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© 2003 FatBoyz Aviation All Rights Reserved September 2003 Edition of 22

FatBoyz Aviation NewsletterSeptember 2003

The FatBoyz Aviation Newsletter is a monthlypublication for pilots, owners, instructors, technicians,and enthusiasts interested in general aviation activitiesin the East Tennessee area. Each month will feature

an aviator, flight instructor or aviation expert thatcontinually contributes time and experience to thelocal aviation community

commentary from local flight instructors for thelatest rule and regulation changes

owner’s perspective of the joys and pitfalls ofaircraft ownership, annuals and owner-performedmaintenance

travel stories and pilot reports of our latestpurchases, etc.

Visit our website for updated weekend flying schedulesfor those $100 hamburgers, links to flight planning andweather sites, information for local aviation resources(flight schools, CFI, AME, DE, I.A. A/P, insurance) andinformation pertinent to our local aviation community.

http://www.geocities.com/fatboyzaviation

Knoxville’s Aviation History continued on page 2

SpotlightKnoxville’s Aviation History

Bob Davis, CFI DPE

KAC Charter Service Flies Low in the mid 1920s

The Knoxville Aero Corporation airplanes forpassenger rides during the weekends were also goodenough for transporting businessmen during the week.This willingness to go most anywhere there was adecent size field was an outgrowth of the trips made bysome to the mountain resorts, especially Elkmont, inthe past summers. The air service was most likelylimited to the spring through fall as all these airplaneswere open cockpit. Also note that the flights were notdone at too high an altitude. Few would enjoy the coldof winter with a 80-mph wind in your face or the cold atthe higher altitudes. Several articles summarize theactivities:

“Airplanes for Park Inspectors,” KN, July 26, 1924, p. 1.“Airplanes will be provided for such members ofSecretary Work’s party as care to fly over the SmokyMountains and see the proposed site for the nationalpark from that view. Arrangements for a birdseyeinspection are being made by Col. David C. Chapmanwith the KAC. Pilot Frank Andre plans to take the parkcommissioners over what he calls the “aerial scenicdrive” – Knoxville to Mt. LeConte to Newport and backvia the course of the French Broad River.”

“Air Service for Knoxville, Can Hire Plane to go to AnyPoint,” KN, Aug. 1, 1924, p. 1.“The inauguration of airplane passenger andcommercial service for Knoxville was announced by

IN S I D E TH I S IS S U E 1 Spotlight, Knoxville’s Aviation History, Bob Davis 5 Young Eagles Day at SkyRanch, Don Miller 5 The Big Day Approaches, Steve Buss 7 The New Sport Pilot License, Brandon Hughett 8 Can You Trust Your Altimeter, Paul Lupton 9 How To Write a Newsletter Article, Thad Phillips 23 Nashville FSDO Runway Incursion Newsletter for TYSTrip Reports 10 Moontown, Don Miller 11 Angle Flight, Archie Evans 12 5000nm to OSH, Paul RosalesPlane of the Month 21 Richard and Wilma Brantley’s Diamond Star DA-40

http://www.geocities.com/fatboyzaviation


Knoxville’s Aviation History continued from page 1

Ben Bower, president of the KAC Wednesday.Carrying passengers to small towns near Knoxvillewhere train connections are poor will be featured,Bower said. Special rates will be made to any points.

“Frank Andre of South Knoxville will be the chief pilot.Cruising speed will average 70 miles per hour. Speed“across the ground” will vary, according to the speedand direction of the wind. The average altitude for shorttrips will be at 3000 feet and above. For long trips it willrange from 3000 to 6000, according to the direction ofthe wind at the various air levels.

“All rates will be for round trips. If one flies fromKnoxville to another city and does not wish to return toKnoxville, the same day, he may remain at that cityone or two days and nights provided he pays theexpenses of the aviator. Should a passenger wish to flyto a certain city and not make the return trip toKnoxville, his fare will be cut in half provided he or theKAC can find a passenger coming to Knoxville.

“Two passengers beside the aviator, can be carried ina plane at a time, and where a second passenger iscarried, the rate for one passenger plus 50 per cent willbe charged.

“A three-passenger plane will be in operation in about10 days and three passengers will be carried at onetime in it. Special rates will be made to persons whosehomes are near Knoxville and who wish to make thetrip home every week-end.

“Business men who have to make hurried businesstrips, or persons who are called to the sick bed of afriend or relative in distance cities, may leave Knoxvillein a plane by giving the aero corporation 30 minutesnotice.”

“Traveling Man Makes Regular Trip in Plane,” KN,August 8, 1924, p. 1.“W. F. Robertson, secretary and traveling auditor forthe H. T. Hackney Co., wholesalers, has realized thetruth in the old saying that “time flies.” Thursday is thefirst time he made a business trip on wings in order tocatch up with time.

“In making trips to Hazard, Ky., Robertson used to

leave Knoxville at 10:30 p.m. and arrive at Hazard at 7p.m. the following day.

“Thursday he left Knoxville at 7:30 a.m. in an airplanepiloted by Frank Andre. At 9:30 a.m. he was in Hazard,Ky. He saved a day and a night. Robertson wasaccompanied by Myron Marks, 116 E. Baxter Ave.,who went for the pleasure of the trip. The plane flewabove the clouds, 4000 feet high, in making the tripexcept when landing and taking off.”

“Flies to Mountains in 25 Minutes,” KN, August 12,1924.“It took M. A. Spence of South Knoxville only 25minutes to go on his vacation to Line Springs, aboveSunshine, 30 miles from Knoxville by plane and 45miles by train.

“Spence went in a plane piloted by Frank Andre, pilotfor Ben Bower. Altho it is in the mountains, LineSprings has an excellent landing field one mile from itspassenger station, Andre reported.”

But problems did occur, especially when flying astrange airplane:

“Plane Wreck, Lands in Front Yard of Trotter Home,”KN, December 17, 1924.“An airplane owned by people of Big Stone Gap, Va.,and piloted by Frank Andre of the KAC was badlydamaged in a forced landing in the front yard of JudgeTrotter’s old home in East Knoxville Wednesdaymorning. The plane ran out of gas just east of the cityand Andre coasted in looking for a place to land,according to Ben Bower of the Aero corporation.

“Andre saw the vacant space in front of Judge Trotter’sold home and decided to land there. He was cominginto the yard when he saw a wire in front of the nose ofhis plane. Andre tilted the nose of the plane upwardand missed the wire but in so doing the plane lost itsforward motion and “sat down right hard” in the frontyard of Trotter’s old home place. The bottom of theplane was slightly smashed and both of the lowerplanes were broken off by the jar. Damage wasbetween $100 and $200, Bower said.

“Two men who were said to be Fred Stafford and WillClouch.of Big Stone Gap, Va., were in the plane butneither was hurt. Capt. John F. Montgomery, LoweryHood, city parole officer, and Nathan D. Kuhlman,former city commissioner, and J. L. Chastain, whooperates a store near the place where the plane fell,were among the first to reach the scene.”

And the aeroplanes grew in size to accommodate more


DisclaimerAlthough care has been exercised in preparing the informationcontained in this newsletter, FatBoyz Aviation does not and cannotguarantee the accuracy thereof. Anyone using the informationdoes so at their own risk and shall be deemed to indemnifyFatBoyz Aviation from any and all injury or damage arising fromsuch use. We do not endorse or otherwise recommend serviceproviders or individuals identified within this publication.References are included only to provide contact information.



passengers per pilot:

“Faulkner Brings Big Aeroplane,” KJ, August 1924:“Ben Faulkner, former Knoxville man, is expected tobring a five passenger aeroplane of the PitcairnAviation company to Knoxville within a few days. Theplane, which will be one of the largest ever seen here,left Philadelphia in (the) charge of Mr. Faulkner severaldays ago for Denver. It is stated that the PitcairnAviation Company is promoting commercial flying andis leading in the agitation for aerial mail routes. Thereturn trip from Denver to Philadelphia will be made byway of Knoxville.”

Hopes were high in the use of aeroplanes.

“Neal Will Tour State In Plane, Will Formally OpenGubernatorial Campaign At Market Hall Friday,” KJ,June 1926.“Dr. John R. Neal, candidate for the democraticnomination for governor of Tennessee, will tour thestate and fill his public speaking engagements duringthe period before the primary by use of an aeroplaneaccording to his announcement Saturday night. Formalopening of Dr. Neal’s campaign will take place inKnoxvillle at Market house hall Friday at 7:30 p. m. Thecandidate promises an interesting discussion of publicquestions. Dr. Neal has returned from Nashville afterhis participation as senior counsel in the Scopesevolution case.”

There is no indication this came about as Dr. Neal wasnot aligned with the moneyed people of EastTennessee. A new aeroplane, a Curtiss Oriole with a150-hp engine was obtained by the KAC (see photo)and now landing in the higher parts of the mountainscould be accomplished.

“Knoxville Aero Co. Christens New Curtiss Oriole ShipToday,” Knoxville Sunday Journal, August 14, 1926, p.2-A.“Above is shown the new Curtiss K-6 model Oriolepassenger airplane which has just been received bythe Knoxville Aero Corporation and which will bechristened today at the Kingston Pike flying field.

