EAA September Newsletter

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 Airport

Meeting Minutes

President Gary Bricker called the August meeting to order. It was a small group due primarily to unnaturally cold temperatures. A low lying variotherm over south western Saginaw caused temps to fall to the mid 90’s instead of their normal mid to upper 90’s at 9:00 in the morning. Thick oil and low batteries undoubtedly caused a number of starting difficulties among the members. Just a reminder to drain your oil and bring it and the battery indoors if you’re planning a trip during these cold snaps.
Thanks to the Wilsons (all four of them; Gloria, Bruce, Steve and Barbara) for supplying the treats for the meeting.
Visitors this week were: Dee Kinsey and Mack Angel.
Gary reminded us that the Southwest Regional Fly-In will still be in Abilene this year on September 26-29. Volunteers are always needed (aircraft judges in particular call 806 793-3202 or LorneSharp@msn.com). www.swrfi.org.
Don Saint reported that he and Dick Keyt had successful results in the Kittyhawk to Osh Kosh race. Don was third in his class and Dick was first in his. A more in depth article about life on the race circuit is forthcoming from Don.
That same Saturday is also our chapters staffing of the Granbury Pancake Bkfst. Volunteer.
Saralyn Trusty says if anyone has left any tools in Dennis’ hangar it’s time to pick them up. She’s cleaning up.
Lee Clements said the Arlington Fly-In / Airshow North of Seattle was well worth the trip.
Jonathan Warren reported that his trip to the Air Academy at Osh Kosh, sponsored by you, was challenging, rewarding and memorable . He showed us his projects in welding(most difficult), covering, woodworking and composites(his favorite). Thank you all for your support of this program.

Progress is mans ability to complicate simplicity - Thor Heyerdahl

Ray Naspany has skinned the stab on his RV8. Tom Woodwards Safari helicopter has boom, tail rotor, engine and fuel lines, panel and probably electrical by now. Tom says 2 months to fly if he’s lucky. Jim Matlock has Lee Clements’ Glastar for paint so that should be airborne soon. Dick Jones is on engine instruments and canopy on his RV9. Jerome McChristian bought Dennis Trustys RV6A and should be flying this month. Don Saint is working on cooling for his turbo installation. Bill Scanlon just received the fuselage Q.B. kit for his RV6A and is pounding on it now. Last but not least Charles Williams tells me to stop printing 3 year old newsletter articles saying that he’ll have Jerry Knapps Lancair finished soon! It should be flying after complying with a redesign change to the gear.

It just isn't right to have only one airplane. Karla and I have had two airplanes at a time for a long time, even before we moved to Pecan. The rationale is quite simple. One for going places fast, like the RV-6A and one for playing around the pattern and giving rides, going nowhere and an economical fuel burn.
One of the best low-and-slow's was the Breezy. We probably gave 300 rides "on", not "in" that thing. We all loved it. The Pietenpol most recently filled the bill while we were building our second RV-6A until we tired of it and a gentleman wanted it for his own.
For the last six months or so I have been checking the computer everyday for something different. I didn't know what I was looking for but I knew what it wasn't. I maintain what I fly so it had to be an Experimental. I fly for fun. I wanted a fun airplane, not transportation and not 14 gallons per hour fuel burns. I wanted something different; something that not everyone else has. No spam in my hangar. news0902-1.jpg (25309 bytes)

