Occupation: Retired (Mechanical Engineer)

     
 Duane spent 15 years in the aerospace industry. He worked for Aerojet General, Aetron Inc and GE on the Titan I and II ICBMs, GeminHeand Apollo moon launch programs.

 In 1970 he was hired by the state of Florida as an engineer and stayed with them until his retirement in 1992.
        
 His flight logbook entries start in 1985 when he began taking flying lessons to earn his private ticket. After passing the written and about 6 hours of flight training his instructor (Bob Babis) advised him to get his class 3 medical exam. The doctor was pleased with his physical condition but flunked him when he found that he had had a triple by-pass. The special approvals required to overcome this problem at the time were complex and expensive so he started looking into ultralight flying.
        
 After reviewing most of the designs available at the time he purchased a Tieira. The company that made these is still in business. It was small but well built and was powered by a 28 HP single cylinder Rotax engine. He put about 100 hours and 400 landings on that little jewel before selling it to get the money to build his first Kolb. The only problem he ever had was when he had to scrub a takeoff because the one and only sparkplug fouled out.
        
 The first Kolb he built was a single seater with a 52 HP engine with much better performance. She flew beautifully. He finally sold it to an individual who kept raising the price until he couldn't afford to keep it. Here again he put about 100 hours on the plane with about 400 landings.
        
 The second Kolb he built was a 2-seater with the same sized engine he had on the first Kolb. It was touted as the minimum engine for the plane and that was true. She flew great with just him in it but she had to struggle if he had a passenger.  He could not live with the poor performance so he sold it to a person who installed a bigger engine.
        
 The third Kolb he built and is still flying, is Kolb's true ultralight. With a wingspan of only 22', a dry weight of about 250 pounds and Duane at 155 pounds she is a real handful. He has 120 hours on this one and will continue to fly it until he get his new 2-seater flying.
        
 The newest Kolb is another 2-seater but this one is powered with a Rotax 912 80 HP four-cycle engine. It can be flown as an ultralight trainer or may be licensed as an experimental aircraft and flown by a private or sport pilot.
        
 Each plane he built has been constructed with emphasis on long term reliability. When first flight test time comes he do not kick the tires, light the fire and jamb the throttle. Each of his planes is tested under structured testing test procedure which starts with weight and balance and ends with performance of all appropriate maneuvers.
         
 Duane joined the EAA in about 1979 and served as Treasurer for 2 consecutive years.

SAFETY PILOT

By unanimous agreement of all ASCs present at their last meeting, all members of the Big Bend Aviation Safety Council now offer their services as safety pilot. Art Eickenberg effectively put it something like this .  "Pilots should be encouraged to call any one of us. If the ASC called can't fly with the pilot at the time, that ASC will help the pilot find another one who can."  Bill Humbert said  " Personally, I am profoundly proud of our membership for making that decision and extending an offer of our time to our aviation community.  I think that both within the state of Florida, and possibly within the United States, the Big Bend Aviation Safety Council has taken a unique step, and I hope our general aviation community will use our resources to their benefit."

 If you need a Safety Pilot, click here to go to the safety pilot page or click here to go to the Big Bend Safety Council page and send an e-mail or call one of the pilots on the list.  They will be happy to schedule time fly with you.    

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.

It was a captured Japanese "Dinah" reconnaissance aircraft. They were Very fast and could fly quite high. Some were modified to attack B-29s because of their high altitude ability.

LAST MONTH'S SAFETY QUIZ

 We had two winners last month.  Scott O'Brien and Dan Peterson.

 A pilot can expect a wind-shear zone in a temperature inversion whenever the windspeed at 2,000 to 4,000 feet above the surface is at least
    A) 10 knots. 
    B) 15 knots. 
    C) 25 knots.

The correct answer is C) 25 knots.

.If you have a question for the SAFETY QUIZ,  click here to submit it. Please include the answer!