Upcoming Tour Stops October 7-11
Pittsburg, Pennsylvania
Allegheny County Airport (AGC)
October 11-14
Erie, Pennsylvania
Erie International Airport
(ERI)
October 14-18 Elmira, New York
Elmira/Corning Regional (ELM)
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Copperstate Ready For the
Weekend
The last regional fly-in of the 2004 flying season, the Copperstate Regional EAA Fly-In, is getting ready for its 32nd annual event, to be held October 7-10, at the Phoenix Regional Airport between Maricopa and Casa Grande.
The Arizona Council of EAA Chapters have prepared a full slate of activities, including air shows at 1 p.m. Friday and Saturday and noon Sunday; forums and workshops scheduled all three days; a special Family Day on Sunday; more than 500 aircraft on display including homebuilts, vintage, military, ultralights and light-sport aircraft; and more.
Many aircraft will compete for judge’s prizes, which are awarded at Saturday night’s awards banquet at the Holiday Inn in Casa Grande. A limited number of tickets will be on sale during the fly-in. (read
more)
Q & A:
Question
of the Week Question for EAA Aviation
Information Services:
I am a 63 year-old ultralight pilot with an ASC certificate and registration with 255 flight hours in my logbook. This year I attended ground school and passed the Private Pilot written test. Will this be enough to get a sport pilot certificate?
Answer: No, the private pilot knowledge test cannot be applied toward a sport pilot certificate. The FAA has indicated that a sport pilot applicant will
be required to take the sport pilot knowledge test.
How can we help you? To ask a question regarding government issues, e-mail govt@eaa.org. If you have a question
about registration, airmen, aircraft and medical certification, safety
records, performance, or any other matter, e-mail infoserv@eaa.org.
We are pleased to provide this info to EAA members as a membership
benefit. To ensure that this service continues, renew your membership or
join EAA today by calling 800/843-3612 or 920/426-5912.
October
2004
EAA Desktop Calendar
William L. Skliar’s Explorer PG-1 Aqua Glider, or
Bayou Bird as it was nicknamed, first appeared in the May 1961 EAA Sport Aviation. The designer described the aircraft as a “boat-towed, two-winged, primary-class, water-ski seaplane glider.” Bayou Bird retired to EAA in 1970, where it was displayed at the museum. It now shares a cozy spot in EAA’s Attic, next to another rare bird—a 1930 Peel Glider Boat.
Visit the
EAA website and choose one of five different resolutions to best suit your screen.
SpaceShipOne Wins Ansari X
Prize! EAA president congratulates fellow member Rutan on accomplishment The long hours of work and anxiety paid off for EAA member Burt Rutan and the SpaceShipOne project team
Monday, as pilot Brian Binnie took the homebuilt spacecraft into space for the second time in five days to win the $10 million Ansari X Prize.
EAA president Tom Poberezny, who witnessed Mike Melvill's successful first
prize launch the previous Wednesday, immediately contacted Rutan to express congratulations to him and the entire project team.
“I told Burt how proud we were of this achievement,” Poberezny said. “What they did was a technological leap that was done safely and with the highest standards, the way EAA members have always accepted a challenge." (read more)
Binnie Describes the 'Money Flight' While he was wishing “cheerio” to family and friends before Monday’s SpaceShipOne flight, pilot Brian Bennie inadvertently took on 12 ounces more weight than planned.
“My mother-in-law was there with a cup of coffee, she put her arms around me, wished me well, and this coffee went down the back of my neck,” he said at the news conference following Monday's successful flight of the homebuilt spacecraft, which captured the $10 million Ansari X Prize. “So we were about 12 ounces heavier than planned.” (read more)
FAA Administrator Witnesses Historic SS1 Launch FAA Administrator Marion Blakey and FAA Associate Administrator for Commercial Space Transportation Patricia Grace Smith
were on hand at Mojave Airport for Monday's Ansari X Prize-clinching
flight by SpaceShipOne. She also visited XCOR Aerospace, Inc, located on the Mojave flight line several buildings from Scaled Composites, and met with XCOR President Jeff Greason, whose company is developing its own private space vehicle, the
Xeros. "This is an enormous step, because it what it does is establish in the minds of the average American the fact that this is something you can actually consider in your lifetime-space tourism-the ability of people as passengers to go into space," Blakey said. (read more)
Burt Rutan to Speak at University of Texas/EAA Chapter 187 Event The University of Texas and EAA Chapter 187, Austin, welcome fellow EAA member and SpaceShipOne designer Burt Rutan, who will present a seminar on October 29 at the LBJ Library on the UT campus. Rutan, president of Scaled Composites, Mohave, California, will review the efforts and contributions of those involved in the pursuit of the Ansari X Prize and, more broadly, the aspect of making future space flight affordable to private citizens. The free, open-to-the-public seminar begins at 10 a.m. and runs through noon.
