November 2014 - Idaho Aviation Association

Jeanine Lawler & Burak’s Beaver at Sulphur Creek
Welcome New Members!
James Halcomb, Escondido, CA
Linda Barrie, Boise, ID
Alan Baum, Kaysville, UT
Ray Dupree, Boise, ID
Leigh Smith, Knox, IN
Larry Yount, Clark Fork, ID
Ed Meyer, Cocolalla, ID
Christopher George, Coeur d’ Alene, ID
Chris Aasen, Corvallis, OR
James & Karli Hagedorn, Port Washington, NY
Rick Boone, Wichita Falls, TX
Buzz & JJ Hale, Victor, MT
Carl Shepp, Jr., Billings, MT
Drew White, Billings, MT
Wallace Brown, St. George, UT
John Hooker, Iowa Park, TX
Lou Furlong, Cumming, GA
Jeffrey Russell, Waunakee, WI
Larry Teeters, Shreveport, LA
Gail White, Garden Valley, ID
New Members & Donors:
Donley O. Jones, Sandy, UT, Johnson Creek Level
Denis Coates, Battle Ground, WA, Johnson Creek Level
Pete Gutman, Chattaroy, WA, Big Creek Level
Larry Hayden-Wing, Laramie, WY, Big Creek Level
Renewing Corporate Sponsors:
AvCenter
Stick & Rudder
Kitfox Aircraft
FUEL/OTHER DISCOUNTS FOR IAA MEMBERS!
Print your IAA membership card for your wallet, and call:
Western Aircraft
Boise
338-1833
Turbo Air
Boise
343-3300
Jackson Jet
Boise
383-3300
Arnold Aviation
Cascade
382-4844
Aero Mark
Idaho Falls
524-1202
Atlantic Aviation
Hailey
788-7511
Back Country Fuel
Emmett
861-9055
AvCenter
Nampa/Pocatello
866-3740
Reeder Flying Service Twin Falls
733-5920
Rapid Refueling
Caldwell
454-1669
Granite Aviation
Sandpoint
263-9102
Northern Air Inc.
Bonners Ferry
267-4359
Sulphur Creek Ranch Sulphur Creek
(254)378-7473
West Fork Lodge
West Fork, MT (406)821-1853
More information available at www.IdahoAviation.com
Tell our sponsors “thanks!” when you stop by!
November 2014
Events Calendar
November 1: 1940s Dinner/Dance— Warhawk Air Museum,
Nampa, 6:30 p.m.–close. Silent auction, raffle for 1945 Willys Jeep.
Among the auction items are a 7-day Salmon Whitewater Raft Trip
for two from Salmon River Rafting Company ($4000 value); two
beautiful new leather bombardier jackets; jewelry from various
artists; a custom bamboo fly rod; and a new Ithaca Shotgun.
Proceeds benefit the IAF’s project to rebuild Big Creek Lodge.
Tickets $65, includes dinner, wine, and more, 208-861-9056,
www.RebuildBigCreek.com.
December 9 TV Chapter Christmas Party: Warhawk Air Museum,
Nampa. Speaker: Capt. Robert “Hoot” Gibson, U.S. Navy (Ret.)–“the
man who’s flown everything”! 6 p.m. no host cocktails, 7 p.m. dinner;
choice of beef or chicken; tickets $40 before Nov 20, $50 after,
deadline Dec 1. For info, tickets, or if you’d like to donate to the raffle
or silent auction, please call Tawni Swann (208) 867-4432 or
TawniSwann@gmail.com.
Please send calendar and editorial submissions to:
editor@IdahoAviation.com
Deadline is the 20th of the month
Dear Reader:
We hope you enjoyed the little booklet about the
Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP) that was
included with your October Flyline. I received a call
from a member in Washington who wanted to know if
the person who had signed his name in her booklet
was the same person who had paid to have them all
sent out; she wanted to thank him. Actually, Bob &
Gene Nora Jessen paid the extra costs associated with
mailing all the booklets out. On behalf of the IAA, I’d
like to thank them for helping to spread the word
about this important piece of our history.
And yes, some, but not all, of the booklets are
signed. Some of them are signed by former WASP
members or other WWII veterans; many are signed by
people who made a contribution to the museum;
www.WASPMuseum.org.