“This is the exact duplicate of the plane used byCaptain Albert W. Stevens in flying the 12,000 milesover the great Amazon River basin of South Americafor the National Geographic society. A similar planewas also used as an auxiliary plane by CommanderByrd in his successful North Pole flight and hadanything happened to the larger plane he wouldprobably have undertaken to make his dash to the polein the “Oriole.”

“The new plane will be used for passenger workaround Knoxville and is expected to conduct

passengers over the Great Smoky Mountain regionand other sections of local interest. The plane will carrythree passengers and pilot with baggage. It carries 52gallons of gasoline and will fly five hours at the rate of100 miles per hour without stops.”

And the distribution of advertising from an aeroplanebecame popular when they were not carrying people.

“Plane Landing Atop Max Patch Tried Saturday,” KJ,September 8, p. 7.“Undismayed by the hardest rain of the summer atopMax Patch the hundreds of mountaineers, permanentand temporary, native and visitor, who gathered therelast June to see an aeroplane landing at the peak, onlyto be disappointed, are going to make another effortSaturday to glimpse the landing. The fliers are to comefrom Knoxville. Selection of the date for the basketdinner, oratorical feast and aeroplane arrival wasannounced by C. Boise, president of Boise Hardwoodcompany, owner of the mountain and thousands ofacres around it.

“If the aeroplanes land, it will be the first time that twosuch airships have managed to effect a stop at the tipof a mountain hereabouts. Last June 19, the date ofthe original celebration, the aeroplanes left Knoxvillebut encountered downpours and clouds that preventedtheir touching earth. The pilots told Boice later that theycould not tell the mountains from the clouds when theywere circling over the Patch and therefore they had togo back to Knoxville.

“The pilots will leave the Tennessee city in time toreach Max Patch shortly before noon and if theysucceed in lighting, they will do some stunt flying forthe entertainment of the crowd. While here, Mr. Boiceheld a conference with Senator Plata Ebbs withreference to the advisability of combining theapproaching event with a mass meeting called recentlyfor September 18 to consider plans for shortening theAsheville Knoxville route by way of Max Patch. Thesenator, however, urged that no steps of that sort betaken and his advice was heeded.”

“Fair Tickets Will Rain from Aeroplane, Invitations andPasses to be Dropped in East Tennessee TownsToday,” KJ, September 14, 1926, p. 1.“Free admission tickets to the eleventh annual EastTennessee Division fair will follow in the path of anaeroplane which will leave Knoxville this morning for atwo days’ trip scattering invitations to the fair whichopens Saturday, September 18, for a seven-dayexposition.

“Approximately 100,000 invitations announcing the



Jefferson City, Morristown, Greeneville, Newport,Dandridge, Rogersville, Kingsport, Bristol, Gate City,Va., Johnson City, Jonesboro, Tate Springs, Rutledgeand other points in this end of the state receive visitsfrom Division Fair plane. …..”

“Balloons Announce Banker’s Dance, Will be HeldTonight at Whittle Springs,” KJ, April 21, 1927.“Several hundred toy balloons will be dropped overKnoxville this afternoon from an aeroplane, which willbe piloted by Herbert Toomey, as a stunt to encourageattendance at the monthly dance of the KnoxvilleBanker’s club to be given this evening at WhittleSprings hotel. Each of the balloons will contain anumber. Certain of the numbers will entitle the personcapturing the balloon to a free airplane ride on Sundayat 2:30 p.m. from the Knoxville aviation field in themachine piloted by Mr. Toomey….”

“Air Mail Pilot Visits His Mother In Knoxville, KN,

outstanding features of the fair will be scattered fromthe air over practically all the larger towns and cities ofEast Tennessee and southwest Virginia. Among eachbundle of invitations leaving the plane will be a numberof complimentary tickets good for admission on anyday of the fair. The tickets will be attached to circulars.R. R. Templeton, publicity manager for the fair, hasmade arrangements with Frank Andre, official pilot andpresident of the Knoxville Aero Corporation, for use ofthe new plane which recently effected a successfullanding on a mountain top in the Great Smokies. Mr.Andre will pilot the ship, circling the towns enroute inorder to distribute the invitations.

“The plane will leave Knoxville this morning about 9o’clock, covering Clinton, Oliver Springs, Oakdale,Harriman, Rockwood and intermediate points. Earlyafternoon Lenoir City, Loudon, Sweetwater,Philadelphia, Etowah, Madisonville, Maryville, Athensand other places enroute will get their quota of ticketsfrom the air. Wednesday’s itinerary will include allupper east Tennessee and southwest Virginia. Mascot,



Young Eagles DayDon Miller, IP-ASELEAA Chapter 17 Chairman

TN98 KIDS FLY FREE October 25th

The EAA had set a goal of taking one million childrenflying between 1992 and this year in December when itwill be 100 years since the Wright's first flew at KittyHawk. Our current count, nationally, is over 950,000.

Registration for this involves contact with me by e-mailto receive the registration form. I send it as an AdobeAcrobat pdf file to be printed for each child and filledout prior to bringing it to the airfield.

I am currently registering for the 11AM class. Childrenare to bring the form to the Sky Ranch at 10:45 AM.

Sky Ranch is on Alcoa Highway near the junction withGov. John Sevier. Other classes will commence at 10AM and noon. I must receive a confirmation of exactattendance one week or more prior to the event. Iwill assign an arrival time when the family or unit tellme the youth count.

The EAA insurance covers only pilots and children.Children must be between the age of 8 and 17. I referyou to the national web site:

http://www.youngeagles.org

The events of the day require about two hours. Thefirst activity after check in is a one hour ground school.

Adults are welcome to listen to this presentation spacepermitting.

Regards,

Don Miller865 482-3167

The Big Day ApproachesSteve BussExecutive Director/EditorEAA Flight Leader News

Yes, the big day for Young Eagles Program continuesto move ever closer. December 17, 2003 has been afocus date for the program for many years. Now it islooming larger and larger with each passing day.

The most frequently asked question these days is "Arewe going to make it?" My answer has been andcontinues to be an emphatic "YES"! I firmly believe wecan make the 1 million Young Eagles mark byDecember. Why the confidence? First, we have aunique and unparalleled network of volunteers offeringtheir time and aircraft to make this program a success,along with tens of thousands of support volunteerswho have helped ensure safety of the program readyand willing to support the effort. Second, you have toldus we will succeed and are proving the point by flyingYoung Eagles. To date, we are about 15% ahead oflast year. That's exactly where we need to be and thatis also the place needed to help sustain the progress.

So as time winds down on the initial program goal, Ihave a personal appeal to each of you. Please find away to participate in the program this year. We needyour support. Now is not the time to sit on thesidelines and wait for someone else to do it. We havethe power to meet and exceed our goal. Like anythingin like, if it is worth doing, it will require effort.

I encourage you to monitor our progress on line at

http://www.youngeagles.org.

I looked back recently at last year's Flight LeaderNews summer edition. At that time, we needed to flyand register 210,000 Young Eagles to make our goal.Today, we are under the 40,000 mark. We aredefinitely over the hump, but there are still many flightleft to be completed.

Reprinted from http://www.eaa.org/youngeagles/news



http://www.eaa.org/youngeagles/news



E V E N T C A L E N D A RTN20 Seymour Airpark Seymour TN, Fly-in breakfast8AM – whenever each Sunday

1ST WEEKEND

BGF Winchester TN. Saturday fly-in breakfast.931-967-3148

LZU Lawrenceville, GA. Saturday fly-In breakfast.770-394-5466

2ND WEEKEND

Saturday, MBT Murfreesboro, TN, Fly-in Breakfast.David Swindler, 615-890-2439, [email protected]

RMG Rome, GA. Saturday fly-in breakfast706-235-06443RD WEEKEND

3M3 Collegedale,TN Saturday fly-in breakfast423-236-4340

OWB Owensboro, KY. Saturday monthly breakfastWayne Gibson 502-684-2859

3M5 Huntsville, AL. Saturday fly-in breakfast256-880-8136. [email protected]

16J Dawson, GA. Saturday fly-in breakfast.Ron Acker 912-888-2828

4TH WEEKEND

2AO Dayton, TN. Saturday monthly breakfastWanda Fulmer 615-775-8407

SYI Shelbyville, TN Saturday monthly breakfastWilliamson Hank [email protected] 931 684-1669

5TH WEEKEND

4A9 Fort Payne-Isbell, AL. Saturday fly-in breakfast205-845-9129

For a list of East Tennessee FAA sponsored activities.http://www2.faa.gov/fsdo/bna/safety.html

SPECIAL EVENTS THIS MONTH

Sept. 16th 7-9PM Aviation Safety Program & WingsClayton Mobile Homes, 5000 Clayton Road, Maryville TN.Contact: Paul Jones 615-324-1324

September 25-27- Rough River Airport (2I3), Owensboro, KY.Central States Association Rough River Canard FlyinContact: Sam Chambers 270-651-3732.

October 8, 1924.“Ben Faulkner, formerly pilot for the Knoxville AeroCorporation, and now a pilot for the Baslsam Air Mailservice, is in Knoxville on his vacation. He is visiting hismother on South Seventeenth st. He will be inKnoxville until Christmas.

