July 1999  EAA Chapter 108   PO Box 1141  Shalimar, FL  32579-5141   http://members.xoom.com/eaa108/

The next chapter meeting is scheduled for July 20, 1999 at 7:00 p.m..  SSgt Kevin Brown from Eglin AFB will be discussing recent changes to the Eglin Approach Control procedures.

Destin Young Eagles Update

A small Young Eagles day was held at Destin Airport on June 12, 1999.  Several youth were flown, but the real news was that Mike Scroggins flew his 100th Young Eagle.  Way to go Mike!  Another larger Young Eagles day is being planned for August 7 at Crestview.  At least 16 students from Starbase Atlantis will be there and several other youth are being recruited.  If you know some interested teen-agers or are interested in helping out, give Gerry Poltorak a call at 862-0652

Miscellaneous

Chapter E-Gram Available

The first EAA Chapter E-Gram was recently distributed by email.  If you have access to email and would like to receive the E-Gram, send your email address to bdavis@eaa.org.

The Celebrities Among Us

The July, 1999 edition of Sport Aviation features a spiffy photo on page 13 of Gerry Poltorak and Jim Jansa at a recent SERFI planning meeting.  It's humbling to know such huge celebrities.  Good photo guys and we're looking forward to the new, improved SERFI.

OOPS!

Last month, the genius that is your newsletter editor got mixed up about who had paid their 1999 dues.  Therefore, a few chapter members (who paid their 1999 dues) didn't receive a June newsletter on time.  Those members should receive the June newsletter with this one.  The "genius" apologizes for the delay.

Looking for Nerds

If you've ever wanted to learn how a web page works, this is your big chance.  John Jones is looking for a little help digitizing some old scrapbooks to add to the web page.  All you need is a computer and a little time.  Contact John Jones at 682-3867 or jonesj@bsc.net if you're interested.

Electronic Newsletter Available

Folks with Internet access can now receive the newsletter electronically if they prefer.  Printing and mailing costs the chapter about 50 cents per newsletter.  Electronic delivery will save the chapter a little money and you'll receive a few extras that aren't in the paper version.  Let John Jones know if you'd prefer an electronic copy instead of a paper copy.

Meeting Ideas

The Chapter leadership is looking for ideas for meeting programs.  It is hoped that some programs on various aspects of aircraft construction can be scheduled later this year.  Topics might include sheet metal, composites, electrical systems, wood, fabric, and welding.  See Bob Sutherland with your ideas.

Treasurer's Report - In June, the chapter had an account balance of $525.38.

Going My Way?

The chapter is looking for ways to match members and Young Eagles with empty seats.  One idea was to use the web page.  Other ideas might be an answering machine or a list posted somewhere.  Bring your ideas to the next meeting for discussion.
 

About 15 folks made it to the Crestview Airport on Saturday, July 17, 1999 for ice cream.  The weather threatened during the entire afternoon, but held off enough that several folks did a little flying.  Everyone enjoyed themselves immensely!
 

...you pull out of your driveway and start to drive with your car centered on the dashed line.
...you pull into the parking lot and start turning off the Radios, Electrical equipment, ... and where's the dang Mixture???
...you use the emergency brake to drop the flaps.
...you safety-wire the gas cap on your Pinto.
...you roll down the window and shout "CLEAR!" before starting.
...you brake through left turns and accelerate through right turns.
...you drive home from work and sequence the cars a four way stop sign.
...you drive into a fog bank and immediately stare at the dashboard.
...you start logging the odometer readings on your car.
...you are lost in a strange city and you let go of the wheel and get out your sectional (without pulling over or stopping)
...tell the cop that you are allowed to go up to 250 in the TCA.
...you pull back on the steering wheel at "rotate speed."
...you get out of your car and look for tiedown ropes.
...you watch the local news for ceilings, visibilities and winds aloft.
...You reach for the microphone to talk to the people in the back seat.
...You attempt to steer your Buick with the brake and clutch.
 

