The Plane Newsletter

A publication of Chapter 1111 Experimental Aircraft Association

August 2003 - August 2003 - August 2003 - August 2003 - August 2003 - August 2003 - August 2003 - August 2003

From the President

Sunday, July 13, 2003

Condominium Hangar Proposal

At the last Airport Board Meeting, the Cleveland Construction Company submitted an initial proposal to the Airport Board for the construction of a 10- to 12-unit hangar that will be condominiums. This does not mean living quarters, but the type of ownership.

According to the proposal, this condo unit will use the only available site for hangar expansion. (I think this comes from Bob Olson.)

The Kelso Attorney has to bless the idea and then the company is going to make contact with prospective owners.

We must watch this. I have handouts.

A Note From EAA HQ:

July 11, 2003

Dear EAA Flight Advisor/Technical Counselor,

EAA will be holding an EAA SportAir Aircraft Builders Conference in Arlington, Washington on Saturday & Sunday, August 23 & 24th. We will be offering a number of workshops in various construction skills (e.g. fabric covering, composite, sheet metal). The goal of these workshops is to provide EAA members (and non-members) with an entry into homebuilding that provides them with a solid base of knowledge on acceptable building techniques.

In addition to the construction workshops, we will be offering a new one-day workshop called Test Flying Your Project. This course helps the student prepare for the first flight, whether of a homebuilt or a restoration project. Additionally, the course helps the student prepare a meaningful flight test program. Among the many topics that are covered are evaluation of the aircraft, from weight and balance to performance characteristics, pilot preparedness and fitness, suitability of the airport, documentation and utilization of data from the test flights, communications between EAA Flight Advisor and pilot during the test flights, and preparation of a Flight Manual or POH. Safety and emergency procedures are stressed.

Tuition for this class is normally $99 for EAA members and $124 for non-members. In appreciation of your volunteer participation in the EAA Safety Programs and to expand your level of knowledge, EAA would like to invite you to attend Test Flying Your Project at no charge. Please keep in mind that the course is structured for the person building their first aircraft so much of this will be review; however, we feel it will be an excellent refresher course. You will also receive six currency points toward the renewal of your Flight Advisor and Technical Councilor status.

Bill Bateman, an EAA Flight Advisor, will instruct the course. Bill has experience as a flight instructor for the U.S. Air Force and has test flown several homebuilt aircraft.

We would appreciate it if you could help us promote this course by bringing it up at your local chapter meeting and informing other builders and pilots of the course. If you would like to attend, you must register in advance by calling Mark Forss at 1-800-967-5746 (1-800-workshop) and

PRESS OPTION 2. Identify yourself as a Flight Advisor or Technical Counselor when enrolling.

Jan Streblow
EAA Safety Programs Administrator
P.O. Box 3086
Oshkosh, WI 54903-3086
phone: 920.426.6864
fax: 920.426.6560

...AND LOOK OUT FOR MORE TFRs AS PRESIDENT TRAVELS
President Bush heads to his ranch in Crawford, Texas, on Saturday for his annual summer break from Washington, D.C. During his stay there, he'll make at least four trips to other areas, which will mean TFRs in each place.

On August 11, he'll be in Denver, Tucson, and Summer Haven, Arizona. On August 14, Bush will address troops in Miramar, California, and then attend an event in San Diego. He'll overnight in California, holding a fundraiser in Orange County and touring a national recreation area on August 15. Later in the month, Bush will tour a national forest in Oregon, and attend fundraisers in Portland and in Bellevue, Washington. On August 26, Bush will visit Minneapolis and St. Louis. In addition, he will attend an event for major Republican donors at a "nearby" ranch. Depending on how close that ranch is to the president's ranch, the Crawford TFR may change. AOPA has been aggressively searching public and unclassified sources for information about the president's travels. The association has been forced to make the extra effort to give pilots timely notice of anticipated presidential movement TFRs because the FAA has consistently failed to do so. Check AOPA Online for the latest on the TFR situation.

Plane Thoughts

MARK EDWARDS GETS AIRWORTHINESS INSPECTION
On Sunday, July 20th, Frank Sneed completed the airworthiness paperwork on the Edwards Wag-Aero Sport Cub. Because of work schedules and other commitments, Mark will not make that first flight until early August. After all of the years of work, the first flight is as close as putting the inspection covers and cowl on, and adding sufficient fuel.

FROM THE GROUND UP SERIES – BE NICE TO YOUR VACUUM PUMP
The “WINGS” Channel has an EAA series called “From the Ground Up”. This involves the construction of an RV-8 out of the box through the airworthiness inspection.

The inspector pointed out a “better” way to install the engine driven vacuum system. He claimed that the vacuum pump would last longer if the exit side of the pump has a tube or hose extended to the bottom of the firewall and exit in the low-pressure area of the cowl. This helps take the load off the pump by a bit of “extracting” that the low pressure will offer. There must be something to this, as the old timer vacuum systems used a venturie to create low pressure to drive the vacuum instruments.