“Faulkner flies between Garden City, N.Y., andDicksville, N.Y., on the line between the United Statesand Canada. His run is the longest commercial run inthe world. “Every third morning I get up and fly 450miles before breakfast to Canada,” Faulkner told aNews reporter. “I use a Curtiss Oriole plane and fly atan average speed of 100 miles per hour. I pass overfour states, New Hampshire, Vermont, Connecticut,and New York. On an average I make the trip in threehours but some times in bad weather it takes six hours.When I reach Canada, first I eat breakfast. Next I playgolf and swim. Then I loaf around a big resort there.The next morning I fly back to New York and rest oneday.”

So there were chances to move up in aviation.

Now to see why people did not fly high for long we lookat what aviation flight surgeons thought then

“Air Experts Tell of High Flights,” KJ, April 4, 1924.“Flight surgeons of the army air service believe thatman has about reached the maximum flying speed atwhich he can suddenly change direction, owing to thecentrifugal force exerted on the body and its effect onthe blood. This speed is placed in the vicinity of $250miles an hour. The limit of speed on a straightawaycourse, they say, can probably be placed much higherthan is now2 mechanically possible, but experience willhave to write the actual figure. The height limit, theyadd, is around 45,000 feet.

“This condition regarding the maximum speed forturning, the flight surgeons point out, is predicted uponthe experience of Lieut. Alvin J. Williams, of the navy,at the Pulitzer air races at St. Louis in October 1923,who said he became practically unconscious at theturns of the triangular course, when he rounded at243.67 miles an hour. The flyer at the turn banks hiscraft at right angles, the centrifugal force acting at rightangles to the new direction of travel and the bloodbeing carried away from the head toward the stomach,and probably into the legs, causes faintness, andpossibly unconsciousness. Blood circulation quicklyadjusts itself, the flight surgeons say, and the directionof centrifugal force is rapidly changed, although atturns of very high speeds in airplanes, brain injury orrupture of a vital blood vessel might result.“Even when supplied with oxygen, the flight surgeons


http://www2.faa.gov/fsdo/bna/safety.html


Knoxville’s Aviatin History continued from page 6

The New Sport Pilot LicenseBrandon Hughett, CFI ATP

So you’ve heard about the newSport Pilot License. What is it?How does one obtain it? Whatare the requirements? How doflight instructors teach it? Thosewere my questions when I visitedEAA’s Sport Pilot booth at EAA Air Venture Oshkosh2003. FAA Administrator Marion Blakey announced atthe event that FAA had completed its work on the finalSport Pilot rule. The rulemaking package has nowbeen forwarded to the Department of Transportation(DOT) for review. After approval by the DOT, it will beforwarded to the Office of Management and Budget(OMB). Upon OMB approval, the rule will becomeofficial when it is published in the Federal Register.

Here’s what the Sport Pilot License proposes:• Day, VFR flying only• May carry 1 passenger• No flying for compensation or hire• 16 yrs old to solo/ 17 yrs old to test

• Third-Class medical OR a valid U.S. Driver’sLicense

• Flight time logged on Sport License can gotoward higher ratings

• Flight into controlled airspace with training andendorsement

Being able to fly with only a valid U.S. Driver’s Licensewill allow so many individuals to fly who can’t obtain amedical certificate. Here are the proposedrequirements for an aircraft to meet the Sport PilotAircraft Category:

• Single-Engine only• Two-place maximum• Fixed or repositionable gear• 1,232 maximum gross takeoff weight or less• 39 knot maximum stall speed in landing

configuration• 45 knot maximum stall speed in cruise

configuration• 87 knot maximum full-power, straight and level

cruise speed• 115 knot maximum cruise speed after

endorsement

A Piper Cub would fall into the above requirements tobe a Sport Pilot aircraft. For a complete list of SportPilot aircraft, go to the following web pages:

For Homebuilt aircraft go tohttp://www.sportpilot.org/homebuilt_list.html

For aircraft certificated in the standard category (whichincludes a Piper Cub) go tohttp://www.sportpilot.org/standard_certificate_aircraft.html

FAA is getting ready for the Sport Pilot License. Theyare developing a Light-Sport Aircraft OperationsProgram Office in Oklahoma City. The FAA teststandards for sport pilots have been written andreviewed by EAA and others for appropriateness. Thecriteria for sport pilot designated pilot examiners (DPE)and designated airworthiness representatives (DAR)have been developed, and the curriculum andschedules for the initial DPE and DAR courses arebeing developed. FAA has also created a video to briefinspectors at Flight Standards District Offices. Keepchecking in with http://www.sportpilot.org for thelatest news and information pertaining to the new SportPilot License.

Information from the above article was taken fromhttp://www.sportpilot.org and from the EAA Air VentureOshkosh 2003 issue of EAA Sport Pilot & Light Sport Aircraft.

hold, an aviator could not survive beyond a height of45,000 feet under ordinary circumstances, because theavailable oxygen pressure in the lungs would be toolow to sustain life. Between 23,000 and 25,000 feet isthe “upper limit of consciousness” without oxygen saythe flight surgeons, and at higher altitudes oxygen isindispensable. Only if inclosed in a cabinet or suit inwhich the barometric pressure at a degree compatiblewith life, would it be possible to ascend beyond the45,000 limit, with suitable arrangements made fordisposing of the surplus carbon dioxide.

“The aviator experiences, among other things, as theresult of high altitude flights, sleepiness, uncontrolledemotion, including giggling, singing or laughter;muscular weakness, shortness of breath, impairmentof vision and hearing. These are chiefly due, medicalmen explain, to a lack of oxygen in the brain. There are50 army flight surgeons, stationed at different flyingfields, all on flying status. A flight medical school ismaintained at Mitchell Field, N. Y., where courses aregiven selected medical officers picked for aviation duty.Aviation psychology forms a large share of their work,and they are acquainted with first-hand conditions ofthe men who go up in the air in ships. The NationalAeronautic Association’s records show that the presentmaximum altitude record is held by a French flier with39,589 feet, and the speed record in a straightawaycourse is held by another French airman at 278.48miles an hour.”

http://www.sportpilot.org/homebuilt_list.html

http://www.sportpilot.org/standard_certificate_aircraft.html

http://www.sportpilot.org

http://www.sportpilot.org


Can You Trust Your Altimeter?Paul Lipton, CFII EAA Chapter 1158

If you're like most of us you put a lot of faith in yourairplane and its instruments.

If your oil pressure gauge is off by a few pounds willyou really know and will it matter? If your vertical speedindicator reads high by a hundred feet will you know? Ifyou did know, will you fly any differently?

However if your altimeter or encoding transponder areoff by a couple hundred feet and you don't know, can itbe a problem? Think about it. VFR cruising altitudes,traffic patterns, ATC traffic advisories. Collisionavoidance systems all rely on accurate altimeters andtransponders. The FAA is no slouch when it comes tomaking rules. Almost 800 pages of FAR/AIM istestimony to the FAA's thoroughness in trying to coverall the bases. A quick check of FAR 91.215, 91.411,and 91.411 reveals that if you wish to fly IFR, climbabove 10,000 feet, or even enter Class A, B or Cairspace VFR you must have your system "tested,inspected, and found to be in compliance". This is notjust at the time of manufacture but every 24 calendarmonths. Your mechanic is not responsible for thischore, you are.

What's involved? Actually it's an interesting process.Recently we needed our Skyhawk inspected. Whatpromised to be a two to three hour job turned out to benearly all day due to a leaky static port and a bad blindencoder, but that's another story. Generally theprocess involves removing the altimeter and benchtesting it. The FAA has established very specifictechnical guidelines for making the adjustments. It'snot unusual to spend an hour on the bench justtweaking the altimeter. Specialized test gear is used totest the altimeter to 20,000 feet or more and carefullyrecorded its indications at certain points. Even thediscrepancy between a climb of a thousand feet and adescent of the same amount must be carefullymeasured and adjusted. If you really love the tech stuffyou can look up the actual table of acceptabletolerances in FAR part 43 Appendix E.

Interestingly, the static system itself must be checkedfor leaks. Ours had a small leak due to a heavy-handed tech that had overtightened a fitting andcracked it! . Photo # 2 shows a small plastic "bottle"found in the static line that Cesssna and a few othermanufactures use to trap moisture before it reachesany instruments.

Many general aviation planes use a blind encoder tosend the altitude information to the encoding altimeter(sometimes referred to as a mode C transponder). Thisdevice is about the size of a small can of tuna and ishidden somewhere behind the instrument panel. It hasno pilot adjustable function and does its job silently. Ittoo, can get out of adjustment and must be benchchecked. Photo #3 shows the belly of the aircraft withthe transponder antenna visible. Nearby on the tripodis the test antenna that simulates the FAA radar signalthat interrogates the transponder for the squawk codeand the encoded altitude information. Naturally, thetransponder itself can get out of adjustment and mayneed to be bench checked and fixed. The cost of thisprocedure for my Skyhawk was a $195 flat fee for a"normal" job. Repairs and replacements will raise this!

As we brought our plane home from the shop it was acomforting feeling to know that when ATC watched uswe really were at the altitude they said we were at! Weall know that if our altimeters drift off (you can tell thison the ground by setting the hands to the fieldelevation and checking to see if the barometricpressure agrees with that reported on AWOS) we cancheat a little and mentally add or subtract the error.OK, but if you get confused and add instead of subtractthe error you will double the error. Now a 200-foot errorbecomes a 400 foot error! Imagine your surprise on across country as you confront IFR traffic coming at youthat you thought was supposed to be 500 feet aboveyou!

