EAA South Central Ozarks Chapter 1218

Address inquiries, information, suggestions, or criticisms to the editor, Fred Kalhoefer, Route 1, Box 71, Macomb, MO 65702; phone (417) 683-2870; e-mail redbaron@getgoin.net.

Breakfast Meetings to Continue!
Well, April has finally gotten here. With its arrival, warmer temperatures have also come. If you, like me, thought that would end the days of the Whites feeding us a breakfast for our Saturday meeting, you are (happily) wrong. Because, by overwhelming request, and with Ron White's approval, the membership voted to continue with the Saturday morning breakfasts whenever there isn't a special event scheduled. So I will see you next Saturday, April 14th, at 9:00 a.m. sharp at Ron's hangar in Willow Springs. Here again are the directions: If you are driving in, turn northeast at the stop sign in the center of town (Hwy 137) and then right at DD Highway. Just before you get to the airport, turn right again on Sunshine. Make a left on Bryan and go to the hangar. If you are flying in, the hangar is at the northwest side of the runway (17-35) on the Willow Springs airport (1H5).

But maybe someday soon we could have an evening BBQ, so others who cannot attend in the morning will be able to come to a meeting, too. One member in particular comes to mind: Willis Short. Because of his health needs, it takes Willis most of the morning to get ready for the day; therefore, he has to miss the morning meetings. We know Willis would be there otherwise, because he has always been one of our most faithful members, showing up at every meeting possible. Willis, like some of the other members in our group, is a WWII veteran and we certainly -- as EAA members -- always want to honor them and accommodate them.

Our speaker at the last meeting was Chuck Hiett. He gave a very convincing presentation of the importance of Angle Of Attack indicators. In fact, he convinced me so well that I have another AOA prototype in the works, soon to be seen at one of our meetings. But seriously folks, over 40 percent of accidents in homebuilt aircraft occur because of stall-spin accidents and an AOA would go a long way toward bringing that number down. Chuck told us about his experience in naval aviation and how AOAs have paved the way for modern jets to land on carrier decks, allowing the Navy to go from twelve to only three arresting cables. Chuck, I for one, also enjoyed your humor. Thanks for a great presentation.

You might want to check the April 2001 issue of the EAA magazine Sport Aviation for an interesting article on AOAs. In the "Stick and Rudder" section, on page 114, read "Sport Pilot: Angle of Attack," by Ed Kolano. It "does the math" and includes diagrams. Now, that's timely!

Dues Support Aviation
Last month we saw another increase in our membership, so our total has now risen to 49 members. In my mind, there is nothing better than good food and aviation talk and that must be what keeps our group on the increase. There are, however, some members who have not paid their dues for the year yet. If you have not been able to come yet this year, or the current meeting schedule keeps you from coming, please mail your $10 to our treasurer so he can keep your name on the Oshkosh local chapter members roster and our mailing list. Here is his address again:

Gene Pascoe
HCR 79, Box 3010
Dora, MO 65637

This is a very small amount of money considering the good that it does for the whole aviation community because of the support it shows. I trust you've all renewed your national membership when due also. Whatever you do, please don't drop your membership. I personally would miss you, that's for sure, but there's also another reason. Currently there is a strong drive to close down airports in this area because they are looked at as a great expense to the communities where they are located. There is a misconception that small airports "cater to a few privileged individuals who want to have a place to play with their expensive toys." Local councils and boards sometimes forget that the presence of an airport can be a deciding factor for new businesses seeking to locate in the area. And businesses equal jobs. So we must show that our numbers are more than a handful and that we want all citizens in our surrounding communities to benefit from our activities. How can we do this? One is by "strength in numbers." Next, we show our interest in the youth of the area through the Young Eagles program. These kids are the future of aviation. Haven't we read in our own biographies how most of us became enthusiastic about becoming pilots during our youth? And, by having more fly-ins around the area to which we invite the public, we can show our aircraft, and tell people about aviation and the economic benefits of having an airport.

We have developed a template promotional article for use by members. It is a downloadable file in which you can insert appropriate names, dates, and places. Then you can print out a copy and submit it to your hometown newspaper each month, hopefully in person, but at least by mail. It should be marked "For Publication." By having members who subscribe to the paper make the submission, the editors will see it as relevant to their readership's interests. You will be able to get this file anytime you want it on the Lots of Links page. Look for "Promo Piece." To read it, left-click on the link (above); to save it to your computer, right-click on the link and select "Save Target As..." It is in Rich Text Format (.rtf), which means it can be read in Windows WordPad, MS Works, Word for Windows, WordPro, or just about any other word processor.

