Beech Party - The Beechcraft Heritage Museum

Transcription

FALL 2014
Museum Media #179
Beech Party
October 15 - 19, 2014
Tullahoma, TN
Beechcraft Heritage Museum
Est. 1973
P.O. Box 550
Tullahoma, TN 37388
(931)455-1974
(931)455-1994 FAX
info@beechcraftheritagemuseum.org
www.beechcraftheritagemuseum.org
Editor
Jody Curtis
President
Michael Greenblatt
Chairman of the Board
John Parish, Sr.
CEO & Curator
Wade McNabb
Vice President/Operations
Manager
Charles Parish
Executive Assistant
Nicole Holland
Staggerwing Club
President, Russell Latta
Twin Beech 18 Society
President, James Hoff
Historian, Bob Parmerter
Bonanza/Baron
Advisory Group
President, Ron Vickrey
Secretary, Bob Siegfried II
Twin Bonanza Association
President, Stephen Craig
Vice President, William
Schutzler
King Air Society
President, Stan McNabb
Photographer
Bob Burns
Printer
Village Press
Traverse City, MI
Please send magazine
submittal s to:
105 Lindsey Drive
Madisonville, TN 37354
jccurtis@charter.net
(423)519-3053
Museum Media #179
Fall 2014
2
Editor’s
Thoughts
Jody Curtis
F
all is in the air and what a wonderful summer it has been. I
am overwhelmed by the most
fortunate aviation experiences
I have had in my lifetime.
I remember the first time I stepped foot
into the “Staggerwing” Museum seventeen
years ago. I only knew what major airlines
were and that they flew planes to get us
from one destination to another. However,
in 1997, I was introduced to the “history” of
aviation and specifically, BEECHCRAFT.
Mattie Schulz was the volunteer Museum
Director at the time and was one dedicated,
passionate enthusiast. She prized every artifact in the Museum and took great pride in
the Staggerwing history. A few years have
passed since that initial introduction to our
treasured Museum and I have now had the
distinct pleasure to have experienced the
love of Beechcraft!
As reflected in the articles herein, we
just finished a summer of flying all across
the country in the legendary Beechcrafts.
Chris Olstad shares his story of flying
his Bonanza to Idaho and enjoying the
backcountry on another form of transportation (a Harley). Wade shares his flight to
AirVenture in the last v-tail Bonanza and
participating in the Bonanzas to OshKosh
(B2OSH). Second generation James Hoff
and Thomas Hoff give their Twin Beech
18 Society report, along with a history
of the Staggerwing Club. Antonio More'
shares his incredible air-to-air experience
with Tim Kolp’s T-34.
It never ceases to amaze me the many
stories to be shared. It is a great pleasure
to continue to gain momentum on my
love for this Museum. In 1997 we hosted
a Duke Association’s fly-in, only to have
them return for the first time since that
visit this year for Beech Party. We continue to grow in our Beechcraft family
with the new formation of the King Air
Society. The enthusiasm is contagious
and I sincerely feel so very blessed to be
part of such a unique, and most genuine
organization.
I look forward to publishing our Beech
Party issue in December. Please, send your
articles my way. The more the merrier.
New Museum Members since
Media No. 179
Harry Amster
Dale Auer
Tom Camman
Randy Cook
David Dye
James frank
Jack Harvey
Robert Houghton
Dr. Richard Komm
Jeff Milne
Peter McMillan
Pat Newton
James Rollison
Wayne Williams
tableofcontents
Museum Media No. 179 - Fall 2014
4
features:
Wings & Wheels, Round Engine
Round-Up at its Best............................................. 4
by Chris Olstad
“Black Beauty”...................................................... 8
by Antonio More'
Twin Beech 18 Report........................................ 10
by James Hoff
Keeping it Cool, Staggerwing Expertise........... 12
by Mike Stanko
AirVenture 2014.........................................................14
by Wade McNabb
8
The Staggerwing Club........................................ 17
by Thomas Hoff
2014 Museum Board of Trustees Mtg.............. 20
by Jody Curtis
museum departments:
Museum Operations........................................... 24
by Charles Parish
Museum Visitors................................................. 25
by Nicole Holland
Museum News..................................................... 26
Campaign New Horizons................................... 27
Board of Trustees
Jack Braly
Charlie/Ken Cianchette
Jody Curtis
Steve Dyer
Jim Gorman
Michael Greenblatt
Bill Halverson
Dick/Scott Hansen
Jim Hawkes
Bob Hoff
Ron Hyde
John/Russell Latta
Wade McNabb
Mark/Ron Morrison
Dennis Nikolaus
Chris Olstad
John Parish, Jr.
John L. Parish, Sr.
Robert Parish
Steve Parker
“Old” Bob Siegfried
Rand Siegfried
Mike Stanko
John Stubbs
Ronnie Sudduth
Bob Thomas
Ron Vickrey
Tom Warner
Scott White
John/Tom Wood
Joe Wyatt
16
On the Cover
Rand Siegfried
& James Hoff
flying over the
Sierra Mountains, Idaho
Photo by Jody Curtis
Museum Media No.179
FALL 2014
3
WINGS AND
WHEELS…
W
hat do you get when you
mix airplanes, good people, potatoes, huckleberry
ice cream, the Beechcraft
Heritage Museum and Harley Davidson
motorcycles? You get the Hoff family and
the Round Engine Roundup.
For those of you that have never been
to Idaho Falls to attend the Round Engine
Roundup you are missing out on a great
event. My journey began in San Diego on
Thursday June 26, 2014 where I departed
Gillespie Field (KSEE) in my, non-round
engine, 1958 J35 Bonanza. Along with
two aviator friends, Karl and Gary Gobel,
we set our sights northbound in-route to
KIDA and the Hoff’s magnificent Aero
Mark FBO run by their son Thomas Hoff.
4
THE ROUND
ENGINE
ROUNDUP
AT ITS BEST!
by Chris Olstad
We landed in Idaho Falls three hours and
fifteen minutes later as our time machine
transported us from the hustle and bustle
of a large city to a peaceful farm community surrounded by the majestic beauty
of snow capped peaks in the distance. I
would be remiss if I didn’t mention the
fact that Idaho Falls is also the threshold to
Yellowstone National Park and the Grand
Teton National Park.
Dairy for the best Huckleberry ice cream
shakes and grilled cheese sandwiches west
of the Mississippi. Over the next few days
we practically ate and drank our weight in
Huckleberry everything as it is the state
fruit and very plentiful. After gorging ourselves at Reed’s and getting settled in our
hotel, the Le Ritz Hotel, we set off for
the Hoff family “Rainbow Ranch”. The
ranch is nestled amongst the eastern rolling
foothills of Idaho Falls, and is complete
with a grass strip surrounded by golden
wheat gently blowing in the breeze. This
was certainly a Kodak moment with James
Hoff’s Stearman and Mike Lindemer’s
J3 Cub proudly glistening in the sunset.
Once Aero Mark’s line crew secured the
plane in its tie-down, the friendly ladies at
the front desk got us checked in. With the
keys to our rental car in hand we were off
to our first stop. You are probably thinking
our first stop was the hotel, well it wasn't.
Since this was the second year in a row
the three of us had attended this event, our
first mission was a direct route to Reed’s
Friday morning was time for business as
the Beechcraft Heritage Museum’s board
of trustees met for their annual gathering to
discuss the inner workings of the organization and make the necessary decisions that
benefit future generations to come. The
day’s festivities began after the meetings
had concluded with a delicious lunch at
the Aero Mark hangar. Following lunch we
Russ Latta’s staggerwing
facing the scenic Sawtooth
mountain range from the
Smiley Creek Fly-In hosted
by the Recreational
Aviation Foundation
Photo
were invited to either tour a local potato
vodka distillery or a facility on the airport
that builds and restores vintage warbirds.
Since I had never been to a vodka distillery I decided to join that tour. For those
of you who have taken the Jack Daniels
whiskey tour while visiting The Beechcraft
Heritage Museum you will find similarities between the two but they are still
very different. Of course, as you would
expect from this part of the country, one
of the vodka’s produced was huckleberry
flavored. As we emerged from the building
having completed our tour we encountered
an amazing meteorological sight as the
skies began to boil. Within a minute we
were all running for our cars as the rain
gods began to unload on us. For a brief
moment the rain came down in buckets,
but then as quick as this weather phenomenon formed, it dissipated. For those of
you who live in areas outside of California
this was probably just another rain cloud,
but for a city boy from San Diego who’s
idea of inclement weather is having to take
off the shorts and put on long pants it was
exhilarating! Having left the rain behind,
a group of us decided to make a visit to
Reed’s Dairy for yet another Huckleberry
shake prior to dinner… You know what
they say, “Life’s short, eat dessert first”.
