The Plane Newsletter

~ March 2009 ~ March 2009 ~ March 2009 ~ March 2009 ~ March 2009 ~ March 2009 ~ March 2009 ~ March 2009 ~ March 2009 ~ March 2009 ~ March 2009 ~

Important Dates -

Executive planning meeting: 5:30 pm on the first Thursday of the month in the clubhouse (Kelso hangar A7). All are welcome!!

Food will be ready at about 6:30 and the chapter meeting will follow at about 7:00.

The Grub
Jerry and Al are going to whip up something good.

Minutes From Last Executive Meeting
We had a great program last month!! The food was good and there was a great showing.

A very casual executive meeting with little on the agenda. We talked about sending letters to lost members to re-energize their interest in the club. There is $2435.18 in checking and $2145.64 in savings. DUES ARE DUE!!!
We talked about the possibility of starting a flying club as a sub committee of the chapter. Jerry is going to look into it and the legalities involved.
Al made some really good artery clogging burgers.

Current Events - the top three news items from Google at the time this newsletter was created based on experimental aviation

Legislators seek experimental aircraft ban at NLV airport

Aircraft 101

Area Pilots Reach Out To Educate Public About Experimental Planes

Tech Counselor Minute- from Jerry Sorrell

AVIONICS SERVICE
At our last EAA meeting, Greg Howard, who operates the avionics side of Aero Maintenance at Pearson Field, discussed the GPS systems he carries.
He also does radio and transponder work, and I have had him do maintenance and repairs over the years. He was very helpful in offering me diagnostic assistance before I brought the troublesome equipment in.
Here is an example. The transponder was not working. This was evident by no reply light and by Portland Approach telling me that I was not on the radar. I took the transponder out of the tray and asked Greg to check it out and repair it. He put it on the bench to check it and it worked fine. Greg told me that at times, the contact points on the pin connector will sometime corrode enough to make the unit fail. I took the transponder back to the plane and the test flight showed all was well. No charge from Greg as he said he did no work. I know that if I had sent this out or taken it to another shop, there probably would have been a charge. Of course there have been other times when repairs were needed and there was a charge, but I expected such. If you are planning on avionics or need repairs, I recommend you see Greg at Aero Maintenance.
http://www.aeromt.com/

ALCOHOL FREE MO-GAS STILL AVAILABLE LOCALLY
By: Jerry Sorrell Tech Counselor
Alcohol free car gas is still available at Pump #9 at Wilcox and Flegel on Industrial Way. A Supplemental Type certificates ( STC's) permit certain certified aircraft/ engine combinations to use alcohol free auto fuel. I have been using this type of fuel since 1993 and have had good performance. The engine compression and oil consumption are still very good with over 1,300 hours in service with no maintenance except for oil change @ 25 hours and all spark plug changed at 1000 hours.
Here is the STC site to find if your engine or plane can use the auto gas.
http://www.autofuelstc.com/autofuelstc/pa/PetersenAviation.html

Interesting Stuff

FLY OUTS HAVE BEEN HAPPENING
In the past few months, the weather has cooperated to permit flyouts to Forks, Florence, Tacoma Industrial, Independence and Astoria. ( Warning, the FBO at Astoria is doing a remodel of the building and the cafe is closed.)

The McClellan's are away on a driving trip to the southeast and then back through the southwest US. We will see them in a month. Another slide show will be in the works.

When I am too old to fly for real, I will have this to keep in practice.
The end product will have pitch and roll motion consistent with control stick input.
Below is a web site my neighbor made for me
http://home.comcast.net/~sim.seat/
And here is a U-Tube of the machine that we are using as a basis for design. I will order a 26" monitor when the time comes. Mine will have the control panel / throttle for a number of aircraft functions that otherwise would be keyboard inputs.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4AODCt2BEt8
Trade show video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v8ovmDGzFPA

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

VIRGIN GALACTIC CONFIRMS PLANS FOR WHITEKNIGHTTWO (VIRGIN MOTHERSHIP EVE) WORLD DEBUT AT EAA AIRVENTURE OSHKOSH 2009

EAA AVIATION CENTER, OSHKOSH, Wis. - (Feb. 24, 2009) - As the era of clean, safe, and affordable access to space dawns, the pioneers at Virgin Galactic and Scaled Composites have again chosen EAA AirVenture Oshkosh as the stage for unveiling their innovations. After successfully completing its initial flight test program, space launch vehicle Virgin Mothership (VMS) Eve will make its world public debut on July 27 at EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2009.