Chapter News
We now have a Program Director. She is Jeannie Crum, and she would like your help with providing interesting programs for us. You can contact her with your ideas and suggestions at (417) 257-7624.

You may have received an announcement for a chapter leadership workshop to be held in St. Louis on Monday, April 21, 2001, from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. This isn't just for the officers; it's for anyone willing to become involved in growing EAA.

Another new link in Lots of Links is to the site for a book called Vantage Points documenting the role of women aviators in WWII.

John Zook was kind enough to support our newsletter this month with a "business card" ad. Thanks, John. This is the easiest kind of ad to do, so there's no reason to put advertising on the back burner.

Member News
One of our new members, Lacy Martin, is looking for a Teeny II. He's heard of one in the area around Summersville, but hasn't found out who has it. If you know of a Teeny II for sale, give Lacy a call at (417) 926-6387.

Next, I would like to report that we had a Golden Wedding Anniversary among our members. Last month Clint and Marge Allen celebrated their fiftieth wedding anniversary. It must have been a great fifty years, because Marge still smiles when she talks to me about Clint. I am sure the entire Chapter joins me in wishing you many more happy years together, Clint and Marge.

But that's not all. None other than our Chapter President, Tom White, got married recently to the lovely Phyllis Oliver. We all wish you many happy years together, too.


Featured Member of the Month
Phyllis right away got busy and wrote Tom's "bio" for us:
Tom White, Chapter President Newlyweds Tom & Phyllis	From the time I was 4 or 5 years old, every time I heard aircraft overhead, I would stop doing my chores and watch. I took my first flight on January 23, 1965 out of the West Plains Airport with Robbie Robinson in a Cessna 150. I knew after that flight that I would be a pilot someday. That plan was put on hold when I was drafted in the army in March 1966. When I returned from Germany, I told my brother, Ron, that I had been taking lessons before I went in the service. He told me he thought I would be better off "keeping both feet on the ground." It was later that the bug bit Ron, also. Lessons were hit-and-miss from '69-'75 with George Myers. Ron bought a Cessna 120. I started flying with Don Nevel out of Cabool Airport. It was in that Cessna that I soloed for the first time on April 16, 1975. I married in May 1975 and flying stopped while raising four children, Shannon, Amanda, Jamie and Cody. In May 1989 the marriage stopped. Flying started up again in May 1997 with Lionel Smith out of Mtn. View and Willow Springs Airport. Soloed August 2, 1997. In September '97, I overcame what I thought was a big obstacle. THE WRITTEN EXAM!!! It was not as bad as I thought after all. Conflicts with scheduling resulted in another instructor change in '99. With time running out, Jerry Smith took over as my instructor in May '99. He was readily available for lessons and kept me pushing forward. My daughter, Shannon got married June 20th and the following Saturday, June 27th I took my check ride. Kevin Bunch and Scott Smith received their license the same day. Finally at 52 years young, I was a licensed pilot. Three years later, I am happily married to Phyllis. She has developed an interest in flying and is ready to go anytime. After years of commercial flights, she took her first small plane ride in '98 with Mike White in the Stearman and has been hooked since. My youngest son, Cody, also likes to fly. This past summer he did aerobatics with Clint Allen while Phyllis videotaped it. Then she went up with Clint to do aerobatics, too. I have had considerable support and encouragement from my nephew, Mike, and brother, Ron, and friends, like Berlin Batesel. The fellowship among those who love aviation is great. The best example I can think of is the Saturday morning breakfast group. I can be found most weekends "hanging out" at the airport visiting with whoever happens to stop by or fly in. I feel getting kids involved is the key to the future of general aviation. Again I am struck by the similarity of our bios. The road to becoming an aviator is not an easy one, and often looks more like an idyllic back road that we would like to take -- but, only too frequently, we have to forego it in favor of a shortcut.

Please Visit Our Newsletter Sponsors


Disclaimer: The content of this Newsletter is to provide information, schedules, and biographies of chapter members, and information of interest to aviation enthusiasts in the south-central Ozarks. No technical information or direction is offered or implied. If, by some strange coincidence, a personal opinion or observation be found, such does not necessarily reflect the position of EAA Chapter #1218 or Experimental Aircraft Association.

Till Next Month . . .	Current Issue Archive of Previous Issues