Saturday the 28th brought a whole new
adventure for the group as the Hoff’s had
arranged for a breakfast fly out to Smiley
Creek, a Department of Forestry maintained grass strip that I seem to recall was
approximately 130 miles west northwest of
Idaho Falls. At an elevation of 7,160 and a
runway of almost 5,000 feet long it was a
magnificent setting for the Staggerwing’s
and Beech 18’s that were to ascend on
the field. I was fortunate enough to fly up
with Russell Latta in his beautiful yellow
Staggerwing. Karl Gobel flew with Bob and
Jane Hoff in their likewise Staggerwing and
Karl’s father, Gary flew with Steve Dyer
in his magnificent red Staggerwing. Many
thanks go out to all three of those generous
individuals who allowed us the privilege of
sharing this unique back woods experience
in such an iconic airplane.
by
Karl Gobel
Our hosts this morning were members
of the RAF (Recreational Aviation Foundation), whose mission is to preserve our
nations back country airstrips and ensure
they remain accessible to the aviation
community. The breakfast was nothing
short of first class with checkered cloth
covered picnic tables, each decorated with
fresh cut flowers. We dined on cut fruit,
pastries, fresh brewed coffee and three
different variations of scrambled eggs
combined with the usual hams, bacons,
peppers, onions and the like. All these
were cooked over a flame in large cast iron
cauldrons prepared by the RAF members
in advance of our arrival. My hat goes off
to all those that got up at the crack of chilly
dawn to prepare for our arrival. I know
everyone was very much appreciative of
their efforts.
After another beautiful flight home,
Karl, Gary and I made yet another trip to,
yes you guessed it, huckleberry mecca…
Reed’s Dairy! After yet another notch in
out belts was let out we headed out to the
Hoff farm for another fantastic sunset meal
amongst the golden fields. Bob Hoff’s
brother John and his melodious daughter
were the entertainment for the evening as
John is an accomplished musician able
to play the piano simultaneously while
belting out tunes on the trumpet like Dizzy
Gillespie. And yes, after dinner the dessert
for the evening was… you guessed it,
huckleberry ice cream!
Museum Media No.179
FALL 2014
5
By now you may be wondering how
Harley Davidson’s play a role in this trip.
Well, last year when The Gobel boys and
I were in Idaho Falls we visited the local
Harley Davidson dealer. I currently own
a couple of Harleys and Gary owns one
as well. We found out that they rented
bikes and told ourselves that next year we
should rent bikes and take a ride through
Yellowstone. Well that’s exactly what we
did this past June!
We picked up the bikes Sunday evening
before dinner at the Hoff’s farm. An early
morning rise on Monday was necessary
to meet the group out at the airport for a
pancake, bacon, eggs, and James Hoff’s
famous hash browns, or as they are locally
known, “James Browns”. The breakfast
was in the Hoff’s other hangar known
as the Red Barron Hangar. This amazing log structure, to my recollection, was
constructed during the turn of the century
at the same time the famous Old Faithful
Inn was built, using the same building
techniques and materials. This send off
breakfast was a great way to say goodbye
before everyone headed off towards home,
or in our case Yellowstone via two wheels.
We finished breakfast, said our goodbyes and we were on the road by 9:00AM.
Unfortunately Karl didn’t have a motorcycle license, which meant he couldn’t rent
one, this relegating him to the back seat.
Our bikes were virtually brand new with
only 1,100 miles on them. We purposely
rented two different models, a Road King
6
majestic beauty of this national park as
seen from the unobstructed vantage point
of a motorcycle is truly epic. We timed it
just right to see Old Faithful go off and
enjoy a cold beverage in the magnificent
Old Faithful Inn. We saw bears, buffalo,
elk, and a few other wild creatures... some
getting out of Winnebagos.
and a Street Glide, with the intention of
switching off to experience each of the
bikes. The Street Glide was quipped with
state of the art features such as electronic
cruise control, ABS brakes, Bluetooth
connectivity, stereo system, iPhone/iPod
integration, and a touchscreen GPS moving map. As the saying goes... this wasn’t
your grandfather’s Harley. The Road King
had all the high tech cruise and safety features but no stereo or GPS. Without further
sounding like a Harley advertisement, the
bikes were amazing! With our high-tech
Harleys under us we headed north.
The weather couldn’t have been better and the traffic was relatively light as
we entered Yellowstone's west gate. The
Heading south out of Yellowstone,
through the winding roads flanked by fragrant pines and crystal clear blue streams,
we were in motorcycle heaven. The intoxicating mixture of fresh air, beautiful scenery and the rumble of two wheels beneath
you can only be experienced in person,
as words just don’t do it justice. As our
trusty GPS guided us out of Yellowstone
and down the eastern route of Grand Teton
National Park, we were again in awe of
the beauty that surrounded us with the
snow still hanging on to the jagged peaks
as summer rapidly progressed.
Our dinner destination was Jackson
Hole Wyoming. We arrived in this beautiful ski town around 7:30PM. Of course
we did the usual tourist thing by taking a
picture under one of the antler arches and
eating dinner at a restaurant with patio
dining. It was a beautiful place to enjoy
a summer evening.
Back on the road at 9:00PM, and still
light outside, we set off on the final leg
of our journey back towards Idaho Falls.
We arrived at the hotel at 10:30, tired yet
exhilarated from our 360-mile adventure
through some of the most beautiful and
breathtaking scenery in the country.
I know motorcycles aren't everyone's
cup of tea, but for this motorcycle enthusiast it is a freedom not unlike that of flying.
Sometimes you just need to feel the wind
in your face or the earth beneath your
wings to appreciate the world around you.
For those of you who enjoy two-wheeled
transportation, and intend on going to next
years Round Engine Round UP, I strongly
recommend bringing your riding gear.
There was an iconic ad from Honda
motorcycles in the 60’s that read, “You
meet the nicest people on a Honda”. Well,
that same slogan can be said about Beechcraft, aviators and motorcyclists alike. You
really do meet the nicest people flying
a Beechcraft and events like the Round
Engine Roundup make those connections possible. I’m anxiously awaiting
next year’s Idaho event and Tullahoma's
Beech Party in October.
Round Engine Roundup and The Beechcraft Heritage Museum... It’s all about the
people, the planes and the intoxicating mix
when you get them both together.
Chris Olstad, Motorcyclist and Beechcraft enthusiast for life!
Photo
Museum Media No.179
by
Karl Gobel
FALL 2014
7
“Black Beauty”
The story of BG-279 and her long journey home to Tennessee
by Antonio Gemma More
B
eechcraft has a long and storied connection to our
nation’s military. Perhaps the most distinctive Beech
airplane in military service is the T-34 “Mentor”.
Unlike the prolific multi-engine tail-dragger C-45 “Expeditor”
or the ubiquitous modern C-12 “Huron”, the T-34 was often
a budding military aviator’s first ride into the skies and an
introduction into the world of military flight training. Over
two thousand T-34s were produced by Beech and used in US
Air Force and US Navy initial flight training in three distinct
variants: the turboprop T-34C “Turbo Mentor” still serves in
US Navy and Marine Corps squadrons today, the T-34B was
used by the Navy, and the T-34A used by the US Air Force.
Recent registration data indicates that more than 260 “Mentors” (A and B models) are still flying in civilian hands, with
around 70 qualified formation pilots in the United States.
For one Beech enthusiast and Beechcraft Heritage Museum
member, the path to ownership started over twenty-five years
ago. While serving in the Air Force at Buckley Air National
Guard Base in Colorado, then 1st Lt Tim Kolp was surprised
to find a T-34 available for rent at the base aero club for $34
an hour wet! While the airplane was an instant hit with Tim,
purchasing his own “Mentor” on a Lieutenant’s salary was
out of the question at the time.
Flash forward to 2010 and things were quite different – as
a successful engineer in middle Tennessee with two children
in college and another two ready to graduate high school,
the dream of purchasing a T-34 was once again alive. After
joining the T-34 Association the search for a suitable T-34
commenced, and through the guidance of several association
members Tim found N617KG for sale.
Although restored in a stunning Air Force paint scheme,
N617KG actually served her nation in the Navy from 1956
to 1970. Listed in military records as BG-279, N617KG was
assigned to NAS Pensacola and conducted four tours of duty
which included 7,461 hours of flying time and 28,950 landings. After a distinguished career, BG-279 was transferred
by the Navy to Davis Montham AFB where she was placed
in long-term storage in the desert. In 1994 the aircraft was
transferred off the Navy’s books and to Weaver Aircraft Company of Carson, Nevada where a top-to-bottom restoration
was conducted. The military-standard IO-470 was replaced
with an IO-550, which increased overall engine power from
225 to 310 horsepower. All gauges were upgraded, a Garmin
430 was installed, as well as an autopilot.
8
“Black Beauty” photoship flown by Charles McGaughy
Member Spotlight: Tim Kolp
Photos by Antonio Gemma More
Once the aircraft was relocated to Gallatin, Tim completed
a spar cable upgrade and added a smoke system. The smoke
system holding tank was created using the oil holding tank from
the original IO-470, and holds five gallons of smoke oil. The
smoke system sprays lightweight mineral oil into the dual engine
exhaust pipes, generating thick white smoke on command via a
toggle switch in the cockpit.
Many prospective ‘Mentor’ owners are initially concerned with
spar issues as the fleet was grounded for some time due to several
spar failures in flight. However, after an intensive engineering
review today’s flying fleet of T-34s is perhaps the safest it has
ever been and BG-279 is no exception. The spar cable upgrade
along with several additional Airworthiness Directives (AD) have
returned BG-279 to her full operating envelope. The entire fleet
is now back to full flying status for years to come!
While she instantly looks beautiful both inside and out, BG-279
and her black paint require a large measure of dedication to
remain in display-worthy shape. Using “Race Glaze” to polish the
majority of the aircraft and “Nuvite” for the polished aluminum,
Tim spends forty hours once each year and minor touchups after
each flight to keep the plane in top shape.
