August 2005

Hello, Members!
Well, I finally got to go to Oshkosh! The "Oshkosh Experience" is truly fantastic! Henny and I drove there in caravan with Ben Hurtt and his family, met up with the family of the man in Rolla, Gene Smith, who built Ben's Bumblebug, and arrived at the campground on Sunday evening. Gene was towing another ultralight of his own design, which he flew at Oshkosh.

It didn't take long to set up camp, once we had a fix for one tent pole that broke. We were right on the end of the ultralight runway, so we had plenty of airplanes to watch at all times.

Glacier Girl	Yes, it's flying backward!	WhiteKnight/SpaceShipOne                         Photographs by Henrietta Christensen

In the morning, we were up bright and early to get our tickets to AirVenture for four days of worshipping airplanes and everything aviation, everything from A to Z. Here is an Oshkosh Alphabet, which includes a lot of what we saw, heard, learned:

There was lots more that we didn't see…

Of course, I found a personal favorite airplane. It is a Lancair Legacy, to which the builder had added several very nice "extra touches," besides the totality of beautiful workmanship throughout. When we got home, I looked up his website, in which he shares all the details of the building experience.

I think Henny found her favorites among the Warbirds. In fact, one of the best parts of the air show was on Friday afternoon, when over a hundred Warbirds were in the air all at the same time.

Flying through the Museum		My ride on Arnie's Breezy
An afternoon at the Seaplane Base, with Global Flyer arriving overhead                                                                                                                                                  Photographs by Henny Christensen & Sue Kalhoefer

We were treated to a sampling of the weather that can occur during Oshkosh week. Stratus clouds most of the day Monday, with a forecast of no rain. Yeah, sure. We were walking back toward the campground in early evening, after taking pictures of White Knight/SpaceShipOne again on AeroShell Square, when a thunderstorm rolled in, complete with tornado watch. At first we thought we would get to the tent before it cut loose, but ended up having to take refuge from the lightning under the porch of the EAA membership building while our tent filled up with water. We slept in wet beds for two nights. Drier air came on Wednesday and we hung everything out on the fence for the day while we explored. Good thing it all got dry, because that night it turned chilly, and the next night, too. The days stayed hot, however. All that mattered was that we had electricity to unload pictures from cameras to Henny's laptop computer and recharge batteries for the next day's picture taking.

A special treat was looking up from the seaplane base Wednesday afternoon at 3:20 p.m. and seeing Global Flyer arriving at Oshkosh from Salina, Kansas. It was just a beautiful sight.

Our campsite next to the ultralight runway, where Gene is taking off		Jerry Smith explains Garmin GPS                                   Photographs by Sue Kalhoefer

We had planned to break camp and head home Thursday night. But I just wasn't ready to leave then, so that afternoon I called the hospital to find out what the situation was there, and ask for another day of vacation. They used the opportunity to play a little joke on me, but gave it to me. So we came home Friday night instead. We're already thinking and planning for next year's trip.

Maggie	Global Flyer	White Knight & SpaceShipOne	Compass Hill    Photographs by Sue Kalhoefer

Some of our other members and friends also attended this year's AirVenture: Jerry Luna and Steve Bartlett; Len Ahrnsbrak and a neighbor from Lost Mine; and Ed Walker. And, of course, Jerry Smith, who was there for his 29th year, working for one company or another.

Bob's Airplane a Winner!
This was the 50th year celebration for the Falco. In the judging, thirteen judges signed off on Bob Brantley's Falco. As I walked around looking at airplanes, I never found another one with so many sign-offs. After we were all home, we learned that Bob took a Bronze Lindy (third place) for plans-built category aircraft. Other Falcos took a Silver Lindy (second place), and another Bronze. And, the Grand Champion airplane is a Falco. Four of the top five airplanes…wow! Coming home, Bob reported that he was "wheels up" from OSH at 9:55 a.m. Friday, and made the trip back to MNF in 2:44. We were "wheels down" at 8:15 p.m. Friday night and made it
to breakfast in Willow in 11:15.

Looking at the judges’ signatures                                                 Photograph by Henrietta Christensen		July picnic meeting                                                          Photograph by Sue Kalhoefer

Meetings
Our meeting in July was a nice, relaxed summer afternoon picnic at Ron's hangar. New member, Rick Fry, was present; and Fred and Sue Kalhoefer introduced their vacationing guests from Arizona, Nan and Lyman Hawley. It was announced that our newsletter and web site were not winners at HQ this year, but the support you all give for both is very much appreciated and makes them feel like winners every month. Interesting material on interesting members and activities makes an interesting newsletter.

The August meeting will also be at Ron White's hangar. This one will be in the morning following breakfast, before it gets too hot. Maybe some more hangar work will figure into the morning's activities, too. The official day and time is August 13, 2005 at 10:00 a.m.

The Chapter Hangar
Meanwhile, work on the Chapter hangar has resumed with a lot of progress being made. After a morning spent dealing with equipment problems, the next day John Smith and Ron White painted the remainder of the steelwork. From then on, things have gone smoothly, with two Saturday mornings spent putting up steel siding and insulation, and last Saturday morning starting on the roof. Turnout for these work days has been good—not always the same people, but we have plenty of talent and know-how in the Chapter so there are always enough people to get a lot done. Members without a background in construction are showing up as helpers, which speeds up the work. Working outside in the heat is difficult for everyone, so the more help the better. Thank you all for the time, equipment and materials you devote to the project.

July 16: John & Ron paint steel	July 23: Steel siding & insulation	July 30: Enclosing the back wall
August 6: Benny Butler starts adding the roof, which is dangerous; Ben watches from the safety of the tractor                                                                                                                                                                          Photographs by Sue Kalhoefer

Young Eagles
A Young Eagles Rally is planned for Saturday, August 20, 2005, from 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. at West Plains Municipal Airport. It has been a very long time since any Young Eagles were flown from this airport. The airport is not really convenient to the town, being nine miles north, so we don't know what kind of attendance to expect. That said, Ray Fine has been doing a lot of work to publicize the event for us, so we need to be prepared. We need to have plenty of pilots on hand, at least two flight line directors (three would be better), and two or three desk workers, one with ability to run the computer. This is intensive work for about 2½ hours. You will enjoy it, though. Any and all other members are invited to just come and show their support. Pilots, don't forget to sign some certificates before your first flight of the day so we can have them printed and ready for the youngsters upon return from their rides. Ray reports that runway work is in progress at UNO, but the airport will be open and able to accommodate this Rally, only with the possibility that the striping will not be done in time.

We will discuss plans for the rest of the season at the meeting.

Our Birthdays & Anniversaries

Buzz Thunderbee by Squawk
We pilots always have to fear a sudden downdraft in convective conditions. But poor Buzz and his flying friends have to contend with the phenomenon in all conditions, and very unexpectedly. This is a serious "see and avoid" situation for them.

That's all for now. We'll see you all Saturday morning at the meeting.

August Meeting Announcement