CASCADE FLYER October 2006, Vol. 06, Issue 10 Website: http://co-opa.com/ President's Message: There has been some shake-up with this month's program. Things are still sorting out but Program Chair Ed Endsley is working on another fine program for us come Thursday. Let's have a big turnout to see what surprises are in store for us. Last month we had the Central Oregon Ninety-Nines drop by and fill us in on their organization and its activities. They sure are a busy group. To name just one of their good deeds, our local 99s are the ones responsible to the new "BEND" marking on the ramp and deserve our thanks for a job well done. Any women interested in their group should contact Nancy Lecklider (330-1853) or Jana Jaderborg (383- 2476). Meetings are 1st Thursday of the month at 6pm. The meeting was also another example of Good News/Bad News at the Bend Airport. The bad news was that we were constantly interrupted by hammering and banging from upstairs. The good news is that the construction work was on the 2nd floor restaurant the City has been trying to get on the airport for years. Soon the Bend Airport will have its own version of the $100 hamburger. My Inbox: Best wishes for speedy recoveries go out to two of our membership. Mike Bond, our fantastic newsletter editor is recently out of the hospital after hip replacement surgery. How will Mike explain setting off the metal detectors at the airport now? Nancy Lecklider has also had major surgery, but in her case it was to her foot and ankle. We all look forward to seeing them back at our meetings with their new and improved joints. Ed Note: I also just heard that our aviation guru, Joel Premselaar, had open-heart surgery on Sept 13th. I talked to him and he is recovering at home. Calendar: 19 Oct - Monthly Meeting: Don Mobley 21 Oct - Monthly Flyout - Flying M Ranch 16 Nov - Monthly Meeting: Bill Conklin, Air Life 18 Nov - Monthly Flyout 21 Dec - Monthly Meeting - Xmas Party! 23 Dec - Monthly Flyout 18 Jan - Monthly Meeting: Darryl Taylor, Columbia Aircraft Test Pilot 20 Jan - Monthly Flyout Web doings: The Central Oregon 99s now have their own web site. You can see them, and some of the good work they have done here at http://centraloregon99s.org/. 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. Random Thoughts: We are the Oregon Pilots Association, not the Experimental Aircraft Association. Still it is good for us aircraft consumers to take a look at what the aircraft builders are doing every once in a while. I am happy with my airplane. Yet, as some of our members have discovered, sometimes Mother Nature can suddenly deprive us of our trusty flying machines. Without our contraptions how will we continue to participate in our favorite pastime? Which leads us to another favorite pilot pastime, imagining what our next aircraft would look like should we win the lottery or, heaven forbid, collect an insurance check. For some of us that leads to thoughts of one of those fancy modern aircraft we see at air shows. If you are like me, you have been thinking that you have few ways to acquire that fancy new airplane with a glass cockpit. Of course it must also have four seats, at least in my daydream. One way is to write a very big check and take quick delivery for a new certified aircraft. A Cirrus SRV-G2 with a 200HP engine will set you back about $200k for the base package. Ouch. Another way is to go with a kit. You can build an RV-10 for around $100k, also with a 200HP engine. That sounds better, but now I expect to have to spend a year or two of my time building the thing. Even worse, I am probably stuck on the ground for the duration. But now there is a third way. A pilot friend of mine pointed out to me some of the new "quick build" kits. These are pretty cool. One in particular stands out: The Glasair Sportsman 2+2, with 180HP engine, and their "Two Weeks to Taxi" program. That is just like it sounds. You travel to their factory and they present you with everything you need to build your own airplane. Two weeks later you taxi out your new aircraft. Pretty much all that is left is to have it painted. All that for less than $135k and two weeks of your time. There are other quick build programs out there and these programs are providing new and improved ways to aircraft ownership. Clearly someone will point me to a better program, this is just one that shook me awake when I first saw it. You can find more details on their program here: http://www.glasairaviation.com/twoweekstotaxipricing.h tml On second thought all of those big numbers are hurting my head. I resolve, yet again, to treat my current airplane carefully so as to maximize its useful life. The grass may be greener over the hill, but I would prefer to inspect it from the air in my N6157R for the foreseeable future. Gary E. Miller Idaho Coast Guard?? One of 2 Aircams, seen at Eugene ? see more on their website: http://www.aircamsite.com/newpage4.htm OCTOBER PROGRAM Plan to attend the October 19 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 Don Mobley, AKA Throttle Throckmorton, Flying Clown, and feared but friendly regional FAA Examiner. He'll tell us stories about his extensive experiences in aviation. He has promised to not mention names, especially mine, about check ride and BFR episodes... Don is the best pilot I've ever flown with and is a true treasure to our community. 