CASCADE FLYER August 2006, Vol. 06, Issue 9 Website: http://co-opa.com/ President's Message: This month the Ninety-Nines will drop by and fill us in on their organization. We see several of them at our regular meetings, but this will be a chance for them to show another hat they wear. The Ninety-Nines is the International Organization of Women Pilots. Curiosity about their name led me to their website, http://www.ninety-nines.org/: "Our organization was founded in 1929 by 99 licensed women pilots for the mutual support and advancement of aviation." Save yourselves the trouble of web surfing and come to the next meeting to learn more about them first hand from their members. Many thanks to Clay Trenz for dropping in last month to tell us about the COCC Aviation Art exhibit he is working on. The graphic version of this newsletter has the poster for the event below. Greg Phillips had some good news and some bad news for us. The bad news is that work on the new KBDN runway will likely not get started until next year and the costs have increased. The good news is that the job should be fully funded and should be able to be completed in 2007. Also thanks to Ted Pickering for bringing us up to date on the annual OPA meeting just held in Eugene. OPA is working on some good things and we need to stay in touch. Calendar: 21 Sep - Monthly Meeting 23 Sep - Monthly Flyout - NWFlyFest in Eugene 19 Oct - Monthly Meeting 21 Oct - Monthly Flyout 16 Nov - Monthly Meeting 18 Nov - Monthly Flyout 21 Dec - Monthly Meeting 23 Dec - Monthly Flyout Web doings: A lot of folks can not access the KBDN ASOS since it requires a rather large and cranky non-standard plug-in to view. To alleviate some of that problem I reverse engineered the new system. You can now see our local weather in the left menu bar of the CO-OPA web site. As always you can access the Chapter web site at: http://co-opa.com/ To access the members only areas the username is "BDN" and the password is "123.0". In honor of our old airport ID(s) the username can also be S07 or AEB. My Inbox: John Miller tells us that the COCC aviation program is getting off to a good start this year. They have over 30 new students joining the program. The COCC program is also looking for mentors for the students in the program. So much of aviation knowledge is passed on by word of mouth that this sounds like a good idea. If you are interested then please contact John at 541-318-3736. Even if we can not get mentors for all the students we certainly welcome them to all of our meetings and fly-outs. Random Thoughts: This past month I have had the chance to fly-in to PDX airport three times. Going to an airfield in Class C airspace can be a bit intimidating at first. You are mixing it up with real airliners and the F-15s based there and even the occasional F-18s. You can be passed through 6 different radio sectors in 20 miles, instructions come over the radio in a speedy staccato fashion, and the controllers may change their mind several times as they vector you around the heavy metal by asking you to head to unfamiliar landmarks. Sometimes it does get a bit over whelming, so I just say to the controller: I am unfamiliar with the area, can you please give me a vector. That may earn me a holding pattern instead of a slam dunk in to the pattern but I am up there to sight see anyway. I'd rather spend a extra time gawking at downtown from 2,500 feet than a quick view of the belly of a 737 from 200 feet away. Most of you know this drill far better than I and I bring it up just to set up my story. The real story is on the ground where I was picking up passengers from the air carrier terminal. The terminal as you know is all hustle and bustle with an undertone of fear and suspicion. Armed guards everywhere. Some call it a Nazi like presence. The price of safety others say. It is from this atmosphere of heightened nerves that I snatch my passengers. The gracious folks at Flightcraft have a shuttle from the terminal to the FBO, but I find the short walk enjoyable. Anyone recently stuck in an airline also enjoys the chance to stretch before settling back in to another airplane seat. As soon as we leave the baggage claim area towards the FBO my passengers experience a much different airport than the one they know. An airport without swiveling cameras, blaring PAs and intimidating guards. A much less threatening and quieter airport, if you ignore the roaring of the jets themselves. The airport outside the terminal. And one more thing. A thing that all my pasengers notice. A short and totally unmonitored chain link fence between us and the passenger boarding ramps. You could throw a bag full of AK-47s over the fence and no one would notice. My passengers have recently been roughly searched and now they have seen that a real bad guy could just have walked around the system. They are now like Dorothy peeking around the curtain at the little man manipulating Oz. It gets worse when we get to Flightcraft. A tip of the hat to the counter and they open the door to the ramp for us. In moments we are standing almost alone on the ramp a few hundred yards from the Boeings and Airbuses. A place that to my passengers just a short while ago seemed like a forbidden land behind