Getting Started

Matt Thompson

As I suspected, I was away on travel at our last meeting. My thanks to Mike Stoddard for filling in last month. My understanding from Mike is that the Historical Society Room at the Madison Library worked out well for our meeting. So we’re going for a repeat performance this month. Start time 7:00. As I hinted last month, I expect Jim Massengill to be at the meeting with photos and details on the work he has been doing on his Glassair III. If it wasn’t fast enough before, it certainly will be now, as he’s adding a super charger! So, please try to attend and if there’s a guest you’ve been thinking of bringing, please do, I expect it will be an interesting program. For those that remember, Jim did an interesting program for us a few years ago when he first started flying the Glassair.

I received a letter and some photos from Charlie Starr – as well as his dues! Which I think makes him our longest distance member. Here’s a bit from his letter, Charlie writes:

“I wish that I could report that my Murphy Super Rebel project was completed and flying, but such is not the case. After moving to the Florida Panhandle, the SR languished in pieces and in boxes in the corner of a hangar at its new destination, 18FD - Sky Ranch Airport, Baker, FL. This was storage space given to me by the hangar owner while my new hangar was under construction [Charlie – all of us here in NJ are already envious even before looking at the photos – MVT]. Due to a set of circumstances (many having to do with the rural airport’s neighbors who tried to block airport construction by using their influence…), the construction took many more months that it should have. But finally, the airport prevailed, and my hangar partner (Larry Wade – whom you might have met at Sky Manor) and I completed our shop, hangar, and break room. Sky Ranch is a 3000’ x 600’ lighted grass strip adjacent to the Crestview VOR. Larry and I built a 75’ x 60’ hangar with shop and small living quarters. To have something to fly during Murphy construction, I bought a 1946 Stinson 108-2 at Sun ‘n Fun last year, making several trips back to my home in Kentucky in it.

I moved the Murphy to the newly completed hangar and once again started working on it, hoping to have completed it by last summer. But again, problems developed. I woke up on night, last July, with what felt like an elephant sitting on my chest, shortness of breath, etc. Of course, my first thought was “what had I eaten to give me this kind of indigestion”. To make a long story somewhat shorter, after a night in the emergency room, several exams and tests by the doctors the following few days – in which they could find nothing – a cardiologist finally diagnosed severe blockage of an artery. That day I was on a life-flight jet to Birmingham and had a quad by-pass. Needless to say, my aircraft building was curtailed for a while. I’m happy to report that six months later, I feel better than I have in years; have lost 40 pounds; eat & drink a bit more conservatively, and exercise almost every day for about 2 hours. I’ve started the long process of getting my physical back – although this will probably take another couple of months given the volumes of records and tests that the FAA want and the “light speed” that the FAA seems to work.

I got a scare that my brand new Lycoming O-540 was one of the engines with the crankshaft bolt AD. However, I was pleasantly surprised to learn that it was not one of the affected engines. However, in Friday’s mail, I got another note from Hartzel about a defective hub casting. Tomorrow’s project – pray, then check to see that it hopefully isn’t one of the affected props.

To keep the hangar busy, my partner and I have started work on another project – a Daytona Cub kit, which is a Super Cub replica kit to be powered by and Aerosport O-360 with CS prop. Actually, Larry is doing most of the work, since he is such a perfectionist that he doesn’t trust anyone else to work on it. You might remember Larry’s Stinson 108-3, based at Sky Manor, that won almost every show in the NJ, NY, PA areas a few years ago. He also won grand champion at the SERFI show (plus “Builder’s Choice” the next year), here in the Southeast, after moving to Florida. We’ve completed the control surfaces – ready to paint and are about ready to cover the wings…”

I’ll be bringing the photos he sent of his hangar, airplanes, and “soon-to-be” airplane for everyone to see at the meeting. Charlie’s email is cws1932@cox.net.