As a proud Air Force family (Bernadette served for 3 years as
an Air Force nurse and Tim for 7 years in Aeronautical Systems
Division and Space Command), the Kolp’s enjoy traveling across
the southeast in their “Mentor” and displaying BG-279 to the
public. The Kolp’s are also members of “The Ridge Runners”
– a T-34 formation group in Tennessee which is a part of EAA
Warbird Squadron 1. Tim and Bernadette participate in over
a dozen events a year including air shows, fly-ins, and many
flyovers. “The Ridge Runners” were formed in 2010 and have
members in both Tennessee and southern Kentucky. The group
is made up of five T-34s, with three of the five pilots having
prior military service. Tim does the flying and Bernadette takes
the photos for the group.
Tim has attended every Beech Party since 2010, and also
routinely travels to Oshkosh WI for the AirVenture celebration.
In 2014, Tim flew into the show as part of a mass arrival of 19
T-34s and participated in the daily fly-bys as well as a special
upcoming EAA video presentation honoring our nation’s veterans.
In addition to air shows, Tim enjoys giving EAA Young Eagle
rides in BG-279 and also flies fellow veterans.
He has been kind enough to raffle off a ride in the T-34 at the
next Beech Party so plan on giving it a chance this year. You
don’t want to miss this opportunity!
The author would like to thank Tim and Bernadette Kolp,
Charles McGaughy, and Wade McNabb for their contributions
to this article.
Museum Media No.179
FALL 2014
9
Beech 18 Report
by James Hoff, President TB18 Society
T
he Beechcraft Heritage Museum
held its Spring business meeting
this June in Idaho Falls, Idaho. This
was the same time as our fourth annual
Round Engine Round-Up, and made for
an incredible event.
The business meeting went well. I gave
a report on the status of the Twin Beech
18 Society. The highlight of the report,
as well as a highlight for the Museum,
was the donation of a Model 18. David
Rogers donated D18S, A-187, N80036.
The airplane is being made fairy-able by
Butch Card, and should be in Tullahoma
by the time you read this.
The AT-11 that was purchased by
the Museum is still located in Denver,
Colorado. There have been some issues
with getting its registration in the Museum's name, and Charles Parish has been
working on getting the matter cleared up.
The decision has been made to bring the
airplane to Tullahoma, at which point it
will be evaluated, and we will determine
how best to approach it as a project once
funding becomes available.
The Twin Beech spar that is in the Museum still needs to be made into a moveable
display. As it sits now it is difficult to move
around. We have decided to make it a
10
Photo
by
Thomas Hoff
Photo
by
Thomas Hoff
functioning model with working landing
gear for training purposes, and we have
located the landing gear items needed to
make it possible. It should eventually make
for a very nice display and learning tool.
Beech 18’s at the Round
Engine Round-Up:
The Beech 18 was well represented this
year at the event, with four present. We
managed to coral them in Aero Mark’s
spacious XL hanger, along with all of the
other great classic airplanes that arrived.
Our D18S N90552 was present of course.
Rand Siegfried, and Charles and Mary
Kate Cianchette, arrived in their respective Super 18’s, and Michael Greenblatt
brought Steve Oxman’s Super 18. His
passengers included his son Benjamin,
Wade McNabb, Trevor Blackmer, and
friend Cruz. Unfortunately for Michael,
he experienced a brake problem and a
broken cabin door hinge upon arrival,
which halted his flying fun for the weekend. But, our good friend and I.A. Josh
Munger, with Gate Nine Aircraft, had
the airplane repaired and ready for the
return flight home.
A lot of hanger flying was conducted
over the course of the Round-Up. However,
Darla & James Hoff with John Parish, Jr.
Photo
by
Thomas Hoff
Saturday morning found most of the
group, including N90552 and Rand with
his Super 18, flying out to Smiley Creek,
Idaho. Smiley Creek has a beautiful 5000'
grass runway located at the base of the
Sawtooth Mountains, near the head-waters
of the Salmon River. I had some very
special passengers with me for the trip
over in our Twin: my wife Darla and
daughter Paige, my brother Thomas and
nephew Finn, as well as John Parish Jr.
John assisted me with the cockpit duties
for the flight, which took us over Idaho’s
high desert and lava flows, then over the
rugged mountains that dominate the center of our beautiful state. Occasionally,
Rand Siegfried would appear out one of
our windows, forming up with us to make
a flight of two. What a sight! As we neared
Smiley Creek “Young” Bob Siegfried
joined the flight as well with his V-Tail.
It was a memorable flight.
Another memorable occurrence that day
was the fact that there were three generations of Hoff’s that flew three different
Photo
airplanes to Smiley Creek. My Dad Bob
flew his Staggerwing, I flew N90552, and
Darla and I’s oldest daughter Savannah
flew our Aviat Husky. Savannah, who just
graduated high school, has been working
towards her student certificate, so she did
not fly solo. Trevor Blackmer, who it turns
out is an accomplished tail wheel instructor, gave Savannah some dual on the way
by
Thomas Hoff
to Smiley Creek and back. A big thanks to
Trevor for making that possible.
The Round-Up was very successful, and
would not have been possible without all of
our good friends, who take the time to join us
for a weekend of great fun, camaraderie, and
flying. Thank you to everyone for joining
us this year. We look forward to next year’s
event. See you in Tullahoma.
Museum Media No.179
FALL 2014
11
Staggerwing Expertise
by Mike Stanko, Gemco Aviation
T
Keeping our Cool
hroughout the years many questions
have come my way about engine
temps, engine baffeling, and oil
temps, for various models of our beloved
Staggerwings.
In an effort to share a lot of this data
with you I am going to concentrate on
the R-985 in the course of this article. A
lot of the discussion will be applicable
to the other variants of the engines used
on Staggerwings and should prove quite
helpful along the ways.
In referring to the attached drawing we’ll
start at the number one baffle and work our
way around the entire engine.
The number 1 baffle contains the oil
cooler routing duct. 90 percent of high oil
temp problems can be solved right here. On
the D model it is a 3 piece duct. You have
the duct with the oil heat door attached to
it which actually penetrates the baffle. Next
there is a transitional duct which changes
shape a bit and ducts the airflow in to the
cooler plenum duct. This is the duct that
surrounds the oil cooler and actually guides
the cooling air through the cooling cells of
the oil cooler.
The first item I always have people look
at when there having oil temp issues is the
fit of this duct to the oil cooler. Originally
there was a felt surround that went on the
cooler and into this duct to minimize air loss
around the cooler. I have found this missing
on numerous aircraft, or people just don’t
know that something needs to seal this duct,
and have come to realize that in flight when
the air pressurizes this duct you can have as
much as 30% of your cooling air escaping
around the outside of the cooler. Some ducts
fit tighter than others so felt may not be the
answer for you. I do recommend if you
can’t get the felt back around the duct then
simply place a good bead of the high temp
(orange) RTV silicone around the duct to
seal off the gaps and force the cooling air
through the cooling cells.
12
On the oil cooler door another must have
is the spring loaded door. This was not an
original Beech item but has come to pass
by our various owners input over the years.
The controls to the oil cooler duct door do
quite often fail. Generally we fabricate a
bracket that attaches to the duct door and
place one end of a spring into this bracket.
The other end of the spring is then attached
to the adjoining cylinder utilizing the ears
on the cylinder that the cowling bumpers
would attach to. We just use .040 safety
wire as the attaching method. Now if and
when your door control fails the cooler door
goes to the full open position and not the
full closed position. When this door goes
to the full closed position unless it is the
middle of winter you’re going to see your
oil temp spike.
The number 2 baffle is for the inlet to
the cabin heat muff shroud. Check to see
that you have a good tight fit on your cabin
heat tube that is ducting the cool air to the
cabin heater duct. Always be sure to keep
this duct in good shape. Do not operate any
ducting with holes or tears in them because
you’re losing that cooling air.
The number 3 baffle is a dual purpose
baffle and may vary slightly from aircraft
to aircraft depending on the mods over
the years. On the G model it contains the
duct to the carb heat muff, and the cooling air to the magnetos in a much smaller
1-1/4" diameter tube than what is in the D
model. The D model has a very large duct
that provides cooling air to the accessory
section behind the dish pan of the engine.
Attached to the end of the duct is generally
an elbow that is directing this cooling air at
the mag. On the D model it also contains
the duct to the carb muff.
The number 4 baffle has nothing that
penetrates it.
The very bottom baffle not numbered in
this illustration contains the sump cooling
baffle and is generally installed at overhaul
when your engine is built up. This baffle
requires very little attention throughout the
life of the engine.
The number 5 baffle carries the very
important propeller governor oil line. Be
sure to always check that there is a grommet
in this baffle and that there is no chaffing
going on to this line. I have seen a lot of
variations to this line over the years, it can
be stainless steel solid line, standard braided
flexible rubber, or even Teflon all of which
are acceptable variants.
The number 6 baffle is a single purpose
baffle. On the G model it is again the small
1-1/4" cooling to the mag. On the D it is the
large cooling duct to the accessory section
with the attached elbow to direct the cooling
air to the opposite mag.