well guarded, armored, and alarmed doors. How can this be they say? Where are the armed guards and metal detectors and cameras and.... I try to reassure them that airport security folks really do know what they are doing, but it is hard to entirely put the genie back in the bottle. The take-away lessons from these repeated events are not clear to me. The terrorist risk from a small plane is minuscule and the present GA security measures have been adequate so far. On the other hand, the terrorist risk to a jetliner from even simple things like a Sports drink and some Peroxide is now very real. Yet these two worlds co-exist side-by-side at the typical Class C airport. The convenience of flying in to a major airport to pick up and drop off passengers is fantastic. I would hate to see this freedom, as some others, be lost in the war on terror. For now we have to be vigilant at the airport and protect our airport access while ensuring that access is only used wisely. And maybe hope that PDX improves their fences a bit so that their security is a bit less one-sided. Gary E. Miller Fly-Out News Hey Gang... coming up Sept. 21 (Thurs eve. at Pro Air) will be our potluck/meeting and on Sat. Sept. 23 is our scheduled fly-out... Weathe permitting the Flyfest in Eugene sounds like fun... We will plan to leave about 0830 on Sat. Sept 23 and return later in the day... Some might want to go for more than the one day.... If the weather is not good there but is on this side of the mountains then we will plan for someplace else... maybe John Day... or maybe Land Inn... More to follow... We can discuss it at the meeting... Don Wilfong (Temp. Fly-out Chair).... Hey we need a volunteer to be the Fly-out Chair...... See below for more info on the Flyfest.... http://www.norwestflyfest.com/ Hello Oregon Pilots!!! Plan to attend the September 21 Central Oregon - Oregon Pilots Assoc. meeting in the Bend Airport Flight Services Building at 6PM for a pot luck dinner and a very special program. This will be your chance to hear some of the brightest voices in aviation informing us on the activities of the Ninety-Nines; the international organization of women aviators who are responsible for amazing accomplishments throughout the history of aviation. Their story is incredible. Don't miss this opportunity for a very entertaining and inspiring evening. Bring your friends for flying fellowship, fine food, and fabulous fun!!! Ed Endsley, CO-OPA Program Chair ed@edendsley.com The Amazing August Flyout Medford was the declared goal for the reputedly wonderful restauranté. Our new member and program speaker, Mel Gildow and his newly acquired straight tail 182, 5526B, arrived for the trip and hosted new member Gary Meier on the flight. Arnie Vetterick and his V-tail Bonanza, 7395B, was on hand and raring to go. Arnie agreed to take me if I'd change my shoes. No sandals on 95 Bravo. I encouraged Arnie to arrange for his best emergency landing if necessary and if he felt the need to walk out to just smile and wave on his way by. I changed my shoes. We waited for late arrivals to show and I called Gary Miller to find that he was feeling assaulted by a bad bug and felt bed was his best bet. So it looked like a flight of two for MFR Medford via Crater Lake and the Rogue River Valley. As we climbed out of Bend into the August forest fire silky smooth smokey skies we headed in a loose formation for Crater Lake. Always an astonishing view of Oregon's only National Park, it took on a feeling of an Oriental painting with subtle smokey hues and mystery as the geological features were wafting in and out around the otherworldly scene. Two six bravo and 95 bravo had been holding a visual separation of about five miles around the lake and then went into trail as we descended down the Rouge Valley over Prospect State Airport (64S) and on into the Medford Class D airspace. Lined up on a perfect 45° for down wind to 32, we were cleared to land. See the accompanying photo of base to final. Two six Bravo was right behind us and as we taxied in we asked ground control to direct us to the restaurant. They advised us it was closed but that Medford Air had a nice vending machine!!! We taxied to Jet Center Medford and the line guy rolled out red carpets. I opened the door and told him we might not be staying because the restaurant was closed. Wow, he was quick! He said they would loan us the bosses' vehicle to go into town. He drove it right up to the planes, had the air conditioning going and gave us a map with a recommendation and route to a very nice place. Arnie drove, I navigated, and Mel and Gary chilled in back offering timely wise cracks. Breakfast-lunch was great, as were the stories. I think we entertained the other clientele as well. We had a great time. Thanks to everyone at Jet Center Medford who took great care of us and the fuel price was reasonable. The departure saw Mel and Gary in 26 Bravo departing on course ahead of us and disappearing into the smoke toward Crater Lake. They climbed higher and we could see their beautiful outline in the blue above. Arnie and I spotted several smoke streams on the western flank of Crater Lake and notified Flight Service. We smelled smoke strongly as we climbed through eleven