www.eaa252.org June 2004 Oshkosh - Sport Aviation Capitol of the World President: Pat Keesler 920-729-5751 [email protected]Vice President: John Monnett 920-231-8297 [email protected]Secretary: Mary Lattimer 920-725-9132 [email protected]Treasurer: Frank Friedman 920-237-3536 [email protected]June 7 th Chapter 252 Meeting Monday evening, starting at 7:00pm, we will meet at the Sonex Hangar at Wittman Field for our usual monthly meeting. We are featuring a discussion with Capt. Paul Johns, who was a Pan American Airways captain on the 1930s Pan Am Clippers flying to South American and across the Pacific. With some 220 Pacific crossings, and flying Sikorsky S-42s and Martin 130s, Paul will have some adventures to share of the “early days” of trans-ocean flights using flying boats. Pan Am ended the flying boat period with the huge Boeing 314, carrying 74 passengers. Special Notice: The new Chapter 252 tee shirts with “Wittman Flying Service” printed on the back are now available. See Frank Friedman. Special Notice: There will be a work party for Chapter 252 on Saturday, June 26. Breakfast at 7:00am at EAA South Maintenance Barn. We will be preparing grounds for AirVenture 2004.
Transcript
www.eaa252.org
June 2004Oshkosh - Sport Aviation Capitol of the World
Monday evening, starting at 7:00pm, we will meet at the Sonex Hangar atWittman Field for our usual monthly meeting. We are featuring a discussionwith Capt. Paul Johns, who was a Pan American Airways captain on the1930s Pan Am Clippers flying to South American and across the Pacific.With some 220 Pacific crossings, and flying Sikorsky S-42s and Martin 130s,Paul will have some adventures to share of the “early days” of trans-oceanflights using flying boats. Pan Am ended the flying boat period with the hugeBoeing 314, carrying 74 passengers.
Special Notice: The new Chapter 252 tee shirts with “Wittman FlyingService” printed on the back are now available. See Frank Friedman.
Special Notice: There will be a work party for Chapter 252 on Saturday, June26. Breakfast at 7:00am at EAA South Maintenance Barn. We will bepreparing grounds for AirVenture 2004.
anniversary of D-Day, one of the mostsignificant events of the 20th century, with anumber of activities and displays.
On Friday, June 4th, there will be a banquetand a Hangar Dance. Special guest is MiloFlaten, a Wisconsin-born infantryman whowas one of the first to land on the beaches ofNormandy on June 6th. Following thedinner, the dance will feature big-bandmusic from the Neenah Ambassadors.Tickets for the June 4 event are $25 perperson. Call 426-6880 or [email protected].
On Sunday, June 6, at 10 am, a patrioticceremony in the Eagle Hangar will featureveteran’s groups and recognize the sacrificesmade during WWII. The event will featurefly-bys of a P-51 Mustang aircraft. Regularadmission prices prevail, with EAAmembers admitted free. Carry your EAAmembership card!
During the weekend, a number of specialdisplays and activities will be included withthe normal admission price.
(1) An L-bird fly-in at Pioneer Airport willallow visitors to see the type of observationaircraft used during the Normandy landing.
(2) A Mk. IX Supermarine Spitfire thatactually participated in the invasion will bedisplayed in the Eagle Hangar.
(3) A Higgins Boat landing craft on loanfrom the Military Veterans’ Museum inOshkosh, that was actually used during theNormandy Beach landing. GeneralEisenhower said that “if it were not for theselanding craft” the whole strategy of the warwould have been different.
(4) Video presentations on D-Day history,including oral histories from Wisconsin D-Day veterans.
(5) The 509th Parachute Infantry Battalion, aWWII living-history paratrooper group thatwill set up camp on the Museum grounds forthe weekend. They will present authenticre-enactments of the preparations for aparachute drop as conducted during the D-Day invasion, under the wing of the EAA’sC-47 transport on the front grounds.
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International Young Eagle Day isSaturday, June 12Jim Sonnleitner
EAA will conduct a Young Eagle event atWittman Airport on June 12. This is a worldwide Young Eagle Day. Area pilots willprobably be contacted by EAA. If not, callthe Young Eagle office. They will needpilots and ground crew.