Speaking of languishing projects, a little more on the RV6 since the last newsletter. I finally got around to leak testing the second tank – still holding more that 12” of water pressure over a month (started with 18”). The pressure varies both with the barometric pressure and the lights in the shop heating the tank. I suspect that means that I’m good to go on this tank too. Thanks to all who helped out with the closeout process (Art, Art, Barry, and Mike!). The second wing is ready for close out. It’s been hard to do much in the garage with all the cold that we’ve had the past month, so not much more to report on the fuselage.

I’ve had lot’s of flying on business travel these days. I’m doing my part to keep Continental solvent (and pay for Charlie’s retirement!). One new experience for me is I that got to fly on a GD corporate jet. Ours is a G200 (Galaxie, not Gulfstream). Seats six plus the two crew up front, seven if you count the seatbelt in the head. Got to say, it’s a nice way to travel, I left my office in Florham Park at 1:00, drove to MMU, walked up, got in and made a meeting in Herndon, VA at 2:30 that same afternoon. The next morning, we took the plane down to Charleston, SC for an all day meeting – finished up with dinner and managed to be back home in my own bed by 10. The G200 has a full glass cockpit, only 3 steam gauges for backup (my Super Cruiser has more!). Cruising at 37,000, 570+, I could get spoiled.

Finally, I got the Cruiser out this winter. Pleased to report that I can still fly it. When it’s 20 degrees out, it certainly lives up the “Super” in it’s name. I amused the controllers at MMU by landing on 5 and needing to add power to taxi up to Echo (I was doing a few land – taxi backs so I would be current again). On departure, it took maybe a 300 – 400’ ground roll and I was off and climbing at better than 1000 fpm. Hard to beat that. The controller volunteered “who needs a helicopter…” on watching my climbout.

I’m still looking for programs and will try to do better at getting the information out in the newsletter sooner. So please say yes when I ask. I’d really like to get the program calendar out with a couple months lead so that everyone has something to look forward to and have the opportunity to invite a guest and know that there will be someone talking on something of interest. That’s how we’re going to grow – hopefully one day very soon, we’ll need to rent the Chase Room at the library to accommodate all of our members. That’s all for now. See you Monday night!

Off & Closed…Brakes and Contact!!!

Reflections - Ed Chenevey

The new meeting place is nice and parking is close. If we need more space for a big meeting, we can rent the large meeting room which is a stand alone structure on the other side of the courtyard. Dave Richter said that he was President when we last met i!n the Madison Library. All in all, I think it's a fine arrangement.
On the back cover of Popular Science is an ad for a Junkyard Megawars Flight of the Century Special on Sunday, March 9 at 8 PM with three international teams celebrating 100 years of flight trying to build an airplane with vintage junk and classic tools. Normally, they have some pretty nice strategically hidden junk so I wonder what will turn up this time. It should be better than the glider episode from last year where Barnaby Wainfan crashed.

Cygnet Chatter - Alvin Sager

For those members who do not already know, the Hawk is also being published as a website. This allows us not only to save on postage, but also to have an archive of past newsletters and as many pictures or articles as the free site will support, which is lots.

Presently I e-mail my son Steve the info and he posts it on the site. When we have some time together, he !will get me up to speed. It works. Check it out at www.angelfire.com/nj4/238

I send a reminder to all of my e-people when the newsletter is updated. To add your name to my list e-mail me at alsag52@aol.com

Point to ponder

I am the original builder of N877EZ. The aircraft has been 'pickled for the past 15 years. fully (albeit vfr) equipped and with a Cont 0-200A , original plans, logs and parts it probably qualifies as an antique, classic, homebult and a great flying machine. Now retired, I feel I need to decide weither to restore it, donate it to a New Jersey aircraft museum, or let it sit. There is no hurry for this choice and no pressure. What really gives me pause are the lia!bility (legal) issues. Has anyone ever devised a way to protect the original builder from financial and/or aggravating consequences should the unfortunate occur? I have bcc'ed copies of this missive to several members of the local chapter for their input also.