The number 7 baffle is generally an unused
baffle. However, if your equipped with a Jascoe alternator this is the baffle you will want
to modify to accommodate the cooling of the
Jascoe alternator installation. THE JASCOE
ALTERNATOR MUST HAVE ITS OWN
DIRECT COOLING INLET. Do not try
and Mickey Mouse some cooling into this
alternator installation as it will significantly
shorten the life of the alternator. You can
buy a 2" Aeroduct cooling hose adapter
and either weld or rivet it into place. The
illustration shows a welded installation it
really looks clean and makes a nice installation. The Jascoe alternator is a great piece
of equipment with an extremely low rate of
failure but it must have the proper cooling
to keep this alternator operating properly.
In the 30 years or so I have been installing
these I have only changed 1!
The number 8 baffle contains the air inlet
to the carb heat muff. Again be sure that
you have a good tight seal on your ducting
and that there are no holes or tears in that
ducting.
Keep your baffles in good shape to allow
them to provide you with the maximum
efficiency to cool the engine. Check that you
have a good tight fit on all baffles. Repair
baffle cracks accordingly. Weld and dress
out abrasion points on the baffeling. Always
use good quality ducting to route your air
as required. Plug any and all holes with an
appropriate hole plug if you have a baffle
with small holes that are no longer used fill
them with rivets or silicone.
Tips for operation: In the hotter climates
keep your ground runs as short as possible
once you begin to warm the engine. Step
climb if you have to. Keep your oil tank a
little on the fuller side in the summer time or
if you’re in a hotter climate. Always warm
your engine, when necessary, by using
the “OIL HEAT” control and not the “OIL
BY-PASS” control. The oil by-pass control
is to only be used in the coldest of climates
but even then I would strongly recommend
using only the “OIL HEAT” control. Get
your 3 in 1 gauges overhauled from time
to time. I would be willing to bet a lot of
you that this gauge hasn’t seen an overhaul
in 20 plus years.
Enjoy the fall flying season coming up
we’ll see you in Tullahoma at the Beech
Party!! Best Always,Michael Stanko
Twin Beech N766X goes to the Lions
by Bob Parmerter
A
crane lifted N766X into the lion habitat area of the “Heart
of Africa” (also the name painted under the pilot’s window)
region of the Columbus Zoo, Columbus, OH on 19Feb14. It
is situated with the starboard half in the habitat and port half on the
public side so visitors can enter through the cabin pax door, have a
close up look at the lion habitat through the cabin windows (replaced
with lion-proof glass) & enlarged emergency hatch, and exit onto the
public port side wing. The starboard wing is cooled to encourage lions
to climb onto it and even take a nap there.
The history of the 18 is as follows: BA-224 E18S N56H CofA
19Nov56, Tulsair Distributors Inc, Tulsa, OK BS 20Nov56. CofA
29Nov56. Flint Steel Corp, Tulsa, OK BS 20Nov56. Butler Co, Butler Airplane Sales, Chicago, IL BS 29Jul59. Hartzell props installed
7Aug59. Rereg’d N962BH 29Jan60. Gwen C. Landry, TX BS 4Mar60.
Photog 26Mar60 Ben Hur Mfg Co at Milwaukee, WI. Cvt’d to E18S9700 26May60. Campbell Sixty-Six Express Inc, Springfield, MO
BS 5May62. Rereg’d N166X 15Mar65. Semo Avn Inc, Malden, MO
BS 10Dec71. Cockpit emerg hatch installed 22Apr77. Air Machine
& Svcs Inc, St James, MO BS 2Feb84. Hoganair Inc, Hamilton, OH
BS 19Feb86. Rereg’d N76HA 11Jul86. Rereg’d N766X(2) 29Oct86.
The Eagle and The Hawks Inc, Middletown, OH BS 1Nov86. Kurt
M. Yearout, Middletown, OH reg’d 30Jul08. Regis canx 26May10.
Museum Media No.179
FALL 2014
13
Air Venture 2014
by Wade McNabb
E
ach year, EAA AirVenture in Oshkosh is a different
experience. The headlines are now stating that 2014
attendance in all categories was higher than last year, but
no one knows why. The event itself was exactly what I expected it to be. I’m not really there to see all the exhibitors or air
show acts. I’m there to visit with friends and fellow attendees.
Which is why, to me at least, the difference each year is all in
how you plan for it.
My plans came together in early spring, and were centered
around a very special airplane – the last V-tail Bonanza. The last
time I had seen N3735B was Beech Party 2012. Early that year,
owner Mike Burris had stopped by the museum after dropping
his grandson at Space Camp in Huntsville. Over lunch, he
described the Bonanza currently in his hangar, and asked if the
museum would like to have this special airplane on display. You
can imagine my answer to that question.
Just after that year’s Beech Party, Kirk Fryar and his crew from
Sarasota Avionics picked up the airplane and took it to their shop
in Venice for a major avionics upgrade. Fast forward to early
2014, Mr. Burris and I were discussing an idea about having
‘35B at AirVenture. I phoned Whit Hickman at the American
Bonanza Society and asked if he already had a display aircraft
for the ABS tent. Using my powers of persuasion, I convinced
him that this was the aircraft which should be there.
Now, for the arrival into AirVenture, the only logical choice
was with Bonanzas to Oshkosh (B2OSH). All first time B2OSH
participants are required to attend one of the regional formation
clinics. Since I first met B2OSH founder Wayne Collins many
years ago, he has invited me to fly at Grayson County. Finally,
all the proverbial stars aligned, and this was the year to do so.
I can also tell you now that I don’t believe it will be the last.
On May 16th, I found my way to Victoria, TX to meet Mr.
Burris and pick up ‘35B. As we pulled up to his hangar, the
door was already open and I saw her peeking out from the cool
shade. Almost the same as I remembered, with one big difference. Mike had told me about the new equipment in the panel
and even sent a photo. But, this panel was even more impressive
than I had imagined.
14
I had studied all the manuals and been flying behind an Aspen
glass panel, so I knew the basics. Once I started playing with the
twin Garmin GTN750s, I began to see how capable this airplane
really was, and that there was much more to learn before realizing
its full potential. With the flight plan loaded, the ADS-B weather
painted on the upper screen, and traffic displayed on the lower
screen, I waved goodbye to Mr. Burris and blasted off.
Upon arrival at Grayson County, several of the weekend’s
attendees made me feel right at home, as did the wonderful staff
at the Lake Texoma Jet Center. At dinner, I met several of the
instructors and began to realize this would be a lot of fun, along
with a lot of work! These gentlemen represented a vast amount
of knowledge and experience, which would be generously shared
over the course of the weekend. Of course, they also shared
the requisite story or two, which could not possibly have been
exaggerated in the least.
Saturday began with a four ship formation. I was assigned to
instructor Mike Babler, who was “Lead” for this demonstration
flight. He conducted the briefing with the three other pilots in
our flight, discussing the planned maneuvers, formation changes,
and finally a lead change. Instructor Leldon Locke now became
Lead, and continued the briefing for his planned maneuvers
and formation changes. The point which stood out to me was
the extreme focus of this session. Each man had his game face
on. The wingmen knew what to expect, listened intently, and
copied down the relevant information, all with no extraneous
conversation.
Now it was time to fly. Mike described every detail over the
intercom as I watched it unfold throughout the flight. His hand
signals indicated exactly what he expected from the wingmen
at the time he expected it. Immediately, the intended change
occurred, whether it was to reposition the formation from diamond
to echelon, break and rejoin, and finally to change from lead to
wing. All this occurred with very little transmission over the radio.
Once we landed, the group proceeded to debriefing where each
pilot had the chance to describe the flight from their perspective.
All comments were issued succinctly and with extreme professionalism, intended to improve either the flight or the individual.
No one took the comments personally, as they understood this
was constructive criticism.
Now it was time for a classroom session with all the students,
where the formation basics were discussed. As evidenced in the
earlier demonstration flight, these basics are to be learned and
understood, not covered during each flight briefing. Critical to
understand was exactly where your aircraft should be in relation
to your wingman and the flight.
Additional information focused on the cadence and discipline of
the flight. Start your engine exactly at the time briefed. Respond
to lead with only your flight and position, i.e. Alpha Two. Taxi
behind your wingman’s aircraft on the line painted by his or her
nose wheel. Pass signals down the line from aircraft to aircraft,
and back up the line when you have complied and are ready.
We were each assigned an instructor as safety pilot and paired
with a wingman. Flights would be conducted with one of the pair
as lead on the way out to the practice area, and the other as lead
on the way back. Takeoffs and landings would be in formation.
Maneuvers were limited to station keeping with turns, and moving
the wingman from one side to the other. The brief, fly, debrief
sequence would be repeated on all flights throughout the day.
Photo
courtesy of
Ron Hyde
L to R: ABS President, Bob Hoff, Wade McNabb & ABS Vice
President, Ward Combs
To say this was a workout would be an extreme understatement. By the end of the day and six flights, I was exhausted.
At the same time, I was encouraged and excited. My flying had
improved throughout the day and I was feeling more comfortable
with each flight. The next day would be a simulated B2SOH
flight, so I turned in early that night.
Sunday started with a low ceiling but Bonanza Lead, aka
Wayne Mudge, proceeded with the briefing and prepared us for
the weather delay. Each flight of two aircraft would depart on
15 second intervals and maintain that spacing over the defined
course. The entire flight would slow to 100 knots when Lead
was 10 miles out, and called the change. We were about to break
for an hour to allow time for the weather to clear, when Wayne
asked if he could see me outside.
