Glastar Builder/Member Visits
Kelso
Wayne Riggs recently flew his Glastar “tail-dragger”
to Kelso airport for a bit of av-gas. Wayne has outfitted his
plane for IFR capability. The layout of the Glastar instrument
panel offers a good opportunity to nicely organize the flight
instruments and the engine instruments. This is one fine machine.
More on the hangar rent
situation...
Pasco is an airport served by Jet Liners, having multi
runways, control tower and a hangar waiting list 28 deep. The
single engine hangar is $167 with all taxes and the works.
The more I find, the more the Kelso airport board has to face what they recommended to Council.
I will present the information to the Airport Board but will not bring a recommendation until after I review the Kelso budget and get our chapter's blessing on anything I do as a Chapter rep.
More to come....
Karen Fenton and the Birds
Karen is working on a plan to take the Ridgefield Wildlife Refuge
supervisor on a flight over the designated refuge. We, as a
chapter, intend to coordinate with the Wildlife Service the
preparation and distribution of a “flyer” to area
pilots and FBO’s. The intent is to clarify the location of
the refuge and how to avoid it. ( It is almost microscopic on the
Sectional) Thanks to Karen for taking the leadership on
this.
Here is a note from Jerry to Karen on the situation-
From: Jerry Sorrell
To Karen FentonSubject: Cooperative Effort with the Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge
Notice to Airmen about Bird Refuge West of RidgefieldThank you for volunteering to handle this responsibility.
The Columbian carried an article about planes flying low over the bird refuge west of Ridgefield. The article pointed out that the Sectional Chart did not display this refuge very well. Some people were looking to push more laws and make the flight under 2000 feet a violation. FAA calls for recommended avoidance, but no penalties involved.
I think the EAA group could work with the Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge Center by agreeing to distribute an aviation oriented flyer showing the Columbia River area refuge and requesting pilots to courteously avoid the area or stay above 2000 AGL when transitioning.
If the Wildlife service would print the product, the EAA could make the distribution to FBO’s in the area. What would be nice, would be a plastic laminate for posting at the airports. We could also put it in our newsletter and send to other EAA chapters in the area who are likely to fly in this vicinity. And…. send to the Washington State Department of Transportation Division of Aviation. Do the same for the Oregon Division of Aviation and the Pacific Mountain Region of the FAA.
The contents of the flyer would be simple and short. Please avoid or fly high over the refuge. The “map” should be the main feature. The message would be a “joint venture” from EAA 1111 and Ridgefield Wildlife Center. We should credit the sources of information.
The Ridgefield Fish and Wildlife office is located in downtown Ridgefield, 887-4106. I forgot the name of the contact, but if you say you want to help keep the planes high by trying a pilot’s educational process, I think you will be welcomed.
(Note: Intrusion into the airspace below 2000 AGL is almost a given in this area. Planes in and out of Scappoose will be transitioning and may be below 2000 AGL. Also, pilots nearing Portland may be descending to stay under the 1,800 MSL floor to remain outside the Class C airspace, which begins just south of Ridgefield. I noted that the Flight-guide shows the refuge.)
The fly-in season has started!!! All are welcome to the Grant's Pass, OR event-
Dear fellow EAA'ers,
It would be greatly appreciated if you would publicize our upcoming fly-in breakfast in your calendar and at your future meetings. The date is June 28, and we will be serving from 7:30 to 11:00 AM. Breakfast will consist of pancakes, ham, eggs, home fries, juice, and coffee, all for $4.75.
This is shaping up as sort of an "Airport Day" event. Chapter 725 will be flying Young Eagles, and the Rogue Valley Ultralighters will be out in force. They will follow up our breakfast with an afternoon barbecue, so here's a chance to really top off your tank.
I know it's a ways to go, but I hope you can join us for a day of good food, good company, and endless hangar flying. Thanks in advance, and please contact me if there is anything we can do to help you publicize your local event(s).
Stan Loer
President, Chapter 725P.S. to Chapters 654 and 1111: Your events (May 17 and June 14 respectively) have been added
to our calendar.
Please keep your eyes out for a stolen engine-
To the EAA Chapters in Oregon and Washington,
My name is Perry Daniels and I am asking for your help in tracking down a stolen ROTAX 912. In January a storage container was broken into and among the property taken was a new ROTAX 912 engine still in the crate. The engine was offered for sale to one of your members in Oregon but the seller backed out at the last minute. The EAA member did however verify that the serial number matched that of the stolen engine. We have been informed by the Sheriff that the person who was selling the engine is now in Washington. I would truly appreciate any information leading to the arrest of the seller and/or the recovery of the engine. It was the most valuable item taken and replacing it will be quite a hardship.
