March 2011 - EAA Chapter 1189

President:
Sam Suttle
Vice President:
Joel Graber
Treasurer:
Jason Cantrell
Newsletter Editor: Gerald McKibben
/ Secretary 662-312-7876
http://www.eaa1189.com/
This issue of the Fun Flyer was fun to put together because two of our members
sent in interesting articles. It made my work easy. Enjoy.
Below: New Chapter member Claude Hendrickson re-fueling his SNJ-4 at West
Point recently. Actually he’s watching Casey Roszell do the pumping as Mike
Smith, Sr. and Mike Smith, Jr. watch. Jim Thigpen and I also watched. (You can’t
have too much help). Claude has several warbirds, including a P-51 and a
Mitchell B-25, all based at GTR. We’ll be hearing more about that B-25. And
he’s promised to bring the P-51 to some of our fly-ins.
1
Plans for the March fly-in at Warren Arter’s place are on hold at the present time.
Some want to attend the Open House air show at the Meridian Naval Air Station
on the 26, so the March fly-in will be changed to accommodate that. Be watching
for updates vie email and the Chapter web site.
We’re fortunate to have articles from two of our members in this issue. Randy
Gray tells of a trip out West last summer, beginning on page 3, and Larry Wallace
of Tuscaloosa does a good job telling how he was able to realize his desire to fly.
His piece begins on page seven.
From the President: Greetings from Louisville. This is my first attempt to
communicate to the club by the way of our newsletter. I want to let you know
how much I appreciate each one of our members and the opportunity you have
given me to be your president. We have a great organization and I hope you will
feel free to let me know any time you have a question, comment, or concern.
We have a great opportunity in may to meet the president of EAA and I hope you
will invite as many pilots or people interested in becoming pilots and your family
to the meeting. More will be forthcoming as to the arrangements and if you are
interested in helping please give me or Carey Hardin a call.
We are planning to meet at Warren Arter's strip in March (temporarily on hold;
see above). If the strip is too wet we plan to meet at Macon and have doughnuts
and coffee and move to Warren's to June.
Please check out the web pages below about the Grassroots fly-in with EAA
President Rod Hightower on may 21st. Again let me know how I can help to improve our club.
http://secure.eaa.org/apps/grassroots/
http://www.sportaviationonline.org/sportaviation/201102/#pg3
DR. SAM SUTTLE
suttlesa@aim.com
2
A Trip to Remember – Out West
Randy Gray
Our last stop for the first day was Las
Vegas, at the Henderson Executive
Airport (HND). Since we arrived after
the last free airport shuttle, we had to
wait over an hour to get the rental
car. According to the HND airport on
Airnav.com, they “are tailored to the
discriminating general aviation pilot
and corporate client”. “This has to be
the best deal in Vegas”, said Billy, referring to the overnight tie-down
charge of $7. The best choice there,
Billy also said, was to take a taxi instead of renting a car.
Last August my brother Billy, Paige
Watson, and I took an eight day flight
in Billy’s new Cessna 182 (N1982K)
to several interesting places out
West. Billy had long wanted to visit
the Narrows in Utah, and to go fly
fishing in the Rocky Mountains. Another purpose was to allow him to become more familiar with his airplane,
the Garmin G-100 glass cockpit, and
to get some IFR training from me.
We left West Point, MS (M83) on the
morning of July 23rd, 2010 and made
a fuel stop in Hinton, OK (208). That
was a four hour flight and a great stop
if you are ever out that way. The people there are very friendly and the
FBO is very new and clean. The
winds in Oklahoma were very strong
and gusty, but the hospitality well
made up for the windy weather. Their
fuel was only $3.43/gal, and they had
fresh fruit and snacks prepared for the
visitors.
Overall, the flight the first day from
West Point to Las Vegas took 11.5
hours and we had run into some
weather near the Painted Desert and
had to circumnavigate the storm
cells. The Garmin G-1000 with XM
Weather helped show the cells, but
Billy warns that since the weather depiction has a six minute delay, it’s best
to fly on the outside of the cells or
wait out the weather on the
ground. That first flight we flew for
2.6 hours in actual IFR conditions.