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 ANNUAL CO-OPA CHARITY PROGRAM!! It is that time of year again. We should discuss what we want to do for this year at the upcoming meeting to be held on Oct. 19. For the past few years we have, in co-operation with some of the Teachers at Pilot Butte Middle School, selected one or more deserving students who's parent or parents are unable to provide them with things such as adequate clothing and some of the other necessities of life. In doing this we have enriched the lives of these students and our own lives as well. We not only provide them with some of the necessities but we also include a few "just for fun" gifts to help give them a holiday they will long remember and forever appreciate. It has been a very gratifying and successful program that we can all be proud to have participated in. If we are going to continue this, as our major annual charity program, we need to let the teachers know and we need to collect the donations, from our members, at the Nov. 16 meeting, or at least by Dec. 1, so as to allow time for the teachers to do the necessary shopping and wrapping. We have $31.67 left over from last year. Thank you for your past and future generosity. This is an all-volunteer program so 100% of what we give goes to benefit those we choose to help. Norma Wilfong has volunteered to head up this Charity Program again this year if we would like her to do so. Don & Norma Wilfong FLY-OUT TO EUGENE... On Sat. Sept. 23, Eugene had their first Norwest Fly- Fest, so Eugene was picked as our Sept. fly-out destination. For many of us it was our first time landing on Eugene's new 34R runway. The old cross runway is a thing of the past and now there are two parallel runways, one to the West of the tower and one to the East of the tower. The self-serve gas pumps are on the East side. They had the cheapest gas in the state (just for this event) at $3.70 per gallon and there was a line to get to the pumps. (Our own Pro-Air self-serve pumps are only slightly higher). Those who gathered at Pro Air for this venture were Gary Miller, with his Turbo 210 and new member Gary Meyer was his guest for the day, Don & Norma Wilfong had flown in from Pilot Butte International in their Skylane and Ed Endsley was their guest on the flight to Eugene. Arnie Vetterick, in his V Tail Bonanza met us in the air somewhere near the North Sister, he brought two young nieces and a young nephew with him (he was like a mother hen keeping track of his brood) We saw several other people from Central Oregon; Duane Francis (from Pilot Butte) flew over with Mark Clark and Paul Sutherland in Mark's Cessna 180, (This was an expensive trip for Duane...The 180 is loaded with modern electronic marvels and now Duane wants to add a few to his Cessna 205). Terry Pickering (one of our newer members) was there staffing the Angel Flight booth and there were a few others from the "Sunrise Side" of the mountains. We enjoyed a pancake breakfast and there were several booths selling food of various kinds to satisfy the hungrys as the day progressed. Our son Chuck (He is a real estate broker in Eugene) came out and we had a nice visit and lunch with him. There were quite a few booths for different aviation oriented businesses and organizations housed in large tents. These display booths are like a candy store for pilots...lots of goodies we would like to have. I was talking to one of the venders about new carpeting for the plane and we walked out to where our plane was parked...the guy stopped short and said "do you own 20757" when I said "yes" he laughed and said "I used to own this plane" He had sold it to the guy we bought it from. It really is a very small world. OPA had a booth and Joe Smith (Pres. Elect for OPA) was one of the people staffing it. There were also quite a few old and new aircraft on display. There were several seminars available but I did not have time to attend any of them. This was a two or three-day event and we were only there one day. It would have been interesting to have gone to some of them. This was billed as Eugene's "First Annual Fly-Fest" and I am sure as time goes on they will add more and more displays and events to enjoy. It was a fantastic day; the weather was wonderful. "It just doesn't get any better than this". We ended the day with a very pleasant flight home. Gary invited Ed to ride home with him so Norma and I could fly directly to Pilot Butte International without landing at Bend first. We missed seeing your smiling faces and you are missing out, on a lot of fun, by not attending our fly-outs. Remember winter with cold and snow is just around the corner so make hay while the sun shines. See the "FLY-OUT FUN" article in this issue for info on our scheduled fly-out for October. Don Wilfong 'A strange thing happened on the way out of Eugene?' The Eugene Norwest Fly-Fest was a hoot. The line at the gas pump was popular. I flew in with the Wilfongs and went through the gas line with them and then got parked right up front and center so Norma didn't have so far to go. I flew back with Gary Miller. Gary Meyer and I were Gary Millers' guests so intercom banter was interesting. Since they were both Gary M. I finally settled on "Gary Pilot and Gary Passenger" even though