He asked if I planned to fly in this year’s B2OSH. I wondered
if he was going to tell me that I needed to go home, get more
practice and come back next year. I answered hesitantly that I did
plan to be part of the arrival. To my great relief, he said “Good
news”. Then he explained that this year he had been selected
as Lead for the entire flight, and had his choice of wingmen.
He wanted Wayne Collins on his wing since he started this
whole thing twenty-five years ago. “Great choice”, I thought. He
told me that he had called organizer Larry Gaines for approval
on his other selection. He wanted a first timer, and someone
who had proven himself during the clinic. I was floored when
he extended the invitation to me. “It would be my pleasure”, I
somehow managed to say.
Once the weekend was over, and the airplane back in Tullahoma, our friend Antonio Moré spent the afternoon shooting
‘35B for my Beechcraft of the Month article in ABS magazine.
This would be their AirVenture issue, with copies available at
the ABS tent. Check out www.photo01aviation.smugmug.com
for this and other examples of Antonio’s excellent work.
An interior upgrade was next on the schedule for ‘35B. As
if it wasn’t already nice, Mr. Burris decided that a few changes
were needed. New leather for the seats, side panels, headliner
and glare shield was stitched by Kay and her talented team at
Southern Air Custom Interiors in Haleyville, AL. In a matter of
only a few short weeks, ‘35B was all set for her AirVenture debut.
July 25th was arrival day in Rockford, the B2OSH flight
staging area. One of the coolest sights is the huge ramp full of
Bonanzas and Barons. Camaraderie is the reason each person
will tell you they do this. Someone invited them to participate
a while ago, and they’ve been doing it ever since. Most bring
other members of their family along for the festivities.
Personally, I blame Wayne Collins and now Wayne Mudge,
along with Bob Siegfried and Glenn Wimbish for this addiction.
During one Beech Party a few years ago, Bob put me in the left
seat of his Bonanza and instructed me as I chased Glenn Wimbish
around the skies over Tullahoma. Then, last year Bob invited
me to fly right seat with him for B2OSH.
(continued on next page)
Museum Media No.179
FALL 2014
15
Air Venture 2014 (continued )
Our friendly neighborhood Beechcraft Sales Director, Trevor
Blackmer accompanied me for the flight. As briefed, engine start
for our element occurred precisely at 11:45, and we began to
taxi at 11:47. Approximately 20 minutes went by as the flight
formed on the runway. Once the last aircraft in the formation,
Bonanza Tail, called “In”, Lead called the tower, and we were
cleared for takeoff. My adrenaline was pumping as I pushed
the throttle in, concentrating hard on keeping pace with Lead.
The week was filled with activity, including a special photo
mission with the Oxman’s Bonanza and Twin Beech. Look for
more on this in an upcoming issue of EAA’s Sport Aviation
magazine. I’ve spent several hours in this airplane in the past
month, along with Michael Greenblatt. Our adventures started
with the trip out to Idaho Falls for the Round Engine Round Up.
Most recently, I caught a ride back to Nashville in the middle of
AirVenture week.
Each element leader called as they rolled, and we listened
to this over the radio for another 20 minutes or so. About this
time, I had finally begun to relax a bit. Much less sawing on the
throttle, and now only twisting the vernier for minor adjustments.
We proceeded precisely as planned, and 10 miles out the entire
flight slowed on Lead’s call. A few short minutes later, Lead
again called “Element 1, Gear Down”.
The upcoming weekend was time to retrieve ‘35B. Sunday at
3 pm was the official time for moving display aircraft out of their
spots and to the center of Boeing Plaza. Earlier that afternoon,
we had watched a line of thunderstorms roll through Oshkosh
delaying the airshow. All the exhibitors were eager to head home
after a long week, but patiently waited for a quick exit after the
Thunderbirds finished their performance.
Our landing procedure was a bit unusual, as I had warned
Trevor earlier. The intent was to stay high and make a steep
descent in order to disturb the air the least amount possible
for the elements behind. We didn’t flare, simply leveled out
and flew the airplane on. We slowed down, but not too much,
because there were 107 airplanes behind us. After a brisk taxi
into the North 40 camping area, the volunteers marshaled us into
our parking spot. Shutdown was immediate and then everyone
helped each other push their airplanes into position.
By my turn to depart, the Garmin screens showed clear skies
all the way home. After a quick fuel stop in Poplar Grove, the
smooth running IO-550 pulled the airplane up to 9,500 feet,
where true airspeed indicated 175 knots. The sky was beautiful
and capped off a great week with a gorgeous sunset. About 30
minutes later, I approached the Tullahoma airport with the GPS
approach to runway 18 loaded in the system.
Now it was time for pizza and margaritas, courtesy of Kevin
Halloran, Lee Johnson, and the greeting crew under the B2OSH
tent. One of the sponsors was our friend Todd Winter, and his
company Mid-Continent Instruments and Avionics. His gracious staff greeted each pilot with a great gift. They thought
of everything, including t-shirts, flashlight, bottled water, and
sunscreen, all packed in a cooler.
As I watched the autopilot fly the approach down the purple
line, the runway appeared on the G500’s synthetic vision. I
glanced at the display as I crossed the runway threshold to see
the runway numbers flash by. I rolled out, putting the center
of the airplane on the synthetic centerline. About 3 feet off to
my left, the real runway centerline was visible. How’s that for
modern technology?
I can’t express my sincere gratitude to everyone who
made B2OSH possible!! If you haven’t been part of
B2OSH, you don’t know what you’re missing.
On Sunday, it’s time to move ‘35B to her parking spot
for the week. A friend of ours from Idaho Falls, Ben
Johnson, had arrived on Saturday for his first AirVenture.
Ben was with me as we recruited a few fellow B2OSH
pilots to help push the Bonanza to the end of the row,
to avoid blasting anyone when we cranked the engine.
Our destination sign was displayed in the windscreen
as volunteers directed us to the main aircraft display
area. As soon as the prop stopped spinning, the ramp
volunteers hooked up and towed us to the ABS tent.
Once the airplane was in position, the next few hours
were consumed by cleaning the airplane, completing
the display sign, and finalizing all the little details for
the display.
16
Photo
courtesy of
Ron Hyde
Ron Morrison pictured with his beautiful silver Staggerwing is amused
by Wade McNabb
S
The
Staggerwing
Club
by Thomas Hoff
Author in 1978
A
couple of years ago my Dad, Bob
Hoff, asked me if I would throw
together an issue of the Staggerwing Club News, as the Round Engine
Round-Up was a month-or-so away and
he wanted to get the word out to Staggerwing Club members. I said sure, as I
had a little experience in graphic design
and had the software to do it. So, during
a Saturday afternoon I put together a four
page newsletter that was then sent out to
the membership. Job done, I’m going on
break. A couple of months later my Dad
asked me if I would do another issue of
the Staggerwing Club News. This time
to recap the Round-Up. I said sure but
distinctly got the impression that this was
going to be a trend. The previous Editor of
the News had a long and productive run,
and felt it was time to move on. Hence,
the Club was looking for someone to pick
up the flag and carry it onward. I accepted
the position, as I really enjoy this kind of
thing, and thinking that a couple of hours
here and there would not be a big deal. I
sat down at my desk and spent the entire
weekend designing a newsletter that I felt
was aesthetically good enough to go along
with my Dad’s story. Then, I spent all of
the next weekend looking for stuff to fill
in the rest of the issue. A couple of hours
very quickly turned into something else
entirely. Once I got the ball rolling, and
wrapped my head around being Editor
of something, I set some goals for the
Staggerwing Club News. The first was to
increase the publication’s size, the second
was to improve the quality of the content
I was producing for the publication. And
lastly, to increase the readership, thereby
increasing the membership in the Staggerwing Club. To increase the size of the
publication I needed content, and content
was rather hard to come by; if my Dad
didn’t write it, or I didn’t write it, then
there was not much to include. I really
had no idea what I was doing.
It dawned on me to resurrect features
that I really liked from old issues of the
Staggerwing Club News, like “Our Interesting Members,” a “Works In Progress”
section, and the rather self-explanatory
“Correspondence” section. I quickly discovered that increasing the involvement
of the Staggerwing Club membership in
the Staggerwing Club News with those
three features has been the best way to
create content for the publication. The last
couple of issues are up to 28 pages, and I
plan on keeping it that size from here on
out. As for the quality of the content in the
News, that’s entirely debatable, and up to
the readership to judge. So far I haven’t
gotten any hate-mail… so I’ve got that
going for me.
Last year Wade McNabb suggested
that I spend some time getting to know
the archives at the Beechcraft Heritage
Museum. That has been one of the most
helpful things anyone has ever done for
me. The Beechcraft Heritage Museum
(and here comes my shameless plug for
the Museum) not only houses some very
important airplanes, and serves as a place
for a yearly homecoming for those of us
enamored with Beechcrafts, but houses
a literal treasure-trove of files, folders,
sketches, drawings, schematics, textile
samples, and everything else that creates a
cohesive historical rendering of the Beech
Aircraft Corporation. It's through examination of these artifacts that historians,
and amateurs like myself, can illuminate
Beechcraft's history. Readers of Staggerwing Club News know that I like writing
about history, and they have already seen
a two part story extensively detailing the
early histories of Beech Model 17s c/n
77 and 88 (Louise Thaden’s Bendix winner and its clone) from the perspective of
their Beech Aircraft Corporation factory
files. And, I have several other pieces in
the pipeline that have only been made
Museum Media No.179
(continued on next page)
FALL 2014
17
“
A couple of months later my Dad asked me if I would do another issue of
the Staggerwing Club News. This time to recap the Round-Up. I said sure
but distinctly got the impression that this was going to be a trend.