The next stop was Grants, NM
(GNT). Fuel price here was good
also, but it was a small and old airport
that was not especially hospitable.
They did not have a ladder for refueling, and the hills to the west rise very
rapidly. If you go there, especially if
it’s at night, be mindful of the rapidly
rising terrain.
Upon the next morning’s preflight,
Billy discovered he needed a quart of
oil, and the only place that stocked it
was the North Las Vegas airport, (14
miles north). We were vectored
around Las Vegas Class B airspace, so
what should have been a short flight
took 42 minutes. The North Las Ve3
gas airport (VGT) was large, old, and
had a lot of active touring operations
for flights to the Grand Canyon. We
met a friendly flight instructor there
who told us about flights into Death
Valley, our next stop, and around the
Grand Canyon.
landing fee, so we bypassed that airport and took as many pictures as possible of the scenic terrain. “The Grand
Canyon is a very big and busy place,
and if you plan to fly it, get yourself
the non-expiring sectional chart for the
area”, advises Randy. He also recommends you stop by a local airport and
get some tips from a flight instructor,
or at least read up or study on flying
the Grand Canyon first.
After leaving Las Vegas, we flew to
the lowest airport in the continent, the
Death Valley airport (Furnace Creek,
L06, at -210 ft.) where it was already
114 degrees around 10 am. Due to the
heat we only stayed a few minutes. Whew! After leaving that desolate place we flew back by Las Vegas,
passing Hoover Dam, and circled the
Grand Canyon a few times. (The local
flight instructor warned not to do this
because of traffic, but there was no
traffic at that time, and, “it’s hard to
just to make just one pass over the
Grand Canyon”, said Randy). The instructor also advised us not to land at
1G4, the airport at the North Rim, because the Hualapai Indian Tribe, (who
owned it), would charge you a $100
From the Grand Canyon, we headed
direct to the friendly city of St.
George, Utah. We used the old airport, since the new one was still under
construction. The airport we landed at
(SGU) was on top of a plateau that
overlooks the city, and it provided an
awesome view. After renting a car,
we found a vacancy at the Dixie Palms
Hotel, where a large suite with three
rooms and a kitchenette went for $65/
night.
On Sunday morning, we packed into
the rental car and drove to Zion National Park and were concerned about
4
what to expect on this “hike of the
Narrows”. The park ranger we spoke
with said, “I’m from Kentucky and
anyone from Kentucky won’t have
any problems”. When we told him we
were from Mississippi, he assured
them that we would not have trouble
navigating the fast, cold waters of the
Narrows either. He was correct, and
we enjoyed it so much that we altered
our plans to swap a day of fly fishing
for another day at Zion Park, where on
the second day we climbed up Angels
Landing.
volumes about how beautiful the
American Southwest is, and especially
Utah and Zion National Park. Suffice
it to say that it is such a great place to
visit that we are planning another flying trip back there this summer.
Our next portion of the trip was to fly
over the Rocky Mountains. When
making a long cross country flight, especially into the mountains, I recommend that you plan on at least two to
three times the usual flight planning
time. Our standard briefing for the
next flight took about half an hour on
the
“Of all the airports we visited, St.
George (SGU) was one of the nicest,
but it also had the highest priced fuel”,
according to Billy. While there, we enjoyed the history of this city and the
great restaurants and culture. Randy
remarked how patriotic the locals
were, with “American flags flying outside almost every other home and
business”. Paige was amazed at how
the temperature was in the high 90’s
and you did not sweat, and it actually
felt comfortable. We could all speak
phone.
On Tuesday morning, we left SGU for
Colorado to spend a few nights at my
daughter’s home in Denver. Billy had
always wanted to fly into Telluride
Colorado (TEX), so that was our next
destination. This flight across Southern Utah and Colorado was breath taking as we used our binoculars to look
at Lake Powell and some of the land
Billy has hunted in Southwestern
5
Colorado.