Finally, if you don’t have a booklet and wish to read
about the WASP, you can find it at the end of our
online October newsletter; www.IdahoAviation.com.
—Editor
The Flyline is in FULL COLOR online!
The online version has more photos—Just log on to
www.IdahoAviation.com
Click on “IAA Newsletters”
for past and present newsletters
President’s Corner
District 1 – Sandpoint/ Coeur d’ Alene
Kerry Requa
Don McIntosh
As the season changes so does
the way we fly in most cases. In
the early summer we anticipate
the high density altitude we are
undoubtedly going to encounter.
And then there are the bugs to
clean off the airplane. They get so
thick in late summer I swear I can
tell a slight change in the flight
characteristics when the plane
really gets plastered. Then we reach autumn and
everything changes for the better in my opinion.
The change in the way I fly has to do with hunting
season. I enjoy flying a few of my friends to look at the big
game hunting areas each fall. This year is a bit different for
me. As most of you know, I moved to Twin Falls about a
year ago. I grew up in Twin Falls and I had so many
hunting places in the area, I never had to go far to find a
place to hunt birds. Now I am finding my old stomping
grounds have been filled with home sites and things have
changed drastically. Fortunately I can hop in the airplane
and search for new places to hunt. I have found a few, and
they are mostly places I have always been aware of. I just
never needed to go that far when I was young. Oh well,
times change and we must adapt as well.
I wanted to make a point with this and I hope everyone
takes heed. Many of us like to scout the hills for big game.
I know that it is easy to forget that there may already be
hunters in the area we are scouting. The bow season
opens early, some of the muzzle loader hunts do too. And
we share the backcountry with many other people who
enjoy the outdoor experience for different reasons and in
different ways. I want to remind everyone to check the
regulations and make sure you are not flying in a manner
that you could be accused of disrupting someone's hunt, or
harassing the game. Either of those accusations can
cause a great deal of grief, even if you are not guilty. We
also have restrictions on how soon you can hunt after
flying, so check the regulations. I am not going to tell you
what they are, you would just forget, look it up for yourself
and you will absorb the info and know what you can do.
Some states are more restrictive than Idaho, a few are
less. I believe flying is a right and a privilege, and we must
not abuse our freedoms or intrude on others. As Idaho is
discovered by more people, things are bound to change for
all of us. So please be aware of the hunters in the hills;
there are lots of them this year.
For me, I am going to concentrate on hunting waterfowl
and upland game; I found some good places to go!
Fly safe and be aware of others.
It really has remained a beautiful
month to fly here in North Idaho. Even
though Sandpoint Airport surprised all
of us with the shutdown for runway
repairs and resurfacing, it appears we
all lived through it fairly unscathed.
Those who really needed to go
someplace found a location nearby to
park where we could get out. All in all,
it looks great from the air with the new
deep, black sealer on the runway and the bright new
striping. We will appreciate the upgrade for quite a while.
In mid-September, the CDA guys contacted me and said
they needed just a couple guys to meet them at Magee to
put away the picnic tables and benches for the winter. I put
the word out to “just a couple of guys” and man—what a
turnout! We had 9 airplanes and 16 men and wives to do
about 15 minutes’ worth of work. We took the opportunity
to work on the west side drainage ditch that continues to
be a problem. If we can get that kind of turnout for next
year’s work parties, we will really be able to get a bunch of
work done! At the last minute, I threw in some hot dogs
and fixins which turned out great because everybody
enjoyed the unexpected picnic. It was a very blustery day
in Sandpoint and there was even some discussion about
cancelling, but we decided to check it out and it ended up
being calm on the ground at the airstrip. A big thanks to
everyone who came to help.
The fall leaves are at their peak right now and we hope
the weather holds like it has been so we can continue to
enjoy the colors before all that white stuff shows up to
even things out.
Tailwinds,
Kerry Requa
President, IAA (208) 221-7417
Top: Helpers at Magee. Below: Jeff & Carol Bock with their newly
completed Kitfox Super Sport. Photos by Don McIntosh.