”
Staggerwing
Club (continued)
possible via access to these materials that
can only be found at the Museum. I am
currently working on my tenth issue of
the Staggerwing Club News, which will
feature stories about Model 17 factory
panels, Staggerwing literature, and this
year's Round Engine Round-Up, with lots
of great photos. But enough about the
Staggerwing Club News…
The Staggerwing Club celebrated its
50th birthday during the Beech Party last
year. Its current leadership is Russell Latta,
President, and Robert Parish, Vice President, both life-long “Staggerwingers”
whose fathers were among the founders
of the Club and the Museum. Christine St.
Onge is the Secretary, and the Treasurer is
my Mom, Jane Hoff. The Club currently
has more than 140 members, and those
members own more than 80 Staggerwings
scattered world-wide. Amazingly, most of
these airplanes are either flying or in flying
condition. We have also seen, over the last
couple of years, quite a few Staggerwings
return to the air after long restorations or
rebuilds, and there are several more whose
progress we are avidly following. Among
18
the recently notable are the restoration of
Cam Hawley’s 1936 C17B c/n 108, which
was the first Beech in Australia. Cam also
owns the 1939 D17A c/n 357, the Staggerwing that was taken to Antarctica, and
he is just starting the rebuild of another
Staggerwing, 1942 D17S c/n 3108, that
was recently wrecked. Chris Jacobson’s
1944 D17S c/n 6765, with its unique US
Embassy paint scheme, got back in the air
after a long rebuild just before the RoundUp this year. Jim Britton’s 1938 SD17S
c/n 201, the only one left as far as we
know, is very near completion in Canada.
And, Aerocraftsman’s Mark Lightsey has
started the restoration of Granger Haugh’s
1944 D17S c/n 6704, which will be taken
back to its original wartime RAF colors.
Unsurprisingly, the majority of remaining
Staggerwings are D17Ss, but we have
seen a notable upsurge in interest in, and
restorations of, rarer Model 17s. Here’s
the breakdown of the Club membership’s
current Staggerwings, we have: 1 B17B,
1 B17E, 3 B17Ls, 4 C17Bs, 1 C17L, 1
D17A, 1 D17R, 56 D17Ss, 1 SD17S, 2
E17Bs, 4 F17Ds, and 7 G17Ss. Along
with keeping track of Staggerwings, the
Club, in many ways, helps keep them
flying. There are several members who
have made their businesses available to
new and current Staggerwing owners for
Editors Note: Thomas is obviously a second generation
of the Staggerwing Club and of the Beechcraft Heritage
Museum. He is an accomplished photographer, as all the
photos on this page are credit to Thomas. It is an honor to
have Thomas, his father, Bob Hoff and brother James Hoff
as passionate and instrumental members of both of these
aviation organizations.
maintenance, restoration, ferrying, and
flight training. And, even more members
have made it clear that they are only a
phone call or email away for advice and
any other help. Contact information for
all these good folks is available through
the Club. The Club also offers copies of
original Model 17 manuals, brochures,
and other documents for sale. Our big
event is the Round Engine Round-Up, held
annually on the last weekend in June in
Idaho Falls, Idaho. We have had as many
as a dozen Staggerwings attend the fly-in,
but it is intended to be an all-inclusive
affair. Our good friends with Howards,
195s, T-6s, and other round engines are
very much a part of the family, as with
all the folks that show up in Bonanzas
and other “square” aircraft. This year the
Twin Beech 18 Society and the Beechcraft
Heritage Museum hopped on board to
make the shindig even better. I am often
asked if you have to own a Staggerwing
to become a Staggerwing Club Member.
Nope, interest in the Staggerwing, not
ownership of one, is the only membership
requirement.
If you would like to join the Staggerwing Club, and receive its
quarterly publication, the Staggerwing Club News,
send a check for $30 ($35 International) to:
The Staggerwing Club, 10741 S. 25 E., Idaho Falls, ID
Museum Media No.179
FALL 2014
19
Board of 2014
Trustees Meeting
by Jody Curtis
T
he 2014 Beechcraft Heritage
Museum annual Trustees Meeting and the fourth annual Round
Engine Round-Up was graciously hosted by the Hoff family: Bob, Jane,
James, Darla, Thomas, Heather and the
3rd generation grandchildren, Savannah,
Paige, Finn and Kale.
“Wheels-Up” promptly at noon in
Tullahoma, TN (THA), N404JP, C90-1,
1982 King Air with John, Charlotte and
Charles Parish along with my husband
Sam, Rebecca McCool and pilot Todd
Wilson. Our first stop was in New Century,
KS approximately fifteen miles southeast
of Kansas City, KS speedway. We refueled
at the Olathe Naval Base, formally the
headquarters for the Aviation Division
during WWII. The control tower is the
only original building still standing and
is currently operated by the Army National Guard. They are utilizing the tower
and hangars to operate Chinook Twin
Helicopters. The FBO at Olathe was the
most hospitable Advanced Aviation. We
had originally planned to stay in Kansas,
however, after our timely arrival it was
unanimous to head on to Cheyenne, WY.
20
Upon our approach into Cheyenne, our
pilot masterfully detoured the dark, threatening clouds & lightening as he expertly
landed at the Legend Aero Serve FBO in
Cheyenne, WY. The staff were still visiting
about the unusual “funnel clouds” that had
been witnessed and reported. Although I
found it beautiful, I am sure our pilot and
John Sr., had other thoughts.
We spent the night in Cheyenne in
the newly renovated Historical Plains
Hotel and had a mid-morning departure
to Aero Mark in Idaho Falls, ID where
we were pleasantly greeted by Museum
Board member Steve Dyer. We settled in
and prepared for the welcoming dinner
hosted at Rainbow Ranch on the Hoff
family farm. Prior to dinner, I had the
privilege to attend the most informative
and in-depth Museum Finance Committee
meeting which was professionally lead by
Museum Treasurer & Finance Committee
Chairperson, John Parish, Jr. After our
meeting we took an enjoyable drive into
potato farm country. The view was endless with windmills atop the hillside and
miles of farmland lined with wheat and
potatoes. Everyone enjoyed a delicious
meal in the Hoff’s hangar overlooking
their picturesque farm with Mike Lindemer’s J-3 cub framing the landscape. Bob
introduced the caterer David Pyrah with
Catered Your Way. We were served Bison
Prime Rib, trout, and, of course, Idaho
Potatoes along with many other delicious
accompaniments. The food presentation
was lovely and the festive tables included
tractors, Idaho Potato sacks, potato lapel
pins and “Spuddy Buddy” representatives.
The fellowship was a warming reunion of
our Beechcraft friends, family and aviation
enthusiasts. Everyone proudly wore their
newly acquired Idaho Potato lapel pins.
Friday morning, June 27, 2014 we held
the Annual Board of Trustees meeting
upstairs in the newly established Aero
Mark XL hangar. John Parish, Sr. Chairman of the Board and Museum President
Michael Greenblatt led the meeting along
with a very impressive report given by
John Parish, Jr. on the Museum Budget,
the Investment Portfolio and the financial
future of the Museum. The 2013 audited
Balance Sheet and P&L statement are on
located on page 23.
John Parish, Sr. welcomed everyone and
thanked the entire Hoff family for their
most generous hospitality! John Sr., duly
noted the next generation of the Museum
leadership that is in place. He specifically
recognized the second generation of Museum officers (John Parish, Jr. and James
Hoff), board members (Charlie Cianchette, Rand & Robert Siegfried II, Russell
Latta, Tom Wood, and Robert Parish) ,
staff (Wade McNabb & Charles Parish)
and other significant next generation leaders, Chris Jacobson, Thomas Hoff, Chris
Olstad, and Karl Gobel.
Museum Operations Manager Charles
Parish gave an excellent presentation on
the Museum’s current and future facility
projects encompassing the significant
maintenance needs required to maintain
our World Class facility. In addition,
Charles suggested forming a Board of
Trustees Advisory Board comprising of
engaged and long term Museum members willing to give their time, expertise
and guidance to the Museum Board of
Directors. Lastly, Charles discussed
Beech Party which will be celebrating
the 50th Anniversary of the King Air and
will be hosting the Duke Flyers Annual
Fly-In during the event. It is anticipated
that Beech Party will have up to twenty
King Air and twenty-plus Duke airplanes
in attendance.
CEO & Curator, Wade McNabb discussed Beech Party and reiterated the
importance of Charles’ facility projects
presentation and its timely implementation to improve and enhance the Museum
facilities for the 2014 Beech Party. In
addition, Wade gave an extensive presentation on the long range planning for
the Museum, including future expansions
and extensions.
Russell Latta gave the Staggerwing Club
report and Thomas Hoff discussed the
Club newsletter. Thomas recognized the
loss of the Staggerwing Historian Peter
Berry and that he hopes to continue Peter’s
legacy. Bob Hoff announced a need to
increase the Club annual dues by $5.00
to cover the additional cost in producing
the upgraded Club newsletter. It was also
enthusiastically reported that there is an
impressive amount of international members and interest in the Staggerwing Club.
Thomas Hoff has done an exceptional job
with the current Club publication.
