Spring is here,
Members and Friends!
Even though winter is losing
its grip, there's not been very much good flying weather
yet. Our last meeting was a beautiful day — to look
at! But we had unrelenting wind up to about 40 knots.
Needless to say, no Young Eagles were flown that day.
Only some "golden eagles" took an
"experimental" ride in the barrel train which
is being developed for use at Young Eagles rallies and
airport appreciation days by kids too young to become
Young Eagles. Mike and Sharon Vaughn certainly had
planned well and it would have been a great time flying
kids at Mountain View. As it was, we still had fun
indoors talking about aviation and enjoying a scrumptious
meal. Bill Ghan had the plans he received from the
Smithsonian for the original Wright Flyer on display, and
that generated a lot of interest. Our son, Craig, and
grandson, Kyle, were visiting from Tampa, and Craig was
very interested in listening to Bob Brantley describe the
building of the Falco as he looked at pictures in Bob's
album.
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| A Young Eagle
"flies" four "golden eagles" |
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Taking refuge from
the wind in Mike's hangar |
The
spring winds finally dried things to the point where Bill
Newton began flying smoke patrol. He had been worried
that he wouldn't get finished overhauling the engine in
his Cessna 172 in time for the first call, but he did get
it done. The first day out was really windy. Also, he
lost his GPS to break-in thieves just before time to
start flying. The thieves took several other select items
from his section of the hangar and then took similar
items from Roddy Clark's airplane. So far, they haven't
been caught. It seems we need to address protecting
airports not only from terrorists, but from common
criminals.
Great
Stories
Jim Tausworthe was seen autographing several copies of The
Last Chase at the meeting. I've finished reading it,
and it was terrific. Jim really brought focus to an
important, although short, segment of aviation history.
It highlights the kind of people who've been able to look
into the future that characterize American ingenuity.
They are seemingly ordinary people. Now Jim and Millie
have completed publication of another of Jim's aviation
novels. It is called Gods of the Pylon. This one
is really unique. It contrasts the best and the worst of
human nature, and utilizes Jim's Texas background to
weave a fascinating story. One exciting episode in the
story features a trip in a Stearman. The cover of this
book, as with the first two, is a painting by Jim. Jim
and Millie are again donating 20 copies to the Chapter to
be sold at $15.00 each. Jim is glad to personally
autograph each copy as it is sold. The publisher has
listed The 405th and The Last Chase on the
popular online booksellers' sites, so we look for Jim to
become a bestselling author once people begin to discover
his storytelling abilities.
Alley
Oop! (or Allen Loop?!)
Two Saturdays ago, Clint Allen went out to practice
aerobatics for the upcoming season of air shows. After
the practice, he surprised me with a generous offer of
"a ride." This was more than just a ride, it
was my introduction to stick controls, and my
introduction to aerobatic maneuvers. Clint let me take
Matilda through a few 90° turns, ascents, and descents.
The feel of the stick is really intuitive, which makes me
wonder why aviation ever changed to yokes. After good
explanations of what to expect, and a few preparatory
advanced maneuvers, Clint let me decide if I was ready to
experience a loop, then a roll. I was a little hesitant,
but decided I really wanted this experience, and who
better to be with than Clint Allen?! As I kept my eyes
outside, the horizon disappeared, there was lots of sky
and the sun, then the horizon reappeared upside down,
then it was all ground view moving fast, then the horizon
reappeared right-side up. We flew around for a little bit
again, then I gave the "OK, I'm ready for a
roll." All of a sudden, everything was twirling
right, it's upside down again, a little more and we're
right-side up again. Wow, neat! Then Clint finished off
with a dead-stick, engine-out landing. Very nice. Thank
you, Clint, I really enjoyed the ride!
License
to Learn
On March 20 and 21, Mike
Vaughn hosted sessions at his hangar on FAA certification
of homebuilt aircraft. The presenter was Steve Long of
the St. Louis FSDO. Attendance was small, but it included
active builders and rebuilders Mike Vaughn, Bill Ghan,
Clint and Marge Allen, Doc Openshaw, Berlin Batesel and
Gene Pascoe. Everyone agreed that it was very interesting
and useful. They each received a thick packet of
information and forms. Since then, Bill has been in
contact with one of the FAA-designated airworthiness
representatives listed in the packet, Neal Sowers, about
certifying the Wright Flyer. Bill says he was really nice
to talk to and told him the steps to follow with regard
to the paperwork, the first thing being to register the
aircraft, which Bill then sent in right away.
Under
the Weather
Three of our members have ended up in the hospital since
the last meeting. Bill Marx was taken ill on March 23. He
is feeling pretty good, but will have to undergo
treatment for a while. Phyllis White suffered a fall and
broken leg on April 2. She's in a lot of pain, and will
be having surgery April 8. And John Zook, responding to
warning signs, was in the hospital for diagnosis. They
will all appreciate prayers and hearing from the rest of
us, I'm sure.
April
Meeting Plans
The next meeting will be Saturday, April 12, 2003, at
Mountain Grove Memorial Airport (1MO). We will start
flying Young Eagles at 9:00 A.M., pause for the meeting
in the pilot lounge at 11:00 A.M., and eat at noon.
