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October
3, 2008 Volume 8,
Number 52 |
OFFICIALS CONFIRM
WRECKAGE IS STEVE FOSSETT'S AIRPLANE
 The
Bellanca Super Decathlon in which adventurist Steve Fossett (EAA 562868)
went missing 13 months ago has been found near Mammoth Lakes,
California, authorities confirmed Thursday morning. Madera County,
Calif., Sheriff John Anderson announced at a press conference that
wreckage had Fossett’s registration number, N240R. He also said there
were no remains found at the crash site. The FAA’s fatal accident
report issued Thursday morning also confirms the identification of the
aircraft. Read
more
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EAA/WOA MEMBER TO DEBUT
WORLD'S ONLY CIVILIAN-FLYABLE HARRIER
 The
general public will get its first look at the world's only privately
owned, civilian-flyable Harrier jump jet on Saturday, October 11, when
former Marine pilot and EAA/Warbirds of America member Art Nalls brings
his Sea Harrier F/A2 to the Culpeper Airport (CRJ) Air Fest in
Virginia. Read
more
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SKYCATCHER FLIGHT TESTING
TO CONTINUE WITH RECONFIGURED P-1
 Cessna
Aircraft Company will resume flight testing of the Model 162 SkyCatcher
as soon as it reconfigures another test aircraft, says Angela Landwehr,
manager of media relations. The original prototype, which had more than
100 flights and 128 flight hours on it, was lost when it crashed two
weeks ago during a power-on, cross-controlled spin test. The installed
BRS system did not properly deploy, she said, so the test pilot
successfully bailed out and parachuted to safety.
While the accident investigation
continues, Cessna is reconfiguring its first production aircraft (P-1)
to resume flight testing, Landwehr said. That is the same aircraft seen
this past summer on display during EAA AirVenture Oshkosh at Cessna's
exhibit. Read
more
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CHAPTER BREAKFAST HELPS
HURRICANE VICTIMS
 When
members of EAA Chapter 914 of Greenville, Texas, discovered their annual
fly-in at Majors Field Municipal Airport (GVT) would not be able to take
place this year, they decided to host a pancake breakfast instead, with
the proceeds donated to victims of Hurricane Ike.
"The original intention of the
fly-in was to invite people from around the city to the airport,"
said chapter President Bob Thomas. "But due to parking obstacles,
we chose to refocus the event on helping people in the south who've been
badly hit by the storm." Read
more
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EAA MUSEUM AND AVIATION CENTER
CELEBRATE 25 YEARS THIS WEEKEND
 EAA is hosting hosting a special celebration this weekend, October 4-5,
to mark the 25th anniversary of the
EAA Aviation Center and AirVenture Museum. The public is invited to this
free event which features free museum tours, family activities, airplane
and helicopter rides, simulators and more. Festivities take place from 9
a.m.-5 p.m. on Saturday and 11 a.m.-5 p.m. on Sunday. Read
more
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EAA 2009 SWEEPSTAKES
AIRCRAFT ON DISPLAY AT NBAA NEXT WEEK
 EAA
invites attendees at next week's (October 6-8) annual National Business
Aviation Association convention in Orlando, Florida, to stop by the EAA
exhibit and see our two main 2009 Aircraft Sweepstakes prizes: the
Flight Design MC light-sport aircraft and a RotorWay helicopter. EAA
exhibit visitors can also be among the very first entrants in the 2009
sweepstakes, as entry forms will be available. In addition, local EAA
Chapter 74 will provide volunteer help at Orlando Executive Airport,
site of the convention's static aircraft display.
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RIHN-HARVEY CAPTURES
SECOND U.S. CHAMPIONSHIP
Congratulations to Debby Rihn-Harvey, winner of her second 2008 United
States National Aerobatic champion. Rihn-Harvey placed first in the
Known competition to win the overall. The IAC National champion is also
the overall winner of the Known, Free, and first Unknown. She was
champion in 2006 as well.
A second Unknown was flown for pilots
trying out for the team to compete at the world contest next year in
England. David Martin, Hubie Tolson, Jeff Boerboon, Robert Armstrong,
Dan Clark, Goody Thomas, Zach Heffley, and Michael Racy qualified for
the men's team, while Rihn-Harvey, IAC President Vicki Cruse, and
Allyson Parker-Lauck qualified for the Women's team. For all the results
from the U.S. Nationals, visit the
event website.
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EAA TO COORDINATE SEBRING
FORUMS; PRESENTERS SOUGHT
 EAA,
the recognized leader in the sport pilot/light-sport aircraft
initiative, will continue in its role as coordinator for the forum
presentations area at the fifth annual U.S.