At the ice cream social the other day, I observed several plane loads of skydivers jump into the Crestview Airport.  A brief conversation about skydivers ensued and I got to wondering what extra hazards might exist around a skydiving airport.  I don't have any experience with the skydiving operation at Crestview and the comments below don't necessarily apply to them, but the skydivers got me thinking.

I looked up the skydiving reports on the web site of NASA's Aviation Safety Reporting System (human-factors.arc.nasa.gov/IHS/ASRS/).  The ASRS is a program that supplies certain immunities to pilots that self-report aviation incidents within 10 days of their occurence.  Apparently skydiving incidents are common enough to warrant their own database.  The skydiving database contained the 50 most recent incidents reported to ASRS and I spent several minutes reading about the hazards of mixing planes and skydivers.

Anyway, after reading a few incidents, several trends began to emerge.  Most of the incidents involved planes that were flying along, minding their own business when skydivers appeared out of nowhere.  Nearly all of the pilots were in contact with some type of ATC and many of the jump planes complied with the skydiving FARs including the filing of NOTAMs and announcing jumps on the radio.

Although both pilots and skydivers may have stretched the FARS a little at times, the real problem was lack of good communication.  Many times controllers failed to forward warnings to pilots passing through or near drop zones.  Pilots frequently did not receive the NOTAMs of skydiving activity and radio calls to announce jumps were frequently not heard by the pilots that needed the warnings.

The other major trend seemed to be skydiving on arrival and departure routes to major airports (DFW was frequently mentioned).  Many of these reports came from pilots of heavy, airline jets that had jumpers pass a little too close.  As pilots there isn't much we can do about having jumpers in the wrong place, except be sure to ask ATC what them know.  Even that may not work.

The overall lesson seems to be "Keep your eyes and ears open" when near known jump areas.  Listen for the jump pilots and if ATC doesn't volunteer any info, ask them what they know.  Also be sure to check the NOTAMs before your flight.  If you've been flying for several hours, get on the radio and check for updated information.  In the case of Crestview, it might not be a bad idea to visit the skydiving school and get to know those guys.  After all, it's better to meet skydivers on the ground than in the sky.   John Jones
 

 

This particular Varieze started out as a plans-built project of a builder in California in the early 1980's.  The first builder finished the majority of the fuselage then sold the project to an Air Force sergeant.  This fellow happened to be a KC-10 loadmaster who was soon transferred from Travis AFB, California to Barksdale AFB, Louisiana.  After a few well-placed favors, the project was flown on a KC-10 to Louisiana.  (Hence, the amazing altitude and airspeed.)  Very little work was done by the second owner and the project was eventually sold to Ed's brother and a partner at Barksdale.  The partner eventually sold out and Ed's brother was transferred overseas.

At that point, Ed bought the project and hauled it in a rental truck from Louisiana to his assignment at Wright-Patterson AFB in Ohio.  After completing his Master's degree at the Air Force Institute of Technology, Ed was transferred to Kirtland AFB in Albuquerque, New Mexico and took the project with him.  While in New Mexico, Ed completed and flew his Varieze.  The photos with this article were taken during the test flights.

Ed installed a Lycoming O-235-L2C rated at 118 hp that had served 4000 hours in a C-152 and then flew 160 hours in a Cozy.  Cruise is about 140 KTAS at 2650 rpm using 5.5 gph yielding a range of 650 miles.  Ed's favorite toy in the instrument panel is the pitot-static computer by Rocky Mountain Instrument.  It calculates true airspeed and density altitude instantly.

Ed says the plane took about 1500 hours, much of which was typical doing and undoing.  His biggest "undoing" was having to sand off much of the paint after a bad paint job.  Ed says he's only made a few changes from the plans.  He installed Long Eze gear instead of Varieze gear and he recently installed new elevators to improve handling.  Future modifications include wheel pants, nose gear door, paint stripes, and spinner.  According to Cliff Nunnery, each of these mods will add at least 10 knots!
 

August 7, 1999 - Young Eagles Day, Sikes Airport, Crestview, FL
August 17, 1999 - Monthly Chapter Meeting