Leon Smith's Lancair ES is in the final assembly stages at Kelso airport.
The wings were mated to the fuselage today (7-17-03) and all the fittings and bolts fit together smoothly and by the book.

I have asked Leon to provide our August 7th EAA meeting "show and tell" time. By the time we get to the meeting date, the weight and balance should be done.

In the next few weeks, Leon will be occupied with all the electrical and control connection work that comes with the final assembly.

DICK WOODS AIMS FOR OSHKOSH
Dick has spent many hours upgrading and fine-tuning his Mustang II for the big adventure he has dreamed of. He will fly to Oshkosh this year.

This is a solo adventure, but on the Oshkosh end, he will join up with a nephew. The Mustang group has their own “camp” at Oshkosh and Dick is looking forward to being in Mustang heaven. We wish you smooth air in the form of tailwinds both ways. Bring back lots of pictures and stories to share with us.

On a sad note: Larry Olson, the owner of Express Aircraft died Sunday, July 27th at the Aberdeen airport in B.C. He was on his way to Oshkosh with the new turbine powered retractable Express. All we know at this point is that he reported problems shortly after takeoff and crashed into the airport parking lot while trying to get back to the runway. More information can be had at http://www.aberdeennews.com/mld/aberdeennews/6408420.htm.

Our thoughts and prayers are with his family and his company.

Minutes/Notes From Last Meeting

A combination of the day before July 4th and a typ-o in the newsletter caused the turnout to be practically non-existent and the meeting to be brief. August should be much better.

Calendar of events

Next Board Meeting: Thursday August 7th, 2003, 6:00 pm at the FBO

Next Club Meeting: Thursday August 7th, 2003, 7:00 pm at the FBO

Agenda to include: Must form nominating committee and post potential candidates in September to vote on in October. Need to get annual meeting launched.

Program: Leon Smith is on deck to give us an update on his plane. Mark will bring out the flying machine!

Tech Corner

FROM THE JULY 2003 EAA EXPERIMENTER: “THE HOLE STORY”

The firewall in your plane may have several holes, which are potential fire entrances. You can reduce the number of holes, but you will still need some holes for several wires, control linkages, and tubes. Each hole can become a blowtorch during an engine fire.

Enter a product called intumescent caulk to seal any opening after all wires and controls are in place.

What is intumescent caulk? It’s material that expands when heated so that even when the aluminum tube or wire is melted by fire, the caulk expands to prevent the fire from passing through the opening.

Who makes it and where can you get it? It’s the name on the tube of a 3M product called Fire Barrier CP 25WB + Caulk. It is a latex-based product that cleans up with water before it sets. The 3M stock number is 98-0400-5379-9. Many home supply stores have it. Don’t look in the paint section but rather the electrical supply section, as it is used by electrical trades-people to keep fires from traveling through conduit holes between floors.

Also have photos of John Criderman's Murphy Rebel. These were taken earlier this year. John is now in the process of designing the instrument panel and working on the engine to firewall layout.

I also attached a picture of the 4 port primer I made for those cold starts. It looks much like a fuel injection set up, but is only a primer. Why did I wait 9 years to do this? The single port primer usually flooded the one port and the others were too lean. Now its a five second shot of primer through the boost pump and about 2-3 blades to running.---Jerry

Classifieds

We got a request to post this in the newsletter. It will be included in this issue and then going forward for 6 months (or so) the newsletter will provide a link to another page with the same info.

Mavin Manufacturing Inc.

ALUMINUM SAND CASTINGS & PROTOTYPES

Foundry: That Produces Custom High Quality Sand Casting.

Our capabilities include Quality Aluminum, Kirksite and Zinc Sand Castings. We are currently able to pour aluminum castings from ounces up to 400 lbs. Our green sand molding includes: squeezer work (for small to medium size parts) and floor molding (for larger parts) using our over head crane.

We have an in house Pattern Shop which allows us to go from prints or sketch’s to a production pattern.We are capable building or changing any prototype or casting dimensions per your request or needs. This allows us to cast parts more efficient and at a much lower cost to our customers.

We welcome single casting runs to full production work and look forward to working directly with your Engineering Dept. on prototypes, custom projects and any special need items.

We realize the importance of on-time deliveries with honest and rock solid working relationships with our valued customers. Please feel free to contact us at any time we can be assistance to you.

Please fax, mail, or e-mail prints, drawing or sketches for quotes. We can save you money on your castings.

Mailing & Shipping Address:
58722 Lumpy Lane E.
Greenwater, WA 98022
Phone: 360-663-0354
Fax: 360-663-0617
E-mail: mavinmfg@hotmail.com

Please Note!!! All classifieds will start to bear a date. After they have been in the newsletter for 3 publications, they will be moved to the classifieds section of the EAA 1111 web page. Thank you in advance for alerting the editor when and if your ad can be removed.

Diversions

You know you are having a bad day when...

Officers and Committee Chairpersons