May, 2004 Edition          

Chapter # 407                       www.eaa407.org

          South East Idaho

 

 

Officers and Contacts:

          Hal Johansen, President                            522-7297              haledie@ida.net

        Jerry Phillips, Vice President                    523-3981              phillipsjh@asme.org

          Harold Turvey, Secretary                         785-2552              happyharold@cableone.net

          Harold Mothersill, Treasurer/Website     524-6204              lmothersil@aol.com

          Austin Moses, Newsletter                          684-3922              mosescpa@srv.net

 

NEXT MEETING:   Pocatello at the ISU Aircraft Maintenence Hangar.  Saturday May 15 @ 10:00 A.M. 

        Come and hear from a company called APPROACH SYSTEMS who develops and markets products for general aviation.  In today’s aviation environment you better know your avionics are functioning in an updated mode.  Would you like to hear how to modernize your avionics installation and upgrade process; making avionics installs fast, cost-effective and safe while improving the overall reliability of your avionics stack.  Do not miss this meeting!!!  (Note) :Vice President Jerry will preside at this meeting as my wife and I will be attending the graduation of our eldest grandson from Marine Corps Boot Camp in San Diego, CA 

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Prez Comments:

            I personally feel there are still some people who think  that flying with a compass( which may not have been swung), out of date charts along with marginal or improper communications capability is COOL,  e.g. like “I busted or snuck through the SLC Class B airspace without  talking to anyone an didn’t  get caught”.  Not a good idea as it may be your butt along with someone else’s.  Just back from Sun n’ Fun, for the third time, and having flown into  Oshkosh over 10  times I know you have better have good communications and situational awarenesscapability and  be able to keep  your head out of the cockpit.  Not a big deal but plan ahead and be ready for the unexpected.  Have your avionics up to date and easy to read!

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          Sun n’ Fun - Chapter members  Steve Hildreth & Jerry and Mary Ellen Phillips  were there.  Steve was sporting a nice golf shirt he received from the EAA Young Eagles Office which says he has flown 100 +Missions ( most in our chapter).  Ask him to show it to you!!.  Bob Carmean  said he was planning to be there but we never  made contact.  I met my Lancair 360 friend, EAA Chapter 157-Redding,CA   in Las Vegas, NM and we went as a flight of two from there.  Some scud running along with plenty of bumpy air got us to Lakeland as planned.  Weather there was near perfect and a good show.    Arrived home with no weather delays but a bit of rerouting.   Rain showers, and some very low ceilings,  between St. George and SLC (IFR = I followed I-15)  got rid of some of the Florida dirt and dust which had accumulated on my airplane.   Note: Following I-15 worked well and avoids some mountain ranges on a direct route.  As  soon as you hit the “point of the mountain” approach control can see you on radar and transition you through the SLC Class Bairspace.  This approach provided me with good situational awareness and my head “out of the cockpit”.

 

Welcome new Members: 

 

Chris/Pam Bingham: Chris is a Maintenance Manager at the INEL with some 23 years experience and a degree in Industrial Electronics  from the U of Idaho.  He started flying when he was in High School,  flying off  what many consider “that cross wind airport” at Arco.  Got his private license on his 17th birthday  and has owned a Cherokee 180 and a C-182.  He has joined the ranks of airplane builders  with he and his son-in-law  building an RV-7A.  This project is going together in his shop in Firth.  Sounds to me like we  will have a small armada of RV’s flying up and down the valley one day.

Welcome to Chapter 407 Chris & Pam!!!!

 

Thomas/Jeanine Lawler: They are the owners of Lawler Aeronautic in Lava Hot Springs  which markets  aircraft covering supplies.  They are building their airpark home on the Lava Hot Springs airport.  Both are “airplane folks”  with Tom being a Delta Airlines  pilot and a former USAF  pilot  flying F-15's and instructing in T-38's.  Jeanine “minds the store” and is   working on her private license.  She will be working at the Poly-Fiber distributor booth at OSH.  They are also into telescopes, are star gazers and active in the Astronomical Society.  They have a great horned owl on their property and a 1947 Aeronca Champ to be restored.

Welcome to Chapter 407 Thomas and Jeanine!!!! 