Page 2
District 3 – Treasure Valley/McCall
Wayne Thiel
I hope you’ve gotten out to fly in the
mountains in the last few weeks and
enjoyed the beautiful fall colors like
Linda and I did on Oct 19th. Along with
the yellow tamaracks and aspen
contrasted by green pines, we had
“perfectly smooth” air on our flight from
Caldwell to Sulphur Creek Ranch. It
was the final fly-in breakfast day of the
season. Kiere and Val are great hosts
and served over 30 breakfasts. Linda
and I arrived at 8:25 a.m. and were the first aircraft on the
ground, soon to be followed by 8–10 more. When we left at
9:30, there were about 25 hungry pilots and passengers in
the lodge. We departed Sulphur Creek for a quick trip to
Johnson Creek just to see the beautiful fall colors. Then on
to Garden Valley for even more colors.
On October 14th, Treasure Valley Chapter had a general
membership meeting conducted by Andrew George, in
president Steve Burak’s absence. There were 25 members
present to hear guest speaker Bob Barr who shared his
experiences flying OV-10s and B-52s in Vietnam during his
3 tours there in the 60s. Wow, what an experience that
must have been with little or no navigational aids!
The TV Christmas party will be Dec 9th at the Warhawk
Air Museum this year (not to be confused with the IAF’s
party at the same location Nov 1st.) The McCall Chapter
will host a Christmas party Dec 6th at Mike Weiss’s home
in McCall. For more info, call Mike at 208-340-3484.
On October 17th I attended the first “Aviation Safety
Standdown” 8 a.m.–4:30 p.m., sponsored by the Idaho
Division of Aeronautics. At least 150 aviators participated,
many of whom I recognized as private pilots, ATPs,
students and instructors. The outstanding speakers
included: Shannon Forrest on single pilot CRM; Dr. Amy
Hoover on operational challenges in mountains and
canyons; Rich Stowell on managing your energy (have you
ever watched him fly?); Rod Alne on survivor mindset—
how to prepare for the unexpected night in the field; Dr.
Mike Weiss on self-certification for over-the-counter drug
use; Dale Wilson on VFR flight into IMC; Capt. Olinger
(Boise Fire Department at BOI) on what we can expect
from them if we have an emergency; and Tony Cortes on
making the “right call” for safety. This was a great day with
excellent speakers. I hope they plan to have a 2nd annual
“Standdown” next year! Thank you Dept. of Aeronautics!
Suggestion: go fly this fall and winter and be prepared in
case you have to spend the night away or in the
mountains. Johnson Creek’s new shower house should be
ready for use next spring as per Todd Glass (the new man
in charge of the Idaho airstrips). There will be two new
men’s showers and two new women’s showers along with
the two existing showers! This should reduce the long
waits some of us have experienced in the past.
Wayne Thiel, N4775B
208-890-8866
WThiel@IdahoFlyer.com
Kiere & ValDean are Sulphur Creek’s hosts, guides, and cooks.
Stop in next year and see why their bounteous breakfast is the most
popular in all of Idaho’s backcountry!
Photos by Colleen Back and Crista Worthy
You may have to re-compute your aircraft’s weight & balance after
downing the exceptional bacon, eggs, and biscuits with gravy!
You don’t even have to hike far to go fishing. Here, Sparky Parker
nabs a cutthroat in the lake right across the runway from the ranch.
Page 3
District 5 – Blackfoot/Pocatello
Text and photos by Jeanine Lawler
Even as the rest of Idaho gears up for
winter weather, during the month of
October Lava Airport has seen many
airplanes grace its turf. Everything is
relative, but I took pictures of a classic
Aeronca Champ at sunrise, Greg and
Tina Cobia from Blackfoot McCarley
Field flew in their 172 to say “hi”, and
Donley Jones, a new IAA member, took
his grandson, Ryland, for his first flight
in his Piper Pacer. Ryland was smiling from ear to ear and
no doubt will follow in gramps wings.
A visit to Soda Springs Airport and a phone call to city
hall confirmed that an impromptu flight to the airport to buy
gas is not a viable option. You need to make a prior phone
call to the city, or register, in order to receive a key. A
better option is to fly to Preston, Idaho—gas is cheaper
and available.
