Due to several board members being out of town, there was no board meeting in April.
Six central Illinois EAA chapters had members at the Havana meet April 28. Present were Havana, Peoria, Pekin, Bloomington, Springfield, and Canton. Attendance was poor, though, with only about 18 people present. The evening before, they held a cook-out attended by 11 people. Due to the weather, only one tent was pitched for the night. Saturday's meeting began with a presentation by a former USAF pilot, which was summarized in the most recent newsletter from the Havana chapter:
... an excellent presentation by air force pilot Rick Davidage, a cold-war F-111 veteran. Rick was forced to eject at low altitude on a training mission, producing serious back injuries, but against all odds he returned to flight status to go on again to fly fighters. Later he attained colonel and was deployed to Iraq and Saudi Arabia, guiding the air force through important parts of the Gulf War. His long career took him on many ocean-spanning flights as well as numerous sorties with our NATO allies.
Bloomington mentioned they have a functioning fly-out group which keeps in contact by e-mail and invited the other chapters to join in. Send a note to the chapter e-mail account, and I'll get you on their list. The chapter secretaries will work together to be sure local chapters have notice of events at all the neighboring chapters.
Those present at Saturday's meeting agreed it will be worth trying again next year, with the hosting chapter changing each year.
Coming only a week after the Havana meet, there will be no formal Chapter meeting May 5. However, there will be breakfast, and the Chapter Video from HQ will be shown.
Youth Programs
At the April meeting it was suggested we might work with nearby chapters, such as Springfield, to sponsor youth to go to OSH.
Throughout April, three chapter members mentored the Flight Club at Dunlap High School on the GAMA Challenge design contest. The project was to carry two people and a payload from one airport to another, over or around some mountains. They were given an X-plane model of the RV-10 and were asked to modify it, trying to optimize a performance formula which was similar to the old CAFE race scoring. Besides changing the airplane, they had to find an optimum route for the mission. The kids took more than a few liberties with the design, ending up with more of an RV-8 fitted with glider airplane wings and a rather hot wing loading. While their performance score was high, the judges may well ding them for "stretching" the basic RV-10 platform too far. (And there's the matter the slender wings would likely snap.) Unlike last year, GAMA promises to give the kids feedback on how they were judged, and we should know by next month.
Hangar
At the April chapter meeting a quorum was present (18 members) to hold a vote on acquiring a large air compressor for the hangar. This passed 13 to 3, and a Quincy was purchased at Big R in Washington later in the month.
The chapter's new compressor
This has now been placed along the east wall. Greg LePine donated a small sandblasting cabinet which will reside next to it. A new 220 V outlet is being run to this location, which will also service the TIG welder.
As an aside, the red device on the prop of the Piper in the photo behind the compressor is used to measure the magneto timing.
VMC and IMC Club
The IMC club now has up to 12 people at their meetings. VMC club has been running 4 members so far. The next VMC meeting is the first Sunday of May, and the IMC meets the following Sunday.
Volunteers
As always, kitchen help for the breakfasts is needed. The sign up sheet for 2018 is available in the hangar.
Members
Long time member Al Lurie has passed away, age 91. As usual, the chapter has sent flowers. You can read his obituary here. Al had an extensive collection of aircraft parts and tools, and we'll try to give members notice of the estate sale on these.
Welcome new member Bill Hurley. He offered this biography:
My first exposure to aviation was living on the south side of Chicago, preschool age, early 1960s, when my mother would take us kids to Meigs Field to watch airplanes take off and land. That was enough to get me hooked on airplanes. Next were a couple fly-in fishing trips to the Boundary Waters of Canada. Then a family friend took us to an EAA chapter fly-in in Crete, Illinois. Mother, being the adventurous one, took a ride in Carl Unger Sr.’s Breezy that day. We still have the picture someplace. Next was Campion Jesuit High School in Prairie du Chein, Wisconsin. PDC had a small general aviation airport with a local flying club, and my dad’s support got me flying lessons in a 1968 Skyhawk. I soloed N84920 in April, 1973, however I graduated before finishing and ended up taking lessons at Frankfort Airport in Illinois where I received my private pilot that summer. I also landed a part time job as a ramp/hanger rat for the next three years which gave me a lot of practical experience, especially cleaning oily airplane bellies. It also taught me how much the line boy (excuse me, line person) appreciates a tip once in a while for working in the coldest/hottest place on earth, depending on the season—a lesson I remember to this day. I first became an EAA member about this time, although the "official" archives show me joining in 1999.
