MESSAGE FROM OUR NEW PRESIDENT FRANK
SMITH
| We all want 2003 to be the best
one for our chapter, and to that end the officers wants to know your
ideas and your suggestions.
Please take the time to fill out this questionnaire and
return it to me or bring it to the next meeting. I assure you, we will use
your ideas as we plan projects and programs, as well as involving
the membership in developing some long-range
goals. |
Click here to take the
survey
Can you name this plane? If so click here ,
type in the name and hit send. The first person with the correct
name will be listed in next month's newsletter.
Congratulations to Forest Coxen for winning last
month's NTP (He flew them in the
Navy)
The plane of the month this time is a PBY-5A. It was used
by the U.S.Navy
during WW-2 for patrol.
|
DECEMBER Meeting
Minutes by
David
Williams |
The chapters annual Christmas Dinner Meeting
was held on December the tenth at the pool-clubhouse at Westminster Oaks
here in Tallahassee and was attended by thirty-seven members and
guests. Our host, Gar Braun,
was gracious, the members were happy, the food was quite good, and the
guest speaker in focusing on his grandfather’s pioneering exploits in
aviation gave all of us who attended a renewed appreciation for those
brave men of yesteryear who gave their lives for what they loved.
Appreciation was expressed to the outgoing
officers for the work and love each put into the chapter and the new
Chapter officers for the next two years were introduced (Frank Smith,
President; Gar Braun, Vice President; David Williams, Secretary; and Dave
Schamber, Treasurer)
Al Ingles was our guest speaker--Al and his
wife Donna are the owners of Capital Avionics here in Tallahassee. Al not only is an
active part of modern-day aviation but he is also an active historian of
the early days of flying.
Al’s presentation about his grandfather’s lifelong involvement with
early commercial and barnstorming flying was full of bits of history and
antidotes about the lives and sometimes the deaths of these flying
pioneers.
One member said it all when, at the end of the
program, he stood up and said,
“This was one of the best programs the chapter has ever done.” Thanks goes to our guest speaker,
our host, and all that attended.
Click here to see pictures of
the meeting.
Accident occurred Monday, August 10,
1998 at THOMASVILLE, GA
Aircraft:Taylorcraft BC12-D, registration:
N96175
Injuries: 1 Uninjured.
According to the pilot, he was 2.5
hours into a 4 hour flight when he felt an urgent need to relieve himself.
The pilot stated he decided to land on a road in a cultivated field. The
pilot stated after landing, he noticed a post on the left side of the road
and maneuvered to miss the post. During this maneuver, the airplane became
airborne, and when it touched down a second time, the landing gear
collapsed. According to the FAA inspector, the pilot stated he had to
relieve himself, so he decided to land on an access road because he didn't
see the airport. The pilot then stated that he didn't have enough
clearance on the road, and decided to land in the field. The FAA inspector
also stated the field was approximately 1 to 2 miles south of Thomasville
Municipal Airport. According to the FAA, the airplane touched down on the
edge of the field, crossed the access road, and came to rest in another
field. When crossing the road, the right main landing gear was sheared
off. As the airplane continued to roll, the lower third of the rudder and
two fuselage longerons were bent.
The National Transportation Safety
Board determines the probable cause(s) of this accident as follows.
The pilot's poor in-flight
decision to attempt a forced landing in a field 2 miles from an airport,
leading to an on-ground collision with rough terrain. A factor was the
pilot's physiological need.
Those of us who fly regularly out of TLH
are often reminded when we tune in ATIS that certain taxiways are
"NON MOVEMENT AREAS" . What does that mean?
A) You cannot taxi on "NON MOVEMENT AREAS"
without a clearance
B) You cannot taxi on "NON MOVEMENT AREAS"
period (hence the name non-movement)
C) "NON MOVEMENT AREAS" are considered to
be ramp or apron areas and therefore are not under ATC
control
Click here to send
your answer
Last Months quiz about special VFR did not
have a correct answer because it was not written clearly. The
point the author was trying to make was that any time the ceiling is less
than 1000ft and/or the visibility is less than 3miles, a pilot
cannot depart VFR. However, if the visibility is greater than 1 mile, no
mater how low the ceiling is and it is daylight and the flight is operated
under part 91, the pilot can request and depending on IFR traffic can
expect to receive a special VFR clearance. The pilot must stay clear
of clouds!