After that, we can continue flying Young Eagles. Of
course, bring food — but also plan to be ground crew
help for the Young Eagles if you are not a Flight Leader.
The more help we have, the more successful and fun the
day will be.
Also in April, we have scheduled a Young Eagles Rally in
Thayer, MO (42M), at the invitation of the Boy Scouts
there. This will begin at 9:00 A.M. on Saturday the 26th.
There is no fuel at Thayer, but Lloyd says he will be on
hand with a fuel truck. Again, we will need ground crew
help, so don't stay away just because you might not be a
Flight Leader. To drive to the airport, take 63 south 22
miles from West Plains to state route 19, turn right and
follow it to state route W (about 1¼ miles) and turn
right. Go about a mile on W and turn left onto the local
road to the airport. If you are flying, the runway is
9/27, 4200' long, with right traffic for runway 27.
Hokie:
Barnstorming to Rebuilding
This month's bio is from
Berlin Batesel, known to most of us as "Hokie."
Berlin
Batesel
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He will never forget
the day he took his first airplane ride, and
Berlin "Hokie" Batesel will certainly
never forget the exact date of the trip. It was
December 6, 1941, the day before the attack on
Pearl Harbor. That was when a barnstormer came to
the West Plains area and was giving rides. The
airplane landed in a field that is now the corner
of one of the busiest intersections in West
Plains, Porter Wagoner Boulevard and Broadway.
Because he was only six years old, Hokie's mother
was concerned that her son was too young to fly
alone. So she took what would be her first —
and last — light airplane ride, holding her
son firmly on her lap. "For as long as I
can remember my father tinkered with airplanes,
but Mother never flew except for that one
time," Hokie says.
After the United States became involved in
World War II, the only planes allowed to fly were
military aircraft. An avid student of airplanes,
Hokie enjoyed watching the military planes fly
overhead and identifying them from what he had
learned while reading about them in books and
magazines.
Hokie is the oldest of three sons born to
Gladys and Morley Batesel. He was raised in the
Caulfield area just south of West Plains,
Missouri. His childhood included school lessons
in a one-room schoolhouse and Wednesdays spent on
weekly outings to town in West Plains.
"I was given 15 cents to spend," he
says. "If we were going to be in town
all day, I'd take in a movie for 10 cents and
spend five cents on ice cream or a candy
bar." On short visits to town, he would
head to the hardware store and purchase a balsa
wood airplane model for a dime and a bottle of
glue for a nickel.
After the war, with the return of private
planes to the skies, Hokie's father and a friend
decided to buy a 1937 Aeronca with a
40-horsepower engine. Because neither of them
knew how to fly, the gentleman selling the plane
agreed to give them flying lessons. But he
neglected to tell them one very important fact
— the plane only held one person.
Eventually, Morley and his friend sold the 1937
Aeronca and purchased a more suitable 1939
T-craft. In the meantime, young Berlin would
while away the hours sitting in the pilot's seat
in what became his favorite toy, pretending to be
a pilot flying high in the skies. In 1950, the
two friends purchased a 1946 Aeronca, and Hokie,
then a fifteen-year-old student at West Plains
high school, began taking flying lessons from
Andy Anderson, Harold Owens and Mack McFarland.
Hokie married Thelma Fox on October 6, 1956. They
had four children, Tim (deceased), Bruce, Libby
and Lola. The responsibilities of raising a
family resulted in the father of four putting his
aeronautical hobby on hold. But occasionally
during the 1970s and 1980s, Hokie would fly a
Cessna 195 through the courtesy of owner Ron
White. In 1982, Hokie finally once again took
flying lessons, this time officially obtaining
his private pilot's license. For eight years, he
owned a Piper Cherokee, selling it in 1992.
Currently, he owns a 1947 Ercoupe — which he
completely rebuilt, two 1947 Stinson 108s, and a
1947 Luscombe.
Hokie is the owner of Batesel Trucking in Willow
Springs. He is also a member of the national
Experimental Aircraft Association, EAA Chapter
1218, Missouri Pilots Association, Antique
Airplane Association, National Stinson Club, and
the Luscombe Association. He and Gladys live in
Willow Springs, where they enjoy spending time
with their three grandchildren. Grandson Kyle,
the son of Hokie's daughter Libby, shares his
great-grandfather's and grandfather's love of
flying. "I'll let him take the controls
and fly the plane," he says fondly.
"He can steer the Ercoupe on the ground,
too. He really likes it."
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After I asked Hokie to submit his
bio for this issue, he told his story to Barbara
Madden, a freelance writer who lives in Willow
Springs, who drafted it for him. Using her
framework, I clarified details with Hokie and
edited it for our newsletter.
I want to remind everybody that we only have bios
when members agree to do them, and they are one
of the parts of the newsletter about which we get
the most enthusiastic feedback. So when you are
asked, take heart, you'll only have to do it
once! But the other members will really enjoy
reading it.
Buzz
Thunderbee by Squawk
Looks
like Buzz feels exactly like most of us did about
this winter. Looking in the stats, we find that
the "average" date of last killing
frost for this part of the country is April 7.
That means winter only has one day left to get in
its last licks, hear? That also means that the
meeting should be firmly planted in spring
sunshine, right? See you there!
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