The Plane Newsletter

A publication of Chapter 1111 Experimental Aircraft Association

November 2001

From the President

Hello Chapter 1111 friends and members,

I extend my thanks to Jay Tabor for his years of service as our Chapter 1111 president. He got short-changed at the annual meeting, not getting a candy bouquet. But he said he would forfeit the bouquet and award plaques for the opportunity to have some time off. But Jay will be close to help in other ways.

The new officers have met and the paperwork transition is underway. We will be up to speed at our next meeting, take care of needed business and enjoy the educational portion of the meeting. We will meet at 7 p.m. at the FBO and then car pool to the Archer’s for a close up look at the Elite.

President’s Observations

Mark Edwards has done a remarkable job of covering the wings on his Cub. Seems like we were just at his place and saw the wings in skeletal form, and now they are covered! Mark will be transporting the wings to the EAA hangar for storage.

The interior upholstery and carpet work on Mike Lewis’ Lancair is truly custom crafted in appearance. Mike will travel in comfort and luxury. Stop by his shop and check this out.

It is condition inspection (annual) time for Keith Hamilton. Keith is going to do some detail updating and changing he has had in mind, now that inspection time is here. How fast the year goes! Fast is right. It was eight years and 896 hours ago that I made my first flight at Kelso.

In mid October, with sunny and warm days, Jim Ylvisaker had his Great Lakes out, making Kinner pop-pop sounds in the skies.

And not far down the hangar line from Jim, Henry Schmitt is doing the annual on his Aero Commander. He claims to have worn out all the screws and panels from removing them so many times over the many years of annuals.

Jay Tabor is back in the skies with the Glastar, and all is well. Don’t forget Jay is now a Tech Counselor.

I made a flight to Olympic Air Museum at Olympia Airport in mid-October. The displays are expanding to include a German V-1 Buzz Bomb, F-104 Starfighter, F-84 Thunderjet, and a British Lighting jet. Most impressive is the Mark-61 atomic bomb, which I assume has been de-fused.

Elmer Bates wrote me that he hopes to join us soon, but is recovering from surgery at the time.

Plane Thoughts

The congeniality and candor between people in the flying community is something often talked about and accepted as the norm in FBO's across the country. It seems there is always a happy face and a waving hand wherever one may choose to land. The common bond pilots share is enough to loosen the day to day, anti-social barriers required in the 'real' world. Random acts of kindness seem to happen more often than not.

I have provided rides from the Kelso airport to traveling pilots for everything from restaurants to car rental facilities. I have received rides as well for the same reasons at Tillamook, Seaside, Olympia, Friday Harbor and others. My most recent encounter at Kelso is the reason for this article and I would like to take the opportunity to offer my appreciation publicly.

Recently the battery on my car died suddenly while I was at the airport. Wayne Brewer offered to take me to Sears to get a new battery and he brought out the tools from his hangar when we realized the Kelso shop didn’t have any metric tools. Even though the job itself was very easy, Wayne’s time and efforts turned what could have been a very inconvenient afternoon into a non-event.

Random acts of kindness leave both parties of the encounter in a positive light. The ‘giver’ feels great for being able to help. The ‘givee’ leaves the airport with a great attitude about his/her encounter and is very likely to speak highly of it to others. A little effort can go a very long way.

Thank you Wayne for your help. Your generosity will be remembered.

Eric Hoppe

Minutes/Notes from last Meeting

Election of Officers

In order to ease Terry out of his position, I will include the text from his October ‘Special Edition’ Election Coverage.   This special edition newsletter was required by the bank to transfer signatures of club leadership.   -ed

“The Chapter 1111 Annual Meeting was held at the Rutherglen Mansion on Thursday October 4^th. As reported in the September 2001 edition of “The Plane Newsletter” the nominating committee had placed into nominations the following members for chapter offices:

President: Jerry Sorrell

Vice President: Mark Edwards

Secretary/Newsletter Editor: Eric Hoppe

Treasurer: Al Drewry

Member at Large: Mike Lewis

any further nominations. No further President Jay Tabor opened the election process by calling for nominations were made. A motion was made and seconded for a vote to confirm the slate of candidates as presented. By voice vote the slate was accepted unanimously.

Congratulations to the new officers.”

October Program

The October meeting was Chapter 1111’s annual dinner meeting and was held at the Rutherglen Mansion.  The food and drink was very good as was the topic of most conversations… airplanes.  Tokens of the chapter’s appreciations were given to the previous officers and a good time was had by all. 

Beverly Fogle gave a very interesting presentation with a slide show on the enviable time she logged in a MiG-25 during her second visit to Russia.

Calendar of events

Chapter 1111 monthly meeting:  Thursday, November 1^st.  We will be meeting at the FBO (Kelso Flight Service) and car-pooling to Sam and Sandi Archer’s place to check out their Elite project.

Classifieds

Buy, Sell, Swap your stuff here!!!

Dues

Dues are $24.00 per year. If you join midyear, they are pro-rated $2.00 per month.   Send dues to treasurer Al Drewry.  Include your National EAA number as our bylaws require it for membership.

From the Editor

As I enter this new role, I have a head full of grandiose plans and ideas.  I envision the ideal situation where everyone has so much to say, I will be inundated with newsletter submissions.  In reality, I would be happy with a few.  If anyone has anything they would like to share, (a nice trip, lessons learned flying or building, or whatever) please don’t be shy.  I would love to work with you to get your thoughts and ideas published.  Your contributions make the editors job much easier and it makes for a better newsletter.

I had some problems sending the newsletter to the following email addresses:
Buzz and Vi Benham: bussandvi@msn.com
Karen Fenton: figi152@aracnet.com
Linda Swisher:  kj7kw@olpen.com
Sam and Sandi Archer:  sas@Toledo.com
Could these people please let me know if they still have email and what their correct address is?  Thanks.

If you do not receive this newsletter, please let me know. ;)  ed

Officers and Committee Chairpersons