May 2003 - EAA Chapter 1189

The Fun Flyer
Experimental Aircraft Association Chapter 1189, Macon, Mississippi
May, 2003
Volume 2, Issue 5
President:
Vice President:
Treasurer:
Newsletter Editor:
Randle Yoder
Andy Fultz
Dale Weaver
Gerald McKibben
You won’t want to miss our next meeting on May 31.
It’s a fly-in at the Lee place. Below: Brian Graber landing
very near the mark at the accuracy landing at Macon May 26.
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(Citabria), and Dale Weaver (C-140). Dale
won the accuracy landing with a beautiful
wheel landing touchdown just 10 feet from
the mark. Dropping a bean bag on a target
from 500 feet and 80 MPH is not easy, but by
the third bag each participant had improved.
Thanks to all the people who helped with the
event, especially to Tom Hannigan. And
thanks to Randle and Doris Yoder for lunch.
Fly-ins, Fly-ins, Fly-ins
April and the first of May were busy, as far
as Fly-ins go. First there was the Pontotoc
Chapter’s Spring Fly-in on April 19. It was
well attended as usual. Joe Spencer’s halfVolkswagen powered Legal Eagle,
complete with “Ooga” horn, attracted a lot
of attention. This fly-in began about 10
years ago at Larry Hale’s private strip.
They normally have a Spring and a Fall
event.
Many thanks to Bill Ross and Chapter 986
for putting on such a good event May 3. This
was my first visit, but I hope it won’t be my
last. There were quite a few of our own
members there. They’re trying to rejuvenate
their chapter, which they said had not been
very active lately.
Then our own at Macon on April 26,
followed by the one sponsored by Bill Ross
and Chapter 986 Topton field at Meridian
on May 3.
I didn’t know what to expect with the
competitive events at Macon, but everyone
seemed to have a good time. Seven
airplanes participated. They were, Doug
Camp (Tri Pacer), Brian,Quentin, and Joel
Graber, all in C-150’s, “Scarecrow”
Andrews (Quicksilver), Paul Spurgen
One of the highlights of the fly-in was getting
to see Bill Ross’ Super Pitts fly. With 300
HP, you can imagine what the take off’s like.
When the tail comes up a little you are
thinking that now he’ll roll a ways to build up
speed and then lift off. Wrong. By the time
you see the tail raise a bit, the thing jumps
into the air and begins to climb at an
impossibly high angle of attack. And
the surprising thing about it is that
he’s obviously accelerating while
climbing at that steep angle. I don’t
think take-off is the term to use; it’s
more of a blast-off.
Airplane quiz: How
many of you know what this
is? Two gentlemen from
Vicksburg flew to Topton
Field in it on May 3.
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Joe Spencer of Grenada, in his Legal Eagle, powered by a
half Volkswagen engine. Joe also has an RV-8 he built, and
says the Eagle is more fun to fly. The Eagle is a true
ultralight, weighing in at 251 lbs.
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Below: If you see either of these two, contact authorities
immediately. They were seen trying to extort a $10 landing
fee at Pontotoc. Don’t let the smiles fool you; these are
dangerous men!
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Above: Neil Dickey from Greenwood in his Midget Mustang. Buddy Sanders is standing
nearby. Buddy, from Grenada, has an RV-6 and a One Design aerobatic plane.
Below: Wayland “Scarecrow” Andrews of Louisville brings in his Quicksilver for an
accuracy landing at Macon.
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Doug Camp about to touch down in his Tri Pacer. Note crosswind correction. Macon.
Below: Super Pitts, powered by a 300 HP Continental engine. Topton Field, Meridian.
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Formation Fly-By
Certainly one of the highlights of the
Macon fly-in was the arrival of the “Graber
Squadron” - a formation flight of Cessna
150’s flown by brothers Brian, Quentin, and
Joel Graber. They came in from the North
and did a fly-by, then turned around to the
South and did a military style 360 degree
overhead approach, where the lead man
peals off and enters a downwind, followed
by the next, etc. It was pretty impressive.
I’ve never seen that done with Cessna
150’s. They had gone up to Lowndes
County airport that morning and rented the
three airplanes - probably all the 150’s they
had. I’m sure Dad Paul is justifiably proud
of his three sons who are pilots.
Chevy truck added a nice touch at
Topton Field.
The Graber Boys
A nice L-19, seen at
Topton Field
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EAA Chapter 1189
1982 Hickory Drive
Starkville, MS 39759
gmckib@ra.msstate.edu
For What it’s Worth
Soon before Ned Miller and I arrived at Topton
Field at Meridian for the May 3 fly-in, an
ultralight had experienced engine trouble and
landed in a field. The pilot, whose name I
didn’t get, called back to the hangar on his cell
phone and told them he and his passenger were
OK and he thought he could fix the problem
and take off from the field. He asked,
however, if they could send a car over. It
seems his passenger didn’t want to fly back. I
can’t imagine why!
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