H.G. Frautschy

Dean started his business career right out of high school, working and going to school at the same time. By the time he retired shortly before passing away, he was a vice president of the company where he'd worked for over 40 years. A student of human interaction, he gained a lot of practical knowledge, and to that end he often said, "Experience is much more important than education." He also pointed out that "You should cherish experience and loyalty above all else." Read more

Looking north up the Papa taxiway, Sunday night, July 25, over 300 showplanes were parked along the taxiway to allow the aircraft parking and camping areas to dry out before attempting to park aircraft. By Tuesday the last one had been moved to a regular showplane parking spot.

Thanks to the efforts of VAA volunteers Earl Nicholas and Steve Moyer, there's a photo gallery that shows each of the VAA Award winners receiving his award. You can view it here.

This year's grand champions in the Antique and Classic judging categories were present for the awards, including Gene Engelskirger for his Waco UPF-7 and Donal W. Halloran for his Piper PA-15 Vagabond.

Tucked away in a woodworking shop in a small North Dakota town is the largest privately owned collection of wooden ground-adjustable, variable-pitch, and controllable propellers from the "golden years" of aviation. Surprisingly, fewer than 40 people have ever had the opportunity to personally view this museum-quality collection.

At the age of 17, when Monte Chase was given his first propeller upon receiving his private pilot certificate, little did he know that it would fuel the passion for the collection he has assembled. But that was over 30 years and 100 propellers ago. Read more

During the summer of 2009, I received an e-mail in the days before EAA AirVenture Oshkosh of the same year, alerting me to the fact that there would be a press conference which would include a very special attendee: 101-year-old Captain Joe Grant. Joe was attending to help launch a book, King Abdulaziz…His Plane and His Pilot. The book chronicles the flight of His Royal Highness King Abdulaziz's DC-3, a gift given in 1945 to the Saudi royal family from President Franklin Delano Roosevelt. Yes, Joe was the pilot!

I wondered if I could get a personal interview with Joe. To actually talk to someone who has flown for the last 80 years would be amazing. Read more

CE-10-40R1, Aircraft Fuel System; water contamination of fuel tank systems on Cessna single-engine airplanes

To inform pilots, owners, operators, and maintenance and service personnel of Cessna Aircraft Company (and formerly Reims Aviation S.A.) Model 100, 200, or 300 series, any model and/or prefix and/or suffix in the series of airplanes as applicable of the hazards associated with water contamination of fuel tank systems.

CE-10-35, Loose Equipment in the Flight Compartment and on Glare Shields

Issued to remind owners, operators, and installers of potential hazards and airworthiness concerns related to having loose equipment in the flight compartment; particularly items placed on the glare shield.

Airworthiness Directive 2010-15-10 Issued for Piper Control Shafts
In one of the most wide-ranging Airworthiness Directives ever issued, the FAA has mandated a control wheel shaft inspection for Piper PA-28, PA-32, PA-34, and PA-44 aircraft, a range that covers over 41,000 airplanes in the general aviation fleet. Resulting from a pair of field reports that detailed the finding of incorrectly assembled control wheel shafts, the FAA Airworthiness Directive requires an inspection of the shaft in accordance with a Piper Aircraft mandatory service bulletin (SB) 1197B dated May 10, 2010. (Previous compliance with Piper SB 1197A is a terminating action as well.)

The shaft inspection is done to confirm the correct assembly of the universal joint assembly, as well as inspect it for wear or damage on the joint or the associated control wheel parts.

The Airworthiness Directive can be viewed here.

The Piper Service Bulletin can be viewed here.

Osa's Ark Makes First Successful S-38 Atlantic Crossing
Osa's Ark, a reproduction of the Sikorsky S-38, has successfully crossed the Atlantic, the first time this aircraft type has accomplished this feat. Tom Schrade, EAA 386077, departed Anoka, Minnesota, on a quest to fly to Berlin, Germany, for charity. Schrade left on Saturday, August 21; he says there have been three previous attempts to cross the Atlantic in an S-38, but none were successful. According to the SPOT GPS tracking of his route, he crossed Canada, Greenland, and Iceland on his way. Currently Schrade is near Dortmund, Germany, west of Berlin. His itinerary shows he will eventually end up in Zurich, Switzerland.

Chanute, Kansas's restored Santa Fe railroad station building is the location for The Martin and Osa Johnson Safari Museum, dedicated "To cultivate a spirit of adventure and exploration through the preservation and presentation of Martin and Osa Johnson's life work." Their pioneering use of aircraft to accomplish their exploration and photo documentary work in Africa is most often remembered for the pair of Sikorsky aircraft they used, a twin-engine S-38 and the single-engine S-39, the latter in a reticulated giraffe color scheme.

You can view a collection of photos of their aircraft on Holcomb's Aerodrome website at www.AirMinded.net. The Sikorsky photos are here and here.

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