The Beacon

July 2021

Chapter

Chapter Meeting

At the June breakfast, visiting aircraft included two homebuilts from Wisconsin and a Vagabond from Kewanee.

The RV and Long-EZ from Wisconsin

Cooks are needed for the breakfasts in July and the following months.

Bill Engel has donated several tubs of tools, and these will be added to the chapter tool crib. The members present voted to purchase a tool chest for these, and HQ's Chapter Tool Crib program will cover part of this expense.

Within a week, the chest had been purchased. As the tools are transferred to it, a list of what's available will be prepared for the Members section of the web site. Volunteers are welcome to help with this task.

A brief discussion of what to do with the Starduster Too biplane received last month ended up in a vote in favor of selling the project. There is more, below.

Annual Banquet

While the annual banquet is months away, the place we've held them (Bernardi's) has closed. Greg has asked for ideas for a new location to host this. Please send suggestions to either him or to me.

Youth Programs

Jolene Miller, the chapter's Ray Scholar for 2021, is progressing nicely towards her license and provides this update:

I am currently working on my solo cross country! I have been flying from Peoria to Pontiac, Lacon, and Pekin. Those airfield have narrower runways, so I have really been able to dial in on my runways. This also helps a lot with my communications at an uncontrolled airfield versus the controlled airfield (PIA) I am so used to. I also have been hitting the books hard, in hopes to take my written soon.

One of the three runners-up for the Ray program, Logan Turner, has joined the chapter while continuing to pursue his private pilot certificate. He has recently soloed. In recognition of his accomplishments and his engagement with the chapter, both of which are goals of the Ray program, the chapter's program director suggested we donate another $1,000 to his Bradley Flying account. In addition to the usual Youth Program donations, we have an unexpected windfall from the recent sale of the donated Starduster project, so there is no shortage of funds for the year's youth operations. The board approved the proposal.

Before moving out West, Chase Leason—age 13—had been helping out around the hangar on various projects. His grandmother lived in the trailer park next to the south end of the airfield, whence he'd visit the chapter. The chapter received in June a note from him:

I'd like to thank you for everything you have done for me. I had a great time at the EAA! Next Saturday I'm going to California for three weeks. I haven't been doing much, just unpacking and swimming. I helped Grandma unpack too. I did see a 777 takeoff; it was pretty cool. I've seen three 747's since I left Illinois. One was in a boneyard in California, and I saw two flying. I went to Phoenix International for a little while and that's when I saw the 777. Again I want to thank you for everything.

VMC and IMC Club

This month's VMC Club video topic is "Unsafety Wire" and considers which field repairs you might do yourself in a pinch. The Club meets this Sunday evening at 6:30.

The IMC Club had a successful fly-out lunch on June 12, as described by club coordinator Kent Lynch:

At Eagle Creek Airpark in Indianapolis (KEYE), three planes with five people participated: Carl Wilbur and student Logan Turner in Carl's Mooney from PIA; Bill Hurley in his Cardinal from GBG; and Ann and Kent Lynch in their Skymaster from 3MY. Weather was good VFR on the trip down to KEYE. Lunch was enjoyed at Rick's Cafe Boatyard across the street from the airport, an easy walk. The restaurant is on the Eagle Creek reservoir with a great water view. We would heartily recommend this restaurant for anyone interested in a destination event. The FBO was very good and did not charge a landing fee if you bought fuel or were going to the restaurant. Weather on the return was starting to be a bit hot and turbulent with some buildups developing, but no significant weather between the noon departure and arrival back at PIA/3MY/GBG.

and Club member Carl Wilbur added:

Eagle Creek is a busy uncontrolled airport under the Class C shelf in Indianapolis, but very easy to get to and easy to get in and out. It is about an hour flight. Food was delicious and the atmosphere was reminiscent of a beach/Caribbean bar and grill kind of vibe. We had everything from a salmon sandwich, to burgers, to a grilled chicken salad. We will look to plan another trip, perhaps the end of August of beginning or September—hope you can make it.

View from the table at Rick's Cafe

Bill Hurley missed the time zone change and arrived late for the lunch at Eagle Creek but had an excuse:

Actually I can probably blame part of it on my preparation to fly to Yakima, WA in the trusty Cardinal the following Monday. Always wanted to face the challenge of high density altitude, mountains, downdrafts, etc. The highest density altitude was my takeoff from Rock Springs where the density altitude was 9,100 feet. Quite an eye opener for a flat land pilot. Once in Washington I visited the Cub Crafters factory and got a demo flight in one of their nose wheel Cubs. What a hoot. Also took the time to drive over to Johnson Ridge Observatory at Mt. St. Helens. Truly a breathtaking sight.

Bill will be giving a presentation on his trip out West at the next Club meeting, and all chapter members are welcome to attend the presentations, which will begin at 6:00 on Sunday the 11th in the hangar.

Donations

A Schauer 25 amp charger for 12 volt lead/acid batteries with it's 3 pin adapter plug is $326 new but is available used from Greg LePine for $160. See the For Sale page of the chapter web site.

Having sat in storage for nearly a decade, the Starduster Too project donated to the chapter was in need of cleaning before being put up for sale, and Andy Plouse and Ron Wright took care of that. Advertisements were then placed, and Tim Binder from Burlington, IA purchased the airframe and engine pieces. He and a crew from 563 loaded it all on to his trailer in mid June.