thousand. The turbulence was exciting in the afternoon but not as bad as Arnie and his wife Carol had experienced in Arizona on the way back from the Bahamas. Ed Endsley Central Oregon Airshow Bright and early at the crack of noon, Ed Endsley, Paige (the poodle) and I took off for the Central Oregon Airshow at Madras Airport (S33). Even before the quick flight up there was complete the excitement was building as other planes were dropping in to the patern for the same event. Once on the ground the anticipation was so great we rushed out to set the chocks and look around. (more on that later). Just like years past, there were lots of cool planes to gawk at, people to see, food to eat and things to buy. Unlike last year we did not see many other CO-OPA members, but that was their loss. You can visit their website to see more of what you missed: http://www.centraloregonairshow.org/. A returning favorite of mine was the row of Stearmans. Usually at an airshow you have one or two. Here there were almost twenty and all were unique. Some had the stock engines and some were souped up. Some had the landing gear of the Navy models and others had various revisions of the standard gear. The skydivers at Madras are really getting serious and they jumped over and over throughout the day. Kathy Hirtz from the valley flew airobatics in her new Pitts. A pair of Sukhois also performed an aerial duet. As they took off I exclaimed to Ed about how low the bigger one was when it raised the gear. During the break we got to check out the new FBO. Berg Air LLC has a cool new building that is a huge step up from the old shack that Don Mobley inhabited for so many years. Madras is moving upscale. Check it out if you get a chance. Most of the crowd had left by early evening but the best was yet to come. The "Mad Bomber" pyrotechnic show was a great way to say good bye to the setting sun. Too bad the glare of the sunset made it impossible to see the "F-117" flyby. What idiot would schedule a stealth plane flyover at night? Then when it was really dark Dan Buchanon launched in his ultralight plane just stuffed with fireworks. There is just nothing light a night airshow lit up with fireworks. Dan is a wheelchair bound pilot that travels all over the country giving his shows. All good things must come to and end, and so did the airshow. The crowd disappeared in an instant as I started to preflight for the short return to BDN. Except, remember that hasty arrival? I had neglected to fly the airplane all the way to a complete shutdown. The master had been left on and the battery was just flat dead. No problem you say. It must be easy to get a jump at an airshow. Hah. After a very long day the field was emptied in moments as everyone bailed out. Major bummer. The triumphant night return was reduced to waiting for a ride to drive up from Bend. The next day armed with a set of jumper cables and another humiliating ride we were ready for the return flight. Many thanks to Ed that had the patience of a Saint considering the circumstances. There was a little reward for the delay. While taxing out we got a last view of the big Sukhoi. Hmm, something funny so we taxi a bit closer. Yes, it is true. All three prop tips are very ragged and much shorter than the previous day. Now I felt a bit better. My dead battery seemed much easier to bear knowing that the Sukhoi pilot had raised his gear a bit too early on his aborted exit the previous night. Gary E. Miller COOPA / POSSIBLE FLYOUT DESTINATIONS for 2006/2007 Airport Identifier Comments Albany, OR S12 Restaurant Astoria, OR AST Restaurant & Marine Museum Baker City, OR BKE Air Show Bandon, OR S05 Courtesy Van to great Restaurants Caldwell, ID EUL Restaurant Chiloquin, OR 2S7 Restaurant Coeur d'Alene, ID COE Restaurant - Overnight ??? Condon, OR 3S9 Maybe Brown Bag Lunch Bag location Dalles, OR/WA DLS Restaurant Eugene, OR EUG Restaurant & Aviation Museum Florence, OR 6S2 Courtesy Cars to great Restaurants Gold Beach, OR 4S1 Restaurant & Rogue River Mailboat trips Hillsboro, OR HIO Airshow Independence, OR 7S5 Restaurant & Museum with bicycles provided to get there Klamath Falls, OR LMT Restaurant Lewiston, ID LWS Restaurant Lexington, OR 9S9 Brown Bag Lunch Location McMinnville, OR MMV Airshow. Spruce Goose Aviation Museum, shuttle provided Medford, OR MFR Restaurant Nehelam Bay, OR 3S7 Maybe Brown Bag Lunch Location Nampa, ID S67 Restaurant & P-40 Museum Richland, WA RLD Restaurant Salem, OR SLE Restaurant Tillamook, OR S47 Restaurant & Military A/C Museum Walla Walla, WA ALW Restaurant - Overnight ??? NOTE: Great Outdoor locations will be chosen for Brown Bag Flyouts PLEASE CHECK THE LIST, & E-MAIL YOUR COMMENTS ALONG WITH ANY ADDITIONS OR DELETIONS THAT YOU WOULD LIKE TO SEE. Thanks, Curt Turner. COOPA officer contact info: President Gary E. Miller 20340 Empire Ave., E-3 Bend, OR 97701 541-382-8588 gem@rellim.com Vice President Nancy Lecklider 3054 NW Clubhouse Dr Bend, OR 97701 541 330-1853 leckone@bendcable.com Secretary/Treasurer Don Wilfong 210 SE Cessna Dr Bend, OR 97702 541 389-1456 dwnw@bendbroadband.com Temp Flyout Chair Don Wilfong 210 SE Cessna Dr Bend, OR 97702 541 389-1456 dwnw@bendbroadband.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@myexcel.com