Sport Aviation Expo, scheduled for January 22-25, 2009, in Sebring,
Florida. Sebring is the largest trade show of its type dedicated to
sport pilot and the light sport aircraft industry and annually features
close to 50 separate forum presentations from leading industry experts.
Topic areas from past Expos have included
avionics, flight training, fabric covering, insurance, maintenance, and
more. EAA staff will also be on hand to share their expertise throughout
the four-day event. Those interested in participating at Sebring as a
forum presenter should contact Ron Wagner at rwagner@eaa.org.
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EAA'S B-17 EN ROUTE TO
ILLINOIS, KENTUCKY
 The
EAA Salute to Veteran's tour featuring the B-17 Aluminum Overcast
is in DuPage, Illinois, for a Friday, October 3, stop hosted by EAA
Warbirds of America Chapter 4. This weekend the tour heads for Peoria,
Illinois, where EAA Chapter 563 will host the airplane through the
weekend. Next week the airplane heads to Lexington, Kentucky, for a tour
stop hosted by the Aviation Museum of Kentucky (October 7-8). To book a
flight aboard any one of these or future tour stops, please call
800-359-6217 or go to www.B17.org.
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HOMEBUILDING HINTS OF
THE WEEK
Making a Sheet Metal Rib From Scratch
(Part 4 of 6)
 In
part
five of our series, Kerry Fores shows you how to flange
a lightening hole. Kerry Fores works at Sonex Aircraft providing
technical assistance. Next
week: The final segment - Part 6 - Flanging.
In our second
video, Joe Norris of the EAA staff demonstrates the twist method of
safety wiring castled nuts.
If you have a hint to
share with your fellow EAAers, we'd love to hear from you! Drop us a
note at Info@EAA.org, and please put
"Hints" in the subject line.
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EAA's Sport Aviation Online
Archive
Fossett's Solo Circumnavigation Attempt
 In
the December 2003 issue of Sport Aviation, EAA members
learned about Steve Fossett's plans to fly the GlobalFlyer aircraft on
the world's first nonstop, non-refueled solo flight around the
world He did just that about 14 months later - from February 28-
March 3, 2005 - then later that year flew the record-setting aircraft to
Oshkosh where it was arguably the top attraction at AirVenture 2005.
Download and read the
story as it appeared in the magazine here.
(Fossett's plane and some personal
effects were discovered this week after he had gone missing since
September 3, 2007 - see story above.)
To do your own archive searches, or
browse through a back issue (from 1953-2006), visit http://members.eaa.org
(log-in required). The Sport Aviation online archive
is EAA's newest member benefit and it's easy to use. Just log in with
your user name and password. If you don't have a user name and
password for access to the EAA Members Only website, click
here.
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WHERE ARE YOU FLYING THIS
WEEKEND?
 Fifth
Annual American Sonex Association Fly In, October 3-5
Crossville Memorial Airport-Whitson Field, Crossville, TN
Three day gathering of Sonex flyers, owners, builders, plan holders,
lurkers and "wanna-be's."
Patches and hats available for sale. Food
and close lodging available. Contact us for details and to advise if you
plan to come. www.americansonexassociation.org/ Send
an e-mail.
And for more information about these events,
or to find/submit others, visit www.EAAcalendar.org.
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EAA 'TIMELESS VOICE OF
THE WEEK': CHET PEEK
 Chet
Peek first began flying in 1939, and in 1940 entered the Civilian Pilot
Training Program at Iowa State University. Upon graduation, he enlisted
in the Army Air Corps and was sent to Engineering Cadet School. After
completing that program, Chet was assigned to the 95th Bomb Group of the
8th Air Force in England as the group's Engineering Officer. After the
war he continued flying while working as an engineer at Frigidaire, and
over the years has owned and restored numerous antique aircraft,
including a Curtiss Jenny that was a highlight of the "Jennys to
Jets" feature of the 1989 EAA Oshkosh Convention. A member of the
EAA Vintage Aircraft Association's Hall of Fame, Chet has authored seven
aviation history books. Watch
the video.
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STILL
SOME GREAT DEALS ON AIRVENTURE 2008 MERCHANDISE
 Limited
quantities of AirVenture Oshkosh merchandise are still available, but
time is running out! This J. America vintage track jacket, with contrast
color side gussets and sleeve stripes, is specially priced at $35.99 (2X
$39.99, 3X $43.99). The popular AirVenture 2008 Poster T-shirt is also
available at the low price of $12.99 each (2X $14.99). Check out the
website for more great offers, but all merchandise is only available
while supplies last so act quickly. Order
online or call our toll-free number, 800-564-6322. (EAA members
receive FREE shipping on all domestic orders of $50 or more through
October 31.)
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Q
& A:
Question of
the Week
FAR
91.205 states the required equipment for
experimental aircraft. But it has the
phrase, "...with a standard category U.S.
airworthiness certificate..." Does this mean
that a homebuilt experimental does NOT require the
items listed for day-VFR?
