February

EAA Chapter 691
Newsletter February 2016
Announcements
If you haven’t yet paid your annual dues, please fill out the last page of this document, and
get it along with $20 to Skip Egdorf.
This Month:
 February Chapter Meeting – Hosted by David and America
Gamble in Santa Fe
 From the Desk of our Chapter President – Bob Hassel on
EAA HQ and Chapter 691 Issues.
 The Compromised Icon A5 – A look at the Light Sport
Amphibian by Tech Counselor and Flight Advisor Will Fox.
 A New Licensed Pilot in the Chapter!
 Caveman of the Month – Roger Smith (Man Cave ↔
Caveman, got it?)
 Pegazair Re-Build
 News You Can Use (maybe)
This month’s meeting will take place on
Thursday, February 18
Our hosts will be:
David and America Gamble
819 Gonzales Rd, Santa Fe 87501
For the direction-impaired (such as myself):
https://www.google.com/maps/place/819+Gonzales+Rd,+Santa+Fe,+NM+87501/@35.7000893,105.913399,17z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m2!3m1!1s0x871851c58aae44d7:0x1939fb1627cd4e6b
And if you still get lost: 505 471 4767
Here’s a hint from our host regarding IMC:
‘…Driveway is long and steep so if the weather is bad a 4 wheel drive may
be necessary.’
VP George Stephenson will bring a video about back country flying. And I
am fairly certain that we will have a discussion about what EAA HQ has
lately been up to, and how it will affect our chapter (and how it already has).
Up next: An update on EAA HQ and Chapter 691 issues by Chapter
President Bob Hassel (and only ever so slightly messed up by my
MS Word incompetence) …
From the desk of our Chapter President:
First, I’d be remiss if I didn’t thank
Amy for her many long years of
service to the club, community and
literally hundreds of kids. Amy has
retired from the position of Young
Eagles coordinator. Thank you
Amy for all of your hard work!
Because of your efforts and those
who rally around you, you have
brought more smiles to children’s
faces over the years than I can
count. Now you and big bird can
fly! 
Amy has tirelessly given a lot of
dedicated hard work to this
program that she so deeply and passionately believes in. Even behind the scenes you’ll find her
promoting, answering questions and giving her time to the
effort. When the legislative session first began in January,
there was an aviation day. While our chapter didn’t have a
booth setup in the capitol rotunda, Chapter 179 did have a YE
exhibit to show legislators and anyone that walked in the value
of that program. And there was Amy, helping to promote the
Young Eagles and its importance to aviation, kids and the
community. We can only hope to carry on her legacy of success
as we move forward! I am always amazed by the dedicated
and passion of people like Amy (and others) that give so much
of themselves.
The big thank you for all of the hard
work, time, effort and out of pocket
expenses goes out to everyone who
has participated in the YE program;
pilots, ground crew, and the like. I’m
sure sometimes it felt a lot like
herding cats!
Speaking of the YE program, with all
the changes, challenges and new
events we hope to accomplish this
year, since I am temporarily taking
over the YE program until we can find
a new volunteer, we will only be
doing one event this year. It will be
the wildly successful Los Alamos YE
event. This will give me and
whoever’s arm I can find to twist, an opportunity to slide into this new endeavor a much easier
way to learn the ropes.
Along with that change, I’m sure by now
many of you have heard of the new
training program and background checks
being required by the EAA for a number
of events that involve kids. The EAA is
good at airshows but not so good at
communication some times. Of course
sometimes, we the members are like
cats. Do you know what cats like?
Everything to stay the same. It’s not a
pretty mix. When the EAA comes out with
a new requirement like this without a lot
of who, what, where and why, then the
membership rightly says “you got a lot of
es-plainin’ to do…”
So, “What’s it all
about...Alfie?”
It’s called the ‘Youth
Protection Policy’. It’s about
protecting the kids from the
darkness that runs
throughout our society and
ensuring that we will do, all
that we can to provide them
‘a safe and secure
environment in which Youth
can participate and learn
about aircraft and aviation’. I
believe it’s equally about
making all of us aware of the
problem and to get us to
thinking about how to
prevent the unthinkable.
During our discussions of this
topic, Will googled ‘EAA
molestation’ and we were all
shocked by how many hits
came up with the type of
stories we didn’t want to
believe. It’s about protecting
the kids and our awareness
of what it means to keep
them safe. Yes, it’s a sad
commentary on the times,
but ignoring the issue or
thinking it can’t happen here
could place a child in danger.
