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EAA Chapter 983 Newsletter
March 2003

EAA Chapter 983, P.O. Box 5191, Granbury, Tx. 76049
Website http://www.eaa983.org

Chapter 983 meets on the second Saturday of each month at 10:00 AM. in Ken houseman's hangar. N.E. corner of Pecan Plantation Airpark.

Scott Correa on selecting, working, forming and maintaining plastics in aircraft applications.

Upcoming Programs: April 12th: Chip Mull. Coverings, Coatings and other things Aeronautical.

*******March is the last month to receive the Newsletter if dues aren’t paid*******

Gary Bricker welcomed new members and guests: Rich Chiappe (Gene and Carols son), Stan Jackson (commuting in from OK, we’ll make him put a U.S. of Texas sticker on his rudder), Chip Mull, Stewart Davis and John Whitehead.

64 members and guests attended this meeting. Gary claims it’s his sparkling personality. Dick Jones says it’s the program. Me, I think : 0TX1 35015kt 3sm 7bkn 14ovc m3 m7 for the past week has something to do with it.

Project updates: Steve Mottin is at work on his RV7 wings, Debbie Scanlon is fitting the canopy on her RV7, Jim Erskine is fitting expensive pieces into Bill Orcutt's RV7A instrument panel, Jim Matlock is sealing the tanks on his RV4(Yes, his mother did teach him to wash his hands. It just won’t come off), Lee Clements is installing the control cables on his Glastar, Tom Lewis has his RV6 fuselage out of the jig. Dick Jones has had his inspection, is doing the final engine tune-up and we should have a first flight soon on his RV9A.

Barbara Staples (boss of Les) is still recovering nicely and hopes to spend some time at home beginning in March.

Les’ Bede 4 was sold on E-Bay. You put it out there with a minimum $ only you know and let the bidding begin.

Barbara Calivas and husband Charlie, former 983 members, are recovering from Barbara’s triple bypass surgery. She’s doing fine.

Sid Tucker reported that he got outstanding service from one of our advertisers, Cleburn Propane, and wanted us to know about it and continue to support them.

Karen Jensen wants to know if you do not want a paper copy of the newsletter. We’re not trying to force you to the website but if your paper copy gets tossed let her know and we’ll save a few bucks.

Chapter 983 (Us!) is sponsoring the March 22nd pancake breakfast at Granbury Muni.. Volunteer for kitchen duty or just come by. Bill Maynard has organized a Wings / Safety Seminar after the breakfast.

No air race for the SWRFI on May 17th but an Air Rally may be on instead. Bob Satterwhite is in the process of trying to organize it with our chapter handling the race duties. Go to: www.swrfi.org to check on the progress.

Stephenville is having their 2nd annual Fly-In this fall and is requesting help with Young Eagle flying. Keep it in mind when the signup sheet comes around.

Dick Keyt showed a very nicely constructed SS heat muff he built for the Polen. I think I heard him offer to build one for each of the chapter members.

On Wednesday, February 5, I was contacted by the Plant Manager of the DeCordova Bend Power Plant (on Lake Granbury). He knows that I am a pilot, and was concerned because his staff felt that "a small yellow and black aircraft had deliberately buzzed their plant". This had occurred on Tuesday around 2:30 PM. They called the FAA, but because they could not get the "N" number there was little the FAA could do at that time. They were concerned enough that they visited both Nassau Bay and Pecan airports looking for the plane. We discussed the Temporary Flight Restriction (TFR), what the regulations say, and the expected behavior of pilots. I figure that this is a good time to review the now 15 month old TFR:
NO PERSON MAY OPERATE AN AIRCRAFT IN THE TERRITORIAL AIRSPACE OF THE U.S. UNDER VISUAL FLIGHT RULES EXCEPT AS PROVIDED BELOW: A. IN THE INTEREST OF NATIONAL SECURITY, AND TO THE EXTENT PRACTICABLE, PILOTS ARE ADVISED TO AVOID THE AIRSPACE ABOVE, OR IN PROXIMITY TO, SITES SUCH AS NUCLEAR POWER PLANTS, POWER PLANTS, DAMS, REFINERIES, INDUSTRIAL COMPLEXES, AND OTHER SIMILAR FACILITIES. PILOT SHOULD NOT CIRCLE AS TO LOITER IN THE VICINITY OF SUCH FACILITIES.
First, note that it applies to more than just Comanche Peak on Squaw Creek Reservoir. Also, it only applies to VFR operations. The way I interpret it, you are legal if you remain 1000 feet above the highest obstacle, don't circle the plant, or do anything that looks threatening. Ground level at Comanche Peak is 810 FT MSL. Security Guards there have been told to ignore aircraft above 1000 FT, but they have no way of determining that. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) REQUIRES us to report violations to the FAA, FBI, NRC Headquarters, and local law enforcement (Somervell County Sheriff). We report an average of 1-2 violations per week. The DeCordova Plant is natural gas fired and not under NRC oversight. Their criteria to report is something that looks deliberate and threatening. I have given them the text of the TFR.
This TFR has got to be one of the dumbest things to come out of Washington. It is a good example of how little the TSA knows about flying. We in the nuclear industry think that the TFR does nothing to enhance safety. Nevertheless, it is the law and we have no choice but to follow it. With the heightened level of terrorist threats (we are in condition orange as I write this) and the ignorance of flying rules by the general public, I would recommend extreme caution in your flying behaviors.