October 4 was the IAA Board Meeting in McCall, Idaho.
It was a beautiful day and Mike Hart, myself, and Sam
Perez started early in Mike’s 180 for breakfast at Sulphur
Creek and a stop at Warm Springs (0U1) to explore and
turn on the Go-Pro. Warm Springs sits in the South Fork of
the Payette River Valley. With camping, hiking, hot
springs, and a secluded grass strip in excellent shape it
will definitely be on our “return” list.
The Blackfoot McCarley Airport improvements are set to
proceed by end of October. My visit with Natalie Bergevin,
EAA 407 Chapter President, included a tour and a
beautiful sunset.
On October 18 I attended the EAA Chapter meeting at
the same airport. Gary Wicklund, the Warning
Coordination Meteorologist for NOAA, spoke to the
members about the importance of weather spotting.
Hazardous and severe weather can literally “sneak under
the radar”. A spotter report includes the Who, What, Where
and When. I am now an official weather spotter, and for
those of you in different areas of the United Stated, NOAA
is always looking for volunteers.
Heads up to IAA members; along with Nadine Burak and
Steve Perez, we plan to start an IAA Facebook page! Stay
tuned for updates.
Blue Skies,
Jeanine Lawler
Aeronca Champ at sunrise, Lava Hot Springs Airport
Si Bueno Cantina & Grill—great food at McCall Airport
Sam Perez (right) and Dist 6 Director Mike Hart at McCall
New IAA member Donley Jones and grandson Ryland
Sawtooths looking toward Stanley
Takeoff from Lava Hot Springs Airstrip
Page 4
Amelia Was Right! by Gene Nora Jessen
Angle of Attack Indicators
Book Review by Crista Worthy
Crista Worthy
I had just finished reading Birdmen, the story of
aviation’s earliest fliers, when I picked up Gene Nora
Jessen’s Amelia Was Right! I cannot imagine two books
that could be more polar opposites. As I read the excellent
and thoroughly researched Birdmen, I shook my head time
and again in amazement. Due to a surplus of greed, fear,
ambition, and arrogance, it seems that some of aviation’s
pioneers hardly enjoyed what they were doing. How could
you not be “over the moon” if you were literally inventing
aviation and becoming one of the first handful of humans
ever to master powered flight?
By contrast, Jessen, herself a pioneer in women’s
aviation, makes the joy of flight the central subject of her
book. As Jessen notes, Amelia Earhart had titled her own
book The Fun of It. “Amelia was right…flying is fun!”
exclaims Jessen.
Anyone who has been flying long enough accumulates
the kinds of stories we all relate when “hangar flying” with
our friends. Jessen’s book is essentially a compilation of a
lifetime’s worth of hangar flying stories. What makes the
book unique is that Jessen started flying professionally in
the days when female commercial pilots where very few
and far between. Jessen simply wanted to fly, and smartly
carved out niches for herself in a male-dominated field.
Starting her career as a CFI, she soon moved on to fly for
Beech Aircraft, then run by Walter Beech’s widow, Olive
Ann Beech. Along with aerobatic champion Joyce Chase,
Jessen became one of the Three Musketeers, led by Mike
Gordon, who flew three new Beech Musketeers around the
United States to demonstrate the new model to customers.
The women made every flight, rain or shine, in high heels
and dresses. Between the sometimes chauvinistic
customers, celebrity clients, flights around the Statue of
Liberty and inside the Grand Canyon (it was legal then!),
taxiing in front of a U2 and up to an airliner at LAX to pick
up a passenger directly from the jet, amusing stories
abound, and it’s easy to understand why Jessen says she
had the world’s greatest job.
From there, Jessen describes the founding of the 99s
flying club and the initial Powder Puff Derby. Through her
involvement with the 99s and racing, Jessen has made
life-long friendships with a diverse group of women—more
great hangar flying stories ensue.
Gene Nora met Bob Jessen at Beech, and the two of
them eventually moved to Boise to open their own Beech
dealership and FBO at BOI. Even the numerous celebrities
who passed through Boise Air Service, however, are
eclipsed by their friendship with legendary aviator Scott
Crossfield. I love the photo of Crossfield with a wrench in
his hand, standing in the Jessen’s driveway with Bob, both
men attempting to fix a dead lawnmower.