I hit on Trade-A-Plane's internet site a few weeks ago and a fresh ad popped up for this 1990 Hatz Biplane that was "the" Oshkosh Grand Champion in 1990. Now that got my attention as there is only one Plans Built Grand Champion per year and that title alone reeks of quality and attention to detail.
I called the guy up in Fort Collins, CO. He pointed me towards the full color feature article in a Sport Aviation magazine from 10 years ago and in short order I had past Sport Aviation mags spread all over the living room floor, Karla is used to such behavior. We had the magazine and I drooled over the article and photos. I called the guy back, had some questions answered and told him I would be up to look at the machine in a couple of weeks, after we returned from Oshkosh. After getting off the phone I came to my senses and realized that as a previous Oshkosh Grand Champion, if maintained as the owner said it was, it would be sold in short order. In thirty minutes I was in the RV and three and a half-hours later in Fort Collins, Colorado.
I have purchased close to 20 airplanes over the years and am intimately familiar with the pre-purchase scenarios, pre-buy inspections etc. So in total disregard for better judgement and 25 years experience, I walked into this hangar, took one stroll around the Hatz, told the guy it was sold and to take it off the market. I wrote him a check as a non-refundable deposit to hold the machine until I could make arrangements to pick it up and headed for Texas in the RV.
I liked the airplane. It had beautiful classic lines of yesteryear. It looked every bit as nice as it had in the pictures from 10 years prior. Except for it's Oshkosh debut it has never spent a night outside, never been wet and always hangared. It has only 450 hours since new and has been pampered. As suspected the attention to detail in construction was superb, the closer and harder one looks at the machine the better it looks. The lines of the machine mimic a 1930 Waco, scaled down with a horizontal engine. The navy blue and creme paint scheme carry the vintage look to fruition.

Well, we had a deposit down on a new airplane 700 s.m. from home. I suggested to Karla that we forego Oshkosh and go get the Hatz. We went to Oshkosh for a week. I visited the Hatz biplanes at Oshkosh 100 times and got a woody every time!
We got back from OSH on Sunday and at 0630hrs Tuesday we were enroute to Fort Collins courtesy of Tom and Mike Eanes and their very comfy Bonanza. We spent the day looking the airplane over in preparation for a sunrise departure southbound the next morning in an attempt to get out of the high country before the heat set in. I did take the plane around the patch twice to see how she flew. No surprises. Interestingly, the insurance companies would not insure me unless I got a checkout with the prior owner who was not in the state, or a checkout by a CFI who is "Hatz qualified." Good luck finding one of those. So, we flew it home at our own risks and upon landing at Pecan, I met the insurance minimums of 10 hours time in type and was therefore granted insurance. I had assumed the risks for the long trip which was likely the most risky part of purchasing and delivery of the newly purchased, unfamiliar airplane. A big thank you to the entire aviation insurance industry.

Recently, Chapter 983 member D.R.Bales took his Extra 200 to Llano, Texas for a weekend of aerobatic competition. The Austin Chapter of the International Aerobatic Club (IAC) hosted about 16 aircraft in five different levels of competition. In his first official competition, D.R. entered in the "Sportsman" category. What D.R. discovered was that there is much to do at one of these local events in addition to flying. It takes many volunteers to support a competition like this and D.R. was thrust into service right off the bat. Acting as a "corner" judge, it was his responsibility to identify when other competitors, in other classes, were in, or out of the aerobatic area known as the "box". Have you ever done a few lazy eights or some gentle chandelles? Have you ever done a spin or two and maybe followed it up with a loop? Well, how about performing a prescribed set of precise maneuvers while being judged and, by the way, staying inside a 3000 foot box where you are penalized for going outside and disqualified for going just a few feet too low? That's what aerobatic competition is all about. "The Box" is everyone's enemy as the prescribed maneuvers are designed to elicit precise execution or else you will unwillingly leave "the box".
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The corner judges watch for adherence to the box. The judges score the performance of the maneuvers. The recorders mark scores and insure each prescribed maneuver is completed. The safety coordinator inures that the area is clear of all other traffic. And the head judge is in charge of all
activities. When you are cleared into the box, the sky is yours, well, a 3000 foot box of it is. While D.R.s Extra was one of the classiest aircraft there, each of these High G planes had its own personality. There were several Pitts for the two wing crowd, some Edge 540s, and even three Sukois for those who like
radial engines. All very specialized aircraft built for high Gs and quick handling. The roll rate for most of these aircraft exceeds 360 degrees per second. The Extra is 420 !!
Besides performing yeoman's duty as a corner judge for all three days, D.R. flew three sorties under the judges eyes. Seasoned competitors debriefed D.R. with suggestions on how to improve his score and with very complimentary observations of his skills. For his first attempt, all agreed that his performance was exemplary. At the awards dinner, D.R. was recognized for his efforts and everyone invited him to continue to pursue the IAC events. For those of us back in Chapter 983, we were well represented.