Dave is the Dir. of Engineering and former Plant Mgr. for Comanche Peak Nuclear Power Plant and chapter 983 member.

He said if you fly low over his Power plant he’s pretty sure he won’t be able to read your “N” number but he’s not too sure about the other1300 employees and 140 security personnel.

“The art of living is more like wrestling than dancing.” Marcus Aurelius

The EAA's Young Eagles Program introduces young people to the world of aviation. It has been working towards the goal of flying 1,000,000 kids between the ages of 8-18 worldwide before the 100th anniversary of powered flight. They are still 125,000 flights short of reaching that goal. We have between now and December to reach that goal. If there are any school, church, or youth groups, etc., that would like to participate, please contact Barbara or Stephen Wilson at 817-279-1379.

Dave Stovall, General Manager for Sentry in Fort Worth, gave the program today. Sentry is a family business purchased 23 years ago and still run that way today. Probably best known for chrome cylinders they are now completely out of the chrome business primarily due to environmental concerns. Dave talked about how in this age of rapidly changing technology, the cylinder design has remained unchanged for decades. The only changes have come in metallurgy and plating. He also talked about the cylinder failures they see when cylinders come in for overhaul. On most small Lycomings the most common problem is cracking between the plug and the exhaust valve seat. As a general rule his overhauled cylinders are about $150 less than a new one from the manufacturer. He recommends the use of Marvel Mystery Oil in the fuel, it helps keep the valve guides and seats clean.. When asked his opinion on Avgas versus auto fuel he remained neutral saying that he has seen nothing in the shop to indicate either is better. He has heard good opinions on both sides of the fence from people he respects. He does have a definite opinion on who puts out a better engine and it starts with L.

Roger Lessard has been as devoted to the Young Eagles program as anyone. He has flown at least 10 Young Eagles a year since the programs inception 10 years ago, over 170 total. Congratulations Roger!

Sunday Fly-Outs are going on when the weather cooperates. Contact Steve or Barbara Wilson at stephen.wilson@charter.net to be put on their list for e-mails with Fly-Out info. They’d like to include anyone you know. Pass it along.

Rhody Addison, who was our representative to the 2001 Air Academy at Osh Kosh, has earned a place on the Dean of Instruction’s Honor Roll at Texas State Technical College. Rhody has maintained a 3.75 gpa, majoring in Aviation Maintenance.

Advertisers are the lifeblood of our newsletter, be sure to thank them for their support when you use their services. Let’s welcome new advertisers, Granbury Rose, Dinner and Scenic Cruise Paddle Wheeler and E & L Aviation, Rental and flight instruction. Welcome back to a previous advertiser, Shane Stuart and his Sport Aviation Company, Aircraft Repair / Maintenance / Inspection. All are local Granbury business’.

Chip Moll, new chapter member, is the local Stits distributor. Call with questions or product needs. 817 279-8045

Sun N Fun volunteers needed to man the Young Eagles display. For more info contact Michelle Kunes 800 236-4800 x6865 or mkunes@EAA.org

Three new members last week, and they’re trying to learn our names. Lets help ‘em out and wear those name tags.