Steve Dyer, chairperson for the Museum Committee, which is responsible for
the oversight of the museum’s acquisition,
selling and plane donations reported on
the status of the AT-11 and Duke airplane
donations.
Charlie Cianchette, Chairperson of the
Campaign New Horizons program once
again rallied the membership on the success of the 2013 fundraising efforts and the
significant need to continue the momentum
into 2014! The Campaign New Horizons
is a magnanimous program that maintains, sustains and is instrumental to the
growth of our Museum endowment. This
endowment is essential to the success of
our Museum operations and the perpetuity
of the Museum’s future.
After a most successful few hours of
reports and presentations the annual Board
of Trustees meeting was adjourned. Lunch
was served in the beautiful Aero Mark XL
hangar full of Round Engines.
Friday morning geared up a host of
Round Engine Round-Up arrivals
including Staggerwings, Cessna195’s,
Stearman’s, J-3 Cubs, etc.; an array of
colorful, immaculate planes representing
all forms of round engines and fascinating people from around the country.
Several exhibitors were set up in the
Aero Mark XL hangar, including Jim
Museum Media No.179
FALL 2014
21
Seip with Pilot’s Cross, Merita Abbott with
her custom knits and jewelry and Thomas
Hoff displaying his amazing photography
and Round Engine hat, t-shirts, etc…
Saturday morning brought a beautiful
day of sunshine with ideal conditions to
fly out to Smiley Creek in the Sawtooth
Mountain range. I had the privilege &
opportunity to fly with “young” Bob Siegfried and his wife Jesse in their striking
blue enhanced V-tail Bonanza. The flight
took us approximately one hour and we
had the pleasure to formation fly with
James Hoff in his shiny silver Twin Beech
and Bob’s younger brother Rand in his
notorious white and black Twin Beech.
What a vision to be flying in the Idaho
Rocky Mountain range with these incredible airplanes at our side. Breathtaking,
unbelievable, dreamy, shall I continue? I
took more pictures than my camera battery
could maintain! Just over the Sawtooth
Mountains we made our descent into the
Smiley Creek Valley. There were already
thirty plus airplanes lining the meticulous
grass strip that we so fluently landed on.
Our Round Engine Round-Up guests
were graciously greeted by the Recreation
Aviation Foundation folks who hosted a
wonderful brunch in the Smiley Creek
Valley. Everyone’s palate was pleasantly
satisfied. The Foundation leaders gave a
very informative presentation of their mission; what their organization represents;
and what they have accomplished for back
country airstrips nationwide in their eleven
year history. I encourage you to visit their
website at: www.TheRAForg. We wish to
express our most sincere gratitude to John
McKenna, Wayne Loeber and their host
22
of volunteers for a lovely visit to Smiley
Creek. Following the delicious meal, it
was most enjoyable to view the majestic
mountains, breathe the fresh crisp air while
admiring the colorful airplanes from across
our continent in the breathtaking backdrop
of the Sawtooth Mountain range. Does it
get any better than this? Wheels Up and
back to Idaho Falls.
Those that did not join us for the Smiley
Creek Fly-In took in various other Idaho
Falls interests. John and Charlotte Parish
enjoyed the Scott Edmondson Expedition
to the South Pole exhibit at the Museum of
Idaho. Other folks enjoyed the Falls, the
Idaho Potato Museum and various other
interests in the area.
The Trustees meeting and the Round
Engine Round-Up were a tremendous success as Chris Olstad so elegantly described
in his article at the beginning of this issue.
As such, I have left out a few details of my
own as not to duplicate his most enjoyable
experience. The only regret I have is that
I did not get a write-up on the most gracious dinner hosted in Seeley Lake, MT
by Mike Lindemer and his family. I have
no doubt is was amazing and hopefully
I can encourage someone to submit an
article and pictures for our next issue.
Mike, thank you and we are so sorry we
missed it!
Wheels Up! My heartfelt thanks to John
& Charlotte Parish, my husband Sam and
to the entire Hoff family for a remarkable
summer trip!
Please make plans to attend the RoundUp in 2015! The Hoff family truly goes
above and beyond to host this annual
event!
BEECHCRAFT HERITAGE MUSEUM, INC
Please direct any questions regarding
the 2013 audited financial statements
to Museum Treasurer, John Parish, Jr.
STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL POSITION - DECEMBER 31, 2013
(with summarized comparative information for December 31, 2012)
ASSETS
Cash and cash equivalents
Promises to give, net of discount valuation
Prepaid expenses
Inventory
Twin Beech book project
Marketable securities
Property, plant & equipment, net
Display items
Total assets
Temporarily
Restricted
Unrestricted
2013
Total
2012
$
258,820
83,500
5,875
14,334
10,892
2,386,833
2,390,165
3,718,389
$
51,741
85,109
153,357
-
$
310,561
168,609
5,875
14,334
10,892
2,540,190
2,390,165
3,718,389
$
250,705
162,414
3,873
13,258
13,555
1,861,002
2,473,121
3,664,919
$
8,868,808
$
290,207
$
9,159,015
$
8,442,847
$
8,082
7,500
6,868
$
-
8,082
7,500
6,868
$
6,508
2,501
LIABILITIES
Accounts payable & other accrued expenses
Line of credit
Deferred membership dues
Total liabilities
22,450
NET ASSETS
Total liabilities and net assets
8,846,358
8,868,808
$
$
$
-
22,450
290,207
9,136,565
290,207
9,159,015
$
9,009
8,433,838
8,442,847
$
STATEMENT OF ACTIVITIES & CHANGES IN NET ASSETS -YEAR ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2013
(with summarized comparative information for December 31, 2012)
Support and revenues:
Donations - New Horizons
Donations - Noncash display items
Donations - Services and other noncash
Donations - Friends of the Museum
Donations - Lifetime memberships
Membership dues
Convention and special events
Dividends
Interest
Sales, net of cost of sales
Gain on sale of investments
Loss on sale of display item
Unrealized investment gains
Other income
Net assets released from restriction
Expenses:
Administrative
Uncollectible promises to give
Hangar/museum maint & other expenses
Utilities
Convention and special events
Interest expense
Professional fees
Investment fees
Depreciation
Air Academy expenses
Advertising
Miscellaneous
Increase (decrease) in net assets
Net assets:
Beginning of year
End of year
Unrestricted
$
Temporarily
Restricted
149,952
74,500
20,450
9,750
7,744
111,889
30,547
92
6,493
9,186
(29,360)
604,801
25,602
96,801
$ 87,795
1,118,417
(9,006)
129,311
35,768
27,517
94,614
150
23,797
5,098
85,949
195
4,285
406,684
-
711,733
(96,801)
2013
$
237,747
74,500
20,450
9,750
7,744
111,889
30,547
92
6,463
9,186
(29,360)
604,801
25,602
1,109,411
Total
$
2012
130,312
2,600
15,652
11,400
11,054
127,205
26,432
133
9,092
5,333
182,927
2,639
524,779
-
129,311
35,768
27,517
94,614
150
23,797
5,098
85,949
0
195
4,285
406,684
143,226
12,410
34,885
30,588
108,219
345
27,733
5,109
85,186
1,462
1,724
10,284
461,171
(9,006)
702,727
63,608
8,134,625
299,213
$ 8,846,358
$ 290,207
8,433,838
$ 9,136,565
8,370,230
$ 8,433,838
-
Museum Media No.179
FALL 2014
23
Museum Operations
by Charles Parish
H
ope everyone is having an
enjoyable and safe summer. The
Beechcraft Heritage Museum has
been busy with consistent visitor traffic
this flying season. We have had a steady
flow of enthusiasts arriving by vehicles
and aircraft. Our staff does a good job
keeping our grass taxiway mowed allowing aircraft the ability to taxi and park at
the front entrance. Folks comment favorably at the opportunity to park their aircraft
in the field adjacent to the museum entry.
Since my last magazine report, we
attended our annual board of directors
meeting. It was held in Idaho Falls,
Idaho and was hosted by our wonderful members, the Hoff family. It was an
enjoyable event in conjunction with the
“Round Engine Round Up” fly in. The
museum board meeting was very successful. We discussed the future of the
museum as well as, projects that need
to be accomplished. Since assuming the
position of Operations Manager one of my
priorities has been to identify areas that
need improvement. Wade McNabb and I
presented an outline of facility improvements in need of attention. The finance
committee was unable to approve the
funding for our entire list but did allocate
funds to get started. Our task then required
us to prioritize the projects over the next
several years. The finance committee also
provided a financial plan outline that will
allow us to continue to address our project
list for several years to come.
We have just completed installing a
new HVAC system in the Walter Beech
Hangar, Louis Thaden Library and O. A.
Beech Gallery. All systems are installed
and working nicely. As I write, we are
making improvements to the ceiling of the
24
As for exhibits, I am happy to announce
the addition of several new displays to the
museum. All new displays should be in
Tullahoma and in place by Beech Party
2014. That is all I will say at this time, so
plan to attend to personally witness the
new additions. Exciting!
Beech Party 2014 is two months away
and we are in high gear with our planning.
With the addition of the Duke Flyers
Association and new King Air Society,
we anticipate a much larger attendance
this year. Make your plans to attend now.
Please plan to attend and register NOW.
Registering early is extremely helpful
and encouraged.