 

From the editor:

Some of you may have heard and/or seen of the recent problems with my Pulsar, but I will recount my latest adventures at the request of our illustrious President. 

 

Last year there were several instances of flight in rain and/or hail storms that pitted the GSC wood propeller which has lasted about 480 hours on the 1997 Pulsar XP built by Greg Materna in Southern California and purchased by me two years ago.  In December, I decided to bite the bullet and purchase a new Prince P-Tip prop, ordering it on December 9, 2003.  It was evidently the wrong time to order, what with the Christmas holidays and such, because it didn’t arrive until mid-March.  Even so, I was as excited as a kid at Christmas when I tore open the long thin UPS box to see the long-awaited prize.  Much to my dismay, UPS had thrown the box hard enough to crush one tip and I had to have it picked up for repair the next day.  Lonnie Prince was excellent at standing behind the mishap and put a rush on the recovering job, returning it by April 21st.  On Friday, the 23rdth, I was at the airport with the beautiful carbon fiber blade and had it on the plane in about 45 minutes.  Before modifying the spinner, I decided to take the plane out for a test flight and was soon in the pattern, enjoying the smooth morning air at 140 mph indicated.  I came in for a touch and go and was climbing out at about 300’ AGL when bam! A large white seagull was suddenly plastered on the left wing for an instant, then fell away.   Pulling back on the power and leveling off in slow flight, I could see that the wing had been damaged enough to peal the paint, so I very carefully made a short down-wind and brought it in for a landing.

 

Safely on the ground, I sat in the cockpit trying to decide if I was lucky or unlucky.  Probably a little of both, I reflected as I climbed out to inspect the damage.  On inspection, I decided I was more lucky than not.  The bird had hit squarely enough on the leading edge to buckle the top surface, apparently delaminating the top from its honeycomb core.   Fortunately, the surface didn’t break and the wing kept flying; hence the lucky part.

 

I haven’t started repairs yet.  I think I’m still in denial, trying to get the brain ready and learn enough to start the process.  I have received some good instructions and with John Bakken’s help I may be ready to tackle it soon.

Austin

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Fly-in Opportunity

 

EAA Chapter 757 (North Idaho), in conjunction with Rod Benders Car Club, Boundary Riders Motorcycle Club and the Rotary Club of Bonners Ferry, will hold a collector car, motorcycle and aircraft show on Saturday, June 5, 2004 at the Boundary County Airport, three miles north of Bonners Ferry.  The event starts with a breakfast from 7:00 to 10:00 am and finishes with a dance that night, and lots of activities in between.  Contact Austin Moses for details and brochures and entry forms.

 

 

E. A. A. Chapter 407

Minutes of April 17, 2004

John Bagley’s Hangar, Rexburg Airport

 

The meeting was called to order by Harold Turvey at 10:08 a.m., with about 35 souls attending.  Minutes were approved as on eaa407.org.  Bob Hoff volunteered to introduce John Bagley, the featured speaker.

John received his pilots license in 1965. He originally had a Stearman, and told a story about going over Wolf Creek pass to Texas to sell that airplane. He also has a fine specimen of a Staggerwing Beechcraft.

At one point in time, he was approached by Bob Hoover, who wanted John to buy his P-51 Mustang. John knew he didn’t have the funds, and politely declined. Not long afterwards, Bob contacted John again about the prospect of buying his P-51, and again was turned down, but John did agree to bring his wife to dinner with Bob Hoover and his wife. Sure enough, the talk got serious, and Bob explained that another person was interested in purchasing “Ole Yeller”, and if that took place, the aircraft would be leaving the country. Being a good American, John agreed to the deal, if Bob would come down on the price a few thousand, which he did. That fine aircraft has won it’s share of trophies at the Reno air races.

John then told the story of trading his Sea Fury for a P-63 King Cobra, which deal he made with former astronaut Frank Borman. There were only 3200 of these built, so it was a rare find indeed.

The meeting was then adjourned at 10:38 a.m., and those in attendance were able to wander around the hangar and ask questions about the aircraft there. Shortly thereafter, John gave a ride in Ole Yeller to an older gentleman, whose children had purchased the ride for their dad for his 50th wedding anniversary...what a gift, indeed! It was a real treat to watch that P-51 in the air, even if the weather wasn’t that great. See you next month!