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| A
Note From the Editor |
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| Welcome
to the March issue of Briefing. Kentucky finds itself
finally without snow but darn near as cold as Oshkosh. I've
been flying, and getting off the planet at all is better
than not, but in our world, six seats aren't nearly as cool
as two or even better than one. I'm looking toward the Sun
'n Fun Fly-In at Lakeland, Florida, and beyond that, seasons
which are far more favorable to warbird activity. |
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| Overcoming
writer's block is far more of a chore in the winter
doldrums, but I was recently blessed with a little taste of
summer and the company of fellow warbird enthusiasts. The
National Warbird Operator Conference (NWOC), held this year
in San Diego, was informative and a blast, to boot.
Government
affairs, engine details, and the future (or lack thereof) of
100LL were all covered. Perhaps even more, the event was a
chance to catch up with warbird friends and make some new
ones. Touring the USS Midway (CV-41) and seeing an
F-4 on deck that was flown by one of our speakers (one of
Top Gun's original instructors, Darrell "Condor"
Gary) was unforgettable. For more details, read Bill
Fischer's account below.
In
conjunction with NWOC, your Warbirds of America Board held
its winter meeting. Our president, Rick Siegfried, reports
that Warbirds of America will be playing an increasing role
in EAA AirVenture Oshkosh this summer. Look for changes and
improvements to the Warbirds in Review presentations and the
Warbirds area in general. Details on that to follow.
On a
housekeeping note, if you have any news of events for the
coming year pertaining to your squadron, send them in. One
of our goals should be to let our neighboring squadrons know
of our activities. Increased participation, new friends, and
renewed enthusiasm are all goals that we should pursue.
We have
just under 40 days until Sun 'n Fun, and 136 and counting
until AirVenture. Time to pack away that snow shovel and go
flying!
Harold
Cannon
Editor, EAA Warbirds Briefing
hcannon@eaa.org |
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By
Rick Siegfried, President, EAA Warbirds of America
Sun
'n Fun 2010 begins next month in sunny Florida on April 13,
2010. If you have not yet made plans to attend, please take
a look at some of the planned events which I have
highlighted below. Opening day, Tuesday April 13, 2010, is
the planned arrival day for warbirds during the afternoon
air show. The T-6 group is planning on flying from
Kissimmee, Florida to Lakeland on Tuesday. If any other |
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warbird groups would also like to arrive via the air show
please contact me soon, (t6rick@aol.com).
For warbirds already at Sun 'n Fun, Wayne Boggs will help
coordinate a departure and participation in the warbird air
show from Lakeland. Read
more |
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| Safety
News and Issues |
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| Situational
Awareness is A Good Situation |
| Situational
awareness is one of many subjects that are critical to
building good crew resource management (CRM) skills. There
are others, but events throughout the years have shown us
just how deadly flying can be when we don't have a clear
image of what is going on around us. I'm talking about
examples such as the Comair crash in Lexington, Kentucky.
I've flown on those very airplanes from that very airport.
The lesson hits close to home for me. Read
more
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| FAA
Safety Newsletter Changing Name With Release of Spring Issue |
| Starting
with the March/April 2010 issue, FAA Aviation News is
changing its name to FAA Safety Briefing. "We're
changing the name to more accurately reflect the magazine's
mission: safety," said John Allen, Director, FAA Flight
Standards Service. "As for the word briefing,"
Allen added, "briefings are used in health care, in the
military, and in aviation, and are essential to get crucial
information before the flight. That's the point of FAA
Safety Briefing: Providing pilots, aviation maintenance
technicians, and more across the general aviation community
with valuable safety information." Read
the issue |
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| Updates
on Government Issues and Advocacy |
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| Paper
Certificates Expire March 31 |
 Pilots
who have not replaced their paper airman certificate with
the required new plastic certificate risk being unable to
exercise their privileges at the end of March. All paper
airman certificates will expire March 31, 2010. FAR 61.19(h)
reads: "Except for a temporary certificate issued under
§61.17 or a student pilot certificate issued under
paragraph (b) of this section, the holder of a paper pilot
certificate issued under this part may not exercise the
privileges of that certificate after March 31, 2010." Read
more |
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| Warbird
Issues Discussed at Oshkosh EAA, FAA Summit |
| Each
year, key FAA managers visit EAA Headquarters to work with
EAA staff and division heads to address challenges and
opportunities facing general aviation, and recreational
aviation in particular. The issues and "action
items" identified at the annual Summit are then
addressed in detail during the remainder of the year by
working groups that include EAA staff, FAA officials,
industry representatives, and others. Read
more |
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| Washington
State Aircraft Owners fighting Large Tax Increase |
| Last
month EAA alerted
its members in the state of Washington about a tax bill
(House Bill 3176) introduced in the state House of
Representatives with a provision that would impose a 1/2
percent excise tax on aircraft owned by state residents.