Fuddy Duddy Makes Triumphant Homecoming
During EAA ‘Salute To Veterans’ National Tour A rare World War II-era B-17 bomber, which had been sidelined for several years before returning to the sky this summer, makes a proud homecoming October 14-18, as EAA’s national “Salute to Veterans” Tour comes to Elmira, New York. The B-17 Fuddy Duddy, owned by the Wings of Eagles Discovery Center in Elmira, will return to its hometown for the five-day tour stop. This airplane, one of only about a dozen airworthy B-17s left in the world, was inactive until it was resurrected to fill out the remainder of EAA’s national tour this summer. The airplane was leased to EAA after that organization’s B-17, Aluminum Overcast, suffered damage in a landing-gear incident at Van Nuys, California, in May. That airplane is now back at Oshkosh undergoing full restoration. (read more)
UPDATE: EAA Reviewing New TSA Flight Training Security Document
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) released its new pilot candidate security background check requirements on Monday, September 20, 2004. The new requirements are in response to the mandates of Public Law 108-176, called "Vision 100 - Century of Aviation Reauthorization Act." In Vision 100, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) takes over responsibility for managing this aviation security background check from the Department of Justice. EAA is reviewing the new rule (49 CFR Part 1552) to determine how all the new training categories will affect all of our members. While conducting this review, EAA felt it critical to provide our members with an outline on the new rule and its effect on all pilots. (read
more)
EAA Brings Together Government, Industry to Develop Warbird Flight Experience Operations Policy
The Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA) and its Warbirds of America division used their leadership roles to bring together government and the aviation community, in a session that will provide guidance for future policy regarding public flight experiences in warbird aircraft. The meeting, held at the EAA Aviation Center in Oshkosh on Sept. 30, was designed to develop a consensus for continued passenger operations by these historic aircraft. (read more)
EAA Chapter 1 Celebrates Aviation Open House About 60 aircraft flew into Flabob Airport, Riverside, California, for the annual EAA Chapter One Open House on September 18. Though most people came from California, a few managed to fly in from Oregon, Nevada and Arizona. They brought antiques, classics, homebuilts, warbirds, and ultralights, and several hundred people drove in. Jim Pyle, one of the organizers for the day noted that “it’s always been a real laid back affair, where the focus is on socializing and taking advantage of the fact that everyone there enjoys some form of aviation.” Flabob, long considered a bastion of grassroots aviation, has been going through a refurbishment process since the Wathen Foundation purchased the airport and established its headquarters there. Along with new tenants, it has brought a considerable amount of highly successful youth and educational related activities to the airport. EAA Chapter One remains an active organization that stimulates a lot of homebuilding and restoration activity on the field. And though a lot of new buildings have been erected at Flabob, it still preserves its 1940’s ambiance.
Sportsman 2+2 Adds Amphibious Floats
The versatile GlasStar Sportsman 2+2 has become even more so with the addition of amphibious Montana floats. “What our test pilots found remarkable is the ease of handling in the air, on the water and on runways,” said Glasair Aviation President Mikael Via. “As an amphibian it is every bit as easy to control in takeoff or landing as in trike or taildragger configuration. And the beauty of it is in the fact that you can convert the aircraft to all three modes of landing in one day, with plenty of time for flying in between.” Converting to amphibian increases gross weight from 2,350 to 2,500 pounds. Sea level water takeoffs at gross break the surface in 15 seconds or 1,300 feet. Splashdowns occur at approximately 40 knots. Range with full fuel is 600 miles with a cruise speed of 110 knots. The 4-place homebuilt can be converted to a spacious bush plane in about a minute by taking out the rear seats. The Sportsman 2+2 is being sold in standard and pre-built kits, both featuring pre-drilled, matched-hole parts. A factory program to assist builders desiring fast track construction is now booking two and three week assembly packages. Financing is also available to qualified builders. For more information, visit
www.glasairaviation.com or call 360/435-8533, ext. 232.