The moral: fly relaxed, get your system checked. Thelife you save may be your own!

Altimeter bench test Expensive plastic bottle

TransponderTest Setup


How to Write a Newsletter ArticleThad Phillips, PP-ASEL

One evening a few weeks ago,my lovely wife accompanied meto the airport. We intended to makea short trip around the local arealook at the lights. Instead, I spentan hour talking to others on the field and about thirtyminutes in the air.

The next weekend she followed with me for anotherattempt to actually get out of the practice area, butagain, no success. This time we ended up sitting onthe tailgate of my truck talking to a pilot about a recenttrip to Arizona in his Cessna 150. After four days flyingand countless bio stops, he was still grinnin’ like an ol’possum. A journey he has made several times andtakes for granted, a once in a lifetime event for otherpilots.

It is fascinating to hear a fellow pilot reminisce about arecent trip and do so with the same excitement,complete with excited voice, facial expressions andhand gestures, as if the wheels had touched down onlyhours earlier. Countless stories, lessons learned, oldtales, hints and tips, and the like have beenexperienced and told to those fortunate few standingnearby.

After sharing the exciting story with me, I asked theArizona pilot to write an article describing his recent tripfor the newsletter. “I can’t do that…..I don’t know whatto write”.

As I have demonstrated countless times, being arocket scientist is not a prerequisite for writing anarticle for FatBoyz. This newsletter is intended to befor local pilots and aviation enthusiasts, written by localpilots and aviation enthusiasts.

I want to help you get over the fear of putting yourwords into print. Following are some helpful hints toget you over the hump. I don't want to be subtle aboutmy motivation for including this information - I wantmore people to submit articles, sharing the knowledgeand excitement of local pilots.

How to Write eNewsletter Articles 101

Getting started is probably the hardest part. Evenwhen you have interesting material to write about,putting it into an interesting article is hard. Famousauthor Tom Wolfe, author of The Right Stuff, wasstruggling to organize his material for an article. Heeventually decided to write a letter to his Mom aboutthe material. When finished, he replaced “Dear Mom”

with a title and had a rough draft.

Start writing things down in the order you think of them.That will tend to put the most exciting material first.When you are done, you can decide whether theinformation would make more sense if presented in adifferent order.

When writing about a flight, destination, or lessonlearned don’t stop with writing about what you did. Alsoinclude your thoughts and emotions about the flight.That is what makes the article interesting and personal.We’ve always wanted to go where you went, andprobably made the same mistakes. The articles that Ihave received the most positive comments on are onesthat written in a down-home style, nothing fancy. Noone cares about the flaws and mistakes.

When you fly airplanes, interesting things happen. Iknow our fellow pilots have some interestingexperiences to write about because you tell me everytime I step on the field. Share your stories andexperiences with others. So, sit down with a computeror paper, write "Dear Mom" across the top, and thenwrite a letter about something interesting thathappened (related to aviation). Then, we can turn itinto a newsletter article. If it is only a coupleparagraphs, that's fine. If I have to split it over severalmonths, that's also fine. My usual policy is to cut andpaste, do minimal editing to get the article to fit withincolumn space, but I will work with you on revisions ifyou would like. Attach the MS Word or text file andaccompanying photos to an email. You will become aFatBoyz author.

See, that wasn’t so hard. I’ve just completed myarticle. You can do the same.

Quit ProcrastinatingGet that IFR Ticket!

You are out ofEXCUSES…


Trip Report – Moontown AirportDon Miller, IP-ASEL

We had an excellent trip toMoontown Airport Fly-In Breakfasttoday.

It was IFR above 3500 feet mostof the flight south and all of it flyingnorth. My old friend from several previous lives wentalong with me. He was a Navy pilot and later flew a182 out of Oliver Springs.

The breakfast is substantial, including biscuits,pancakes, sausage, fruit chunks, scrambled eggs andorange juice or coffee.

We arrived at 9:10 AM local and found the serving linerunning low. It seems the best arrival time would bearound 8 AM local.

Several interesting airplanes had flown in and a feware based there. I have included a photo of the RV-8panel that flew in. It was definitely high end home built!For some reason it did not have air conditioning?

The locals go all out to be hospitable. Their informaltower was used effectively to manage both the patternand taxiing to park.

The return trip to DKX was longer since the wind wasnot favoring us and we elected to do the localizer for26. We were number four in line to do the approachtaking us almost to Morristown as the ATC lined up thequeue.

I recommend giving this destination a try when theweather is favorable. Although a grass strip, it is easyto find and the amenities are equal to a much largerairport.

3M5 – Great logbook entry!

Check out the ATC guy manning hi-tech tower

CD Martin demonstrating navy maneuvers The only thing missing is air conditioning


Trip Report – Angle FlightArchie Evans, IP-AMEL Asheville, NC

Thad,Thank you for your interest in Angel Flight and offer topromote the organization in your newsletter. Followingis a trip report for a flight that I made to Memphis. It isfirst of several I’ve completed this year and I’m happyto share with the your readers.

Most of us look for any excuse to go flying. A $100.00hamburger, a fly-out, or just puttering about the skywatching the clouds and land go by, perhaps to see anew airport. What if, among all these excuses, onefound a really, really good reason to go flying thatwould make one proud to be a pilot and help otherstoo? What if the U.S. Government subsidized part of it?

I've been flying for such an organization, which callsitself "Angel Flight". Its mission is to fly patients fortreatment where they cannot afford the transportationcosts themselves.

What does it take to join Angel Flight? It just takes aninterest in helping people. If you're not a pilot, or you'velost your medical, you can still participate, either as aco-pilot or in a support capacity. You even get to use acall sign like the military or big iron. Even better, thecall sign seems to get you priority handling from ATC,to the extent that they can, although that's not anofficial policy of ATC. It's fun to hear Atlanta Centerturning down VFR Flight Following requests left andright, call in with "Angel Flight 51 Alpha requests VFRFlight Following to Memphis" and immediately hear,"Angel Flight 51 Alpha, squawk 5432 and Ident"followed by "Angel Flight 51 Alpha, Radar Contact 3miles southeast of Chattanooga, proceed directMemphis, say requested altitude". In other words, "Goahead where you want to go, in the manner in whichyou wish to get there. We'll fit you in."

This kind of flying may be tax deductible since AngelFlight is a 501(c)3 charitable organization. It is possiblethat you can deduct the costs of the flight from yourtaxes. Yes, you have to put the money up when you dothe flying, but you might get some of it back from thegovernment. Best of all are the faces of the peoplewhen you pick them up or drop them off. You've madeit easier, in their difficult life, for them. Perhaps it is aLeukemia patient undergoing treatment, laughing andjoking with the pilots while in a startling amount of pain.Maybe the client is a child who was burned in a fireand is attending a camp for other burn victims wherethey can be with people that won't stare at them andmake them feel different. Maybe it's the return trip froma summer camp for deaf kids, where they excitedly tryto describe the camp and the two of you laugh as you

and he work out some sort of sign language. Oh, yes,and can he try flying the airplane too so that he can tellhis girlfriend (who he met at the camp) that he flew theplane on the way back from camp?

There is no commitment to the number of flights you"must" do. Fly 0, 1, or 100 flights in a year - it's up toyou. It's some of the best flying I've ever done.

I was nervous. This was my first Angel Flight. I hadbeen through the orientation and the checkout flight.My wife was with me riding right seat and doing a lot ofthe paperwork and such. We were wearing our brandnew Angel Flight jackets, had on our name badges,had flight plans files - had done everything right so far.Still, I was nervous.

The mission was a simple one. Fly to Memphis, pick upa young child at St. Jude Hospital and his Mom andbring them back to Asheville. We had flown toMemphis the day before in our Cessna 310. Flying at16,000 feet, we had been bumped up and down by thewinds over the Smokys and finally touched down atMemphis in a 20-knot crosswind at 20 degrees acrossthe runway.

We had agreed to meet at the FBO, who kindly waivedlanding and tie-down fees as well as giving us a breakon Oxygen and fuel costs - and we didn't have to playcards for it, either! The patient showed up. Josh, athirteen-year-old accompanied by his Mom. Neitherhad been in a small airplane before. While Annebriefed the mom and had her sign the waivers, etc., Isettled the bill with the FBO. They brought a cararound for us all, loaded our baggage into the car justlike we were leaving a fancy hotel, and we all piled in.The airplane was sitting out, already pulled out of thetie-down; a red carpet led up to it, and a linesman waswaiting to pull chocks. As Pilot In Command, I merelypointed and gave orders and they loaded the baggage.Anne talked to the passengers while I did my walkaround. Everything was in wonderful shape - the FBOhad even cleaned the windshield for me!

After tipping the linemen for their work, we stepped uponto the wing and I loaded myself. Then, with Annehelping the passengers to get in the door, I settledthem in. This was the first time Josh was able to seethe cockpit of an airplane and was full of questions."What does that lever do? How do the radios work?",etc. I was glad that I had brought an extra headset withme so that he could listen in to ATC. In my bestcaptain's manner, I gave them the usual briefing -"When we're on or near the ground, you are required to

Trip Report – Angle Flight continued on page 12


have your seat belt around you and fastened. Youprobably won't be getting up and walking around thecabin, so I'd appreciate it if you kept your seatbelt on atall times.