None of us would want to see
that happen. It seems that we are all shocked, whenever we hear of something like this
happening in our community. Unfortunately, there are all too many recent occurrences of those
events in our headlines. Even as I write this, in school just down the street…
While the YE program isn’t the only program impacted by these requirements, it is really the
only program that we as a club are regularly involved in. It’s natural to ask, “What does this
mean to the YE program?” I’ll answer some of those questions that we can answer and later I’ll
show the steps and the types of information you need to give for the background check.
Actually, just to lessen the tensions a little, the back ground check only requires
=======>>>>
That’s it, that’s all that is required for the
background check. I can understand with the
incredible number of times that we have to give
out that information throughout our lives if you
don’t feel comfortable giving it out again. That’s
a personal choice and no one has a right to judge
those choices that we all make day in and day
out. But if you don’t mind giving out that info, I’ll
cover what’s required in the online training
session.
BTW, not having the training doesn’t mean you
can’t participate in being a ground crew member,
for example, it just means we’ll need to worry
about staffing along with
you members that have
completed the training.
All ‘Young Eagles Pilots’
will need to go through
this process.
In order to take the training,
you must log into your EAA
online account. The whole
process will take about 20
minutes. The site says ‘It will
take 7-10 days to receive
your completion certificate in
your email inbox’. Will was
the first to go through it for
our group and he had the
email in a much shorter time.
The same was true for the
rest of us that have gone
through it. When I went
through it I took some
screenshots of the questions asked during the training and background checks. This way I could share with
you what is really involved so you can make an informed judgement about whether or not you’d be interested
in continuing your support of the YE program.
STEP 1: The below link takes you to page that describes the what and why as well as telling you
how take the training.
http://www.eaa.org/en/eaa/aviation-education-and-resources/eaa-youth-education/youthprotection-policy-and-program
…
Youth Protection Training
Access Instructions:
1. In order to access the Youth Protection Training you will need to sign in to your account at EAA.org. If you
do not have an online account, simply go to the sign in area at the top of page and create a username and
password.
2. Once you are logged in at EAA.org, go to your Account Profile page by clicking “My Account” at the top of
the page.
3. At the bottom of your Account Profile, click “Go to Training” then select the Youth Protection Training
course link on the right.
The online training and review will typically take about 20-25 minutes.
After information is submitted for the background check, we expect
verification to take no more than 10 business days.
Upon successful completion of the online training and review, and the
background check, each volunteer will receive an e-mail confirming he
or she has successfully met the basic requirements of the Youth
Protection Program and a printable wallet-sized card.
For complete information about EAA’s Youth Protection Policy and
Program, please review the Policy and the program FAQs on this
website.
If you have further questions and would like to contact someone at EAA
Headquarters, please call our membership services office at 800-564-
6322 or e-mail
membership@eaa.org
EAA Youth Protection
Policy
The Youth Protection Policy
basic requirements for staff
volunteers who work with
children under age 18.
sets
&
Youth Protection Program FAQs
Frequently asked questions about EAA's Youth Protection Program.
STEP 2: Since my browser logs me in every time I hit the EAA website I do not need to log in. I
can just go to ‘My Account’ and this is what I see. Your Mileage May Vary (YMMV). Black
rectangles not included. J
Let’s start with the training program, ‘Youth Protection Training’. I click on ‘Go To Course’ button
for that training and get to a new page.
The training is done!
BACKGROUND CHECK
NOTE: SSN is optional
The choice is yours of course but we’d love to see your continuation and support of a great
program.
Up next: Another outstanding article by Technical Counselor and
Flight Advisor Will Fox!
The Compromised Icon A-5
By
Will Fox
Th Icon A-5 is an interesting aircraft. Next to the Terrafugia, it is perhaps one of the
most highly compromised Light Sport Aircraft produced to date. Almost all aircraft
have a large number of compromises in their design. This is necessary in order for the
aircraft to meet a broad set of requirements. The broader the set of requirements, the
more compromise that is needed. For example, if you want a plane to be fast then a
small wing area is desirable. Cut the wing area of an aircraft in half and the cruise
speed will increase substantially. But the compromise you make is that the stall speed
will also increase substantially and so will the takeoff distance. If you want good climb
performance, long slender wings will help by reducing induced drag, but the
compromise is it increases the structural requirements of the plane and this increases
its weight. Thus goes the list of compromises that any aircraft designer faces in the
design of any aircraft.