IndUS Thorp T211
Sport LSA Gains Momentum
IndUs Aviation’s entry into the light-sport aircraft market is the
Thorp T211 Sport. The prototype of the legendary design has accumulated
nearly 100 hours. “The combination of the T211 airframe with the
Jabiru 3300 has worked out better than we had hoped,” said Indus Sales
and Marketing Director Scott Severen. With climb rates around 1,400 fpm
solo and 800 fpm dual (on hot, humid Dallas summer days) and cruise
speeds over 100 knots, Indus calls it the “Thorpedo.” The smaller
Jabiru 85 horse will work great for this airframe, says IndUS Aviation
owner Ram Pattisapu,. “The Jabiru is a much lighter engine than the
Lycoming or Continental, and our 85 hp prototype should fly in the next
few weeks.” For more information, visit www.indusav.com.
Williams TurboFan For A700 AdamJet Certified
Williams International recently received FAA Type Certification for the 1,568-pound thrust FJ33-4A-15 turbofan engine on September 10. The FJ33 will power Adam Aircraft’s A700 AdamJet, making that aircraft the first in the Very Light Jet category to have a certified powerplant. “In 180 hours of flight tests, the FJ33 has performed flawlessly,” said Adam CEO Rick Adam. “In addition, we are seeing fuel flows and other operating economics that are at least a third better than any jet on the market.” During development, no configuration changes other than software were required, an industry first, said Williams President Gregg Williams. “We achieved all performance goals with large efficiency and temperature margins, and all certification testing went extremely well,” he added.
After 180 hours of flight time, Adam says initial Type Certification is still on schedule for 2005. With seven seats, a fully enclosed aft lavatory, high-speed cruise of 340ktas, 41,000-foot ceiling, and a 1,100 nm range, the A700 is priced at $2.1 million, less than half the price of today’s entry-level business jets. TIA received for the A500 The other half of the Adams equation—the A500 piston centerline twin—achieved its own milestone recently when it received FAA Type Inspection Authorization (TIA). That paves the way for FAA test pilots evaluation of the aircraft for final Type Certification. To learn more, visit www.adamaircraft.com.
Chambliss Wins Fourth National Title
Kirby Chambliss piloted his Red Bull Zivko Edge 540 to his fourth national title at the U.S. National Aerobatic Championships in Denison, Texas. Chambliss captured first place in the Unlimited Class with a score of 85.49 percent to beat Debbie
Rihn-Harvey’s 82.07 percent. The national title makes Chambliss only the second pilot to score four championships. The late Leo Loudenslager captured seven title is the 1980s. Chambliss will lead the 2005 USA Unlimited Aerobatic Team when it competes at the World Championships next year, July 12-23, in Burgos, Spain. Other pilots include Chandy Clanton, Vicki Cruse, and Janet
Fitzke.
Air Show Planned to Honor Cochrane
Desert Regional Airport in Thermal, California, has been renamed the Jacqueline Cochran Airport in honor of the legendary aviatrix. Jackie Cochran flew and tested the first turbo-supercharger ever installed on an aircraft engine. She was the first person to fly above 20,000 feet with an oxygen mask. In 1935, she was the first woman to participate in the Bendix Trans-continental Race. Two years later she won the women’s division (third overall) and in 1938, won the whole thing. Other achievements include setting an altitude record of 33,000 feet (1938); flying future president Lyndon Johnson to the Mayo clinic for emergency kidney surgery, saving his life (1948); serving as company pilot for Canadair, Lockheed and Northrop; earning the USAF Distinguished Flying Cross (1969); being named Honorary Fellow, Society of Experimental Test Pilots (1971); and being inducted into the Aviation Hall of Fame (1971). She died in 1980, holding more speed and altitude records than anyone else in the world.
A dedication air show will be held on November 5 and the local Ninety-Nines chapter Cochrane organized is involved in the planning. The chapter is also raising money for a bust of Cochran for the airport. For more info on the dedication, contact Cindy at
cbdavis@rivcoeda.org or rose.hollstrom@verizon.net
(760/409-7392).
Download Your Own SpaceShipOne
Now you can make your own (1/48 scale) SpaceShipOne paper model with a click of the mouse on the Currell Graphics website. The free paper model measures seven inches long, and comes in two different versions. Simply download at
http://www.currell.net/models/mod_free.htm, print it on 67# cover stock, cut out and glue it together. The site includes several other free paper models, including one of Barnaby Wainfan's Facetmobiles and several air ships.
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