they're both pilots. Gary Pilot chose to get fuel on departure when the line was shorter and the story starts upon leaving the pump. The "Ramp Control" tent proudly displayed a frequency that didn't respond to repeated calls so Gary Pilot called EUG Ground Control and got a clearance to 34R. As we proceeded from parking to taxiways for the runway, we saw several people from the Ramp Control tent running around waving signal wands in various directions. Since there were florescent orange people standing in front of us doing an incomprehensible dance, Gary Pilot slowed down to see what this performance was all about. Finally one orange wand waver hopped in a follow me cart and strongly suggested we follow, only to stop in front of us, get out and approach us and motion for Gary Pilot to open the door!?!?!? They said we couldn't taxi that way. Gary Pilot said that since they didn't answer their frequency he called Ground Control and they had cleared us to taxi to the active, which we were doing. Ramp Control explained their radios were dead!!! Of course that didn't explain why the ramp people were waving their wands in random ways, but anyway, Gary Pilot followed the follow me cart and informed Ground Control that Ramp Control was having a communication issue and received the Ground Controller's thanks for the heads up. The scenic tour of taxiways somewhat minimized the cheap gas price but the Ramp Controller performance was exciting. I'll still have to give them a B minus for effectiveness but with an A plus for entertainment value... Ed Endsley FLY-OUT FUN!! One of our favorite places to fly to has sold and will close the end of this month. I asked if it would reopen to the public and the individual I was talking to said they didn't know. It may have sold to a private organization and this may be our last opportunity to fly to this great spot. Our group has flown to the Flying M several times and I think everyone has always enjoyed going there.. Weather permitting we will make the Flying M our Fly-Out destination this month. For those of you who have never been there it is a few miles NW of McMinnville. The strip is turf and gravel, 2130' in length at a FLY-OUT FUN!! One of our favorite places to fly to has been sold and will close the end of this month. I asked if it would reopen to the public and the individual I was talking to said they didn't know. It may have sold to a private organization and this may be our last opportunity to fly to this great spot. Our group has flown to the Flying M several times and I think everyone has always enjoyed going there. Weather permitting; we will make the Flying M our Fly-Out destination this month. For those of you who have never been there it is a few miles NW of McMinnville. The strip is turf and gravel, 2130' in length at an elevation of 448' and is a one way airport, you land to the West runway (25) and take off to the East runway (7). The airport is designated as OR05 and is listed as Yamhill: Flying M. It is 16 nm from the Newberg VOR (UBG-117.4) on the 251degree radial. At first this airport may sound challenging but it is actually a great strip with an open approach from the East, our group has flown in with a wide assortment of planes, including a twin Apache, and no one has found it to be a problem. You see everything from small tail draggers, 150s, home builts and more parked there. Some of our group has said, "I will fly over and take a look and if I am not comfortable I will not land". I don't know of any that did not land. The tried and true rule is always "if you don't feel comfortable flying into an airport don't do it". They have a beautiful log lodge nestled in a small valley on the Eastern fringe of the Coast Range, the food is good, the decor is decidedly Western and you can sit and watch the planes come and go as you eat. They have a fantastic bar and dance area, so if you plan to stay overnight, in one of their cabins or the motel, it is very inviting. As I said earlier "this is one of our favorite places to fly to" and we did stay there one night just so we could enjoy a dinner, dance a little (to live music) and have a drink or two. In addition, after we have breakfast at the Flying M, we could choose to go to either McMinnville or Tillamook to visit one of their great air museums. I am open to hear your comments. If the weather does not cooperate we will have picked someplace on this side of the mountains for our Oct. Fly- Out or (to revive an old practice)...if the weather does not permit us to fly...we could meet at a local restaurant for some Hangar Flying, a chance to solve the worlds problems and to chow down. Many times the go or no go decisions on where to fly or where to go eat are made at Pro-Air the morning of the intended Fly-Out. We can discuss it at our meeting/potluck on Thurs. eve Oct. 19 at Pro-Air. You are coming to the meeting are you not????? If you have any comments or suggestions, you can contact me at 541 389-1456. Or e-mail me at: dwnw@bendbroadband.com. Don Wilfong, "Temp" Fly-Out Chair P.S.: You could volunteer for "Fly-Out Chair" the position is open. ____________________________________________________________________________ ______ COOPA officer contact info: President Gary E. Miller 20340 Empire Blvd., 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