It works just like car seat belts, please show me thatyou can fasten and unfasten it yourself etc." Fire upthem propellers and let's go! Vectors from air trafficcontrol on departure put me on the airway and we wereheaded for Asheville. In consideration of the windsfrom the day before, we decided to take the southernroute over Chattanooga and Harris VOR rather than flyover the mountains. It turns out that was a gooddecision as the air was not nearly as bumpy. As weflew along, I pointed out things of interest, talked withATC, mostly acknowledging frequency changes andchecking in with the new controllers along the route.The air was CAVU (Ceiling and Visibility Unlimited)flying and we were making about 170 MPH groundspeed on 200 MPH TAS. We were on an IFR flightplan, although that was not even remotely required.

When we reached Chattanooga, we were asked if wecould proceed VFR to the airport. On accepting theVFR, they cleared the descent and asked us to contactAsheville approach and turned us loose. After welanded, Josh’s mom climbed out of the airplane, lookedaround and, with a catch in her throat, said "Thankyou. This is the kindest thing that anyone has everdone for me."

Two weeks later we received a packet in the mail fromJosh. In it, were pictures of us, the airplane, and theflight as well as a hand-written note that simply said,"The view from Heaven, where Angels dwell".

How You Can Help? If you want to combine your lovefor flying with a great way to help your community, weencourage you to join Angel Flight.

Angel Flight East currently has about 1,300 activemembers. About half are pilots, and the rest participateas co-pilots, as mission coordinators, helping withoutreach activities, or simply as supporters of theorganization. Of the pilots, some own their ownairplanes and some are renters. Most fly 4-seaters andhave only their private or instrument tickets. Ourmembers come from different walks of life, but areunited by a desire to combine their interest in aviationwith a unique way of helping people.

Angel Flight flies more than 1,800 missions each year.They vary in distance, time of day, day of week, and soforth. There are many opportunities to participate, butnever any pressure to fly. How much or how little youfly is up to you. The cost to join is only $50, and theannual dues are $35. Information from the website:

http://www.angelflight.org

Trip Report – 5000nm to OSHPaul Rosales, PP-ASEL EAA Chapter 49

I’d been looking forward to attending OshkoshAirVenture’s ‘100 Years of Powered Flight’ celebrationfor many months, and the time finally came to ‘fly east’.Unfortunately, my wife Victoria was unable to fly withme.

We had originally planned not to attend AirVenture thisyear since we were supposed to fly to the Turks andCaicos with the RV group later this year. As such,Victoria made plans to attend a big TupperwareConvention in Salt Lake City (SLC) the same week asOSH. The Turks trip was subsequently pushed to nextyear. Victoria was torn between the two but hadairplane tickets for SLC so that decision was alreadymade for her.

Next to my wife, my neighbor Scott Lynch probably hadmore time than anyone else in my RV so he was thelogical choice as copilot. Between numerous flightswith me and one with Gary Sobek to Leadville, CO andback, Scott probably had ~100 hours flying in an RV.Since Scott had never before traveled so far away fromhome, let alone in an airplane, I planned the trip for hisbenefit with stops to include Kitty Hawk, NC and TheSmithsonian’s Air & Space Museum in WashingtonDC. My invite to the SoCAL RV group for others to joinus had Robert Paisley (RV-7) and Todd & Sue Ehlinger(RV-6A) flying along with us.

With the plane fresh from annual, we packed our gearthe night before our departure. We arrived to theRosamond (L00) airport on Thursday, July 24th, at0600 then departed towards a beautiful sunrise at0630. We met up with Robert at 9500’ over Daggett(DAG) airport at 0715 after orbiting a few minutes. Wecontinued on towards Laughlin/Bullhead (IFP), AZ tomeet up with Todd and Sue.

We used fight following with ZLA (LA Center) and wereworked by SoCAL RV lister and friend/instructorHoward Long. Knowing we’d be late to Laughlin,Howard was able to relay a message to the IFP towerso they could let Todd and Sue know we’d be a littlelate. They’d flown to Laughlin the day before just toget away from Los Angeles for a mini-vacation.

All worked out, and the three planes met up airbornejust east of Laughlin. We flew as a ‘gaggle’ and landedat Saint Johns Industrial Airpark (SJN), AZ. I likestopping at SJN since it’s about a 3-hour leg AND theyhave really cheap fuel, ~$1.77/gallon for 100LL.

Trip Report – Angle Flight continued from page 11

Trip Report – 5000nm to OSH continued on page 13

http://www.angelflight.org


With orbit time waiting for Robert and time to find Todd,my first leg was 4.0 hours.

Weather was clear with a smooth ride, however Scottwas not feeling well when we landed at SJN. Hewasn’t really sure what it was though he had a massiveheadache. It was bad enough for him that he did notwant to get back in the plane but go home. He waswilling to get a rental car and drive home though Ithought that a very bad idea. Even worse, there wasno rental car or bus station available. Scott had nochoice but to continue to Albuquerque (ABQ), NMwhere I could drop him off at the International Airport.

The 3-ship flew towards ABQ, and while Todd & Suecontinued past ABQ towards Dalhart (DHT), TX,Robert and I flew (formation) into ABQ. By the time welanded, about an hour after leaving SJN, ScottREALLY wanted to go home. His massive headachewas back shortly after takeoff from SJN. He wasfeeling miserable. I strongly recommended that hespend the night in ABQ and see how he felt in themorning but later found out Scott flew right home. Aftertalking with several people about it later, it reallysounded like he had a bad case of altitude sickness.

Our taxi-back for takeoff from ABQ had us passing thebig, Eclipse jet aircraft facility that is on-field. Abeautiful formation takeoff had Robert and me flying toDalhart where we met up with Sue and Todd 2 hourslater.

We borrowed the airport car for a trip to town for a latelunch then back to Dalhart for the last leg of the day toBentonville (VBT), AR, Home of Wal-Mart. We landedVBT at sunset after putting 3 more hours on theHobbs. Normally, I try to fly around 6 hours a day butbent my rules the first day as everyone was feelingexcited about the trip. Heck, we were FLYING to OSHeventually! After flying with Gary Sobek so much, I toofind that I don’t mind making the first day ‘the big push’then ‘cruise’ after that. I will also make a big push toget home from Dallas as the sun is working with meinstead of against me when flying west, typically an 8-hour hobbs flight.

Before arriving back to the airport Friday morning, we

stopped to see ‘Waltons’, the Five & Dime store thatstarted it all.

After departing Bentonville, we pointed our planestowards Smithville (0A3), TN enroute to Kinston, NC.We had flight following all the way, and somewherenear the Tennessee border, flew around somecumulus clouds for the remainder of the 3-hour flight.Smithville airport lies slightly southeast of Nashvilleand is halfway to Kinston. Here's a picture of NashvilleInternational Airport.

I also picked Smithville for its $2.05/gallon fuel. By theway, all fuel stops were planned using AirNav’s Fuelplanner, a great tool! While fueling at Smithville, Suewalked into the FBO and found that no airport car wasavailable for us to go to lunch. However, she did find avery nice gentleman who gave us a ride into town, satdown with us for lunch (we had great visit with him)and then drove us back to the airport.

Takeoff from Smithville had us climbing to 9500' to stayabove the scattered layer direct to Kinston (ISO), NC. Itwas fairly hazy down low. The 3-hour flight to Kinston,which is southeast of Raleigh and near Seymour-Johnson AFB, put us within an hour’s flight to KittyHawk.

My friend Rabon Wilkins, who I met as an 'RVenthusiast' in Switzerland in 1997, was waiting for us atthe airport. He is the proud owner of an RV-6A that hebought a few years back. He wanted to enjoy hisretirement ‘flying’ an RV instead of ‘building’ an RV :-)

Trip Report – 5000nm to OSH continued from page 12



After getting the planes secured for the night, Rabondrove us to his home where wife Glenda had a FULLsouthern meal waiting for us! It was terrific sitting out onthe back porch watching the fireflies twinkle in the night.I haven’t seen fireflies since I was a kid visiting family inTexas. We all visited until after midnight talking aboutAIRPLANES and more AIRPLANES! Speaking ofplanes, they were ALL running well and were cruisingabout 140-150 KTAS enroute, with no tailwind.

Saturday morning weather had a light drizzle andovercast so we arrived to the airport around noontime.On the way to the airport, we passed some sort of cropsI didn't recognize...that's Tobacco!

Rabon mentioned an RV-7 would be having a first flightat nearby Goldsboro (GWW) airport so our original 3-ship, now 4-ship with Rabon, departed to GWW.

Daryll Ham’s RV-7 a good look-see then watched himtaxi out. Then he returned after a safe, first flight. Lookat THAT RV-grin :-)

After congratulating Daryll (~1330), we could see thethunderstorms started to build up to the northeasttowards Kitty Hawk. The color weather radar in the FBOshowed a solid line of thunderstorms between us andKitty Hawk, moving northeast...bummer! Though wemade it this far from SoCAL, landing at Kitty Hawk onthis trip was not to be :-(

We continued with our plans, excluding Kitty Hawk, anddeparted at 3-ship northbound where weather was fine(Rabon flew 18 minutes home to Kinston). Not long afterdeparting GWW, Todd and Sue pointed their plane forWilmington (ILG), DE then on to Mattituck (21N), NYwhere they arrived safely that afternoon. Looking backtowards Kitty Hawk showed towering thunderstorms

covering a large area.