Starting 1973, I attended college at Knox College in Galesburg. Flew C150 & 172 with Lundry Aviation and then moved to Galesburg Aviation where a young Harold Timmons checked me out in their 172. Ironically, not long after I believe Lundry was killed when he flew the 172, N1504U, into the river bluffs not far from Prairie du Chein. College and then life as an attorney in Chicago got in the way of flying for the next 30 years, with sporadic forays into an airplane in 1986 and 2004. Then a trip to the ER in 2008 revealed a bad aortic valve. Open heart surgery, valve replacement and by-pass surgery followed in 2010 with complications slowing my recovery. Needing motivation to stick with cardiac rehab I started thinking about flying again and found a special issuance medical could allow me to fly. So, in November 2012 I went to Blue Skies in Lake in the Hills, Illinois, to take a ride to see if I still had the interest. An hour in the sky with an instructor and it was like I never left. So, after some hard work, I got my special issuance in late 2012, got current in 2013, and have been flying ever since.
Given the uncertainty attendant to the special issuance process I bought a tired 172M (read Inexpensive) in July 2013 and fulfilled a lifetime dream of owning my own airplane. By then we had built a home in Abington, Illinois on 40 acres of quiet farm and my wife got a job in Peoria at the Caterpillar legal department. For 4 years I commuted to Galesburg from Chicago and back every weekend via 172, and then via 177B Cardinal after Basic Med gave me some piece of mind that my medical wasn’t in jeopardy every 12 months. I figured out once that I saved about 34 days of my life flying instead of driving in Chicago traffic. I quit the Chicago law business in March 2017 and effectively retired, giving me the time to get my instrument rating in November 2018. My wife and I have made trips to Rapid City, South Dakota; Gillette, Wyoming; Louisville, Ky; and Columbus, Ohio in addition to many other trips. Billings, Montana is next at the end of June.
I am not working on any project but would welcome the opportunity to be an extra hand if needed. Being a “bigger” guy I won’t fit in most homebuilts, but have always thought restoring a Stinson 108 or other vintage aircraft would be a welcome challenge. In the interim, I am attending the IMC meetings to keep the learning process on track.
We now have 58 members this year.
Threw's RV-7A at Sun 'n Fun
Early this spring Tim Threw finished refitting his RV-7A in the chapter hangar and has been flying it around the country since then, including New Orleans and Sun 'n Fun.
The Gilberts sold their RV-6 project after deciding the cabin would be too snug after all. They went shopping for a finished RV-8 to take its place but found it, too, is a bit tight for them.
Karl and Kip Kleimenhagen are still working on insurance and shipping for their RANS S-20 kit. State Farm's homeowner's policy does not insure aircraft parts stored at home (thanks to Rob Meyer for this notice) but Falcon and Arlington/Roe do. Builder's insurance is about 1 percent of the value of the components per year, and it covers moves, including common carrier freight from the factory. Once insurance is in place, they will take delivery of the kit by semi to their home, where one of the tilting, flatbad carriers for an automobile will be employed to offload the crates. They are hoping for these to arrive the week of May 7—pictures next month.
Bill Larson's new Jabiru 3300 is on its mounts on his Sonex. He purchased the aluminum baffling from Sonex but had to make extensive modifications to it. The baffling was designed for the older, machined case, but the new engines have a cast case. He also added piano hinges to ease access to the spark plugs. The oil cooler and his Sonex AeroInjector carb are installed. Currently he's working on the fiberglass cowl from Sonex, which unfortunately will also need to be modified for the current generation of Jabiru engines.
LePine's half scale Corsair
Greg LePine's half scale F4U Corsair is starting to look like its prototype. His most recent report follows.
I've been working (Monday-Friday 0800-1500) on this ½ scale F4U Corsair Project since acquiring it in June 2015.
November – December 2017
Installed fuel tank but the bottom hit the top of the radio stack. Removed tank and radio stack, trimming the side mounting sheets, reinstalled and everything fits and still works. Also installed side aluminum sheets below fuel tank with access panels to brake cylinders.
January 2018
Although I installed access to battery in the belly behind the seat area, I also installed two access panels to the side of the fuselage. Being a tail dragger, it will be easier for maintenance along with a jump plug.