The design of an amphibious aircraft such as the Icon A-5 involves many
compromises.
One of the biggest compromises in aircraft design is creating a bipolar aircraft design.
What is a bipolar design? It is a design that results from trying to create an aircraft with
two totally different missions. For example, an aircraft designed to be both an airplane
and a car, such as the Terrafugia, or as is the case for the Icon A-5, an airplane that is
also a boat. The design requirements for a bipolar aircraft need to encompass the
traits of both vehicles and as such are much more expansive than in a normal aircraft
design. The more design requirements, the more compromises to be considered. So
when Icon wanted to build a sporty aircraft capable of operating both in the air and on
the water, they had their hands full. Add to that, the desire to make the A-5 a
“recreational vehicle”, with the implication that it's operation would be simple enough
that most people would be capable of operating it, and you can see that Icon really had
to crank up the compromise optimizer. Imagine the challenge of combining a Lake
Amphibian with an Ercoupe.
So, what kind of compromises are needed to allow an aircraft to also function as a
boat. To begin with, airplane fuselages are optimized to carry the aerodynamic and
landing loads imposed on them, whereas boat hulls are optimized to meet the
buoyancy requirements and water loads imposed on them. The structural
requirements for a boat hull are typically much greater than for an aircraft fuselage and
combining them will result in a heavier structure. The wing of an aircraft tends to be
large to support it in the air. The hull on a boat tends to be large to support it on the
water. So the fuselage on an amphibious aircraft must be larger than required for a
land based aircraft and as a result considerably heavier. Aircraft are high speed
vehicles traveling through the air, and by comparison, boats are low speed vehicles
traveling through the water. As such, an aircraft’s performance is strongly influenced
by aerodynamic drag, whereas a boat’s performance is strongly influenced by
hydraulic drag. It is difficult to come up with a single design to minimize drag in both of
these two very different regimes (in fact so different, that the flow behavior is
characterized by two different dimensionless numbers, the Reynolds number and the
Froude number) so some compromise is needed that typically results in increased
aerodynamic drag. A boat achieves stability with a hull that is wide of beam, long in
length, and deep in draft. An aircraft achieves stability with large flat surfaces attached
to the fuselage flying in concert with each other. While the differing stability
requirements are not totally incompatible, combining them is no simple task and
certainly requires compromises that typically show up as additional weight and drag.
Aircraft often fly around with their wheels hanging in the airstream below them. Boats
usually leave their wheels back at the loading ramp. Retractable landing gear is thus a
necessary requirement for amphibious aircraft and that adds weight and complexity.
When considering how to combine all these diverse requirements, one might imagine
attaching a couple of canoes or a skiff with outriggers and retractable wheels, to the
bottom of a light aircraft. In doing so it becomes obvious that many of the
requirements for a good aircraft either conflict with or are inconsequential to those for a
good boat and vice versa. The challenge then becomes how best to optimize and
integrate these numerous compromises into an aircraft with acceptable performance.
Now let’s examine the compromises required for a “recreational” vehicle, or in this case
an amphibious aircraft that can be operated by pilots (both the airborne as well as the
waterborne types) with minimal training. To begin with, the vehicle needs to have
docile performance characteristics. The control response should be such that the
vehicle operates in a stable and predictable manner and that any disturbance by the
operator is met with significant resistance and a strong desire to return the vehicle to
its original state. Furthermore, control response should be subdued to insure that Pilot
Induced Oscillation is not likely to occur. Anyone who has flown an Ercoupe will
identify with this type of control response. Next, the vehicle behavior needs to be
devoid of any nasty behavior characteristics, in the event that it is mishandled. In the
air, departure from controlled flight (stall or spin), should be eliminated to the extent
possible, and in the water the vehicle should exhibit good directional stability as well as
be immune to overturning.
Preventing departure from controlled flight in an aircraft is generally accomplished by
limiting elevator effectiveness and designing the outboard section of the wings to
continue to fly after the inboard section has stalled. The compromises appear as
reduced elevator authority, a smaller c.g. range, and additional wing drag.
Designing a boat hull to be directionally stable, particularly one that requires a stepped
configuration to allow it to go on plane and reach sufficient speed to permit a takeoff
requires both a V-hull for good low speed directional control as well as strakes and
chines to provide stability at higher speeds. All these requirements add weight and
drag that reduce aircraft performance.
So how do all these compromises impact an amphibious aircraft like the A-5?