The space launch vehicle will arrive as part of the opening-day air show. AirVenture attendees will have opportunities for up-close viewing of the vehicle on the ground each day until its departure flight as part of the Saturday, Aug. 1 air show. Event organizers and Virgin Galactic officials are hopeful to arrange additional showcase flights during the week.

"This will be a major highlight of our event. Since the appearance of the X-Prize-winning WhiteKnight and SpaceShipOne at AirVenture four years ago, our members have eagerly awaited the next advancements from the Virgin Galactic and Scaled Composites innovators," said EAA president and AirVenture chairman Tom Poberezny.

"Burt Rutan, the chief designer of Virgin Galactic's launch vehicle and spacecraft, truly embodies the EAA spirit. His accomplishments show how far our passion for building and flying aircraft can go. Over the decades, this EAA member has created some of the world's most inventive designs, including the vehicles that will take private-citizen astronauts into space. We're all eager to welcome Burt and his team back to Oshkosh," Poberezny said.

"Likewise, the EAA community is eager to applaud Virgin Galactic for employing corporate muscle and mettle to bring ambitious dreams within reach," he added.

Will Whitehorn, President of Virgin Galactic commented: "Our new launch vehicle, VMS Eve, is both visually remarkable and represents ground-breaking aerospace technology. It has a unique heavy lift, high altitude capability and an open architecture driven design that provides for maximum versatility in the weight, mass, and volume of its payload potential. VMS Eve is capable of lifting SpaceShipTwo, an unmanned satellite launch or space science vehicle and also being capable of use as an astronaut training vehicle. Its carbon composite construction also gives unprecedented fuel efficiency and the strength to perform high g maneuvers and parabolic flight," he said.

"Together with Scaled Composites, we are delighted to be showcasing this incredible vehicle and demonstrating its capabilities in public for the very first time. It is particularly appropriate that we are doing this at the 2009 AirVenture event in conjunction with the EAA, which has done so much over the years to support and promote aerospace innovation," Whitehorn added.

According to Whitehorn, Virgin Galactic plans to conduct test flights of VMS Eve carrying SpaceShipTwo during the second half of 2009.

Dwarfing its namesake predecessor, WhiteKnightTwo is the world's largest all carbon composite flying vehicle. The 140-foot wingspan is the longest single carbon composite aviation component ever manufactured.

The launch vehicle's mission will include ferrying SpaceShipTwo and thousands of private astronauts, science packages, and payload on the first stage of the Virgin Galactic sub-orbital space experience.

EAA AIRVENTURE OSHKOSH is The World's Greatest Aviation Celebration and EAA's yearly membership convention. EAA members receive lowest prices on admission rates. For more information on EAA and its programs, call 1-800-JOIN-EAA (1-800-564-6322) or visit www.eaa.org. EAA AirVenture information is also available through the World Wide Web at www.airventure.org. Instant EAA news is available at http://twitter.com/EAAupdate.

EDITOR'S NOTE: High-resolution air-to-air photo of "Eve" is available at http://www.airventure.org/news/2009/images/VMS_Eve_Maiden_Fight.jpg

Flights

Heard anything good lately? Been anywhere interesting? Let me know. Click here to send me an email!

On the Lighter Side

Here is the challenge- go to www.youtube.com, search on cool aviation or experimental aviation and let me know if you can spend less than a couple hours going from one clip to another.... betcha can't.. has anyone tried? Seen anything cool you would like to share?.

Editor's Comments

If you have any ideas or comments, please let me know. I want your feedback. The chapter and the newsletter are only as good as the input and the energy of the members. I want your pictures, your stories, your thoughts. Don't be shy!! If you get an interesting link or something funny via the web, please don't hesitate to share it with me.

I hope to make this newsletter a place our members look to for vital information, a thing prospective members appreciate and are motivated to join, a link our fellow EAA'ers around the country look at to keep in touch.

Officers and Committee Chairpersons