Hangar

We have one place in the hangar now available for an airplane or a project. An RV would be a perfect fit, of course.

Members

In early June, Tim Coverstone moved his RV-9A from the chapter hangar to it's new home in Williams, AZ. Tim provided a nice write up of his cross country adventure, which included delays to troubleshoot the autopilot, uncomfortable flying conditions, and pre-sunrise hikes to remote airfields. It's an interesting story, and instead of transcribing it all for this newsletter, a copy of his paper is available on the chapter web site.

Projects

Greg LePine

Greg's scaled down F4U should be ready for engine start in July. Given the recent difficulties with his back, Greg is looking for a scaled down pilot to taxi it.

Karl and Kip Kleimenhagen

We still have a few weeks to go before we can begin covering the fuselage of our Rans S-20, but with the last of the formers and ribs on, it does look as if it's getting there.

A detour was studying antenna placement, where the RANS is decidedly weak because it lacks proper ground planes, but for which we didn't find a great alternative. An ELT maker confirmed the aluminum UV blocking layers of the PolyFiber system can affect transmissions, so burying the antennas inside the fuselage atop a proper ground plane may not be for the best.

Touching up nicks in the frame's epoxy coating proved easy enough with KlassKote, an epoxy paint formulated to be applied by brush. A friend needed a ride to ORD, so covering supplies, including a PolyFiber Practice Kit, were picked up at Aircraft Spruce's warehouse in West Chicago, saving over $80 in shipping charges.

Rob and Jeff Meyer

We recently completed the build of a Sonex Onex for my son. It has a UL Power 260iS engine and a complete Dynon Skyview HDX avionics suite. It is a day VFR airplane.

We are hooked on building now, so we have started building a Zenith 750 Super Duty. We picked up our tail kit at the factory in Mexico, Missouri on March 22. We have now completed the vertical stabilizer/rudder, horizontal stabilizer, elevator, slats and flaperons. We are currently building the wings. This is a much larger aircraft than the Sonex Onex. The empty weight of the Zenith is nearly twice as much at the Onex. It is a three passenger aircraft with STOL capabili9es.

We have started researching paint, engine, auto pilot, lighting and avionics choices. We are scheduled to pick up the fuselage kit just before AirVenture. We intend to complete this aircraft with day-night and IFR capabilities.

The Wright Stuff

Last month Ron Wright described the acquisition of the original Pazmany PL-4A which he and Greg restored. The story continues this month:

After a lot of discussion between Greg and myself and after fully inspecting this plane, we decided that we needed to restore this Heirloom back to it's original condition, as much as possible, and to make it airworthy again.

Part of this effort would include making it legal, again FAA-wise. So, while Greg was de-constructing this project and keeping an inventory of what actually needed to be either replaced or rejuvenated, I began the task of dealing with the FAA to get this plane re-registered, in my name. Come to find out, Mrs. Ladislao had, some years earlier, contacted the FAA since she did not know where the PL-4A was and disclaimed any ownership of that plane and had it de-registered. After many back and forth letters with the FAA, they finally disclosed that this plane had no registered owner and was not listed in any of their active files.

At this point, I contacted Mrs. Ladislao, in California, reviewed with her what little I knew about the previous history for this plane and asked her if she would like to reclaim any ownership in it. She was very gracious and thanked us for alerting her about the plane but she did not want to be associated with that plane ever again, and she sent me a notarized letter to that effect, along with a full set of mechanical/builder drawings for that aircraft and she signed those plans and wished me luck in being able to restore it. What a very gracious lady she is!

While a lot of my time was devoted to trying to work out the paperwork kinks with the FAA, Greg kept deconstructing the project, from the nose cone back to the tail feathers. During this time, we had the opportunity to see all aspects of the design and construction of this plane and concluded that it was built like a tank, very sturdy, well engineered, and very well designed and built.

So a plan for restoration included:

replace the existing, non-running 40 hp VW engine and belt drive system with a modern Great Plains 1915 cc, 60 hp engine and a new belt-drive unit; the main tires and tubes; the hydraulic brake's pads and lines; most all electrical wiring; most instruments; electrical switches and fuses; and the seat belt assembly

refurbish all the plexiglass, which Greg accomplished, with a lot of elbow grease and tireless energy

find a reasonable paint shop that would strip off and repaint to the original colors and paint scheme

replace the original fiberglass fuel tank with a custom-made aluminum unit

Easy-peasy!

Well, from the list of things to do, it became evident that I either had to rob a bank; take out a second mortgage; get a second job; or solicit donations from everybody in order to raise enough extra money to accomplish all that we wanted to do to restore this very unique aircraft.

The story of this PL-4 restoration will conclude next month. To learn more about the innards of the PL-4, stop by the hangar and look over the one Josh Mattson is currently restoring.

Airport

3MY

A pretty 1958 Bellanca 14-19-2 was on the field the first weekend in June. The owners, who are members of EAA chapter 907, were down from Mt Pleasant, MI to visit a relative. The Bellanca is powered by an O-470.

The Airport Authority might yet have funds to re-cover the umbrellas for the picnic tables we installed at the FBO last fall. Greg has been dropping friendly reminders.