This could come in handy if TLH becomes
fogged in but the sky is clear everywere else. Of course once you leave
class C airspace you must abide by the rules of whatever
airspace you enter. Class G would be 1 mile visability and clear of
clouds but remember the 500ft min altitude over
sparsley populated areas and 1000ft over densely populated
areas.
Also, ATC is not responsible for obstruction
clearance when you are SVFR so watch out for those towers!
FAR & AIM that explain SVFR procedures
are FAR 91.157/119 and AIM paragraph 4-4-5.
|
Interesting Diversions by Ed
Copes |
One of the great
things about being an aviation enthusiast is how it can bring, often
unexpectedly, an added dimension to what was originally going to be a
rather mundane activity. Such
was the case last month when I found myself on a work imposed two week
exile to Los Angeles.
When I was originally planning this trip, I thought that an
interesting weekend activity would be to a visit Edwards Air Force Base,
which is in the Mojave desert about an hour east of Los Angeles. Unfortunately, a check of their
web site revealed that since 9/11 all public access had been
suspended. The same was also
true of the nearby NASA Dryden Research Center. With these destinations
off-limits, I set my sights on some non-aviation activities exploring the
Mojave desert area.
So there I was, in a town
called Carson, which is definitely not the nicest part of South LA,
surrounded by the sun drenched, smog encrusted sprawl of this metropolis,
working in a windowless computer room, when I spotted the words “Aviation
Meet” in a headline in the local college newspaper. A quick scan of the article
revealed that, over this same spot where I was standing, the nation’s
first air show took place in 1910.
The show was based about a half mile away in an area known as
Dominguez Hills and attracted, over its ten days, an estimated 226,000
people (which was more than half of the entire population of Los Angeles
back then) anxious to see the new flying machines in action. This was, after all, only seven
years after the Wright brothers first flight. A picture of the event in the
article showed a variety of airplanes, a dirigible and a hot air balloon
against a pastoral backdrop of rolling hills. (see more at http://www.1910dominguezmeet.com/ and
http://ci.carson.ca.us/extra/GreatAirMeetOf1910.htm).
Well, the area has
changed. The web site
promises an historical marker near the site and an exhibit in the
historical museum of the Dominguez Ranch Adobe. It took an entire lunch hour of
searching to finally find the marker, on a busy highway surrounded by an
industrial park. Appropriately, near the marker on the opposite side of
the street is Glenn Curtiss Street.
It took another lunch hour to locate the museum, which is indeed a
quiet oasis in the urban landscape.
Their limited visiting hours, however, prevented anything but a
view of the exterior of the building.
While driving about the Carson
area, I discovered another piece of aviation trivia – this is the home of
one of the three Goodyear blimps, the Eagle. The 192 foot long airship can
easily be seen moored at its base near I-405 and is a frequent sight
flying low over the neighborhood.
Another story,
one of our times, presented itself one day while I was dropping off an
associate at the nearby Long Beach airport. A large, warehouse style building
next to the terminal was emblazoned with the words “Mooney
Aerospace”. Mooney? Aerospace? I thought they made single-engine
GA aircraft in Kerrville, Texas.
A story in the Los Angeles Times a few days later provided
the explanation.
You may
remember a company called Advanced Aerodynamics & Structures (AASI),
which was founded to develop the six-seat turboprop Jetcruzer 500. Two years ago, the company
employed over 130 workers and had orders for 188 aircraft. Flight tests of the prototype
revealed, however, that the plane was too heavy, too noisy and too
ungainly. Facing an estimated
$30 million price tag for design fixes, the company decided to shelve the
Jetcruzer project.
The investors
brought in new management and came up with a new game plan. Their first move was to purchase
Mooney Aircraft, which had filed for bankruptcy and had ceased production
of new aircraft. Last
July, AASI changed its name to Mooney Aerospace Group and that same month
the first new production aircraft was sold. The Kerrville factory has
re-staffed and now employs over 150 people. Last month, the company closed the
Long Beach facility and called in the salvage company, so I guess I saw
the building in its final days.