Robert and I continued north over Richmond, VAtowards Washington DC and landed 1.5 hours laterat Stafford Regional Airport (RMN), VA which isJUST outside the ADIZ. We were SURE to have flightfollowing with Potomac Approach into the DC area!

Stafford Regional is a fairly new airport that openedin late 2001, and there is one, square, portablebuilding that serves as an FBO office. They have anice pilot’s lounge and weather radar in the office.

My friend Tana Bailey, who I called before departingGWW, arrived shortly after we landed and tookRobert and me to town for dinner. We had a shortvisit then back to the airport as she had plans for theevening with her family.

I had originally planned to continue into Dulles (45minute drive or 12 minute RV flight) and pick up therental car to visit the Smithsonian and walk the 'Mall'on Sunday....but those plans were all made for thebenefit of my friend Scott who was no longer with us.No sense flying into Dulles.

Robert then asked the FBO line guys, "Where'ssomeplace FUN to fly to?", and with that, we wereback in the planes enroute to Tangier Island (TGI)airport which lies out in the Chesapeake Bay, out themouth of the Potomac River :-) Patuxent Approachkept us clear of all the military air traffic, and welanded about 45 minutes later. Tangier Island isn'treally big (maybe a couple of miles around) with lotsof history dating back to the 1600s.

This is definitely a 'must-land’ airport!

Our B&B host, Grace, picked us up in the STRETCH-limo golf cart and dropped us at 'The FishermansCorner' Restaurant. After dinner, Grace was kind




enough to lend us her personal golf cart (SMALLisland, no wide roads for cars but wide enough for 2golf carts to pass each other).

Normally, she doesn't loan out her golf cart, but shefigured if we could build our airplanes then fly them allthe way from California to the middle of theChesapeake Bay, we could safely drive her golf cart!

We had a great time driving around and checking outthis little 'getaway' island, and finished the evening witha root-beer float from the ice cream shop. I’m planningon coming back with Victoria next time around andspend some time walking along the beach.

Sunday morning, we departed Tangier Island (~8 milesvisibility in haze) for Lancaster (LNS), PA as Rick Grayhad let me know the Mid-Atlantic RVs were going therefor breakfast and check out an RV-8 project.

We pretty much flew the Delaware border north, talkingwith Patuxent and Potomac Approach to remain clearof the DC ADIZ. Once ‘around the corner’, we turnednorthwest towards 'Lank-ster' (that's how theypronounced it). Amish country I’m told.

I was on the Mid-Atlantic RV group radio frequency(button 1, thanks Rick!) and checked in with "Any of theMid-Atlantic folks out there?" Yep, they were, and theyhad NO idea who was going to be in the mystery 2-ship arrival joining them at Lancaster. Were THEY infor a surprise! I’d flown from Lancaster, CA toLancaster, PA; WAY TOO COOL!

We landed, following an overhead approach, about 1.5hours after leaving Tangier Island, and you shouldhave seen the look on Joe Czachorowski’s (Zack’s)face when he saw my plane on the ramp so far fromhome! ARE YOU LOST?!?

I'd flown with Zack as my lead in the RV formation lastyear at OSH. It was GREAT joining them for breakfastand touring the RV-8 project.

We made a quick stop on-field in the Pilot Shop andthen we departed as a 4-ship for a short hop toSmoketown (Q08), PA where we topped the tanks.Robert and I then departed for Parkersburg (PKB),

WV.

This 2 hour flight had us flying west at 6500' MSLabove a scattered layer AROUND (and north of) CampDavid then southwest towards PKB. It should havebeen a shorter flight but we had 30 knots of headwinddirectly on the nose.

Arrival to PKB was an overhead approach (Robert hadthat nailed down), and when we arrived to the ramp infront of Rick Gray's hangar, he had about 10 or sopeople standing line abreast. They gave Robert and Ithe big 'Wave' like the 'Wave' you see in big stadiumsduring sporting events. That was REAL GOOD of youRick! I had to stop and take a picture of that!

We got the planes de-bugged and cleaned up (I evenvacuumed out the peanut butter pretzel mess I made)then put the planes away in the old ‘Firehouse’ hangarfor the night. Also joining us for the night and justarrived from Columbia, SC was James Clark (RV-6)with his friend Paul ‘Checkmate’ Carter who’d bejoining us for the flight to Oshkosh.

Rick's wife Helen had an AWESOME dinner almostready for us, so with a few minutes to spare, Rick tookus outside to share something I've NEVER seen beforein ENTIRE life: A Potato Gun! TOTALLY amazing.After firing ‘Spudzooka’ a bit, we had a really SUPERdinner with the Gray Family: : Rick, Helen, Ricky,Kristen and Lauren.

Monday morning, we awoke to clouds and rain thatkept us ground-bound all day. We’d made the decisionthat if we didn’t takeoff by 1500 EST we’d scrub for theday which is what happened.

Making the best of it, we went to the movies to see‘Pirates of the Caribbean’, fun! Dinner was a delicious‘Taco Ring’, another favorite of the Gray family.

After dinner, we had our mission brief, presented byour appointed ‘leader’, James Clark. Flying toOshkosh’s famous intersection ‘RIPON’ for any OSHevent is busy but taking this year’s 100 YearAnniversary of Flight into account, RIPON was going tobe REALLY BUSY! We wanted to make sure we allknew the rules.

Check out the webpage ’Understanding Air Traffic




Control at EAA AirVenture Oshkosh’ for some greattips and pictures showing you what you’ll see atRIPON and beyond. LOTS of good information here!

Before the brief, I called Gary Sobek who had arrivedto OSH earlier in the day after attending the RVformation clinic at Mason City, IA. I knew that Garywould be flying in with Stu McCurdy and Falcon flight. Iwanted to know if they were allowed to fly intoOshkosh as a formation. NEGATIVE Gary toldme...well, I thought I’d ask anyway even though I knewformation flights were not allowed. The NOTAM spelledit out quite clearly; EVERYBODY IN-TRAIL, NOFORMATIONS, NO SIDE-BY-SIDE! Okay!

James gave a great brief, and we went as far as ‘walk’our arrival into OSH, complete with radio calls. We’dalso decided to fly the ‘high’ pattern entry to RIPON at2300’ MSL at 130 KTAS. I’ve flown the lower pattern(1800’ MSL @ 90 KTAS) twice before and didn’t like iteither time (70 KTAS behind a Cub is NO fun). Wewere ready for OSH!

Tuesday morning, Rick awoke at 0400 to get the firstweather brief and we followed at 0500. We arrived toPKB by 0600 and were airborne by 0640. Here's Rick'splane.

And here's James' plane, Papa Juliet;

Our route of flight took us over Dayton, OH (home ofthe Wright Bros), towards Muncie (IN), around ChicagoClass B with a landing at Rockford (RFD), Illinois 3-hours later.

We filled the tanks ($1.99/gallon), completed a finalbrief then taxied out for takeoff. During the run-up, RickGray’s plane was not passing his ‘mag’ check, so afterseveral minutes behind the ‘hold-short’ line, we taxiedback to the FBO.

My guess was that Rick had a fouled plug and wasgoing to need to shutdown, take the cowl off etc. soupon arrival to the ramp, I shutdown my plane.Magically, Rick’s plane ‘cleaned’ up and he gave me

the thumbs up. I turned the key (less than a minuteafter shutting down), and my plane started crankingEVER so slowly...NOT NOW...COME ON BABY!!!! Istopped cranking, waited a few seconds, said a fewkind words to my plane and tried again...slowcranking...and it fired! Thank goodness!

Robert, on the other hand, had shutdown with me, andwhen he saw I was finally running, turned the key onhis Eggenfellner Subaru engine and it started right up!This incident (Rick’s magneto and my starting problem)was the basis for the answer to a question that Robertwas subsequently asked at the show as he worked theEggenfellner display booth:

Question: "Did you have any problems flying here fromCalifornia?" Answer: "Yes, I was with a Lycoming thathad magneto problems and with another that hadstarting problems!" Robert’s engine never skipped abeat, especially considering he finished his flight testperiod the day BEFORE we left for OSH.

Our second attempt for departure from Rockford wassuccessful. James was lead, Rick #2, Me #3 andRobert #4; We were again on our way to RIPON, alongwith several hundred OTHER planes!

At 20nm from RIPON, we finally picked up ATIS andfrom the ‘gaggle’, fell into a close trail formation as wewanted EVERYBODY else out there to see us! A groupof 4 planes is easier to see than a single ship was ourthinking.

Our plan was loosen the trail as we neared RIPON butjust enough where we didn’t have planes trying to cutinto our flight. It was interesting that as we nearedRIPON, I saw only one or two planes in the distancethough they were at the lower altitude.

The GPS showed less than 3 miles to RIPON, still noother planes in sight at 2300’ MSL, and then we heardon the radio "Attention all aircraft, Oshkosh is closed toarrivals. If you’ve passed RIPON, begin holding atRush Lake. If you’re at RIPON, make left turns aroundthe city, and everybody else, hold where you are. DoNOT continue to RIPON, do NOT pass FISK, theairport is closed."