The flight from Denver to West Point
took 7.1 hours and was in VFR conditions. At almost half-way and in-line
was the city of Wellington KS
(EGT). The self-serve fuel at EGT
was very reasonable, and the courtesy
car is available 24/7. There is also an
honest box for snacks and drinks at
this interesting and historical airport.
The turbo charged C-182 equipped
with a G-1000 glass cockpit helped
make flying in the Rockies easier and
safer. The airport at Telluride is undergoing expansion and the scenery is
absolutely magnificent. After a brief
pit stop it was off next to the highest
airport in the country, Leadville CO
(LVX). While this airport was not
nearly as scenic as Telluride, it was
interesting to land at an airport at 9927
ft. MSL. (The elevation at Telluride is
a mere 9,070 ft, making it the highest
Overall, we pronounced the trip a definite adventure and we encourage those
who have their own plane to take advantage of it like we did. If you do
plan on a long trip, be sure to include
extra time for weather and other great
things you did not plan on doing or
seeing. Be sure to be current and also
knowledgeable of your avionics and
the area you are flying to. Proper and
complete planning is key to a safe and
successful long flight, and don’t forget
to take your camera and lots of batteries.
commercial airport in America.)
From there on, it was downhill flying
over I-70, passing over downtown
Denver and landing at the Centennial
Airport in Littleton (APA) close to
where my daughter Brandy lives. We
went fly fishing in Cheesman Canyon,
Breckenridge, and had a reunion with
some cousins we had not seen in
years. After three days in Denver, we
left for home.
6
hangaring of it, the annual inspections,
the costly overhauls, not to mention
the cost of fuel, insurance, and a myriad of other miscellaneous things. Big
recurring costs follow big purchase
costs! When I was old enough to understand the financial side of flying,
the necessities of everyday living
pushed my goal of soaring through the
clouds into an occasional recurring
dream. You know, the one where you
run down a grassy slope and leap into
the air and sail effortlessly over the
trees and houses….Not your dream?
Well, it was mine!
Wings for the Poor Man
Larry Wallace
I have always wanted to fly. Superman
was my hero. As a child I would tie a
towel or an old shirt around my neck
and run around with my arms outstretched, bringing hours of imaginary
flight and usually a few scolds from
my mother. “Larry, take that thing off
before it gets caught and breaks your
neck!” Still I yearned to soar in the
heavens. In my adolescent years I collected anything and everything remotely associated with aviation. My
bedroom was littered from wall to
ceiling to wall with models from the
Wright Flyer to the X-15 rocket plane.
Then in 2005, five years into my retirement, I was surfing the internet and
came across a strange flying craft that
piqued my curiosity. Something
called a “Trike” or “Powered Hangglider” or, in FAA terminology, a
“Weight-Shift Control Aircraft”. I remembered seeing this craft once before on a movie about orphaned geese
led on migration by a little girl in an
ultralight, “Fly Away Home”. Of
course, everyone knows that ultralight
flying is one of those high risk activities that you group with cave diving,
sky diving, and motorcycle bus jumping!
I guess I inherited the desire for flight
from my Dad. He was a member of
the Civil Air Patrol and even soloed as
a private pilot. The problem for him
(and for me) was the costly nature of
private airplane ownership. For the
average wage earner, an airplane is
prohibitively expensive. There is the
purchase of the plane, the parking or
But I remember that the Jeff Daniels
character taught his daughter how to
fly one of those things. He said it was
simple and safe. Was it possible that
UL flying had a bad rap? Wasn’t John
7
Denver killed in one of those “flying
lawnmowers”? I set out to research
the accident rate for ULs. To my surprise, I found that the accident rate
was actually half the rate of general
aviation (all those bigger private
planes) and the death rate in UL
crashes was half the rate of general
aviation! The reasons for the great
difference amounts to 2 major factors:
ULs most likely fly in very good
weather in optimal wind conditions
AND ULs fly much slower. Trikes
even add another factor of safety…
they are mechanically simple flying
crafts, i.e. less stuff to fail.
into the air, as did my heart, and
climbed at a breath-taking rate right
over the trees and the houses. All of
this heart pounding excitement was at
a speed of less than 50 MPH! As a
matter of fact, takeoff speed is about
30 MPH and stall (speed at which the
wing doesn’t fly) is about 23!!