Walter Beech Hangar. The installation of
new insulation to the ceiling will improve
the appearance of the hangar and help to
insulate the hangar thus, lowering our
cost to heat and cool the hangar. Next,
we plan to install new LED lighting that
will improve the viewing experience while
touring the hangar, as well as, lower the
cost of our electric bill. Secondly, we plan
to apply a fresh coat of paint to the walls.
Currently it is wood paneling with no
paint. The fresh application of paint will
brighten the ambiance while touring the
hangar. A couple of other improvements
include refurbishing the O. A. Beech Gallery steeple and flag pole repair. The flag
pole will soon be lighted so we can fly
“Old Glory” at night. The illumination of
the flag pole will also improve the outside
lighting and visibility. I will continue to
update our members as we make improvements to our existing museum facility.
CEO & Curator, Wade McNabb &
Museum volunteer, Carl Marciniak hard
at work on a Sunday morning!
I am entering my tenth month as your
museum Operations Manager. It is exciting to see the improvements we have
made to the facility but even more so it
is a privilege to play a part in the museum’s future!
Museum Visitors
by Nicole Holland
E
vidence of enjoyment can be found
throughout the museum long after
the guests have departed. Young
children run to the front doors with excitement leaving their face smudges and hand
prints on the glass, as their parents and/
or grandparents, attempt to catch up after
being left behind. The excitement cannot
be contained, as the Starship is the only
aircraft that can be officially touched,
however, evidence of finger swirls on the
Beech 17 and Beech 18s wings can be
detected. Grown men and women have
that “kid in the candy store look”, with
wide eyes that sparkle, smiles as wide as
the ocean, as their minds are taken back
to another time in their life. Whether it
be the young or the more mature adult,
everyone that walks through these doors
leave with a bright smile on their face and
a piece of history in their heart.
The Deaf Pilots Association came by
during the week of July the fourth. The
group was composed of twenty pilots
mainly from France and one American
tour guide. The English and French sign
language is similar but not exactly the
same. Normally during a tour of this size,
it can get noisy with excitement, however,
on this day, you could hear a pin drop.
I could tell by the rapid hand gestures
from signing and the smiles on their faces,
Mercedes Benz Club of America
Nashville division
that they were excited to be here. A full
invasion of the gift shop was had by all,
and profits were made. During their visit,
Ms. Diane from the Tullahoma Chamber of Commerce and photographer Wes
Aldridge stopped by to visit with Wade
McNabb. The photographer wanted to take
pictures of Big Red with the glass hangar
open. Little did I know, the pilots were
observing our actions and immediately
came over to have their pictures taken
also. My arms were loaded down with
cameras, as the pilots posed and smiled.
Ms. Bryant's photographer was behind
me and was rather entertained with my
camera appendages. So you can imagine
what happened next, he took my picture,
and we all had a good laugh.
The Mercedes-Benz Club brought their
beautiful automobiles to visit during July
and the parking lot was colorfully filled
with these classic cars. The group consisted of thirty-two adults. Carl and Darlene
Marciniak were the tour guides, as Bob
Hickey snapped the group photo. Wade
and Behati joined the crowd to mingle and
take note of the fantastic guide. Mr. Joel
Morris was a delight to have met. He is
currently 89 years of age and has owned
several airplanes. His light blue eyes sparkled with life and he had an enlightening
pep in his step. I watched him with
Airport Owners Association
amazement, anyone could observe the
pure joy gleaming from him. He was
quick-witted and an exceptionally independent young 89 year old. The group
rushed off to the Celtic Cup and graciously thanked museum staff and ambassadors.
Donald McDonald with the Airport
Owners Association brought his group
of twenty three adults in June. Our tour
guide Bob Hickey expertly led the group
through the museum and he captured their
photo. Donald asked several times how
did we keep our floors so clean! I must
say, he was rather impressed! Many of
our visitors have heartfelt compliments
on the beauty of our facility and of our
extraordinary collection of vintage airplanes. The group had a wonderful time
and said they would return soon.
Each visitor of the Beechcraft Heritage
Museum have a unique story to share.
The reflections in time include their
fathers fighting in the wars, Barnstorming
days, owning Bonanza V35s, Beechcraft
employees from Wichita, Kansas, or just
the authentic love of aviation. The museum
may be off the beaten path, but it’s that
path one must take in order to consume
Beechcraft’s elegance and the beauty of
this one-of-a-kind museum.
Univ. of TN Aerospace & Defense
Leadership MBA Program
Museum Media No.179
FALL 2014
25
Museum News
Dear Jody (Curtis),
All of us at the Recreational Aviation
Foundation (RAF) wish to extend our
gratitude and appreciation to everyone
that joined us for the RAF’s Backcountry
Breakfast Bake on Saturday, June 28th.
We served over 100 meals, met a lot of
really fine folks and added many new
members and supporters’ on-the-spot.
I wanted to include a short note and
some pictures of our recent guests in Ely,
Minnesota.
Unfortunately, the Robert Parish family
was unable to make the Round Engine
Round-Up this year. With that said, we
were happy to host Mary Kate (MK) and
Charlie Cianchette in Ely on their return
to Maine from the Round-Up.
We had some great Twin Beech flying!
This shot of N4477 is enroute to Ely prior
to the Cianchette’s visit. We were well
taken care of by Boomer at the Ely airport.
Both airplanes were kept safely in the
airport hangar.
See you soon. Will it be Ely, Idaho,
Tullahoma or Blakesburg?
Robert (Parish)
Dear Jody (Curtis),
Daylight broke behind a thick cloud
cover and misting rain. The runway was
already lined on both sides with a colorful
array of over 30 Glasairs and a variety of
other types as well.
We all looked to the sky. Those not
expecting were unable to identify the
sounds or the silhouettes but for those of
us “in the know,” a smile, which quickly
turned to a grin, gave notice that the round
engines were descending on Smiley Creek!
Charlie & MK joined me and my family
on Burntside Lake. We reminisced about
the great times of the past reflected in
the hundreds of photos displayed at John
Sr.’s. We Indian leg wrestled, arm wrestled, and stuffed a bear (not really on the
bear). Of course, we ate well, Charlie
truly demonstrated his command on the
grill. The family played cards and finally
learned how to play Cribbage. Sorry that
Will had to beat you Charlie, beginners
luck? We exchanged many laughs and a
happy farewell before the Cianchette’s
departure. We saw two great friends off
to finish their epic journey back to Maine.
Jennifer and I are very appreciative to
have the friends we have, the opportunity
to spend time together doing what we
enjoy, and for the means by which we
connect people and places in such a unique
and fantastic way.
26
One after another, Beech 18’s, Staggerwings and Cessna 195’s floated to earth
while the sun miraculously appeared from
behind the clouds. Now the morning could
officially begin!
Having attended this event, you now
know that the RAF is truly on a mission
and it is through your generous support
that we are able to continue our work of
preserving, maintaining and creating recreational airstrip destinations nationwide.
If you have not done so already, please
visit us on the web at www.theraf.org or
just pick up the phone and give us a call
at 406-582-1723.
Again, thanks for coming out Saturday;
let’s do it again next year!
Sincerely,
John McKenna, President RAF
Tim Clifford, Sec/Tres RAF
Joe & Holly Grubiak, RAF ID State Liaison
Steve & Cathy Durtschi, RAF UT State
Liaison
Wayne Loeber, RAF Utah State Liaison
Gene Porter, RAF Utah volunteer
Sarah Chandler, RAF Boise, Idaho volunteer and Tim’s daughter
Campaign New Horizons
Campaign New Horizons Campaign New Horizons had a successful 2013 with 80 donors giving
over $250,000. Importantly 18 of these 80 donors are first time donors. It is great to see the
strong interest in our museum. Thank you all for your generosity.
There are many levels of giving and all donations make a difference to our museum.
Giving Level
Museum Patrons
Century Club
President's Club
Chairman's Club
Aviator's Club
Donors
in 2013
Amount
65
3
0
4
3
Any contribution
$1,000 per year for 5 years
$2.500 per year for 5 years
$5,000 per year for 5 years
$10, 000 per year for 5 years
We added 5 new life members in 2013, their membership fees go directly to Campaign New
Horizons. During the Beech Party 2013 Auction, we also raised just under $60,000 from the
donated items generously given for this Campaign. On behalf of the museum I would like to
thank each and every gift giver; all gifts make a difference to our museum.
Please consider a 2014 gift and an item for the Beech Party Auction. We look forward to seeing
everyone at Beech Party 2014.
Charlie Cianchette, Life Member
Chairman, Campaign New Horizons
Artist Lory Lockwood has
graciously donated a "Blank"
Canvas to be auctioned off at
Beech Party 2014 for Campaign
New Horizons!
Campaign New Horizons
Contributors
since Media No. 179
* New Life Member
Dale Auer
Mr. & Mrs. Bill Power
Stephen Benson
James Rollison
Jody & Sam Curtis
Joe & Konnie Sasser
* Sam Curtis
Mr. & Mrs. John Sellmer
Steve & Susan Dyer
"Old" Bob & Thelma
Jean Siegfried
Les Grotpeter
Mr. & Mrs. Bill Thursby
Sara Hiern
Mr. & Mrs Andy
Ralph Kimberlin
Travnicek
Dennis Nikolaus
Bobby Wilkerson
John & Ann Parish
Dick Wixom
John & Charlotte Parish
Robert Parmerter
Museum Media No.179
FALL 2014
27
Photo
courtesy of
THOMAS HOFF

Beech Party - The Beechcraft Heritage Museum

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