Amelia Was Right! is not just a fun way to spend the day
when the weather’s too dreary for flying, it’s an inspiration
to any young person who dreams of becoming an aviator
or aviatrix—and, it would make a great holiday gift for any
pilot. You can order a personally autographed copy for
$22.95 at GNJFlyer@aol.com, or buy the book at the
Boise Pilot Shop or Warhawk Air Museum.
Several years after selling our Cessna 210, my husband
and I are beginning to indulge in that pleasant pilot’s
daydream: eventually getting another airplane, in our case
a more backcountry-appropriate 182. What mods to make?
For me, there are three must-haves for the backcountry:
install up-to-date 5-point seat belts, an obvious major
upgrade in safety. Bigger tires; those, too, are helpful. And
last, but not least, an angle-of-attack indicator (AOA).
Why?
We know aircraft can stall at any airspeed or attitude; a
stall occurs when the aircraft exceeds its critical angle of
attack. The key during takeoff, landing, and other
maneuvers is to know how much lift you’ve got left so you
can keep your airfoil flying. If your brain is as quick as a
computer’s, you can instantly calculate when your airplane
will stall. “All” you need to do is know your airplane’s exact
weight at that moment, how many Gs you are subjecting
the airplane to based on your rate of turn, and so forth. I
don’t do that, nor do most of us, so we ballpark safe
indicated airspeeds. But if you’re trying to get into a tight
airstrip you can’t just throw in an extra 8–10 knots or you
may overrun the end. You’ve got to shrink your margins,
and not knowing exactly when the plane will stop flying is
what greatly increases the pucker factor at short airstrips.
I know a math whiz who owns a Cessna 185; he has
always calculated his exact minimum indicated airspeed
for landings and other maneuvers. I know this because I’ve
flown with him: if I come in at exactly the KIAS he tells me
to, the plane sets down fine. If I come in faster, we float.
But as the GA accident record shows, too many pilots run
off the ends of runways or turn too steeply at too low an
airspeed, stall, spin, and crash.
An AOA device ends this guessing game immediately,
which means it can save lives—maybe yours—in my
daydream, I’m definitely thinking mine! And in February of
this year, the FAA recognized this safety benefit by greatly
simplifying design approval requirements for AOA devices.
Under the new policy, manufacturers must build their AOA
indicator systems according to American Society for
Testing and Materials (ASTM) standards, and then apply
for FAA design approval with a letter that certifies their
system meets ASTM F3011 standards. Now, AOA
indicators offer the greatest safety enhancement for the
money since seat belts, with most systems under $2,000.
OK, so how do they work? In many AOA systems, a lift
reserve computer uses the difference in pressure
measured between two ports on a calibrated pitot probe,
usually mounted on an existing inspection plate on the
underside of the wing outside the propeller arc. Proper
calibration is critical though not difficult, plus, the
instrument will only be 100% accurate in exactly the
conditions during calibration. Heated probes are
recommended for those who fly IFR. The differential
pressure data collected by the probe is serialized within an
interface module and then sent to the AOA indicator, which
is mounted on the glareshield conveniently within the
pilot’s field of vision. An AOA indicator reacts more quickly
than your stall warning or airspeed indicator (AI) and is
more reliable; AIs often become inaccurate at low
airspeeds or unusual attitudes, precisely when their
information is most critical. Manufacturers have jumped
into the AOA arena with both feet and pilots now have a
variety of devices to choose from. Their displays vary, but
they all indicate when you’re nearing the stall realm. Once
you build confidence in your device you may find yourself
able to safely fly into airstrips you once considered too
short, and you’ll have a better understanding of what is
happening during turns. My math whiz pilot friend got one;
he told me it took him a year to stop looking at his AI and
start trusting his AOA indicator, an Alpha Systems device,
but he now relies on it for every approach.
Alpha Systems is the current leader in terms of available
display options. Green lights are shown during normal
cruise. On approach, a blue light is an on-speed indication.