And the future
for Mooney? Well, as recently
as last September, CEO L. Peter Larson was giving upbeat assessments of
the company’s future.
Unfortunately for Mr. Larson, he was fired by the board in
November. Richard Aboulafia,
an aviation consultant with the Teal Group, offered this analysis: “These guys don’t have a modern
aircraft, they don’t have much of a logistics and sales network compared
to a company like Cessna and they don’t have deep pockets.” But, “at least they now have an
aircraft that they can fly and sell, “ he added. And that’s “better than what they
had when the company was Advanced Aerodynamics.” (Los Angeles
Times, 11/15/02, p. C1, C12).
We wish them luck in these tough economic times in keeping the
rich legacy of the Mooney aircraft alive.
Ed
Copes is an Instrument Rated Private Pilot ,network software engineer
and BBF feature writer.
Cracks Found On New Cessna 172s..
A California pilot says fellow owners of late-model
Cessna 172s should add an unusual step to their preflight inspection.
Brian Boyd, an 80-hour-pilot, told AVweb no one should start up a new 172
without thoroughly inspecting the prop spinner and its mounts. His
57-hour-old 172 developed what he considers a potentially serious problem
late last month. Somewhere over the desolation of the high desert, en
route to Palm Springs for AOPA Expo, the spinner developed a two-inch
crack. "The spinner was actually peeled back," he said. Although it didn't
depart the aircraft (and Cessna says none have, so far) Boyd said such a
failure could be catastrophic. Boyd did some investigating and discovered
Cessna has known about the problem for more than a year but hasn't yet
issued a Service Bulletin or any other notification to pilot
Centennial of Flight Commission to Kick
Off Yearlong Aviation Celebration
On
December 17, 2002, the nation’s spotlight will be fixed squarely on
aviation’s rich heritage when the U.S. Centennial of Flight Commission
(COFC) launches its yearlong celebration of Orville and Wilbur Wright’s
first sustained powered flight at the National Air and Space Museum (NASM)
in Washington, D.C. Actor John Travolta, a 5,000-hour jet pilot, will
serve as master of ceremonies for the event. “Centennial of Flight: Born
of Dreams—Inspired by Freedom” will honor the Wrights’ world-changing
achievement 99 years ago and the century of flight-related milestones that
followed. The Commission, created by Congress to expand national and
international interest in the centennial, also advises the President,
Congress, and federal agencies on the most effective ways to promote
national and international participation. EAA President Tom Poberezny
serves on the commission, and EAA’s Countdown to Kitty Hawk initiative is
a major component of the overall celebration.
(read
more)
Paul
Tibbets was born Feb. 23, 1915, son of
Enola Gay
and Paul Warfield Tibbets in Quincy, Illinois. Attracted by
the land boom, the Tibbets family moved to Florida when Paul was nine. On
that memorable summer day, a barnstorming pilot, Doug Davis, let the
twelve-year old Paul ride in his Waco 9 airplane and toss Baby Ruth candy
bars to the crowds at Hialeah racetrack and Miami Beach. Tibbets always
traced his interest in aviation to that day. The next year, 1928, he
entered Western Military Academy (WMA), where
Butch O'Hare attended
at the same time. Here he learned many of the rituals of military life,
such as hazing and room inspections where the inspector was likely to rub
a white glove across the sole of his foot and issue a demerit for "dirty
floors."
The publication dispels many common
misunderstandings—that the weight of the ice is what causes danger; that
carburetor icing is a thing of the past; and that pilots have few options
to avoid ice. It also offers full-color charts and photographs explaining
the conditions that may lead to icing, the different kinds of ice a pilot
may encounter, icing hazards, and preventive steps for escaping an icing
encounter.
“Knowing what to do if you encounter icing
conditions, and just as importantly, how to recognize the potential for
icing before ever leaving the ground, are among the most important skills
a pilot can have,” said ASF Executive Director Bruce Landsberg.
The
publication is available free of charge online at
www.aopa.org/asf/publications/sa11.pdf. A printed copy may be ordered by calling
800/638-3101. 
