Vol. 2, No. 9  SEPTEMBER 2009

Our highlight this month is the EAA Inter-chapter Fly-out to Disley, Saskatchewan the weekend of August 29 and 30 involving EAA Chapters 63, 1410, and 154.

The flight out to Disley in my 1947 Luscombe wasn't without excitement either. We had an unscheduled fuel stop at the little hamlet of Niedpath.

Ales Burton, chief flight instructor, Mount Royal College, Calgary, wrote an excellent and timely piece on Mid-Air Collisions.

And finally, under 'Aviation History' I found this interesting article about Japanese Underwater Aircraft Carriers.

 Enjoy!  - Jack Dueck, Editor

A bunch if they attended the first annual, EAA Western Chapter Fly-In at Disley, Saskatchewan, in late August. An intrepid group of aviators and aviation enthusiasts led by Jeff Seaborn from High River Chapter 1410, Jack Neima of Winnipeg Chapter 63, and Perry Casson of Regina Chapter 154 departed their home bases Saturday morning enroute to Disley, SK, where they were welcomed by their gracious hosts Vic and Breeze Zubot. 

Vic’s private 2200 foot turf strip is located one-half mile east of Disley and about 20 miles northwest of Regina, just beside the Q’Appelle Valley. Read more

Greg MacGillivray and I are on our fly-out flight to Disley Saskatchewan. We had fueled up in Medicine Hat about an hour ago, and my Luscombe could not have possibly burned through 15 gallons (US) of fuel. Anyway, the engine is now purring so we continue on.

Suddenly, silence! Isn't it amazing how quiet things get at 5500 ft. ASL when the engine in an aircraft shuts down!

I try the right tank again and get a faint pop, and then only silence. Priming doesn't help, and I say to Greg; "Guess we're going down!"  Read more

Several years ago I was climbing out of Minneapolis in C-FWXD, our beautiful Cessna 206. It was a hot, bumpy afternoon and I was heading generally northwest. With the blinding sun on my left, I was attempting to get what sun protection was possible by hiding behind the vertical cabin member on the left of the windscreen.

Suddenly, out of my left sight perspective I saw the image of a large, very near, low-wing aircraft crossing my pathway from left to right. By instant instinct reaction, I threw the aircraft in a tight right downward maneuver, saving the day and scaring the dickens out of my three passengers. This was way too close for comfort. The other pilot never saw me since I was below him and on his right. I was not looking to my left in order to avoid the sun. Conditions were perfect for a potential for a midair collision. Read more

In many ways HIJMS I-400 was decades ahead of her time. She was the world’s largest submarine with a length of 400-ft and a surface displacement of 3,530 tons. Above her main deck rose a 115-ft. long, 12-ft diameter, hangar housing three torpedo-bombers. These float planes were rolled out through a massive hydraulic door onto an 85-ft pneumatic catapult, where they were rigged for flight, fueled, armed, launched, and after landing alongside, lifted back aboard with a powerful hydraulic crane. The I-400 was equipped with a snorkel, radar, radar detectors, and capacious fuel tanks that gave her a range of 37,500 miles: One and a half times around the world. She was armed with eight torpedo tubes, a 5.5-in 50-cal deck gun, a bridge 25mm antiaircraft gun, and three triple 25 mm A/A mounts atop her hangar. The advent of guided missiles and atomic bombs transformed her from dinosaur to an overspecialized undersea menacing strategic threat. Read more