I glanced at the GPS and it showed 1.3nm to RIPON. Ithought that James would start left turns immediatelybut he did so about 15 seconds later...over RIPON! Wewere holding over RIPON (with Rush Lake in thebackground.

After a few circuits, we could see that our 4-ship RV




flight were the only planes circling at 2300’ MSL overRIPON...WE OWNED RIPON!!!!

With that in mind, and knowing that there might besome ‘Bozo’ out there still inbound to RIPON, wetightened up our 4-ship to a nice trail formation. I cantell you that I felt much safer flying circuits, in trail with3 great friends, around the one point in America whereall inbound arrivals to the biggest airshow in the world,were also aiming towards!!!

We continued to hold for about 15 minutes while theentrants from the AirVenture Cup Race were crossingthe finish line. With that much time to spare, I was ableto get a few pictures through my bug-spatteredwindscreen of James and Rick circling RIPON (lovethat auto-focus feature on my camera :-)

While circling, the controllers at Fisk kept us informedon holding status and such. We even heard them‘scold’ a Bonanza (Bozo) pilot who blew aroundRIPON, off our right wing, towards FISK.

Finally, we heard the airport would be opening in a fewminutes followed by "Flight of 4 holding over RIPON,check in!" What’s that?!? Talk on the radio?!? Isn’t thatFORBIDDEN?!? Not if the controllers are asking!

James jumped in immediately with "RV flight of 4holding over RIPON". And then the COOLEST thingI’ve ever heard followed on the radio from thecontrollers at FISK:

"Ok everybody, listen up! The airport is open, purpleflow procedures. EXCEPT for the RV FLIGHT, I wanteverybody else in trail, 1500 foot separation, no side bysides, everybody in trail. RV FLIGHT, proceed inboundto FISK, the airport is OPEN!!!!

Yes, it is possible to arrive as a flight to Oshkosh, Who-ya!!!! James turned inbound and we all followed, as aflight! At FISK we heard "RV Flight continue straightahead, contact tower 118.6, looking good! We didn’tneed the ‘rock your wings’ call because we were aFLIGHT :-)

Purple flow procedures had us inbound to the gravel pit

then right downwind for Runway 27. On the downwind,the tower called "RV Flight, are you landing information? Silence... I’m thinking "Ok James, we didn’tbrief THIS arrival!" James came back "RV Flightlanding in trail!" "Roger, RV Flight cleared to land.Welcome to OSH!"

And it was over...we were on the ground at Oshkosharound noontime, and it felt GOOD! I’ve said it beforeand will again: You have to fly the plane you build toOshkosh at least once in your lifetime. The feelingsyou get after landing is hard to put into words...You’reat OSH!!!!!!!!!!!!

I was able to turn off to the right onto the grass. I heldup my HBP sign and was directed east towards thelake then across the threshold of Runway 27. I taxiedwest (paralleling Runway 27) past the Warbird parkingto the RV parking.

I was parked right next to SoCAL’s Fred LaForge(Flintstone) with Gary Hart (Chief) parked next to himon the other side. This parking area amongst the RVwas set aside for the FFI pilots who’d be flyingformation during the show later in the week.

I then tied the plane down and unloaded the baggageto below the fuselage (out of the way).

The ‘Welcome Wagon’ arrived and offered to drive meto ‘Homebuilders Headquarters’ (never turn down afree ride!). I registered and was then ‘mugged’...youare presented with a large, clear, mug which sports thecolorful 100th Anniversary of Flight logo etched inaluminum plate.

Also included in the registration package are the ‘I flew




to Oshkosh 2003 in my homebuilt’ patch and the 2003Champion (Spark Plug) decal. I placed the decal on mybaggage wall next to 2000 and 2002 decals andconsider the decals my ‘I flew to Oshkosh’ badges ofhonor! Gary Sobek’s plane sports more badges thanme though!

The ‘Welcome Wagon’ then gave me a ride to mycamp spot, which lies behind the first private residenceout the west gate (near the Bus Park). I camped therelast year on the invitation from a member of my localEAA Chapter 49, Herb Carlson.

It’s a great camping location considering that I could beto the RVs area or the main flight line in less than 10minutes. For many others, the hike back to camp canbe 30 minutes or more! I was lucky to be so close :-)

Also camping with me was my friend from theRosamond Skypark, Greg Scates, who’d flown incommercially to Milwaukee then drove to OSH via arental minivan...we had ‘wheels’!

My time from Tuesday’s arrival until Saturdaymorning’s departure was spent trying to see all that Icould see knowing I’d never see it all! There are planesto see as far as the eye can see, and I found time tocheck out AeroShell Square and the ultralight area.

Robert and I caught the bus to the Seaplane Base, butwhen we arrived, a weather warning was issued for thelocal area for severe thunderstorms includinghail.....Yikes! Thunderstorms, bad...Hail, WORSE!

Thank goodness the hail never came to pass though itdid rain on us every night. Victoria had ‘Scotch-guarded’ my tent before leaving so I stayed nice anddry inside during the downpours!

I spent time walking through the exhibition booths (A,B, C & D) and got out of there spending less than$100. I wanted to spring for both the Digitrak andAltrack wing leveler and altitude hold boxes but it justwasn’t in the budget. Maybe next time...

I also spent time volunteering time to the Young Eagles

program where I volunteered 4 hours at the YoungEagles booth in the EAA Museum and another 4 hoursthe next day as groundcrew on the flightline helpingwith Young Eagle rides. I was supposed to volunteertwo more times but lost one of those days by notarriving on Monday.

Since Greg had the rental car, we were able to eat outevery night (off the EAA grounds) which was a realtreat considering the price and choice of food at theshow. I can only eat so many $3 hotdogs or $5hamburgers. If you haven’t been to OSH, I warn younow that food is way overpriced! The $1.95 soft-serveice cream cone was about the only ‘food’ I found thatwas reasonably priced.

Before driving back to the tent every night after dinner,we’d stop in at the local market to buy ice, juice andpastries/donuts for the next day’s breakfast. We putthem in the $2 Styrofoam chest we bought to keepthings cool. With breakfast and dinner covered everynight, that left me only having to buy lunch on the EAAgrounds everyday.

I also kept a chest at the plane which I stocked everynight with ice and bottled water. We could buy a caseof 24 bottles of water for about $5, and they were beingsold for $2/bottle at the show, OUCH! I didn’t mindstocking the plane every night as it was less than 10minutes walk from the tent to the plane.

On Friday, our planned 16-ship RV formation took upseveral hours briefing then waiting for clearance fortakeoff during ‘Showcase’ which starts around 1300.We were instructed to shutdown the engines, and the16 planes waited for another 30 minutes or so beforewe were told the 16-ship formation was scrubbed.

During the wait, we heard screeching tires thenwatched a Cessna 170 almost ground loop right next tous on the grass between us and the runway.

We subsequently found out we had been delayedbecause of the RV-6/Lancair mishap on Runway 27 soOshkosh Tower was using Runway 36 to keep theairport open. I’m real glad that Mike Seager was notinjured. The picture below was taken while we werewaiting to launch.

After taxiing back and getting the plane tied down, itwas too late to volunteer for my next 4 hour shift forYoung Eagles :-(

Saturday morning finally came (rats!) so after having agreat (free) breakfast for Chapter Leaders at the EAA




Nature Center, Greg and I packed up everything toload up the plane and head for home. Greg decided tojoin me for the ride home since I had and open seatand was ‘going his way’ :-) He’s been thinking ofbuying an RV for a few months now.

The planned route of flight home was to fly fromOshkosh to Grove, OK (near Tulsa) for the night thenfly home to Rosamond on Sunday morning. Greg and Ihave mutual (pilot) friends that are retired to Grove,which lies on the Lake O’ The Cherokees innortheastern Oklahoma, about a 4 hour flight. Theyinvited to stay over for the night.

Our briefing at the on-field Flight Service Station (FSS)showed we’d have local scattered clouds getting out ofOshkosh with some thunderstorms starting to developsouth of Oshkosh towards the east side of Tulsa. FSSrecommended we point the plane towards Topeka, KSbefore flying towards Tulsa as the line was movingeast and would pass by the time we arrived.

We then received our mandatory departure briefing atthe booth next to FSS. It takes less that 5 minutes andpretty much tells you after takeoff, turn east over thelake at 500’ AGL for 5nm, then you are on your own!After the briefing, you are given a pinkish piece ofpaper with all the departure rules, and you MUST showthis to the ground personnel when taxiing out fortakeoff. No ‘ticky’, no takeoff!

We packed the plane then pushed it out for startup.While the flag-persons were clearing the area for us tostart, Gary Sobek took a nice picture of Greg and Ileaving Oshkosh.

We taxied east then south along the main flight line tothe Runway 36 threshold, monitoring118.9. "RV,cleared for takeoff...RV turn right, now" and we wereflying east at 500’ in less than a minute. A few morepictures of Oshkosh as we flew away the focused ongetting around Fond du Lac and pointed towardsTopeka!

We could see the dark clouds to the south as wecontinued west, south west towards Topeka. I was ableto get flight following from Chicago Center, and alongthe way, talked with Flight Watch who advised on‘proposed’ VFR destination points.

As we neared Topeka, with the thunderstorms buildingeast of Kirksville, MO, we could see that it was okay toturn southbound towards Grove. The picture below isthe edge of the last of the weather we flew around.