Chapter member David McDaniel owns and operates Amalgam Plating in Ft. Worth. A large part of his business is for Lockheed, primarily for their missile division. He has also done work for chapter members John Dewey (some ribs and skins) and Dave Boldenow (his new vacuum pump). David plates steel, copper, aluminum, magnesium and others metals with a wide variety of coatings and is familiar with the requirements and concerns of aviation usage.
An interesting point is that since coatings adhere at a precise rate, with some of them you can control the accumulation to 1/10,000 of an inch. There are no thick or thin spots. Amalgam Plating also has the equipment to perform subsurface structural inspections, looking for surface and subsurface cracks and irregularities.
If you’d like to learn more about plating visit their website for info and pictures at www.amalgamplatinginc.com or visit David at the shop.

   Lucky Louque from Aircraft Salvage of Dallas brought 30+ years of maintenance, flying, building and investigating experiences to the meeting. As you can imagine, there was a lot of head shaking when he related some of these stories. “I can’t believe he did that!” sort of thing.
   Aircraft Salvage has four phases of operation. Retrieval. Airplanes seldom wreck next to the freeway so their team has spent lots of time on mountainsides, in swamps and in the woods. Airlifts of pieces are common. Storage. The FAA, NTSB, insurance companies and the millions of litigious crawlies want access to the wreck until investigations and lawsuits are settled. Investigation. Lucky remains neutral but assists the NTSB in their investigations. He also helps write AD notes that come from his work. He refuses to testify as expert witness and so far has dodged all subpoenaes. Salvage. They part out and sell useable parts from damaged or unloved aircraft.
   Lucky has issued Airworthiness Certificates to many homebuilts and the vast majority proceed safely. Here’s one that didn’t. After Lucky inspected it, the owner wrecked it on his first flight. Lucky told him to fix it and call him out to look it over again at no charge. He didn’t of course, or there would be no story, and when he flew the second flight the wings broke up. He had bought a set of wings built years ago and the glue was substandard and no longer sound. The joints failed and the owner/pilot was killed. Another new RV6 builder got a little dual in a Cub before his first flight and due to his lack of experience wrecked it on his first takeoff. Lucky reiterated that experienced help whether it be flight training or maintenance inspection is indispensable in achieving safe flying. You may have been inspecting your own airplane for years after you’ve built it but having another set of eyes look at it occasionally is a great idea.
   Lucky sells used engines and says bargains are to be had there. If you are in need of something or if you just need advice on a purchase of that sort he’s very willing to help. Look for the ASOD ad in the advertising section of this newsletter.

“I got to the top the hard way - fighting my own laziness and ignorance the whole way” - James Thom

Stephenville, TX, will host the "Cowboy Capital Aviation Roundup Fly-In", Saturday, October 12, 2002, at the city's Clark Field from 0800 until 1600. There will be a variety of aircraft, food and visitors which will include EAA clubs, RV, Classic (Comanche, Stinson and Bonanza) clubs, military displays and a chance to meet some top-rated PRCA (rodeo) members. Prior to the Saturday show, the USMCR's Marine Air Control Squadron - 24, Detachment A, NAS Ft Worth JRB, will set up shop for a week's deployment on Wednesday, 8 October, and will make APR and PAR available to anyone at Clark Field.
Also flying in for the event will be a Texas National Guard CH-47 "Chinook". It will be supporting an Army ROTC fire-fight demonstration. Vendor tables will be available for $25 and local representatives will pass out promotional material for $20. Parking and admission are free. For further vendor information, ask for Drew Wells at 254-918-1220 or email: joey@stvleaze.net.