The particulars; The engine is a ROTAX 912, Serial # 4402513. To report any contact with the seller or if the engine has been purchased by someone that you know of please contact the Siskiyou County Sheriff's office at (800) 404-2911 and refer to case # 1-03-0102.
I would greatly appreciate any help any of your members can offer in finding the person(s) selling this engine and recovering the engine. The local EAA chapter placed a notice in their newsletter so their members were informed and that led to the discovery that the engine was for sale.
Please reply with a short note if you have read this message so I know how many others I need to call to make sure the word gets out. Thank you so much for your time and your help.
Here is a piece from the editor of the Pacific Flyer. Some of you may find it interesting.
By Chuck Stewart
The maddening security overwhelming commercial aviation is not restricted to the giant airline terminals, if a three-day road trip around California is any indication.
What it turned out to be was a disturbing encounter with how radically the look and feel of the country's airports - both large and small - have been changed by Draconian measures. It was a rude awakening that prompted the question: "Is security killing General Aviation?"
Based on what we experienced, the conclusion is in the affirmative. Sixteen months after 9-11, General Aviation ain't what it used to be.
There are fences and security gates everywhere, no matter the size of the airport or the type and volume of traffic. Fences may protect airports, airplanes and owners but they're having as much negative impact on aviation as they are positive.
Fences keep outsiders out but they also keep interested neighbors and prospective customers away as well. They've turned once friendly airports into cold, hostile fortresses that are discouraging the next generation of pilots.
Gone are the days when a kid could come out to the airport, meet a pilot and talk his way into a ride. Today, that kid can't get anywhere near the airport, yet alone an airplane or a pilot.
On The Outside
Back in the day, you could earn money for flying lessons by washing planes and pumping gas, such as this writer did at Herron Airport in New Cumberland, W.V. Despite being a private pilot for 30 years and an aviation writer for 14, fences and card-operated gates kept me on the outside looking in.
At Mojave, I was tossed off the ramp by a security guard while attempting to photograph a plane parked in front of the terminal. Never mind that the walk-through gate in the terminal was open and there were no "photography prohibited" signs posted.At Camarillo, the welcome was just as cold. A white security truck tailed me everywhere, its driver eyeing me suspiciously as I drove around the airport searching for signs of life.
No security trucks or armed guards at Santa Paula, Santa Maria, San Luis Obispo or Paso Robles but they were all locked up tighter than a drum. Instead of airplanes, the first thing a visitor sees is a fence that runs as far as the eye can see.It makes for a dubious first impression. The fence surrounding Santa Maria's Capt. G. Allan Hancock Field reminded me of a prison camp, complete with several rows on new barracks - er, hangars - going up but no way to get in and ask anyone about them. Going To Extremes?Van Nuys is the latest California airport to ehhance the way its protects itself, its users and tenants. It recently added barbed wire to its perimeter fence and installed more security lights and surveillance cameras at airport entrances.
In addition, said Airport Manager Selena Birk, Van Nuys Airport police will soon have their radios retuned so they can be in direct contact with the Los Angeles Police Dept.All of this was prompted by comments made last fall by Los Angeles Councilwoman Ruth Galanter, in whose district the airport lies. Complaining that GA airports were exempt from many of the security measures enacted after 9-11, she called Van Nuys "the soft underbelly of the nation's defense against air terrorism.""The things we've set up go far beyond what the Transportation Security Agency requires," Birk told the Los Angeles Daily News. "In fact, they go beyond what most GA airports have done because we're in an urban-suburban area rather than a wide-open area."Despite all the improvements, one VNY tenant said there was still a big hole in the airport's defenses. Mark Sullivan, owner of SkyTrails Aviation, said vehicles are still allowed to park on streets around the airport.
Sullivan pointed out that terrorists could use these vehicles as vantage points from which to shoot down aircraft. More than a dozen streets, including Sherman Way and Roscoe Blvd., border Van Nuys Airport.
Though it doesn't have commercial air service, Van Nuys averages 500,000 takeoffs and landings a year and is the country's busiest GA airport. But how long it will be able to make that claim in the face of security measures that isolate it more and more is anyone's guess.
Bottom line: General Aviation has been changed forever by 9-11, and not for the better.
Attendance: 5 officersc present, Terry Creamer and Bev added to the list
Discussions: Talked about
the hangar rent rate increases.
Jerry will be going to the Dept of Trans office to see about the
gig at the rest stop.
Dick Woods will audit the books for 2002.
Ridgefield wildlife altitude issue has not been pursued. Jerry
wants to pass off to someone else, maybe Karen??
Eric will make a new poster for the EAA locker in the FBO.
Talked about fly-in meeting on Tues. Committee will start meeting
with board during regular meetings. There was talk of inviting
the HOG (Harley Owners Group) to the fly-in. Get a "birds
and bikes" thing going. Eric will be in charge of safety.