NOTE: In the past, EAA’s insurancecovered other aviation organizations(AOPA, SAA, and others) for Young Eagleflights. This is no longer true. Only actualEAA members are covered by insurance, sobring your EAA membership card.- - - - - -
The new “KidVenture” Gallery opened onSaturday, May 15 at the AirVentureMuseum. There are lots of hands-onexhibits and displays to show kids aboutthings aeronautical. There are even balloonand hang glider simulators. The “BernoulliBlower,” a steady blast of compressed airkeeps a ball aloft, demonstrating theBernoulli effect. Unfortunately, the exhibitmistakenly informs the kids that theBernoulli effect is what keeps the wing of anairplane aloft. It doesn’t, but the kids loveit.
KidVenture Gallery is included in theadmission price for the Museum. EAAmembers get in free. Bring your EAAmembership card.
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Ultralight Day at Pioneer AirportSaturday, June 19Weather permitting, more than 40 ultralightsof all shapes and sizes and colors will be ondisplay. Normal AirVenture Museumattendance tickets will allow Pioneer Airportvisits. A free tram takes you from theMuseum to Pioneer and return.
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Go fly a kite - on Saturday,July 10th , that is
Kite building workshops and demonstrationflights by the incredible “Chicago Fire”team, the “St. Elmo’s Fire” team, the famous“Mr. Kite” from Minneapolis with hisamazing 450 ft. long dragon kite, MikeDelfar (two time world champion), and Joshand Zak Gordon (dual line stunt champions)will mark the day. At noon there will be agrand launch of some 300 kites. A free kitewill be given to the first 100 kids who signup for the “Kid’s mad dash” at 1:00 pm. Asusual, your Museum attendance fee coversthis event. EAA card-holding members arefree.
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“Spitfire Day” June 26
Seattle’s Museum of Flight is loaning theAirVenture Museum a Mk IX Spitfireairplane and exhibit. The display will beavailable during the D-Day weekend (June4-5-6). This particular airplane did seeaction on D-Day, under command of theFree French. Also, a new exhibit called“Spitfire – Flying Legend” will open on D-Day weekend in the Telling Gallery,featuring the photography of John Dibbs.The Seattle Museum received EAA’sNakajima Ki-4311b “Haybusa” Japanesefighter as a temporary trade.
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Robert Fulton, Jr.,intrepid inventor
Robert F. Fulton, Jr. died this last month atthe age of 95, at his home in Newtown, CT.
“Intrepid” is indeed a description of thisman. At the age of 9, he flew on acommercial flight from Miami to Havana(1921), and at the age of 11, was present inEgypt when King Tut’s tomb was opened.He rode around the world on a motorcyclewhen he was 24, and wrote a book about it.In 1947, he built a “flying car” which hecalled the “Airphibian.” His Airphibianreceived CAA certification in 1950. Heregularly flew from his home inConnecticut, to Teterboro Airport in NewJersey in those days, where he wouldremove the prop, disconnect the assembly ofthe wings and the tail and leave them in thehangar, and drive his little car intoManhattan. Your Editor happened to bebased at Teterboro in those days, and canattest that Mr. Fulton was always fun to bearound, although his usual garb of suit andtie sometimes set him apart from the rest ofthe airport crowd.
His Airphibian looked somewhat like aStinson Voyageur, but had a four-wheellanding gear like an automobile, and waspowered by a Franklin engine. Molt Taylorbecame a friend of Fulton’s, and from thatcame the Molt Taylor Aerocar, an exampleof which is in the AirVenture Museum.
During WWII, Fulton developed an aerialpickup system (named the Skyhook) forrescuing downed fliers and spies, which wasbased on the British railway method of
snatching mailbags on the run. The systemgrabbed the person off the ground with ahook from a low flying airplane and thenreeled the lines and the person into theairplane. It was featured in a James Bondmovie, “Thunderball.”
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Sam Johnson
On Saturday, May 22, longtime aviationenthusiast and friend of EAA passed away athome from a bout with cancer. When theYoung Eagle program was first started, Sam,who was the S. C. Johnson Wax companychairman emeritus, stepped up to launch itwith a sizable financial gift. He personallyflew hundreds of Young Eagles with theRacine EAA Chapter. He had a new replicaof the Sikorsky S-38 built so he couldrecreate the famous 1935 flight of his dad tothe Amazon River to look for carnaubatrees. The S-38 is seen a various air shows.
A number of our local Chapter membersknew Sam through his numerous visits toOshkosh and to the Museum. Sam was oneof the good guys.
