August 2005 Edition Chapter #407

 

                                                             www.eaa407.org

South East Idaho Officers:

    Austin Moses, President

    Gary Shipley, Vice President

    Pete Stewart, Secretary

    Harold Mothersill, Treasurer/Website

    Dale Cresap, Newsletter

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President's message:

 

Next Meeting:

Join us by flying or driving in to the Warbirds Cafe on August 20, 2005 at 10:00 am.  Dr. Rich Sugden has agreed to meet us and give a tour of his collection of exotic aircraft.  He has also notified his chapter members about our visit and there may be several projects available for inspection.  As one who enjoyed a 2003 visit to the facility, I can attest that it is worth making the effort for this treat!  The Warbirds Cafe is located on the Driggs Airport, you can't miss it!

 

Last Meeting:

Thanks to all who joined us at the Enders Hotel in Soda Springs last month.  We had a nice time and meal, even if the scheduled geyser eruption did not occur.  Dale Cresap tried hard to make it happen but to no avail.

 

Visit to Oshkosh:

Like several area residents, yours truly finally made it to Oshkosh this year.  It was an eventful visit and one I will remember for a long time.  I started planning for the event when a cousin in Manti, Utah, expressed interest in going to see the Sonex kits and talking to actual owners of the plane.  He is not yet a pilot, but is a "wanna-be bad".  He suggested we share expenses and fly my Pulsar to the "World's Greatest Fly-in."  We began by my flying down to Manti in June to see if he could even fit in the Pulsar with me and all the stuff we would need to camp.  Sure enough, we fit; but we weren't sure about the camping gear.  We would need to rough it and leave some home.

 

Early Sunday morning, July 24th, I lifted off from Blackfoot for the two-hour flight to Manti.  Arriving at 9:00 am, I attended Church services with my cousin's family where the program was in part commemorating the Mormon Pioneer exodus from Winter Quarters, NE (near Omaha) to the Salt Lake Valley.  Several stories were told of the hardships endured during the 2-3 month journey in the mid 1800s.

 

By noon we were starting our own trek of sorts; the other direction.  Leaving Manti with a Pulsar as loaded down as some of the handcarts the Pioneers pulled, we climbed high to get over the Utah and Colorado mountains.  We turned north over Steamboat Springs, CO, to avoid the highest of the peaks and finally were able to let down to reasonable heights for our fuel stop at Kimball, NE.  The trip was not without it's moments, however, as the Sic-Sac's came out as a result of the afternoon mountain turbulence. 

 

A short rest and refueling at Kimball left us with enough energy to see the other side of Nebraska and we departed about 4:30.  As luck would have it, thunderstorm activity was building in Northeastern Nebraska so we made our way southeasterly into headwinds left by the low pressure.  As we neared Grand Forks and on to Lincoln, the activity moved on to the northeast and we were able to turn north to our destination of Tekamah, NE, arriving about 7:30.  In about seven hours of flight, we had crossed what took the Pioneers nearly 3 months.  Oh, the wonder of technology!

 

We camped under clear skies at Tekamah Sunday night and woke up to heavy rain on Monday morning.  So much for our early morning departure.  Finally at 7:30 am we were able lift off into rain threatening skies to the east.  We were a little heavier than before because tent and sleeping bags were soggy from the rain.  Flying through several rain showers, we crossed Iowa into Wisconsin, landing behind the frontal system at Baraboo.  We waited for the front to move past Oshkosh, then lifted off from Baraboo for the final 65 miles.  Due to the bad weather, traffic was light and we had no problem following the arrows down the railroad track, then east along Fisk avenue for an uneventful landing on 36L at OSH. 

 

The next exciting three days are the subject of another article, so I'll skip those by saying we had a great, if sometimes wet time at Airventure 2005.

 

Thursday morning promised blue skies all the way home, so we left at 8:20 am and with two fuel stops and a detour over Mt. Rushmore, we touched down at Manti about 7:00 pm.  The flight north to Blackfoot, gave me the first tailwinds of the trip and I was putting the Pulsar in the hangar at 9:00 pm after a marathon 12.7 hours of flight time for the day.

 

This was my first visit to Oshkosh and it was well worth it.  It truly is the World's Greatest Fly-in!

 

Austin

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EAA CHAPTER 407 – July Meeting Minutes

Our July 16th meeting was held at the Enders Hotel in Soda Springs.  The Hotel is over a hundred years old and has been recently restored to its original condition.  Besides a hotel, it contains a fine restaurant.  Members were encouraged to either fly or drive.  There were no drive-ins. Fly-ins were :

 

Roger Johnston with guest Stan Bearup (American Falls FBO Manager)

Steve Hildreth with Russell Anderson

Austin Moses

Pete Stewart

Tom Strong and his Wife Carol and Dale Cresap

Hal Johansen with Oscar Batdorf

 

Austin has an office in Soda Springs and leaves a car at the airport so he can commute by plane.  He played taxi driver for part of our entourage; the FBO courtesy vehicle was also used.

 

During breakfast, introductions were made and Tom Strong mentioned that he works for NOAA at the Idaho Falls Airport.  Hal asked about the strange balloon that he sees from time-to-time at Idaho Falls.  Tom said that this is part of what is called the "Smart Balloon" Project.  This balloon is unusual in that it can control its altitude while in the air.  The balloon was designed to be released into a hurricane to monitored a hurricane's internal conditions.  Idaho Falls is one of several sites around the US where the balloon is being tested.  More information about NOAA and the Smart Balloon Project can be seen at the NOAA website www.noaa.inel.gov.  There is weather cam available on the site also.  Take a look, this is an interesting site!

 

Breakfast also hosted several discussions about Oshkosh and who would be attending form our chapter this year as well as discussions about past years experiences.  Hal was going to attend as was Austin.  As of this writing (August, 7th) Both have returned safely.  Pete Stewart was flying out on the 18th to attend the Shortwing Convention in Vancouver, WA.  Richard Neeves was also known to be attending this year.

 

Concerning old business, the proposal had been made during the June meeting that we should host another Young Eagles flight later this year.  Dale was to investigate a site in the upper valley.  Dale said that to date he had not done this yet.  Roger said that he could get prospective Young Eagles from American Falls.  A vote was taken and it was agreed that we would use American Falls and the date was set for September 10th from 9:00 to 10:30.

 

There was no new business.

 

Pete Stewart, Secretary

 

 

Balance Sheet as of 8/16/2005
ASSETS
	Cash and Bank Accounts
	EAA 407 Checking Account		1,065.66
	2 Year CD		4,000.00
	ISU Savings		25.00
TOTAL Cash and Bank Accounts				5,090.66
LIABILITIES & EQUITY
	LIABILITIES		0.00
	EQUITY		5,090.66
TOTAL LIABILITIES & EQUITY				5,090.66

 

Profit & Loss Statement
INCOME
	Calendar Sales		195.00
	Dues		566.00
	Raffle		40.00
	EAA Rebate		20.00
	TOTAL INCOME			821.00
EXPENSES
	Gifts Given		45.45
	Website		147.87
	ISU Scholarship		500.00
	TOTAL EXPENSES			693.32
TOTAL INCOME – EXPENSES				127.68