CENTRAL OREGON CHAPTER

Bud Fincham, President

2252 NW Fernie Court

Bend, Oregon 97701

MEETING NOTICE

**** POTLUCK ****

Date: July 19, 2001, Thursday

Time: 6:00 PM gather to socialize; WEAR YOUR NAME TAG

A good time to meet other Central Oregon pilots.

6:30 PM start through the potluck line

7:00 PM meeting

Place: Flight Services Building, Bend Airport

Speaker: Dale Evans, will review the Bend Airport Layout Plan, the State Board of Aviation meeting, and the AOPA Airport Support Network.

Hangar Flying // by Joel Premselaar

We called it Human Factors. Our British friends call it Ergonomics and that term has found its way across the Atlantic and now prevails in the U.S.

In 1968, the USAF's Avionics Lab contracted Boeing to design a fighter/attack cockpit that utilized advanced technological concepts. I was drafted as principal engineer for the project. Out of this effort, digital avionics, the glass cockpit, heads up display (HUD), energy management, the side arm control stick, the HOTAS (Hands On Throttle And Stick), flight control gains and harmonization tailored to flight phases, a failure monitor and control system that provided for the graceful degradation of any aircraft system, and maintainability concepts emerged. I have the reports of these developments should anyone be interested in reading them. No, I'm not presenting my bio. This was my first exposure to a technical discipline for which I hold the highest regard - Experimental Psychology. I can wax eloquent on what the elements of cockpit design are and the role that Experimental Psychologists play. Just one example is the development of the "T" arrangement of the critical instruments for IFR flight.

You might ask, "What has this to do with the price of eggs or G.A. pilots?" Well, since you asked, I'll tell you. The USAF specifies that cockpits be designed for the 90^th percentile male to the 50^th percentile female. For the Navy, the upper end is the 95^th percentile male. These figures are updated to reflect our ever changing sizes. I don't know what criteria G.A. cockpit designers use, but check out the J-3 Cub, the Cessna 150, the Bonanza, or the laid back Lancair to get a sense of what I mean. Now look at the instrument panel and switch arrangement of each of the above and go "Wow!" I know that Beech took a lot of hits for reversing the flap and landing gear controls re other G.A. aircraft. As an aside, take a peek at my logbook and note how I jumped back and forth from the Corsair to the Hellcat. The flap and landing gear handles are the reverse of each other in those aircraft. Yup! We do need standards.

Those of you who rent aircraft must take extra care, even aircraft by the same manufacturer change with time. If you're partial to a specific model, try to rent the same aircraft every time. When you shop to buy, give equal weight to the cockpit evaluation. Here's a classic example; make yourself as comfortable as you can in the cockpit because you're apt to occupy that position for hours at a time. Simple enough, eh? (No I'm not Canadian.) Adjust the rudder pedals to your liking. If, however, with your heels on the rudder bars and the balls of your feet on the brakes, you have a need for full rudder, are you carrying brake on the receding rudder pedal just to enjoy an adrenalin rush? If your retreating foot actuates the brake, it's because your foot's articulation woth respect to your leg is limited. The rudder pedals should be readjusted. A nuisance though it may be, I know some pilots who use one whole body position for take off, landing and ground operations and another for flight.

Do you have to grope in a dark corner of the cockpit or be a contortionist to access time critical control devices such as circuit breakers or a fuel selector? Are controls requiring frequent use in easy reach? Are the locations of controls requiring fine-tuning or long dwell time conveniently located? Can you see all of the above without wriggling about the cockpit or in changing light environs? Can you operate efficiently in bright sun conditions that move dark holes around in the cockpit as you turn the aircraft or during night or cloudy environments? Do certain colors wash out during differing light situations? These are but a few of the many areas to be considered in designing an optimum cockpit. Oh yeah, do you wear polarized sunglasses that produce a dynamic light show as you roll the plane?

I can carry on along this theme for pages. Oh, don't fret. I'll quit now; but, if you're interested in this, and you should be, talk to me. I'll be happy to expound upon the subject and/or lend you documents that treat the various static and dynamic aspects of human factors/ergonomics as they pertain to cockpit design and flight.