“If we could close Ronald ReaganWashington National Airportaltogether, we would”
Who said that? In a recent meeting of thehead of TSA (Transportation SecurityAdministration) with members of variousgeneral aviation alphabet groups, these werethe words that started the meeting. Thecongressionally mandated order to openNational to general aviation was not wellreceived by TSA. One high ranking agencyofficial told the NBAA people that theyshould not expect any real movement on theissue until 2005, and even that date isquestionable. So much for citizen use.
Jim Coyne of the National Air Trans-portation Association pointed out thatterrorists have used airliners, trains, boats,cars, Ryder rental trucks, and wheelchairs tocommit their murderous deeds, complainingthat “these vehicles aren’t banned fromDCA, but general aviation is.”
In typical fashion, after the House AviationSubcommittee let Admiral David Stoneknow that they were very frustrated with theinaction to act on the oft-repeated promise toopen National to general aviation, Stonestated that TSA “has a sense of urgency tomove forward” on opening DCA, adding“I’m confident it will receive the highestlevel of attention.” Yeah, Admiral, but willit be opened?
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EPA drags it feet on updated fuelspill rules
Aviation industry fuelers met with theEnvironmental Protection Agency on March31, where it was learned that the newaviation fueling operations rules regardingspills are nowhere near to being finalized bythe EPA. EPA has yet to clearly define theimpact of spill protection, control, andcountermeasure, but plans to proceed withan August 17 compliance date. Even morealarming to the fuelers, especially toNational Air Transportation Association,was that EPA proposes to issue a memor-andum stating that open issues will receive“a low enforcement policy” until finalregulatory language could be developed.This would clearly leave fuelers in anunsound compliance situation. This hasalready generated Congressional concernthat the proposed memorandum “is notsufficient to protect stakeholders fromenforcement action or lawsuits and theagency should consider other avenues forproceeding.”
Is this yet another example of the BushAdministration’s disregard of environmentalconcerns? The EPA has already been cutback in funds (Clear Skies, Clean Water,etc.) and the general word seems to be outthat the EPA has been made relativelytoothless by design. But that does not helpthe fuelers (Basler and Orion, for example)to avoid legal problems pertaining tocompliance with vague regulations if theEPA or someone else wants to cause legaltroubles.
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Ol’TatteredWingtipsPylon Editor,Doc Mosher
Returning from Sun’n’Fun, Norm Petersen,Bill Schlapman, and I stopped at Columbus,Indiana to see Mike Williams, who rebuildsold airplanes of all types. Bill had madearrangements for our visit, and Mikegraciously gave us a tour. He has some 10 to12 people working for him.
EAA’s Tiger Moth New Standard Biplane
Among the airplanes he is repairing orrebuilding were two that we immediatelyrecognized. One was a Canadian TigerMoth that had been a fixture for many yearsat the EAA Museum and Pioneer Airport. Itwas easy to identify by the nomenclaturenear the cockpit: “Maj. Father JohnMacGillivrey, RCAF C-FIVO.” It is inMike’s shop for a complete rebuild andrecover. Another was EAA’s 1929 NewStandard D-25 biplane that was damagedshortly after it started carrying passengersout of Pioneer. Both airplanes are inexcellent hands with Mike Williams, andwill return to Oshkosh in mint condition.
While there, Mike passed along a couple ofmaintenance tips “that might be a help toyour guys.” One idea he calls “the Noose.”He runs a double fishline through a WD-40tube (a really fine plastic straw) with a loopof line on one end. He can insert a bolt ornut into this loop, and, pulling the other endsof the fishline, can hold the bolt or nut
exactly where he wants it in a difficultlocation to reach.
He also demonstrated a regular Jorgensonwood clamp that he had screwed to the topof a wood workbench. He then drilled holesin the closed jaws right at the partingsurfaces that were the sizes of steel tubinghe might want to hold in an upright positionfor welding or cutting. Ever practical, Mikesays “You can unscrew the clamp and use itnormally elsewhere.”
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Volunteer opportunities atAirVenture
Each year, Chapter 252 members have theopportunity to have free gate passes to theAirVenture extravaganza by volunteering toserve as the “water crew” for the variouswater-based air-conditioning units in theForum tents and other displays on theAirVenture grounds. Hours are from 6 to 8am and/or from 2 to 4 pm. For this you geta daily wristband allowing you free entry.Sign up for one or more days. Call DocMosher, chairman, at 727-1534.
