude computed to be 9,000 ft.) The wind chose to blow down the runway the wrong way so we took the van and went into Yellow Pine for a late lunch and to give it time for the temps to drop a bit and the wind to change directions. Gary, with his turbo, felt comfortable heading out a little earlier than we did and he made a stop in Baker City for fuel. We left later and we made a stop in John Day for fuel (John Day was $3.76 a gallon and Baker City was almost $1.00 higher). Gary landed at Bend and we landed at Pilot Butte International at 2030 hrs. It was a fantastic trip and we are planning to make it an annual event. You missed out on a great fly-out this time. Don & Norma Wilfong ================================= PHOTOS (in PDF version) Stratos Model, seen at our July meeting Chapter members trying out the Stratos mock-up 'for size' The Stratos management team ========================== August Program Plan to attend the Thursday, August 20, 2009 Central Oregon - Oregon Pilots Assoc. meeting in the Bend Airport Flight Services Terminal Building; The Professional Air Offices, http://www.proairservices.com, at 6PM for a potluck dinner and a very special program. Everyone is welcome! Light Sport Aircraft are a hot topic and Matt Verdieck of X-Air builds the LS Model at the Bend Airport. Matt will show us the aircraft they flew to Oshkosh for EAA AirVenture and tell us stories of the joys of Light Sport Aviation that will put a smile on your face. http://www.X-AirLSA.com Come enjoy your association membership and support your right to fly!!! Don't miss this opportunity for a very inspiring and informative evening. Bring your friends for flying fellowship, fine food, and fabulous fun!!! Celebrate summer; it only comes once a year!!! Ed Endsley, CO-OPA Program Chair ed@edendsley.com =================================================================== 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