Past and Up-coming Activities // by Dean Cameron

Carrie Novak, manager of the Redmond airport was our guest speaker for last month's meeting. Carrie is one of the most ambitious and hard working persons I know. Carrie shared with us some of the many plans for Redmond over the next several years. Major changes are in store. They are lowering the hill in the northeast corner of the airport for better line of site visibility, greatly expanding the terminal, adding new parking, and much more. Carrie is also working very hard at getting radar in Central Oregon. With her help I think it will likely happen in the near future. This will be a safety bonus for pilots in bad weather. Thanks to Carrie for joining in our meeting and sharing with us!

If you missed last month's fly-out, you missed a good one. We had a great time in McMinnville at the Evergreen Museum. The Spruce Goose and several other war birds were on display. We had 8 planes and 18-20 people on this trip. I tried to count everyone when we were in the van; but we were packed in like sardines, everyone kept wiggling around, and I am too short to see over the headrest. The weather cooperated and the flight couldn't have been much nicer. The planes were great, the company was superb, and everyone had some fun. The museum is worth the time if you are ever in the area. Call the museum from the FBO to see if they have a van to pick you up. We'll probably be back there again next year.

JULY 14 - REMOND AIRPORT: Wings of the Cascades / Spirit Flight / Cessna Pilot Center is having a pancake breakfast 8:30 to 10:30, an Open House and Cessna Demos during the day, and wrapping it up with a Hangar Party from 7:00 PM to 9:00 PM. Music will be provided by Don Mobely and his Central Oregon Pilots Bank. Call Karen at 548-4801.

JULY 19^th - MONTHLY MEETING: This month we will have two speakers sharing the responsibility. We are in the peak of our summer flying adventures and many pilots I know are planning to hit a few of the smaller airports and back country strips. So, with that in mind, we are going to have Dale Evans (probably the hardest working retired person I know) and Richard Benson (one of the nicest guys I know) share a little about back country flying and camping. Both have excellent experience with small airstrips and backcountry flying. Special emphasis will be on Johnson Creek in Idaho and some of the other interesting spots in Oregon and Idaho. We will be including an overnight stay at Johnson Creek during this month's fly-out to Joseph, so the information with be especially timely. This meeting will be at the Flight Services building in Bend. The social will start at 6:00, grazing off the potluck table will start around 6:30 and the meeting will be at 7:00.

JULY 21^st - 1FLY-OUT: Joseph, Oregon & Johnson Creek, Idaho Joseph was one of the favorite destinations last year and I think it will be just as good this year. This is a small (about the size of Sisters) community in northeastern Oregon near the Wallowa mountains. The flight over is incredibly scenic. Joseph has several bronze foundries, art galleries, and a great museum. Last year the cost for the museum tour, lunch and foundry tour was only $10. Wendy and I couldn't get away with out buying some art and I know Oliver & Bonnie Steele are excited about picking up their bronze casting of a cougar and her cubs. After Joseph those who would like to do some extra adventuring will be going to Johnson Creek in northern Idaho. We'll fly over the Snake River canyon on the way. This canyon is one of the most scenic areas in eastern Oregon. I have information from several reliable sources that Johnson Creek is one of the nicest "back country" strips around. Smooth grass runway, a clear river next to the campground, and even hot water showers are some of the amenities. Breakfast at Sulfur Creek on Sunday morning. For those who are not into the "roughing it" mode, the busy metropolis of Yellow Pine (Pop. 60) is only 4 miles away. Yellow Pine has an older historic hotel with rooms available for only $30-$40 per night. There is also a restaurant/bar for your dining pleasure. Courtesy cars are available at Johnson Creek or Darlene at the Hotel said she would come and pick us up. Reservations for rooms are probably not necessary but would insure that you don't get left out in the cold. The Hotel phone number is (208) 633 -3377. The Yellow Pine Tavern also has a few cabins for rent (208) 633-2280. In order to beat the summer bumps we will be leaving Bend at 8:00 am. Flight time is probably and hour and a half for most of us. This really is one event you should try to not miss. See you there!

For more information about up-coming events, please call Dean Cameron (541) 389-8285 or dcameron@empnet.com

.Member Notes

NEWSLETTER IDEAS? Do you have any ideas for the newsletter? Upcoming events you want published. Trips you would like to plan with other pilots? Something useful you would like to sell? We would like your input on the newsletter. Please feel free to write a short article about an adventure or experience you would like to share. Also we'll set up some space for a classified section if you have some aviation item you would like to sell.

Contribution can be sent to: Cheresse Howard, P O Box 40, Sisters, OR 97759-0040 or Fax 541-549-1179 or e-mail to: cheressehoward@cs.com. Please submit July contributions by July 31st^st.