Our flight path from there took us within 5 miles of theonce ‘TFRed’ Whiteman AFB, home of the B-2bomber.

With the bit of ‘detouring’ west we did, I decided to stopfor fuel just south of Whiteman AFB at Clinton (GLY),MO, a nice country airport! From there, it was less thanan hour to Grove where our friend Gary Trippenseewas waiting for us in his hangar. He and his wifeConnie own a nice Grumman Tiger and Luscombe.

After a nice Italian dinner on the lake waterfront, Garyoffered to take us for an evening boat ride since we stillhad about 2 hours of sunlight left. I’d packed myswimsuit, and with his boat neighbor offering up awater-ski, I had the chance to ski for awhile (boating ismy other hobby).

As I skied, I enjoyed the thought that earlier in the day,I was in Wisconsin, and now I was water-skiing inOklahoma...life is good flying an RV! We stayed out onthe water to watch the sunset then motored back to thedock and covered up the boat.

Sunday morning, our online DUATS weather briefshowed we’d have great weather all the way homeexcept for some small buildups showing on the radarjust west Tulsa. A phone call to FSS told me we’d be inthe clear once we passed I-35, and they suggestedPonca City then Gage and direct to Borger (BGD), TX.

We landed BGD 3 hours after leaving Grove where wefueled.

We continued towards St. Johns Airpark (SJN) flying at10.5K MSL over New Mexico with about 5 knots ofheadwind (thank you!). Victoria and I have seenheadwinds of 30 or more out this ways before so nocomplaints. As a result of little headwind, I opted topass on SJN for fuel and continued to Payson (PAN),AZ, a 3.5 hour leg from Borger.

Payson lies in the Tonto National Forest, betweenSedona (picture below) and Phoenix, at an elevation of5157’. It's a beautiful area located near the center ofArizona!

Temperatures are usually cooler by 15 degrees or




more compared to Phoenix. Victoria and I may one dayretire to this area we like the area a LOT! Chuck andPam Miller (RV-8A) already have property on theMazatzal Mountain Air Park located on the Paysonairport so they may have us as neighbors in 20 yearsor so! There is a very nice campground on the airport ifyou are looking for a place to camp.

After having a Prime Rib dinner in the Payson Airportrestaurant, we flew the last 3 hours home toRosamond, crossing the Colorado River at Needles,CA. Near Daggett, the headwinds we expected didn’tlet us down so we were bumped around a bit lettingdown over Edwards AFB into Rosamond (L00).

Total trip time on the hobbs was 41.6 hours, and I used6 quarts of oil. Other than the starting problem inRockford, the plane performed well. I don’t regret‘hocking’ all the pink slips to all my vehicles to buy theonce-new Lycoming O-360, now at 1531.6 hours.

It’s always good to be back home after flying a fun trip!Thank you Van for designing a plane that can be builtby ordinary people!

**************************For those of you who think this trip might be a littledaunting, I want to let you all know that it is really NOTa long trip! Getting there is just a series of short trips(~3-hour, ~450nm legs for me) in the RV, and whenput all those trips together, you’ll see that you cantravel REALLY far, REALLY fast!

All my preflight planning was completed atAeroplanner’s website, which is free to all EAAmembers.

Here’s a breakdown of miles and times for my trip;

Trip distances in nautical miles/hours:Rosamond (L00) – St. Johns (SJN): 437 / 3.5St. Johns – Dalhart (DHT): 347 / 3.0Dalhart – Bentonville (VBT): 405 / 3.0Bentonville – Smithville (0A3): 409 / 3.1Smithville – Kinston (ISO): 403 / 3.0Kinston – Stafford (RMN): 198 / 2.5Stafford – Tangier Island (TGI): 77 / 0.7Tangier – Lancaster (LNS): 138 / 1.0Lancaster – Parkersburg (PKB): 243 / 3.0Parkersburg – Rockford (RFD): 389 / 3.0Rockford – Oshkosh (OSH): 110 / 1.5 (includes OSHground time)Oshkosh – Grove (GMJ): 525 / 4.0Grove – Borger (BGD): 328 / 3.0Borger – Payson (PAN): 498 / 3.5Payson – Rosamond (L00): 342 / 3.2

Total Mileage: ~5000 nm (~5750 sm)

Total Hobbs Time: ~42 hoursAverage Speed: ~120 nm/hour

When comparing total mileage to hobbs time, I’vefound that for our really long trips (>2000nm), weusually average around 120-125 nm/hour for the entiretrip.

So if you are curious as to how many hours you willrealistically put on your RV for long trips, divide thenautical miles by 120 to get hours. Then take ‘Hours’times your planes fuel burn (gallons/hour) to get thenumber of gallons you’ll burn. This is usually a BIGnumber so that’s why I look for CHEAP gas along theway. Every little bit helps!

I’ve now made several flights coast to coast in the RV,and I’m glad that I could lead the way (as Gary Sobekdid for me in 2000) for a couple of first time Oshkoshpilots, Robert, Todd (and Sue). It was fun guys (andgal)! I look forward to many more trips to Oshkosh inyears to come :-)

You are going to LOVE your RV, especially after youfly it to OSH!

So builders, keep poundin’ them rivets as it’s ALLworth it! Paul & Victoria.



Plane of the MonthRichard and Wilma Brantley’s Diamond Star DA-40

Richard G. Brantley

Having had two heart bypasses, I thought I would begrounded forever! Then I met Tom George Mitchell,who also had two bypasses and other health concerns,had recently gotten his medical and bought himself aCessna 172. I thought, “Hell, if he can do it, I can doit.” After all, I was retired now and had plenty of time tojump through the hoops and harass the FAA. I told mywife Wilma that I planned to regain my medical andbuy a plane. She immediately started looking for flightinstruction.

I began my research in the summer of 2001 by re-subscribing to all my favorite magazines, Flying, Plane& Pilot, Trade-a-Plane online and printed, AviationSafety, and Aviation Consumer and spendingcountless hours on the Internet. I had always wantedto own a brand new plane, fresh from the factory withno previous history or abuse. After a year of research,it appeared that new airplanes came in two flavors, oldtechnology of the 50’s with new avionics and moderncomposites with all the new bells and whistles.

While leaning toward composites, I developed anattraction to the all-electric aircraft, narrowing the fieldconsiderably. I then concentrated on Cirrus andDiamond, the only two that appealed to me. I returnedto the Internet to collect information on those twoplanes, though by this time, I was somewhat turned offby Cirrus’ parachute system, their poor safety record,and higher price.

I planned to visit both factories and chose Ontario’sDiamond plant first because my wife wanted to seeNiagara Falls. In October, 2002, our first-day tour didnot meet my expectations since non-pilot personnel didnot realize I was there to buy a plane. After saying, “Idon’t want to see your lobby. I want to fly an airplane,”things got serious. On the second-day tour, ourcustomer service guide disappeared, replaced by apilot who showed us the inner workings of thecomposite construction, safety features, and high techavionics workshop. We saw the plane in all stages ofconstruction, from raw materials for the composite tothe application of decals.

Because it was an IMC day, we met yet another pilot,IFR certified, who took us up. As we approached theDA-40, he lifted the magnificent canopy, hinged at thefront, and directed me into the left seat. I felt like afighter pilot, my ole double-bypassed heart beatingfast! I said, “It’s been 18 years, so you better stayclose.” He said, “Mr. Brantley, I figure my ass is themost important ass in this plane and you can bet I’ll

stay close.” Little did we know at that time that he wasJeff Owen, the VP of Diamond, who wanted to meet aman who had come so far to fly one of his planes.

The first thing that impressed me was the incrediblevisibility. Wilma noted that even in the back seat, theview was superb. Ground handling was standard.Take off and flight maneuvers were crisp thanks to thecontrol rods, rather than cable. I loved the stick actionthat took me back to my young days in taildraggers.

For an old dog, the avionics were bewildering (andcontinue to be), but the co-pilot VP proceeded toexecute the perfect, coupled approach with ease andgrace. I knew the plane was mine when I greased itonto the Canadian runway with no sweat after so manyyears. Cirrus was seriously gone from my mind! Afterbuying my lunch, Jeff filled out the paperwork, whichwas unusual since he had to assign me a dealer - thefactory had never sold an airplane! We had the uniqueexperience of picking out the color and tail number.My ole, twice- bypassed heart told me to sign up forevery option available.

By January, 2003, our white with red Diamond StarDA-40 was ready for us. We originally planned to goget her, flying to Canada in Scott Peters’ 182 with BuzzWitherington, Wilma’s flight instructor. However, theCanadian winter was particularly harsh so the Diamondpeople flew N585BW to us. She now resides in a DKXport, awaiting her hangar (to be built soon, we hope).

We have found the DA-40 to be comfortable with fourleather seats, leaving plenty of room for the two of usand luggage. She’s easy to fly and economical,averaging less than 10 gallons per hour. We love theversatility in that we can just go bore holes in the skyon a lazy day or take longer trips to visit friends,cruising at 145. Our mechanic John Keigansappreciates it from the ease-of-maintenancestandpoint. He was so impressed that he took thefactory course in Canada and has since become acertified Diamond Maintenance Facility at HighlandAviation, in Crossville.

Every time I walk up to “Lizzie,” she makes my olebypassed heart skip a beat, a third class medicallycertificated heartbeat!

Rob

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