The Southwest Regional Fly In banquet on Saturday night will be held at the New Braunfels airport after the days activities. We will have a chapter table or two. Call Gary Bricker if you want to have a seat there.

Frontiers of Flight Museum, a new 100,000 sq. ft. building in the Dallas Love Terminal will open in December 2003.The building will have capacity for up to 25 full size aircraft , a 200 seat auditorium, and more.

Bill Eslick's rotary powered RV 6 is sporting a fine new paint job done by Calvin Gillis at Low Pass Airport just S. of OKC. Talk to Bill if you’re interested in a low cost and what appears to be a good quality paint job.

Lycoming crankshafts can be reground to -.003, -.006, -.010. If it is ground more than -.003 it must be renitrited. These dimensions are applicable to the main journals and the rod journals and can be either or both. As a matter of practice, we do not sell an engine outright with a -.010 crank in it. There is no grind left and you have a one time engine. That is why we are so emphatic about the seller of a core guaranteeing the crank to be repairable.

A reground camshaft is better than anew one if properly done. Reason: the metallurgy is KNOWN GOOD if it has previously reached TBO. It only takes .002 - .003 inches regrind to restore the proper profile on a reground cam. The biggies on reground camshafts are: no chatter, no base circle runout, and the proper taper on the lobe. Lyc. camshafts are made from AISI 8620 forgeings and are carburized on the lobes only. The copper color you see on a camshaft is resist plated on then ground thru where they want the cam to be hard. Under the copper flashing, it is fairly maleable, but tough. Carburizing is typically .030 deep.

I have never seen a 540 crankcase at overhaul that did not need parting surfaces machined, then line bored. They fret BAD, worse with heavy props and aerobatics. 9 out of 10 sets are also cracked somewhere.

There is a lot of HYPE in the engine business. Overhaulers have all kinds of gimmicks: Black Edition, Gold Medallion, Red Autographed ones, on and on. Believe it if you want, that there are some 400 HP 540 Lycs out there. I’ve never seen one. But I can tell you this for a hard core fact. They will make 375 HP! KEEP READING! It takes 2700 RPM, 43 IN. HG., 44GPH, cylinder pressures in excess of 1200 PSI (1000 is considered the limit) and the engine is going to run about 10 hrs. That has been done at my shop, recently, including the 10 hrs. The failure was a cylinder head, at 1200 PSI.

I have also been asked about a couple of specific engines, one being the Hale Wallace Engine, the other being Patty Wagstaff’s.

I’ll start with Hale’s. Hale sent me a 0-540-B2B5, Time X, dis-assembled and a whole box of new parts. Hale had an OEM agreement with Lycoming and he could buy parts cheaper than the distributors. I gave Hale a BPA Cold Air Induction system and the labor. Hale bought, from me, a set of 9.5:1 pistons, provided an Airflow Performance FM-200 fuel system and that engine produced 295 HP. Real not hyped. Hale built me a set of short Skybolt wings and that is how that deal went down. I can’t tell you what the cost is because Hale furnished most of the parts.

I also can’t give you a price on Wagstaff’s because her parts come from Lycoming. We do that engine every year. There is usually nothing wrong with it, but it gets done for scheduling convenience, (hers, not mine). Every 3rd year it gets a new set of cylinders. We use a factory piston, p/n LW-11487 (10:1), do some flow work on the heads, balance it, applied SI 1123 (thru bolt dowels) and her engine does about 320 HP. It is an AEIO-540-L1B5, weighs 460 lbs. Hale’s engine weighed 380 lbs. Lycoming has NEVER fussed about what I ordered for her engine as she is a “High Visibility” personality and an engine failure would do Lycoming a lot of harm. The engine that is on the airplane in the Smithsonian is a parallel engine with BPA Cold Air, is 10.5:1, with TCM intake valves, seats and that engine did 325 HP. We don’t do the TCM valves anymore. The seats are too close together and the head will crack between seats. But man, it would flow some air. Takes 6 lbs air per Hr., per HP. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out that “porting-polishing” does NOT increase the power very much. It is done to make the engines run smoother.