The aerial view from a trike is virtually unrestricted. Imagine a flying
motorcycle at 2000 feet. You can see
every direction and because it is so
open, taking pictures or video is as
simple as point and click. After my
first flight, I was hooked or maybe the
better term is “triked”! I was determined to fly one of these birds. Could
I afford it? I had to find out.
Suddenly the old desire of winged
flight moved from the back burner of
la-la land to the front burner of reality.
Thanks to the marvel of internet, I
found that there is a whole world of
trikers, instructors, clubs, and activities available to a willing searcher. I
located an instructor in Jasper, Tennessee and set out to take my first ride
in an ultralight trike. My first flight
with Mike Theeke (pronounced “tiki”)
was almost as good as my recurring
dream! What a rush! After going
over all the safety information, preflight procedures, and getting belted
into his Antares trike, we taxied to the
end of the grass runway at Lookout
Mountain Flightpark. Mike pushed
the throttle and the trike rolled briskly
down the grass for no more than 150
feet. At that point the little plane leapt
The good news for the average wage
earner (or fixed income retiree, in my
case) is that the cost for ultralight and
light sport aviation is relatively inexpensive. By “relatively”, I mean that
it costs no more than other motorsports. Bassboats, motorcycles,
ATVs, and other fun hobbies can
range from reasonable to ridiculous….just like sport aviation. A reasonably normal person can get certified ultralight training (10 hours of
flight) for $1000 or less. A good used
ultralight trike can cost as little as
$5000 and a new one can be bought
for $10,000 or less.
To share your flying joy with a pas8
senger will take a little more training
(5 more hours) to acquire a sport pilot
license and will cost a little more for a
Light Sport Aircraft (that is a 2-place
trike with FAA certification). Even at
that additional time and expense, the
cost is still less than a nice bass boat
or motorcycle. Here is another plus
for trikes….you can keep them in your
garage or carport. You see, trikes can
fold their wings and the chariot (funny
name for the trike fuselage) is only
slightly larger than a 4-wheeler! Oh,
and fuel is the same as your car or
boat. Annual inspections are required
for Light Sport aircraft but with a 16
hour training course, you can do your
own inspections! Ultralights, on the
other hand, are not under FAA inspection requirements.
FLYING! After circling the area for
an hour, I lined up my approach to the
runway, dropped the rpm to an idle,
drifted down , and settled gently on
the asphalt…not a good landing but a
great landing. [Definition: Good landing is any one you can walk away
from…a great landing is one where
you can fly the plane again] I rolled
up to the hangar and received congratulations from my instructor as he
handed my signed-off certification. A
pilot at last!
Six months later I successfully completed my sport pilot training and have
since received FAA certification for
my Tukan as a Light Sport Aircraft. I
could tell you what my wife thought
of all this fun, but I’ll save that for a
later article, entitled, “The Reluctant
Pilot’s Wife”.
After completing my certification as
an ultralight pilot, Mike cleared me for
my solo. I was now, “Pilot-inCommand”. I nervously taxied my
recently purchased and thoroughly inspected Tukan trike to the end of
Marion county airport. I leveled the
wing, opened the throttle to full,
moved down the asphalt runway, and
in 3 seconds (yes, 3 seconds!) I leapt
into the air climbing like a rocket over
the trees and the houses (déjà vu).
Larry Wallace is a resident of Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Anyone interested in
learning more can contact him
through the Yahoo website, http://
groups.yahoo.com/group/
westalaflyers/
It was a thrill that I will never forget.
Alone, drifting effortlessly through the
calm cool air, leaving the Terra Firma
behind to the “ground rats”, I WAS
9
EAA Chapter 1189
1982 Hickory Drive
Starkville, MS 39759
geraldmckibben@bellsouth.net
Overheard at our Macon fly-in: “I
caught one the other day and it was
this long”
10