Currently an annual registration fee for a single-engine
fixed wing airplane valued at $100,000 is $65, but that
would jump to a $500 excise tax if the bill becomes law. The
omnibus tax bill is aimed at helping close a $2.6 billion
budget shortfall in the state. Read
more |
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| March’s
Featured Stories |
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| Warbird
Members Recount Haiti Relief Flight |
| Following
the Haiti earthquake, many Americans responded in their own
ways to help. EAA Warbirds members Glen Marsh and Ron
Alexander departed St. Simons, GA, early on January 31,
2010, bound for Port-au-Prince, Haiti in Alexander's King
Air A90. On board they had a full load of medical supplies
along with two emergency room doctors from Albuquerque, NM. Read
more |
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| B-17
Talk Opens EAA Webinar Series |
| After
a successful launch to its new webinar series on March 2,
EAA has five more of the interactive, online programs lined
up in the coming weeks. The debut webinar ("web-based
seminar") focused on the B-17
bomber and drew more than 150 people. Host Sean Elliott,
EAA director of flight ops, commented that was far more than
have attended similar forums he's given at AirVenture
Oshkosh. Read
more | Watch
the B-17 presentation |
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| San
Diego Hosts 2010 NWOC |
| More
than 250 warbird owners, operators, mechanics, suppliers,
and enthusiasts headed to the West Coast February 18-21 to
participate in the 16th National Warbird Operator Conference
or NWOC. With sessions ranging from aircraft insurance, to
government issues such as the status of the experimental
exhibition category and aviation fuels, to focus groups on
specific aircraft, the conference was packed full of
information and entertainment including. Read
more |
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| Veterans,
Active and Reserve Military Members Save on AirVenture
Admission |
| EAA
AirVenture Oshkosh is saying thanks to those who are serving
and have served our country in the military, as this year
they will receive discounted admission pricing to the event
scheduled for July 26 to August 1. Read
more |
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| DC-3 Arrival at AirVenture Grows to 40 |
| Possibly
the largest gathering of DC-3 aircraft since the 1940s is
committed to the aircraft's 75th anniversary commemoration
during EAA AirVenture Oshkosh, coming July 26-August 1 at
Wittman Regional Airport in Oshkosh. That celebration
includes what could be a 40-airplane mass arrival during the
opening day of the 58th annual edition of AirVenture. Read
more |
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| From
the EAA Warbirds Community
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The Warbird Island message forum at Oshkosh365 is as active
as ever. Have a look at the list below and follow the links
to read the actual questions and discussion topics.
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Issue 4,
March 2010 |
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| VIDEO |
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"Grumpy"
Comes Home
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David
Lowrance produced this video about "Grumpy", a
B-25 that flew from Bellingham to Everett, Washington.
"Grumpy" is one of the oldest B-25 bombers in the
world and on this flight is escorted by two P-51 Mustangs.
The journey of "Grumpy" started in England and the
video shows the arrival in the United States and the final
leg home. |
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Watch the
video
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| Aluminum
Overcast Pre-Season Fly-By |
| EAA
Radio Co-Chairman Thomas Balistreri was working at the EAA
Radio studios on the AirVenture flight line this week (March
8) and shot this video of EAA's B-17 Aluminum Overcast
as the flight crew practiced various air operations at
Wittman field. Many volunteers are in Oshkosh this week to
ready Aluminum Overcast for the upcoming tour season. |
Watch the
video |
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EAA RADIO |
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Captain
Joe Grant, Flying the DC-3
On Monday, July 26, 2010, as many as 40 DC-3s (and
military variants) are expected to arrive in time to open
the air show at EAA AirVenture Oshkosh, with warbird groups
to follow. Captain Joe Grant talked at Theater in the Woods
in 2009 regarding his long experience flying the DC-3.
Listen
to the program
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MAR
12-14 - Titusville, FL- Valiant Air Command Museum's Tico
Warbird Air Show; military fly-bys and demos; vintage
warbirds on static display and fly-bys. Vendors, aircraft,
and helicopter rides available.
Info: www.vacwarbirds.org
E-mail: vacwarbirds@bellsouth.net
MAR 13 -
Cincinnati, OH - EAA Warbirds Squadron 18 Swing Dance -
KLUK Hangar 4.
Info: Jim Stitt, Commander
Phone: 513-241-1661
Web: www.cincinnatiwarbirds.org
MARCH 19
- Tucson, AZ - EAA Warbirds Squadron 18 trip to Davis
Monthan AFB & Pima Air Museum.
Info: Jim Stitt, Commander
Phone: 513-241-1661
Web: www.cincinnatiwarbirds.org
MARCH 21
- Waukegan, IL - EAA Warbirds Squadron 4 General Meeting
at the Warbird Heritage Foundation starting at 11 a.m.
Info: Brian Churchill
Phone: 847-356-9056
APRIL
10-11 - Eglin Air Force Base, FL. - 75th Anniversary Air
Show. Convenient stop on your way to the Sun 'n Fun
fly-In. Warbirds encouraged to attend. Info: Maj. Tim
"Blotto" Sablotny
Phone: 850-882-9099
E-mail: Timothy.Sablotny@EGLIN.AF.MIL
APR
13-18, 2010 - Sun 'n Fun Fly-In, Lakeland, FL. Visit www.sun-n-fun.org.
JUL
26-AUG 1, 2010 - EAA AirVenture Oshkosh, Oshkosh, WI.
Visit www.AirVenture.org. |
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Have you
visited the online community Warbird
Island on Oshkosh365.Org?
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Your
insights help us provide a better newsletter to you. Please
review and rate this issue of Warbirds Briefing. |
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