More talk of the chapter hangar. Discussions of getting a member
partnership going to raise more money. Who would be willing to
ante up?
Attendance: 5 officers present, 16 members
Treasurer's report: $158.53 in checking, $3368.75 in the building fund, $9340.08 in the CD
Discussions: In addition to
everything discussed from the board meeting above...
Karen Fenton volunteered to do fliers for the Ridgefield wildlife
preserve altitude buffer.
Jerry will make a presentation to the Kelso airport board to plea
our case about the hangar rent. He promises to be professional
and have the interests of the chapter in mind at all times!
Mike will have his Australian presentation ready for the April
meeting.
Jerry gave a quick talk about the new primer he installed on his
RV and then had to leave for other obligations.
Karen Fenton is working with the Boy Scouts on a flying merit
badge. They are looking for pilots/planes.
Sam and Sandi are looking for young eagles fliers for our fly-in.
Many of us in the group remember fondly, when Jay was working on his GlaStar. I know, as Bob and I would head to our hanger to get Figi,, we would have to stop by and check with Jay and Lou Ann on progress. Jay has been an important member of the group for several years, serving as Vice President and President of the Chapter. This is your chance, as a new member to meet him
| Jay was born in McMinnville, Oregon and grew up on a boat moorage on the Lewis River near Ridgefield. He has one sister and both parents are living. | |
|
He graduated from Portland Community College and
works as an Industrial Maintenance Electrician. One of
his interests, as well as building planes, has been SCUBA
diving. (Why does it seem that this is a secondary
pursuit of many pilots?) He and his wife have taken many
trips to the tropics to do this. Jay started taking flying lessons in Millington, Tennessee, when attending Navy technical school in 1968. After serving in Taiwan as a flight line equipment electrician, he left the Navy in 1971. He scared himself while flying an ultralight, that he built, and his most memorable flight was flying off the test time in his Glastar. He finds flying satisfying because of both the view and the feeling of freedom. If money were no object he would like to own an F-16. (Wouldn’t we all!). He would like to take a trip Island hopping across the Caribbean. Jay hopes to get his medical back soon and become a great GlaStar pilot. He found the satisfaction of building was “ the great accomplishment of knowing every nut, bolt, screw, and rivet in the airplane”. He met a lot of great and interesting people and was surprised by all the homebuilding activity. His goal in building is to complete the interior and exterior and finish his GlaStar if he gets his medical back. He found the journey of building a great challenge, that is very rewarding but required a lot of self-discipline to succeed. The support of Lou Ann helped make the dream a reality. I know that all the members of the group are rooting for you Jay, and can’t wait to see that white GlaStar in the air again. |
|
Roble: engine wiring done, playing w/ fuel tanks
Fernando cranked up his RV
The Maule is covered
Wayne talked about all the flying he has been doing in his Glasstar.
Fly In and Young Eagles Report
At our April 3rd meeting, Jim Ylvisaker will update us on the June 14th event. These months go by so quickly. Be sure you have marked you calendar and tell the family you gotta go there.April Program: The Great Australian Adventure in Video
Mike Lewis had edited the Australian Fly Out for our viewing pleasure. This will be our program for April. And… I have given an oath not to tell what else will be provided that night. Just be there!
The calendars are here! The
calendars are here! Please support your chapter and buy them!
The 2003 calendars are
available. There are two models: a desktop model and a wall
hanging model. We are selling them for $15 and $12 respectively.
Both can be purchased for $25. These will make GREAT presents and
are a required display in every shop. They are a must have for
anyone who is interested in knowing what day it is!
Lee Dines has some cylinders for sale: ---posted February 2003
6 Continental )-200 or )-300 standard steel cylinders. All have 70 lbs or better compression. $150 each.
Please contact Lee at 425-6619
Joe Hennessy is looking for a rivet gun: ---posted February 2003
Joe Hennessey is looking for anyone who would like to loan, sell a 3x rivet gun with accessories.
| President & Tech Counselor | Jerry Sorrell | 263-1532 | jsorrell@wa-net.com |
| V. President | Mark Edwards | 225-8821 | cubace32@hotmail.com |
| Treasurer | Al Drewry | 274-6115 | |
| Secretary & Newsletter Editor | Eric Hoppe | 263-6691 | behoppe@tds.net |
| Tech. Counselor | Jay Tabor | 425-6278 | jtabor@scattercreek.com |
| Member at Large | Mike Lewis | 274-8860 | michael@kalama.com |
| Historian | Karen Fenton | 546-1550 | figi152@aracnet.com |
| Hospitality Chairperson | Bob Taylor | 576-3806 | bobtaylor15@attbi.com |
| Young Eagles Coordinator | Sam and Sandi Archer | 425-7777 | sas@toledotel.com |
| Fly Out Director |