Basically, it is heavier and slower than a similar land based aircraft. It also climbs
slower on the same power and exhibits heavier less responsive controls. For
comparison let’s take a look at the performance specifications of a Remos GX. As
expected, the A-5 airframe is considerably heavier than the GX with an empty weight
of 1080 lbs vs 670 lbs, respectively. In order to have any reasonable useful load, the
A-5 had to have an exemption to the LSA rule that increased the gross weight to 1680
lbs vs 1320 lbs for the typical LSA (although Icon has limited the gross weight of the A5 to 1510 lbs at this point in time). The A-5 is not going to set any speed records for
LSAs either. The cruise speed of the A-5 is around 85 kts vs 110 kts for the GX. The
extra weight and drag of the A-5 shows up in climb rate as well, with it only managing
700 fpm while the GX maxes out at 1000 fpm. Aviation writers have called the control
response of the Remos GX “ light and responsive”. They have called the A-5
“predictable and reassuring”.
The Remos GX is a high performing Light Sport Aircraft.
Is the A-5 full of compromises? Sure it is. Is it going to win any speed or climb records
in its class? I don’t think so. Is it a very well executed amphibious aircraft that
incorporates numerous safety features? Absolutely. Have fun and fly safe.
Awesome write-up, thanks Will! And now on to “How to lower
the chapter’s average member and pilot age …”:
New Pilot:
Karen Young of Los Alamos
(White Rock, actually, but since the Smith’s in Los Alamos is just soooo much more
awesome … Inside joke, Karen and Dan will get it…):
Karen and Husband Dan before Dan’s first ride. Judging by Dan’s smile
also before he checked their bank account lately …
(and before the “Battle of the Krauts” (when German-made forehead met German-made wing trailing
edge. Let’s call it a draw!))
Congrats, Karen! Blue Skies … and fly safely … Always!
And there are more new pilots to come, ain’t that right, Tina?! So here’s the male-chauvinist-pig-comment of the month: “If
this keeps going on, soon we can have our own Powder Puff Derby!”
And now, into the (man)cave of the month:
From the man cave of Roger Smith
As most of you will know (not the least thanks to previous excellent
newsletters by NL editor turned president Bob Hassel), Roger has decided
that he needs a faster plane. I think he got tired of picking on my former (now
Lloyd Hunt’s) Zenith 750 for being sooo slow that he couldn’t possibly slow
down his Tri-Pacer (rhymes with Racer. Hasn’t occurred to you yet? Really?)
to fly anywhere together… So he decided to go after the RV crowd. Only he
chose to swap cutting and drilling into your fingers all the time (or was that
just me being clumsy?) with the itch from sanded fiber glass. And that stuff,
according to Roger, goes where no drill-bit has gone before (before I started
drilling, anyhow).
And so the Arion Lightning XS (i.e. non LSA) that Roger is building looks
different every time I come by his hangar. Which is often, by the way, in my
apparently futile attempt to slow him down and divert attention away from my
own slow Pegazair re-build.
Here are some performance numbers as per Arion. I think Roger plans go
with the O-320.
Performance
Jabiru 3300
UL 390
Lycoming O-320
Horsepower
120 hp
160 hp
160 hp
Cruise Speed
130 kts TAS
Still Testing
150 kts TAS
Vne
180 kts
180 kts
180 kts
Stall (Full Flap)
40 kts IAS
Still Testing
45 kts
Glide Ratio
15:1
15:1
15:1
Climb Rate
1200 ft/min
Still Testing
1500 ft/min
Empty Weight
850 lbs
915 lbs
1020 lbs
Well, a picture is worth a thousand words, so without further ado, here are
some pictures from Roger’s man cave (shamelessly stolen from HIS web
site). More to come in future newsletters … maybe, if I can get over my MS
Word “wrapping-text-around-pictures” anxiety. In the meantime, enjoy
Roger’s site, it is awesome (more about the Tri-Ra…, I mean Pacer, too!).
First Canopy Fit
First fit of canopy. It gets
marked and cut since it is
intentionally made oversize for
a custom fit
Elevator
And then there was the case of the Pegazair re-build:
My Pegazair
A while ago I traded my flying Zenith 750 with Lloyd’s Pegazair, that also was
flying once, but was sold to Lloyd in pieces by the previous owner. If Lloyd
had known who really built the Zenith …
Anyhow, yesterday I made progress on routing fuel lines and on installing
brake pedals on the passenger side (meaning I completely removed the pedal
assembly, took it to the local machine shop and asked “Can you make the
right side look like the left side?”). So I was all excited, only to find today that
my brand-new Garmin radio has decided to only transmit from the passenger
side anymore (not that that is necessarily a bad decision, given my level of
radio proficiency). Furthermore, my master solenoid has discovered that
between on and off there is a previously undetected mode of “I will not be
slave to the battery master switch, and will turn on and off as I please. And
right now 3 times a second pleases me just fine!”