February 2018
Acquired Lycoming 0-235 engine. The story goes, it was rebuilt but it used a quart of oil in the first few hours, so the owner removed it and took it apart and sealed everything in bags. It found me and the price was right. After mic-ing all parts, it’s like brand new and has a new chrome cylinder. Yup, you guessed it, rings never seated that’s why it blew oil. I did find one rocker I didn’t like and the valve springs were on the weak side. So, with a parts list, parts are being acquired. The engine will be reassembled along with new small alternator, starter, oil cooler adapter and cooler after the wings are completed.
March - April - May 2018
Center wings: After cutting out all the wood ribs for mock-up patterns, it was time to make all flap hinges, forward and middle rib attachments (remember this is aluminum ribs and skins) and this is just for the center section.
Outer Wings: These will fold by hand and will have cammed lock-out pins in the lower mounts. The outer forward and aft spars were already made so this is a plus and are the last pieces of the puzzle but will have to be strengthened to add rib mounts. Needless to say, lots of math here—remember all those strengths of material and force calculations from the past. Good thing I still have the books, calculator and a good AutoCAD system.
Progress seems slow but every day it’s more parts and I did fit up the spars so I can rotate or fold the wings and dump the flaps for static display. Is this fun or are we just plane nuts?
Airport
3MY
The Airport Authority is holding another Fish Fry this month on Friday the 11th at 4:00:
There’s no telling what Mother Nature has planned, but we hope to have nice weather by Friday, May 11 for a Fish Fry and Potluck. Help us spread the word!
We’ll provide the fish and non-alcoholic drinks, as well as some other side dishes, but please feel free to bring your favorite side dish too! If you’d like to bring a cooler with your favorite beverage, that’s fine too. Just give us a heads up if you’re coming so we can plan.
Hope to see everyone there!
They request RSVP at (309)697-8272, extension 100.
Keith Unzicker from Benson, IL flew his pretty Culver Cadet to the 4/21 breakfast. There was a brief write up on his project in the April issue of Sport Aviation, page 102.
Unzicker's Culver Cadet
The Cadet was an early design by Al Mooney with graceful elliptical wings and retractable gear. Keith had started building an experimental variant with a steel framed fuselage, designed by Neal LaFrance, the Cadet STF; the originals have wood fuselages. Looking for an original as a parts aircraft to speed up the build of his experimental, he located a "barn find" 1940 original, which on inspection he felt would be simpler to restore. This he completed as a project with his children, his third airplane restoration project.
You can find specs for the STF experimental at Aircraft Spruce. There is also a Wikipedia page on the Cadet as well as an owner support site. Be sure to follow the Wikipedia link to their article on the Culver Dart, the predecessor to the Cadet. It's even cuter than the Cadet. Budd Davisson's site has a flying report on the Dart.
Appearing around lunch time that same day was Chapter 790 out of northern Illinois who organized a fly-out for 3MY. Among the airplanes arriving was a rare Prescott Pusher.
Chapter 790's fly-out to 3MY
Bloomington
The Bloomington chapter is hosting the EAA Tri-motor June 14-17. They welcome volunteers, of course.
Canton
Sunday May 20th is the 60th annual fly-in / drive-in breakfast at the Canton airport, sponsored by the Fulton County Flying Club. It runs from 7 until noon, and at 11:30 there will be trophies awarded for Best antique and homebuilt airplanes, Youngest and Oldest pilots, and furthest distance flown in that day. You can call (309)647-2072 for more information.
Havana
At the joint meeting 4/28, Havana presented their plans for accommodating fliers overnight at their field. A pavilion and cooking pit are planned along with showers. In a quiet rural setting, they are hoping pilots will find this makes for a convenient overnight fly-out. They are also trying to obtain a courtesy car.
The second Saturday of each month is their fly-in lunch.
Pekin
Last month it was reported the EAA chapter at Pekin had folded. This had been confirmed by e-mail with the previous year's chapter president. However, there has been a change of heart, and the chapter is on after all. Nick Keith will be working with Steve Kensinger in organizing the chapter. Stay tuned...
annual EAA fly-in breakfast, Rockford Cottonwood (1C8); this is a short grass strip close to the Rockford TRSA; beware the bump near the start of runway 18
5/06 (Su) 6:00
VMC club meeting in the hangar (evening)
5/13 (Su) 6:00
IMC club meeting in the hangar (evening)
5/19 (Sa) 8:00-9:00
breakfast, in the hangar, followed by the board meeting
5/20 (Su) 7:00-12:00
60th annual fly-in/drive-in breakfast, Canton airport (CTK)
