Meeting Notice-Chapter 251 will hold its next meeting on July 11, 2006 at 1800 hrs. in the pilots lounge at Alamogordo-White Sands Regional Airport. Our program director has been busy with health issues and was unable to provide information in time for the newsletter concerning this month's program but there will be one and refreshments will be served during the break between the regular business meeting and our monthly program.
Item 1- Our Young Eagle Day event held on June 10th was a rousing success. The chapter flew 32 kids that day for a new chapter record despite the fact we were down two pilots and airplanes. We are becoming better organized every time we do this and this event was the smoothest running one so far. I wish to extend my thanks to all who came out and helped make this YE Day a milestone for Chapter 251. Pilots were Bob Hurd in his Beech Debonair, Wolfgang Meyn in Kevin Dunshee's Piper PA-12, Maurice Morgan in his RV-6, and Art Davis in his Mooney. Ground support personnel included Ken Henderson, John McLaughlin, Brad Bowen, Richard Finch, Kelsey Scribner, Jim Holder, and Kevin Dunshee. If I left anyone out please don't take it personal. We were very busy! Chapter 251 wishes to extend a very heartfelt THANK YOU to Art Davis for stopping in and offering his Mooney and himself to help fly all those kids and to Kevin Dunshee for the use of his Piper. Both of these guys are EAAers but neither are chapter members, something we definitely need to rectify! Just shows what a love of flying can do to help out. We were really swamped with all those kids wanting a ride and these guys really pulled us out of a tight spot. Thanks again Art and Kevin! Also a big thanks to all the RC modelers that took their time to come out and display their aircraft, answer tons of questions, and give these kids something neat to do while they patiently waited their turns. Linda Madron of the Airport Grill reported business was excellent during the event and Chapter 251 thanks her for providing all a place to get out of the sun and enjoy a cold drink and some great food. And of course, thanks to all who patronized her to make her day a success.
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Item 2-Last months speaker, Lt. Colonel Will Stigers, Ret. entertained all with some mighty fine flying stories gathered from his 20+ years in the USAF. Will flew a variety of aircraft and provided a pilot's perspective of what they were really like. His commentary on the early years of the air war over Southeast Asia was very enlightening to those in attendance who weren't there themselves. Thanks Will, for taking your time to prepare a very interesting program for our enjoyment.
Item 3- Richard Finch presented a short talk about the Young Eagle Program to the Alamogordo School Board on June 20th concerning the possibility of obtaining funding to offset gas expenditures used in flying the kids. His talk was well received and the prospects look good for it to happen. Several in attendance were very interested in the program and he has an offer to make his pitch to the local Rotary Clubs. More information on this will be presented at the next meeting.
Item 4- Brad Bowen and Richard Finch are looking into the possibility of getting an F-117A Stealth Fighter donated to the EAA Air Museum. This would be a major feather in Chapter 251's cap and we are very excited about this. As the fleet is soon to be decommissioned and mothballed at Davis Monthan AFB this might just happen! More as we hear it.
Item 5- DANGEROUS RUNWAY CONDITION! - On June 19th, member Jim Holder's newly acquired airplane sustained damage during a landing at Alamogordo-White Sands Regional Airport. It seems that because of recent dirt work at the airport there is a 12"difference in runway heights at the intersection of Runway 3-21 and Runway 16-34. There was no NOTAM or runway closure notice at the time but there is one now. No one was injured and the airplane can be repaired but with proper airport management this would not have occurred. All members are urged to express their displeasure with the city council over this incident. Next time it could be YOU!
Item 6- Chapter 251 has donated a chapter patch to fellow EAAer Judy Wolff for use in a quilt she is making. Judy volunteered in the World Trade Center cleanup after 9/11 and has developed a lung condition as a result, which has disabled her. She will use proceeds from the quilt's sale to offset her medical expenses. Good luck to you, Judy!
Item 7-Cameron Baxter was spotted having fun at the EAA Air Museum recently and was presented a souvenir hat and pins from Pioneer Airport and a signed card from Paul Poberezny by Mark Forss, staff member at Oshkosh headquarters. Cameron is the Young Eagle that Chapter 251 sponsored to attend the EAA Air Academy.
Item 8-The Alamogordo Airport Board will meet July 6th at 1500 hrs in the Civic Center.
Item 9-Following are the recent members reports of progress or the lack thereof, as the case may be!
1-Members Richard Finch and Ken Henderson flew to Artesia June 15th to deliver Richard’s Cherokee 140 to its new owner, a very happy Border Patrol instructor who is reportedly flying the “snot” out of it. It was a wonderful flight with Richard instructing Ken on the finer points of aircraft control and navigation. Richard still has a Grumman Traveler with a Buick V-6 auto conversion for sale. Contact him at (505) 585-8035 or finchbooks@tularosa.net.
2- Members Jim Holder, Richard Finch, and Ken Henderson drove to Carrizozo on June 19th to ferry Jim’s Wittman Tailwind to ALM. While in Carrizozo Ken observed the ongoing work being done to member Jim Fairhurst's RV-4. Looks more like a kit again than an airplane Jim! The flight back was uneventful until the above-mentioned landing resulted in a collapsed gear and damaged prop. All walked away and repairs are ongoing.
3- Member Ken Henderson has been spending way too much time on the internet lately researching the deviations from the plans made by the original builder of his partially completed KR-2 and searching for still needed components. He is looking for a fixed main gear from Grove for a KR-2 and Corvair motors. He can be reached by calling (505) 437-1571 or at kenhenderson@zianet.com. Ken has recently started flight training to compliment his ground school with the very capable Rob Hicks as his instructor. On the first attempted take off last lesson the very noticeable P-factor and torque from the 210 hp motor on the nose of the T-41C resulted in an abrupt left turn upon application of power and absence of considerable right rudder. Rob saved his bacon and by the 3rd attempt Ken was getting noticeably better and Rob was having to pray a lot less! Attempted landings were improving also and it is doubtful that the entire airplane would have to be replaced upon landing if Rob wasn't there to help out! Perhaps only the entire landing gear and a wing or two!
4- John Wareing reports finishing sealing the right fuel tank in his RV-8 in only a week compared to a month for the left. With Pro-Seal by the time you know what you're doing, you're done! He will work on the outboard leading edge next then the top and bottom skins, hopefully finishing in August. He plans on ordering the fuselage later this month. Let's all hope the price of metals goes down soon so he can afford to do so!
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5- Fellow EAAer J.D.Edwards called from Albuquerque. He is anticipating a career move to WSMR in the near future and wanted information about our chapter. He is also in need of hangar space for his Beechcraft Bonanza. Anyone that can help him out with this please contact him at (505) 220-1975 or jdedwards3@earthlink.net. Thanks.