EAA Chapter 563
The Beacon
May, 2024
Both clubs are meeting about a week later than usual in the month. To avoid Mother's Day, the IMC Club is meeting on the third Sunday, the 19th. The VMC Club is meeting on Saturday the 11th. Both meetings will be in the hangar.
Greg LePine has donated a fridge which is much newer than the one we have. The old fridge will be available in the hangar for the taking until May 9. The new fridge has a water dispenser which will not be used, and so Greg is giving away several Whirlpool water filter cartridges, too. Thanks go to JJ and his son Ethan who delivered the new fridge to the hangar and to Bill Larson for supplying the hand truck.
Last month, Tim Threw discussed the work begun on rebuilding his RV's Lycoming, and he has a quick update:
Crankcase was repaired by DIVCO for fretting, additional dowels added to help prevent future fretting, and case was line bored. DIVCO finished a couple weeks earlier than estimated and case is ready for pick up. Crankshaft is still in process at Aircraft Specialties and they are running behind—new estimate is May 19 (originally April 18). Crank gear was inspected by them and passed. Oil cooler was sent to Pacific Coolers for cleaning & inspection—passed inspection and has been returned. All non-stock items have been purchased. As long as I have the engine off, I am going to take the opportunity to install new Lord Dynafocal motor mounts. I read some reviews on Barry, VIP and Lord mounts. While Barry and VIP are less expensive, based on reviews I read, I decided to stay with Lord. Hoping to be flying again by end of June.
Tim also mentioned he was told crankcase fretting often results after the installation of high compression pistons. These increase the peak pressures in the engine and thus the loads on the crankcase.
On Saturday May 18th, Todd Moore is hosting the chapter's Flying Start event. If you know an adult who's interested in learning to fly, this will be a good introduction.
At the April chapter meeting, representatives from the Flight Club at Dunlap High School were introduced. Terry Brandt is the club organizer. The club's president and the VP gave quick overviews of the activities of the five groups which make up the club. Each of the five groups then gave a brief description of their work, including drones, rockets, the GAMA design challenge, and R/C airplanes. The EAA R/C airplane which the chapter supplied has been finished and should be flown this spring.
Terry mentioned their club now has 50 members, and she thanked the chapter for helping the club grow to its current size. She also noted that Zoe Brand, the past president of the club, has done an internship at SpaceX. Lastly, the club members are looking forward to Young Eagles flights this year with the chapter.
The chapter's first scheduled Young Eagles event had to be canceled due to the weather. The next one is scheduled for the 11th. The coordinator, Todd Moore, welcomes more pilots and ground crew to join in.
There were three candidates for this year's scholarship: Yishak Weinman, Micah Shepherd, and Julian Sturm. Two of the candidates are chapter members and all have begun their flight training. They were interviewed in April by the selection committee which consisted of Joe Troglio, Todd Moore, Tim Threw, Dave Springer, and Greg LePine. The committee reported all three were "excellent candidates. It was tough."
Julian was selected to be our nominee for this year. Julian is also an Eagle Scout and active in 4-H and has been involved in community fundraising. He has also been working on the chapter's Zenith Cruzer for over a year and a half. From Julian's application for the scholarship:
I am strongly passionate about aviation... Since our family's annual vacations to Airventure Oshkosh when I was young, aircraft have mesmerized me, fueling a growing curiosity about all aspects of flight. This scholarship isn't just financial aid; it opens the door for my dreams to become reality.
Julian with Rob Meyer, the
program coordinator
As in recent years, the two runners-up will receive a $1,000 grant from the chapter to continue pursuing their pilot's license.
The teens are in the process of mounting the tail feathers on their Zenith Cruzer, and the right wing has been riveted shut. Work in the engine bay has progressed to the point they are trying to decide where to mount the ECU.
As mentioned last month, it's time to start looking for a buyer for this airplane, and two chapter members have expressed interest in purchasing the airplane. Our goal remains for the funds from this sale to enable the start of another project for another group of teens.
Killian Madeley is currently taking dual credit classes at Elmwood High School and Embry-Riddle, and they recently have featured him on their web site. Killian is a board member at the chapter and also works on the Cruzer build. He will finish high school with an Associate degree in Aeronautics and plans to continue his studies at Embry-Riddle.
Past member Andrew Barth and his wife Jesse visited the EAA hangar in April where they met with Greg LePine and others. The Barths both work at Scaled Composites in California. Andrew says it is his dream job, one with many interesting projects. Jesse works with the company's test pilots. Andrew was impressed with the teens' Cruzer project here at the chapter.
On May 18, Mt Hawley will be one of five local airports participating in the Poker Run organized by the Bloomington EAA chapter. Proceeds will support a STEM program to which their chapter donates. Dave Jackson from our chapter will be dealing the cards at 3MY, and the hands from the Run will be played at 2 o'clock at BMI. The other three airports are Champaign, Decatur, and Springfield.
A de Havilland Beaver stopped by the field in early April. Placing those long tie-downs must be fun. Another unusual visitor was a CitationJet out of Missouri. A locally owned TBM 930 was found on the ramp, displaying what happens when the engine outgrows the airframe: paddle props.
The FBO at Lacon is now under Christian Carboni as GreenWing Aviation and Welding Co., (815)343-4565.
At the Peru airport, the annual TBM Reunion begins Friday the 17th and ends Saturday. Besides the Avengers, there are often other WW-II airplanes flying as well as a number of antiques.
The chapter offered enough volunteers to staff a tour stop in June for HQ's Ford Trimotor. However, as mentioned last month: "Communications from HQ could be better." E-mail and phone messages asking for a reply were ignored. When the liaison at HQ finally picked up her phone, she admitted she couldn't find our confirmation e-mail and so HQ had chosen to route the Trimotor into Iowa instead. We were never informed.
Thank you to the 16 chapter members who volunteered to work shifts as ushers over the proposed four day tour stop.
eaa563.org
Mt. Hawley Airport, Peoria, Illinois