So, I am all frustrated and decided to postpone pictures of the Pegazair until
the next Newsletter … By then I will also have the beautiful spinner I ordered
from Catto, to match the beautiful prop that Lloyd had already ordered from,
you guessed, Catto. So I can temporarily put them on, take a picture, and be
as happy as a bug in a rug (a shi… reminds me I need to clean house)… Until
Garmin sends me the bill for fixing the damn radio ...
So tune in again next month for more on the Peg!
News You Can Use
Just some stuff I came across lately:
Mountain Flying Clinic
NMPA's well acclaimed Mountain Flying Clinic is scheduled for 10/23-24 in Santa Fe this year. Besides
presenting a first rate training opportunity we again would like to staff the clinic with NMPA members. In past
years, despite our best efforts we have only been about 50% successful in this and while the non-NMPA staff
that we have used have been excellent I feel that the presenters should be NMPA members.
Therefore, I am again asking for help from the membership to staff this year's clinic. Ground school (9/23)
instructors do not need to be FAA rated instructors. What I need are folks who have sound classroom delivery
skills and a good working knowledge (and love!) of mountain flying.
I also need CFI's for the optional flight portion, 9/24. Sorry folks, here I do need folks that have convinced the
FAA of their instructional capabilities. This portion does pay, $250 per student, so there's a bit more incentive
perhaps. CFI's need to be skilled in mountain flying theory and technique.
If you have an interest in helping us out with either or both day, and are willing to commit to being available this
year, please let me know and we'll get you involved. If you'd rather chat about the clinic a bit feel free to give
me a call at 505-466-1287.
Thanks!
Cliff Chetwin
kestrelair1@gmail.com
NMPA Mtn Flying Clinic coordinator
Hatch Fly-In (sent by Cathy Myers)
Want someplace to fly to this weekend - and a place to eat good BBQ? If you are in the vicinity of KLRU - Join Us! First fly in of
2016.
Arrangements have been made with the City of Hatch to give pilots a ride from the air strip E05 into town - Sparky's Restaurant and back to the air strip on February 27, 2015.
Arrival at E05 will be between 11:30 and 12:30 to take advantage of the transportation.
CTAF is 122.9 and complete information on E05 is available on Air Nav.
Left Traffic for runway 11/29 and use CTAF to announce aircraft positions.
Lunch in town will be at Sparky's and depending on numbers and size of transportation vehicle, folks should begin to arrive at
Sparky's between noon and 1:00 or so. The return trip time back to E05 is flexible.
We have requested group seating in the Green Chili room. The Mariachi Aguilas will be playing there from 12:30 to 3:30 pm
Sparky's can get busy, so a set schedule is not suggested in planning your agenda.
Bring your own chocks and tie downs - I requested some type of security be provided for the planes due to the remote location
of the airstrip.
No services or fuel at E05.
This is a nice opportunity for a get away flight, good food, good company and E05 is suitable for any type aircraft, however leave
your jet or heavy's home on this one.
Please try to join the group.
If you have time, let me know if you are interested so I can get a real rough idea on numbers who might attend.
Fly Safe
Some EAA gear you never knew you needed …
A fundraiser/kickstarter for an affordable ADS-B receiver:
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/251459606/flightbox-ads-breceiver-kit
A German Couple flying around the world in … a trike!
http://trike-globetrotter.com/
Und Tschüss!
Disclaimer: I actually split that one with my sister …
EAA Chapter 691 Membership Application/Renewal
Form
Please turn form in to Secretary Skip Egdorf and make $20 checks payable to:
EAA Chapter 691
Name: __________________________________________________
Spouse/partner’s Name: ____________________________________
EAA #: ______________ Expiration Date (MM/YY) ______ / _______
Address: ________________________________________________
City: ___________________________ State: _____ ZIP: __________
E-mail: __________________________________________________
Home phone: ____________________________________________
Work phone: _____________________________________________
Cell phone: ______________________________________________
Please list your currently flying A/C and any finished or in-progress
projects: