 |
 |
 |
September 10, 2010 Volume 10, Number
43
|
 MEIGS
DEBATE RE-OPENS AFTER MAYOR DALEY DECLINES RE-ELECTION RUN
Chicago
Mayor Richard Daley has announced that he is not going to run for
re-election in 2011. The surprise announcement has many in aviation
circles already wondering if the site of the former Meigs Field could
once again become an airport. EAA Radio's Fareed Guyot talked with
Friends of Meigs Field President Steve Whitney about the prospect of
flying to downtown Chicago and landing on the strip of land known as
Northerly Island. Listen to the
interview
|
Meigs
Controller Recounts the Last Day 'At Work'
 Seven
years ago in the early morning hours of a chilly day in March, Chicago
Mayor Richard Daley sent heavy construction equipment to tear gouges in
the runway of Meigs Field. The mayor claimed the lakefront airport
adjacent to downtown was a security risk to the nearby buildings. Since
it had not even been two years since the September 11 attacks and the
Iraq war was imminent, Daley thought he had the perfect reason to
neutralize the airport, which supporters say he had wanted to close for
more than a decade. EAA Radio's Fareed Guyot talked to Michael
Daffenberg about the day he drove to work and soon found himself in the
middle of one of the most infamous events in U.S. civil aviation. Listen
to the story
|
CANADA
GEARS UP FOR NATIONAL EAA EVENT
 The
much-anticipated Canadian EAA Convention/Fly-In is fast approaching on
the weekend of September 17-19 at the Ottawa/Gatineau Airport (CYND),
home of the Vintage Wings of Canada collection of airworthy vintage and
warbird aircraft. The event
website gives full details of a weekend which includes flying
activities, social events, a visit to the National Aviation Museum and
the Vintage Wings of Canada
air show on Saturday, September 18. Read
more
|
REMARKABLE
SONAR IMAGE SHOWS INTACT GERMAN WWII BOMBER
 "At
1142 hours, 264 Squadron was ordered to take off and patrol Dover, to
intercept enemy bombers."
So begins a typically terse and
understated British Royal Air Force Fighter Command Combat report posted
on August 26, 1940, in the midst of what was to become known as the
"Battle of Britain." Operating briefly out of RAF Hornchurch,
near London, 264 Squadron flew Boulton-Paul Defiant turret-armed
fighters, airplanes that would be relegated exclusively to night
operations just days after this particular sortie. Read
more
|
ELECTRIC
FOUR-MOTOR CRI-CRI MAKES FIRST FLIGHT
 The
all-electric Cri-Cri, the first-ever four-motor aerobatic plane, made
its official maiden flight at Le Bourget airport near Paris last week
(September 3). The mid-morning flight went smoothly, all systems
performed well, and the pilot reported excellent maneuverability. While
it was a great flight, it was quite short as the Cri-Cri returned for
landing after seven minutes. The Cri-Cri is designed to cruise for 30
minutes at 59 knots, reach aerobatic speeds of 135 knots, and climb at
1,000 feet per minute. Read
more
|
DRAFT
ADVISORY CIRCULAR SEEKS IMPROVED AB SAFETY, AVOIDS AIRCRAFT LIMITATIONS
The FAA, through a joint effort with EAA, is finalizing an advisory
circular whose objective is to improve safety with individuals
transitioning into experimental aircraft. With this effort one of EAA's
additional objectives is to improve the safety record for those
transitioning in to a new experimental aircraft and avoid a need for the
FAA to consider additional regulations and operating limitations on
experimental aircraft. The program stresses transition training and
guidance to pilots who are the "second owners" of experimental
category aircraft and those pilots who have never flown amateur-built
aircraft. Read
more
|
SONEX'S
AEROVEE TURBO-POWERED WAIEX MAKES FIRST FLIGHT
 The
Sonex's turbo-powered Waiex began flight testing last week (September 3)
with impressive early results according to Sonex's Mark Schaible. Using
its AeroVee engine, Sonex's Hornets' Nest Research and Development
(R&D) fitted a free-floating turbocharger with a fixed wastegate to
the engine with the goal of increasing output to 100 hp. The initial
test flights, flown by Sonex builder and R&D volunteer Drew
Waterworth, showed a significant increase in cruise and climb
performance. Schaible says they hope the new turbo system will provide a
comparable alternative to the more powerful 120-hp Jabiru engine while
staying sport pilot compliant. Read
more
|
US
AIRWAYS FLIGHT IMMORTALIZED WITH SPECIAL APPROACH CHART FROM JEPPESEN
 Jeppesen,
known in the aviation industry as the worldwide leader in navigation and
charting services, recently presented Miracle on the Hudson pilots
Captain Chesley Sullenberger and First Officer Jeffrey Skiles with a
specially designed approach chart and engraved Jeppesen chart binders to
commemorate the remarkable ditching of US Airways Flight 1549 in the
Hudson River in New York in January 2009. The items were presented by
Mark Van Tine, Jeppesen president and CEO, during the 2010 Gathering of
Eagles fundraiser dinner and auction held during EAA
AirVenture Oshkosh. Read
more
|
TIGER
MOTH VEERS INTO CROWD AT GERMAN AIR SHOW
 The
pilot of a Tiger Moth biplane lost control on takeoff during an air show
in southern Germany and veered into the crowd killing a female spectator
and injuring 20 others, according to police. The 68-year-old pilot was
uninjured. The accident occurred at Lilinghof airfield near Nuremberg
according to the German website Sueddeutsche.de.
The small-scale show was to include aerobatic performances, sky divers,
and helicopter tours and feature a Russian-built Antonov An-2 biplane.
The aircraft crashed through a metal barrier as it headed for the crowd.
"He was no more than 1 or 2 meters in the air," reported eyewitness
Larry Cassel. The air show in Lilinghof has been held since 1969 without
incident, save for a leg injury to a sky diver, according to organizers.
|
B-25S
RE-CREATE DOOLITTLE TAKEOFF
 Stop
us if you have seen this before, but we think you probably haven't. In
1995 as part of the 50th anniversary commemoration of World War II,
three B-25s, one F6F Hellcat, an F4F Wildcat, and one Marine F4U Corsair
were lifted onto the deck of the USS Carl Vinson (CVN-70) while it was
docked both in San Francisco Bay and Ford Island, Pearl Harbor. The
modern nuclear carrier then steamed out of Pearl and into the open ocean
to launch the new/old squadron. The deck of the Vinson may have been
longer than the boats used by these aircraft when they were last
operational, but that didn't stop the flight crews from showing just how
quickly they could get airborne. Watch
the video
|
BRITISH
AGENCY RELEASES ACCIDENT REPORT ON VICKI CRUSE
 The
Air Accidents Investigation Branch in the United Kingdom (equivalent of
the NTSB) has released its report in to Vicki Cruse's accident at the
World Aerobatic Championship a year ago. Vicki Cruse was president of
the International Aerobatic Club (IAC) at the time of her death. Read
more
|
TOO
EARLY FOR EPA TO MAKE FUELS ASSESSMENT
GA Avgas Coalition maintains
more data needed before decision
The Environmental Protection Agency currently does not have
sufficient data to make a determination on lead emissions from aircraft
engines, according to GA Avgas Coalition comments submitted by EAA and
other aviation and petroleum associations to the Environmental
Protection Agency on Friday. Read
more | EAA's
Doug MacNair talks about why the EPA should take more time to study aviation
fuel
|
EAA
SEEKS EDWARDS AFB FLY-IN SLOT WINNERS
 EAA
Publications seeks pre- and post-fly-in reports from winners of aircraft
slots to Flight Test Nation (October 1), the first-ever general aviation
pancake breakfast and fly-in to Edwards Air Force Base. The fly-in is
limited to 100 aircraft, leaving thousands of envious pilots wanting to
know what it will be like to land where many of aviation’s epic
breakthroughs have occurred. While this event is being billed as a
safety event to showcase flight testing and educate pilots about the
local airspace, it turns out that nearby EAA Chapters 1000 and 723 have
been flying into Edwards for events since the 1990s. Read
more
|
SPORT
PILOT ENDORSEMENTS TO BE ADDED TO CERTIFICATES
Under the current rules sport pilots or pilots with sport pilot
privileges must carry their pilot's logbook on flights to show key
endorsements for authorizing sport pilot privileges. The FAA will soon
issue new sport pilot certificates with the required endorsements
printed on the certificate. This will be an automatic process with no
action required by pilots and at no additional cost. The FAA asks that
all pilots with sport pilot endorsements ensure that their address is up
to date in the FAA Database. View
the FAA notice
|
AROUND-THE-WORLD
GYRO PILOT TAKES HIATUS
 Norman
Surplus, the Irishman whose goal is to become the first autogyro pilot
to fly his aircraft around the world, is putting the remainder of his
flight on hold until next spring. In a statement on his blog, Surplus
identified deteriorating weather conditions in the northern hemisphere
as his reason. “…It is deemed only suitable to navigate light
aircraft by this northern ‘bridge’ across the Pacific Ocean and
International Date Line during the very briefest of summer months. By
mid-September, the harsh winter conditions are again closing in and
access to the region shuts down once more and will remain so until the
late spring of 2011,” Surplus stated. Read
more
|
US
CUSTOMS AND BORDER PROTECTION RELEASES AIRVENTURE VIDEO
 AirVenture
inspires many when they visit. In recent weeks we have showed you what
enthusiasts and corporations (GE) liked about participating in
AirVenture. Now the US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has just
released a video about its impressions of the seven-day event and its
outreach to the public. CBP also worked with EAA and Make-A-Wish
Foundation to make a group of kids' visit to Oshkosh something special. Watch
the video
|
UPDATE:
EAAER
HELPS GULFSTREAM G650 BECOME FASTEST CIVIL AIRCRAFT
 The
G650, Gulfstream's new ultra-long-range, ultra-large-cabin executive
aircraft reached Mach 0.995 during flight testing last month (August)
near Savannah, Georgia. The flight test crew, including EAA member Tom
Horne, EAA 519880, was putting the aircraft through flutter testing when
the record speed was attained. In order to achieve the speed, the
aircraft was put into a dive with the nose as much as 16 to 18 degrees
below the horizon.
Flutter testing examines how the aircraft
responds to vibrations applied to the wing, tail, and flight controls.
The goal is for the aircraft to dampen out these vibrations without
flight crew input; Gulfstream says the G650 performed flawlessly during
the testing. The previous civil aircraft speed record holder is the
Cessna Citation X at Mach 0.992.
|
HOW
MANY RULES CAN BE BROKEN IN A SINGLE FLIGHT?
 Michael
Dana McEnry, a 56-year-old student pilot with a purported 1,200 hours of
flying time, seemed determined to answer that question on an eventful
flight that took place in and around Bishop, California, in January
2009. According to the original indictment as filed with the U.S.
Department of Justice, McEnry was trying to land at Eastern Sierra
Regional Airport (BIH) in Bishop, and was "…flying recklessly and
nearly crashed into an aircraft that was preparing for take off (sic) on
another runway. McEnry touched down and then went off the runway into
sage brush, made a U-turn back onto the runway, and parked the
plane." Read
more
|
FREE
RC MODEL AIRCRAFT EVENT THIS WEEKEND AT EAA
 Join
us for Big Birds Over EAA this Saturday, September 11, 2010 from 9 a.m.
- 4 p.m. It's the first annual radio controlled model airplane event and
will feature amazing giant scale RC aircraft of all types, including
Warbirds, Aerobatic, Jets, Vintage, and Sport Aviation. Watch RC experts
fly their planes throughout the day in various demonstrations. Get
more info on EAA's first annual RC model aircraft event.
|
ALUMINUM
OVERCAST AND TRI-MOTOR CONTINUE LATE SUMMER TOURS
 EAA's
restored B-17 Aluminum Overcast heads south this weekend to
Leesburg, Virginia, where it will be hosted by EAA Chapter 186 September
10-11. The Flying Fortress then moves on to North Canton, Ohio,
September 14-15, hosted by EAA Chapter 846. At all tour stops, visitors
have the opportunity to tour the B-17 and take a flight on the
bomber.
 EAA's
1929 Ford Tri-Motor is currently in West Memphis, Arkansas, and will be
giving flights and tours until September 12. No reservations are needed
as plenty of seats are still available at this tour stop. Next, the tour
moves to the Atlanta, Georgia, area where visitors can see the "Tin
Goose," No. 146 off the assembly line, at the Gwinnett County
Airport-Briscoe Field, September 16-19.
For more information on the tours and to
book tickets, visit the B-17 website or
the Ford Tri-Motor website.
|
MILITARY
TRAINER FANTASY FLIGHT CAMP - ONLY 2 SPOTS LEFT
 Hurry
- only 2 spots left for the September 24-26, 2010 Military Trainer
Fantasy Flight Camp. Participants have a rare opportunity to fly in the
only remaining airworthy PT-3-plus take a second flight in the famed
"pilot maker," the North American T-6. Flights include a
pre-flight briefing on the aircraft and its controls. EAA's own pilots
and instructors will perform the take-off, demonstrate in the air how
the controls work-and then it's your turn! Sign-up
now
|
DEAL
OF THE WEEK: SAVE 10% ON POLYURETHANE PAINT KITS AND GET A FREE
QUART OF TOPCOAT
 Products
Techniques Inc. is offering 10% off on its Polyurethane Paint Kit
through Aircraft Spruce. This kit provides all the materials needed to
paint any RV or similar size aircraft. The kit includes green acid etch
primer & reducer, yellow epoxy primer, catalyst & reducer,
polyurethane white topcoat with catalyst & reducer, and a free quart
of polyurethane single stage topcoat in any color! Suggested retail is
$865-but you get 10% off the kit plus a free quart of polyurethane top
coat in any color. A $65 - $115 value! Click
here to find out how you can save 10% a Polyurethane Paint Kit and
get a FREE quart of topcoat.
|
EAA MERCHANDISE: ONE WEEK ONLY! SHEET METAL BUILDING BASICS BOOK ONLY
$22.00
EAA's continuing "how-to" series of educational materials for
building your own aircraft now includes, Sheet Metal Building Basics,
written by longtime builder and SportAir instructor Jack Dueck. Sheet
Metal Building Basics covers the fundamentals that everyone starting a
sheet metal project should know, plus advanced material on stress and
fatigue. Order Sheet
Metal Building Basics online or by calling toll-free,
800-564-6322.
|
|
|
|
EAA Sport Aviation
Magazine
Can you help?
Join the Discussions!
Post of the Week!
Like so many of us, Daniel Fielding of
Royal Oak, MI, is an airplane watcher, and, on a nice day, loves to go
down to his local airport and watch the traffic. This is an interest
he's passing along to his kids … or trying to, despite the changes in
security at even small municipal airports in the post-9/11 world. In his
inspiring post about what he calls "(Looking) Through the
Fence" operations, he says that his local airport now looks more
like a prison, and laments the message that sends to aspiring pilots of
any age who just want to come and have a look. Well, Daniel is planning
on doing something about it - read
the post to see what he's up to and how you can help!
|
 |
|
If you have suggestions and/or
submissions for EAA’s weekly AeroInnovations column, please send them to
AeroInnovations editor Bob Waldron at aeroinnovations@eaa.org.
|
The Electric Antares H3 Claims 50 Hour
Duration |
 |
Lange Research Aircraft and the German Aerospace Center (DLR) are developing their next generation electric aircraft operated by a driver and powered by a hydrogen fuel cell. The Antares H3 will increase the flight time to 50 hours and the design range to 6,000 km, up from 5 hours and 750 km for the H2. |
| Diesel-Electric Hybrid Eco-Copter to cut Fuel Burn in Half |
 |
The
EADS eCO2avia helicopter has the potential to “halve fuel
consumption compared with a typical twin-turbine helicopter such as
the Eurocopter EC135.” The diesel-electric hybrid eCO2avia concept
will use two opposed piston opposed cylinder diesel engines to
generate electric power for the main and tail rotors. |
Shape-shifting Rotor Design Takes Off |
 |
Three rotorcraft technology teams have been awarded 16-month contracts by DARPA for development of a shape-shifting rotor design. The teams will design both a clean-sheet rotor system and a demonstrator rotor for an existing aircraft, with rotors that can change length, sweep, chord, camber, tip shape, twist, stiffness, rotational speed, or other attributes as flight conditions dictate. |
75 Percent Efficiency Increase
With Orbiting Combustion Nozzle |
 |
The Orbiting Combustion Nozzle (OCN) jet engine will be half the size of a conventional jet design, cut carbon dioxide and nitrogen oxide emissions by 75 percent and use 25 percent less fuel, based on design calculations and a technology demonstrator engine. The Israeli R-Jet OCN engine achieves this by controlling the air and fuel flow for much faster and more complete combustion. |
Satellite Navigation for Micro Air Vehicles Saves Money |
 |
The German start-up company MAVinci has developed micro-air vehicles guided by satellite-navigation systems for cost-effective aerial surveillance of areas such as disaster zones, land development projects, and waste disposal sites. The satnav-assisted autopilot controls the entire
flight takeoff to landing
- and activates the aircraft’s camera or other monitoring equipment over the target zones. |
|
| AeroInnovations aims to highlight developments that have potential to impact the future of aviation. EAA does not necessarily endorse the ideas, products, services or views contained therein. |
|
IS YOUR MEDICAL
CERTIFICATE PROTECTED? WATCH THIS WEBINAR!
Dr.
Pinnell will discuss the common issues that come up on third-class
medical applications and what you can do to avoid them. Plus, Brian and
Carol Carpenter are back with two great webinars on light-sport
aircraft.
All
webinars begin at 7 p.m. CDT. To
find out more about upcoming EAA
Webinars and to register, visit the webinars
page.
|
HINTS FOR HOMEBUILDERS: PORTABLE
VISE
 Earl
Luce shows a great way to make your vise portable so you can bring it to
wherever your work is located. Earl is an EAA SportAir Workshop
instructor and a volunteer EAA Technical Counselor. He also offers plans
for the Wittman Buttercup. Watch
the video
|
TIMELESS VOICES OF
AVIATION: WILLARD KORSMEYER
 Willard
Korsmeyer enlisted in the U.S. Army Air Forces after the Japanese attack
on Pearl Harbor. Trained as a P-47 Thunderbolt pilot, he was assigned to
the 83rd Fighter Squadron of the 78th Fighter Group, 8th Air Force based
at Duxford, England. He joined the group in mid-July of 1944 and flew
four missions before the end of the month. On his fifth mission, July
31, 1944, Willard’s flight element went looking for ground targets
after finishing their job escorting some B-17s into Germany. Finding a
Luftwaffe airfield near Neustadt, Germany, his flight dove down on a
strafing run of the field. Willard’s Thunderbolt took a direct 20mm
flak hit to the oil cooler that set the airplane on fire. Willard
elected to bail out and was captured immediately after landing in a beet
field. He would spend the next nine months as a POW at Stalag Luft 1
near Barth, Germany. Watch
the video
|
|
|
|
|
|
Where
Are You Flying This Weekend?
There are 90
fly-ins and events this weekend in the EAA
Events Calendar. Find one near you or add your event! |
|
|
Q
& A:
Question of
the Week
For EAA
Information Services
I am almost ready to get the DAR out to check my
GN-1 Air Camper and realized that while I have the
registration packet I ordered a year or more back
from the EAA, I don't think it contained aircraft or
engine logbooks - do I need both? If so, I'd better
get busy and order them!
Answer: You
are correct that the logbooks were not included. The
FAA does not require separate logbooks, but many
choose to keep them anyway should they ever decide
to sell the engine on its own. If you wish to
purchase a logbook, click
here.
Have a question?
To ask a question regarding government issues,
e-mail EAA Government Relations.
For questions about registration, airmen, aircraft
and medical certification, safety records,
performance, or any other matter, e-mail EAA
Member Services.
|
|
|
EAA
Desktop Calendar
September
2010
The Viper, Modified Pitts S2S, flown by Jason
Newburg at AirVenture 2010. Photo by DeKevin
Thornton.
Download
this wallpaper image from the EAA
website, where you can choose among several different
resolutions to suit
your screen - including three wide-screen
sizes...or select an image from the archive.
|
|
|
 |
2011 ASA KNOWLEDGE EXAM PRODUCTS
NOW AVAILABLE
ASA’s 2011 Test Preps (books for pilots), Fast-Track Test Guides (books for mechanics), Prepware (software for pilots and mechanics), and Virtual Test Preps (DVD/Blu-ray video ground schools for pilots) are now available. The Test Prep series include the complete library of FAA questions and answers as well as explanations for correct and incorrect answers. The Fast-Track Test Guides prepare applicants for the exams required for A&P certification. ASA’s Prepware software combines all the information found in the Test Prep and Fast-Track Test Guide series, with the benefits of computer-based training. For more information click here.
SPORTY’S COMPLETE LESSON
PLAN GUIDES
Sporty’s has introduced their Complete Lesson Plan Guides. Developed by the CFIs at Sporty’s Academy, the guides help flight instructors organize every ground and flight lesson and are broken down into three comprehensive titles: The Training Course Online, the Ground Lesson Guide, and the PTS Study Guide. Complete Lesson Plan Guides are available for private pilot and instrument rating training. Each guide is approximately 250 pages and includes diagrams and illustrations. For more information click here.
ZENITH’S OPEN HANGAR
DAY
Zenith Aircraft’s 19th Annual Open Hangar Day and Fly-In Gathering will take place at the company’s factory located at Mexico Memorial Airport in Mexico, Missouri, on Friday, September 17 through Saturday, September 18. Factory tours of Zenith’s production facilities will be offered as well as a chance to meet with Zenith staff who will be on hand to demonstrate kit production and fabrication techniques.
Seminars and hands-on activities will begin at 12:30 p.m. on Friday, and include topics such as painting your aircraft, ULPower and Jabiru Aircraft engines, Garmin Avionics, how EAA can help you build and fly your own aircraft, and inspection and preflight of a Zenith Aircraft. A builder’s banquet will conclude the day’s activities on September 17. Food and refreshments will be provided both days, including a hot lunch courtesy of EAA Chapter 1225 on Saturday at noon. For more information on the Open Hangar Day and Fly-In Gathering, or to RSVP, click here.
2011 FAR/AIM SERIES NOW AVAILABLE
ASA’s 2011 FAR/AIM series, which includes the FAR for flight crew and aviation maintenance, is now available. The 2011 series includes the most current regulations, AIM, and Transportation Security Administration rules affecting the aviation industry. ASA consolidates the FAA regulations and procedures into three reference books with information pertinent to pilots, flight crew, and aviation maintenance technicians (AMTs). FAR/AIM series updates are available here as free downloads and/or through a free email subscription service for automatic notification when a rule has changed. For more information click here. |
|
|