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CLASSIFIED3 HP Air Compressor, 30 gal tank,120/240 $150.00Call Frank at 920-237-3536
Fourth of July ParadeJim Sonnleitener
The City of Oshkosh Sunday July 4th paradewill start at 9 am. The paper Stearmanbiplane is available for our use. This isalways a popular float display. It ispresently stored in a Pioneer hangar. It hasthe wings removed. At present, we havetwo volunteers to help during the parade, aswell as a truck and a trailer. We plan tohand out toy gliders to kids along the paraderoute, so we need some volunteers to dothat. These people can ride sometimes onthe float, so nobody has to walk the entireroute.
Help is also needed to decorate the trailerand attach the airplane wings. WithoutChapter volunteers, we will not be able toagain have the float in the parade.
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Good friend Jim Koepnick presentsa photo display
Chapter 252 friend Jim Koepnick, EAA’schief photographer, has been with EAA for20 years. He has assembled a collection ofhis airplane photos that will be on display allsummer long in the Photography Gallery.The display started on May 5, with anevening program. This is one moreadvantage we have by living in Oshkosh!Jim is a local boy, having grown up inOshkosh.
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Young Eagles are activeJim Sonnleitner
We were able to add 16 more Young Eaglesto the growing list at the combined event atOrion FBO on Saturday, May 15. Pilotswere Frank Friedman, Dennis Gillispie(from Appleton), Bob Royce, Doug Milius,and Ian Dodge. Ground crew was JimSonnleitner and Mike Haig.- - - - - -
Wittman weekendJim Casper
Here's some info on the Chapter'sparticipation in the past April’s Wittmanweekend.
Chapter 252 made a considerablecontribution to EAA's very successful three-day celebration of the centennial of SteveWittman's birth on April 5, 1904. Saturday,Sunday, and Monday, the 3rd 4th, and 5th,There were tours of Pioneer Airport'sWittman Hangar. Bob Baier, Mike Butler,Jim Casper, Gene Chase, Arden Hjelle, andBob Sonnleitner represented the Chapter onthese, giving Museum visitors a "livinghistory" narration of some highlights ofSteve's life. Monday evening in theMuseum, EAA presented a retrospectiveprogram on Steve's life including reflectionsby Chapter members Paul Poberezny, BillBrennand, and John Monnett. The Chapterprovided cake and refreshments for theprogram, assisted by members FrankFriedman, Mike Haig, Mary Lattimer, LonNanke, Jim and Sue Sonnleitner, and Jimand Pauline Casper. A Chapter thank you toEAA for organizing this warm and lovingremembrance of Steve, and the privilege ofChapter members participating in it.
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Chapter 215 – Calendar of EventsFriday, Sat, Sun, June 5,6,7 – AirVenture Museum – D-Day programsSaturday, June 6, all day – Wild Rose Idlewild Airport – Breakfast, pig roast, etc.Monday night, June 7, 7:00pm – Regular Chapter Meeting – Sonex Hangar – WittmanField – Capt. Paul Johns, Pan Am pilot on Pacific Flying Clippers, 220 crossings.Friday, Sat, Sun – June 11,12,13 – Sport Aviation Assoc. gathering – Frasca Field, Urbana ILSaturday, June 12 – Brennand Airport, Neenah – Flying Start Seminar & Young Eagles DaySaturday, June 12, all day – International Young Eagle Day at WittmanSaturday, June 19, all day – Pioneer Airport – Ultralight DaySunday, June 20 , all day – Sheboygan Wings/Wheels – Breakfast, lunch – MAAC meetingSaturday, June 26, all day – Chapter 252 work party @ EAA, Bkfst @ 7:00amSunday, July 4, 9am – Oshkosh City Parade, Chapter 252 floatSaturday, July 10, all day – AirVenture Museum – Kite flying dayFriday, July 23 thru Sunday, July 25, Annual Pietenpol Fly-In, Brodhead WisconsinAll week, Tuesday, July 27 thru Monday, August 2, EAA AirVenture Fly-In, Oshkosh
Note: There will be a Chapter 252 EAA work party on Saturday, June 26, all day.Breakfast at the volunteer kitchen at 7am at S. Maintenance Barn. Work all day or part ofday to prepare the grounds for AirVenture. Call Frank Friedman for details.
Editor, Pylon1071 Meadow LaneNeenah WI 54956
The Phillipine Clipper arriving at Hong Kong - 1936