regards,

Dave Richter

Some humor

            In his book,"SledDriver,"SR-71/Blackbird pilot Brian Shul writes:
            "I'll always remember a certain radio exchange that occurred one day as Walt (his backseater) and I were screaming across Southern California 13 miles high. We were monitoring various radio transmissions from other aircraft as we entered Los Angeles
airspace."
            "Though they didn't really control us, they did monitor our movement across their scope. I heard a Cessna ask for a readout of its ground speed. 90 knots" Center! replied.
Moments later, a Twin Beech required the same. "120 knots," Center answered. "We weren't the only ones proud of our ground speed that day..as almost instantly an F-18 smugly transmitted, "Ah, Center, Dusty 52
requests ground speed readout." "There was a slight pause, then the response, 525 knots on the ground, Dusty".   "Another silent pause. As I was thinking to myself how ripe a situation this was, I heard a familiar click of a radio transmission coming from my backseater. It was at that precise moment I realized Walt and I had become a real crew, for we were both thinking in unison.   "Center, Aspen 20, you got a ground speed readout for us? " There was a longer than normal pause: "Aspen, I show1,742 knots".   "No further inquiries were heard on that frequency"
-------------------------------------------------------------
            In another famous SR-71 story, Los Angeles Center reported receiving a request for clearance to FL 600 (60,000 ft). T!he incredulous controller, with some disdain in his voice, asked, "How do you plan to get up to 60,000 feet? The pilot (obviously a sled driver), responded, " We don't plan to go up to it, we plan to go down to it." He was cleared...
            There's a story about the military pilot calling for a priority landing, because his single-engine jet fighter was running "a bit
peaked". Air Traffic Control told the fighter jock that he was number two, behind a B-52 that had one engine shut down. "Ah", the fighter pilot remarked, "The dreaded Seven-Engine approach".
-------------------------------------------------------------
            A student became lost during a solo cross-country flight. While attempting to locate the aircraft on radar, ATC asked, "What was your last known position?" Student: "When I was number one for takeoff".
-------------------------------------------------------------
            Taxiing down the tarmac, the DC10 abruptly stopped, turned !around and returned to the gate. After an hour-long wait, it finally took off. A concerned passenger asked the flight attendant, "What, exactly, was the problem?"
"The pilot was bothered by a noise he heard in the engine," explained the flight attendant. "It took us a while to find a new pilot."
-------------------------------------------------------------
            "TWA 2341, for noise abatement turn right 45 Degrees.." "Center, we are at 35,000 feet. How much noise can we make up here?"
"Sir, have you ever heard the noise a 747 makes when it hits a 727?"

Tales of a Technical Counselor

A couple of weeks ago I finally got my first call from a builder needing some help with a project. The “Ragwing Special”, an ultralight/experimental single place biplane was almost finished. That already is cause for concern, since I was not able to see what was covered up. Fortunately, the builder had common se!nse about mechanical things, and most of what I saw will cause any problems. What I did find, may have been an accident waiting to happen. The flying wires, 1/8” stranded cable, with double nicopress sleeves, did not have the customary 3 crimps, but only one. The builder was unaware of how a proper crimp was made. The thimbles were also loose. His use of hardware was also not up to FAA standards, his use of washers was not consistent. Some of the wing attach holes in the wooden spars were very loose also. He installed a recovery chute ahead of the firewall without sufficient shielding from the engine heat which will be trapped in the closed cowling, which by the way had far too little room for the air to get out.

Had the day been warmer, I may have found more details that needed attention. I am glad he called, and since he is an EAA member, I wonder why it took this long for him to seek assistance. The covering was neat, and he fo!llowed the plans, which were not nearly as cowill be a while before he is ready to fly, although since he is retired, I may be surprised by his progress. Having no tailwheel experience, finding a suitable test pilot, or acquiring the necessary skills is another issue.

To Be Continued

	Search: Angelfire Web by