Yellow means your AOA is too low and you should raise
the nose. If your AOA is too high, you’ll see red lights that
warn you to lower the nose. These color-coded lights allow
the pilot to take the airplane closer to the stall without
exceeding the critical AOA. Right now they offer at least
six different displays, with colored lights shown in vertical,
horizontal, or round configurations, each sold in a kit. They
also offer a new HUD adapter. Many of the indicators have
up to 16 different LED brightness levels; although my
friend told me he still finds his older-model Alpha Systems
AOA indicator a bit bright at night over dark terrain, even
on the dimmest setting. There’s also an audio alert output
with a mute switch, www.AlphaSystemsAOA.com or 763506-9990. Alpha Systems also makes the KLR10 for
Bendix King. The KLR10 has the same color scheme and
similar options, 855-250-7027, www.BendixKing.com.
Garmin’s AOA uses what’s called a normalized system.
Compared to lift reserve systems described above, it
measures AOA slightly more accurately, although its
multiple components will probably make installation more
expensive (ask your mechanic). The components are the
GI260 indicator, which, like those above, is easy to read:
four green bars and a green dot mean you’re on the
correct AOA, increasing yellow bars, chevrons, and then
red mean you are approaching a stall. It also provides
aural warnings. The other components are a GAP26 probe
and GSU25 air/data computer. Pitot and AOA air pressure
are sent from the probe to the computer through
pneumatic plumbing. The computer takes the probe
measurement and an independent static source
measurement, corrects for current flap setting, G-load, and
atmospheric conditions, computes proper AOA, and sends
it to the indicator through an RS-232 serial data
connection. The display can also be shown on a G3X
Touch integrated glass avionics suite, if you have one, but
that’s not on the glareshield, 913-397-8200, 800-800-1020,
www.Garmin.com.
Got an experimental aircraft? Advanced Flight Systems’
Pro and Sport series models operate on differential
pressure gathered from two small holes in the wing. A flap
sensor lets you calibrate it for both clean and approach
flaps—it then corrects automatically. A built-in gear
warning is included. Owners of certified aircraft might, but
probably won’t, be able to get FAA field approval though,
503-263-0037,
www.Advanced-Flight-Systems.com.
Meanwhile, Safe Flight, which invented stall warning lift
detectors nearly 70 years ago, offers the SCX, mounted on
the wing’s leading edge. The company contends it has the
most accurate device on the market, the leading edge
location being the only place to accurately measure AOA
in all conditions. That location has also so far precluded
FAA approval, as installation requires cutting the wing, but
the company now expects certification in the first quarter of
2015, 914-220-1125, www.SafeFlight.com.
Is an AOA a must for the experienced aviator? No—but
with the high costs of flying, many pilots don’t fly as often
as they’d like, and proficiency suffers. For the backcountry
pilot, an AOA indicator can take some of the guesswork
out of getting in and out of short strips. For others,
particularly less-experienced pilots, an AOA indicator might
help avoid some of the more common, and usually tragic,
low altitude stall/spin accidents that occur in the traffic
pattern. An AOA indicator might just be something to
dream about over the winter.
A variety of AOA displays from Alpha Systems
Contacts
State President Kerry Requa
221-7417
Vice Presidents:
Bill Miller—Gov’t Affairs/Scholarships
853-8585
Larry Taylor—Agency Liaison
855-0261
Jerry Terlisner—Activities
859-7959
Doug Culley—Membership/Scholarships
861-6926
Joe Corlett—Communications
336-1097
Dave Rigby—Awards
343-1985
Don Lojek—Legal Affairs
484-2292
Andy Patrick—Commercial Operators
383-3323
Nadine Burak—Secretary/Treasurer
861-9056
Directors:
Director-at-large Jim Davies
859-5537
Dist #1 Don McIntosh
946-8490
Dist #2 Bill Ables
(541) 263-1327
Dist #3 Wayne Thiel
890-8866
Dist #4 Kerry Requa
221-7417
Dist #5 Jeanine Lawler
221-4741
Dist #6 Mike Hart
528-7672
FLYLINE Crista Worthy
(310) 560-7324
editor@idahoaviation.com
Page 6
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Classified
Idaho Aviation Association
PO Box 2016
Eagle, ID 83616
The FLYLINE
November 2014
The Monthly Newsletter
of the
Idaho Aviation Association