If the requirement is
still there, please point me to where the regulations
require it.
Answer:
That is correct. An experimental aircraft that is
operated day-VFR only does not have to comply with
FAR 91.205. Only when flying at night or IFR does
the experimental aircraft need to meet 91.205. (This
is required by the aircraft's operating limitations,
issued as a part of its airworthiness certificate,
rather than by the regulation itself.)
Have a question?
To ask a question regarding government issues,
e-mail govt@eaa.org.
For questions about registration, airmen, aircraft
and medical certification, safety records,
performance, or any other matter, e-mail infoserv@eaa.org.
October
2008
EAA
Desktop Calendar
Brett Brock captured this beautiful Cessna 182 on floats
at the AirVenture Seaplane Base this year.
Download
this wallpaper image at the EAA
website, where you can choose among several different
resolutions to suit
your screen...or select an image from the archive.
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FUEL CELL
POWERS MANNED FLIGHT IN GERMANY
The German Aerospace Center (DLR) presented the first manned airplane
that can take-off and fly exclusively with a fuel cell. A manned Antares
DLR-H2 motorglider successfully flew at the Stuttgart Airport on
September 30.
The fuel cell, based on a
high temperature polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM), generates power for
the electric engine of the motor glider. The aim of the project is to
evaluate the potential of the technology for future applications in
commercial aircraft. For more information and photos: visit www.dlr.de/en/,
www.basf-fuelcell.com/en,
or www.serenergy.dk.
STAY
CHARGED
BatteryMinder's newest aviation specific
units are the first "smart" maintenance chargers to handle
major manufacturers' 12- and 24-volt sealed and wet cell lead-acid
aviation batteries. The units are "plug 'n run" requiring only
simple attachment to the battery and a standard 120-volt outlet. The
units are guaranteed to never over or under-charge a GA Gill or Concorde
battery, no matter how long they are connected. Learn more by calling
800-379-5579 x201 or visit www.BatteryMINDers.com.
SWIFTJET
CHOOSES DIAMOND D-JET FOR CANADIAN CHARTERS
SwiftJet and Diamond Aircraft
announced a major order of the Diamond D-JET personal jet to support the
launch of SwiftJet's new charter travel service across Canada. SwiftJet
has purchased five D-JET aircraft and has secured an additional 10
options, with aircraft deliveries to begin in 2010. With the purchase of
all 15 aircraft, SwiftJet would become the largest operator of D-JETs in
Canada, and the first charter customer in Canada to take delivery of a
D-JET. For more information about SwiftJet, visit www.SwiftJet.com. For
more information about Diamond Aircraft, visit www.DiamondAircraft.com.
SPACEX
LAUNCHES FALCON 1 INTO ORBIT
Flight 4 of the Falcon 1 launch
vehicle has successfully launched and achieved Earth orbit, as reported
by Space Exploration Technologies Corp., (SpaceX). With this milestone,
Falcon 1 becomes the first privately developed liquid fuel rocket to
orbit the Earth.
Falcon 1, designed from the
ground up by SpaceX, lifted off at 4:15 p.m. (PDT) from the Reagan Test
Site (RTS) on Omelek Island at the U.S. Army Kwajalein Atoll in the
Central Pacific, about 2,500 miles southwest of Hawaii on September 28.
It carried into orbit a payload mass simulator of approximately 364 lbs,
designed and built by SpaceX specifically for this mission. For more
information about the Falcon family of vehicles, and to watch the
archived video of the launch, visit www.SpaceX.com.
GLOBALAIR.COM
HELPS PILOTS MAXIMIZE AVIATION DOLLARS
Globalair.com has unveiled Max-Trax,
a route planning web application designed to help pilots get the most
for their fuel dollars. Developed by Globalair.com, Max-Trax utilizes
relevant information provided by participating fixed base operators (FBOs)
who update their fuel prices at least once every 30 days. It combines
the fuel pricing input with aircraft range, departure, and destination
information to map out complete itineraries with just a few keystrokes.
Max-Trax offers access to extensive information on airports and FBOs by
displaying a pop-up balloon whenever the computer's mouse is rolled over
icons that correspond with en route waypoints.
"Max-Trax takes the
guess work out of preflight planning," said Jeff Carrithers,
Globalair's president and CEO. "It's a
user-friendly application that automatically updates fuel price
information. It will virtually pay for itself by helping corporate and
charter pilots maximize their fuel dollars and keep track of their
expenses."
CORRECTION
We were provided with the incorrect price for a story last week
regarding the Microair's M760 transceiver from Aircraft Spruce. The
correct price is $1,059 (www.AircraftSpruce.com,
877-4-SPRUCE)
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