June 2004

Greetings, Members!
How quickly this year is moving along. We are suddenly hard at work on the new Chapter hangar. We all had a great time at a "meet and eat" groundbreaking ceremony on Thursday evening, June 3. President Charles Ward gave a short welcome talk, the local news media took pictures of the assembled members, and the ceremonial shovelful of dirt was dug. Then we fell into conversational groups as we walked back to Ron's hangar to enjoy burgers and brats with all the good side dishes. It was a beautiful day to get together. We love these longer days and warm weather, and having the hangar doors open.

	Photographs by Sue Kalhoefer

Gainesville Meeting
At the meeting in May at Gainesville, we had the final discussion on the building of a Chapter hangar with a presentation by the Hangar Committee on all the pros and cons and things to take into consideration, including the monthly costs of maintenance. Three motions were made and passed. The first one was to only accept the offer of a quonset hangar from Springfield-Branson Regional Airport if we can dispose of it as we see fit, since it is too big for us to use. The second motion was to proceed with building the hangar, and the third was pertaining to the details of the lease of the land from Ron White, protecting both him and the Chapter. Jim and Millie Tausworthe donated Millie's Nieuport 11 to the Chapter to sell as a fundraiser for the hangar. Jim and Millie have made previous donations of Jim's books to the Chapter to raise money for Young Eagles. We really appreciate the support of our members for all of our major projects.

The visit to Gainesville was on a beautiful sunny day, and we had visitors from the North Arkansas EAA Chapter. They flew in with their ultralights. A few of our members flew in as well. We enjoyed a nice casual breakfast in the café across the street from the airport.

June Meeting in Mansfield
Don Anderson gave us an update on the work needed at Mansfield Municipal Airport when we meet there this month. He also sheepishly informed us that, after promoting this workday in conjunction with the meeting, which will be on June 12, he will not be able to be there because he has to attend a family wedding. Well, Don, maybe you won't recognize the airport after we get finished with it! He assured us that Roddy Clark is still planning on cooking for us, so we won't go hungry after working up appetites. (Remember to bring your side dish, salad, dessert or chips 'n dips.) The major work to be performed is fixing fence, including driving some new steel posts. Bring your post driver if you have one. Come early and let's get some work done before the meeting while it is still relatively cool. Then we'll have the business meeting at 10:00 a.m., followed by lunch, then we'll work some more until we think we've accomplished what needs to be done. This has not been announced as a Young Eagles date, but pilots are welcome to invite kids they know, and we'll be prepared if any show up. We hope Saturday will be a great day for flying, but if you have to drive in, get off Highway 60 at the west Mansfield exit, the one that says Mansfield and Ava (not the one that says Mansfield and Hartville), go north just a few feet to EE Highway and turn left (west). Follow EE Highway 1.9 miles to F Highway, and turn right. Go north on F 0.9 miles and turn right again on the dirt road, holding right at the fork, and you will be on Airport Road. Go 0.5 mile on Airport Road to the airport entrance.

Young Eagles
We are a bit behind when it comes to Young Eagles, as every event scheduled to date has been rained out. We thought the event at Pomona had been rescheduled, but that turned out to be erroneous information.

We have new, updated Young Eagles application forms and certificates for this year. The applications reflect the change of Chairman of the program from Chuck Yeager to Harrison Ford. They also delete the question asking whether the child has ever before taken a Young Eagles flight. The certificates depict an experimental aircraft on a Young Eagles flight as the background and Harrison Ford's signature. The size of the certificate is now standard 8½ x 11 inches.

Directory Updates
Nothing is ever static, so we have some directory changes. Get out your white-out. John Smith's mailing address is now 3064 Aviator Lane. Mike and Sharon Vaughn's new e-mail address is twopilots@gotrain.org. Don Anderson dropped his e-mail account, so delete his e-mail address. Add another cell phone number for Fred Kalhoefer, 417-830-7085 (Sue's is still the same). If anyone else has changes, please let us know, both for the sake of getting your newsletter by snail mail and for getting announcements of Chapter activities by e-mail.

Cross Country
We have all heard that Jerry Luna and Clint and Marge Allen made a trip to Arizona during the spring. Besides the fact that we all enjoy Jerry's style of telling a story, we just like to know the little instructive points about someone else's cross-country experience. So here is the first installment…

A Most Memorable Flight
"Susan asked if I would give an account of a 'memorable flight,' suggesting my latest trip to Arizona. I had to chuckle, thinking about the meaning of 'memorable flight.' In my short flying career I've had several—although most of the ones that are the most memorable I'd actually rather forget.

"Like the time I reached down and pulled the mixture control instead of the throttle, or the day, at 2000 feet, I noticed a light ice buildup as I was heading into Branson, or maybe the time while doing touch-and-goes here (H27) that I found I could no longer retract my forty degrees of flaps due to a blown fuse. Sometimes the 'memorable' part of the flight occurs even before takeoff, like the day I parked the car at the airport and found a puddle of oil seeping out the hangar door, or the morning when I fired up for a compression check and learned that sometime in the last few minutes I had lost a cylinder. What I'm telling you is that when I open that hangar door I see dreams-come-true, great memories—and nightmares—all in one. For me, every flight can be memorable, one way or the other. So I knew, before I started on my little jaunt down to Arizona, that all would not go quite as planned…

"The trip to San Manuel (E77) begins before dawn on April 1. Clint and Marge Allen are going to 'sort of accompany' me by flying along in the Viking. Their first advice was to get out early, and they would meet me at my first fuel stop in Henryetta, Oklahoma (F10). I am up early and call Flight Service to be told that fog would be forming and that it would be best to wait until 10 or so to leave.

"A quick look out the window showed clear skies with patchy fog in the valleys, so what the heck. I knew I could be airborne and on top before any fog had time to form. At 5:45 a.m. I had rotated, flashed the nav lights at the little blonde on the ground, and Goldie (my Cessna 150) and I were on our way. We climbed to 4,500 feet, and I sat back to enjoy the flight.

The first day out, Jerry in "Goldie," and Clint and Marge in the Viking, flew from Gainesville to Carlsbad, NM (CNM), making fuel stops at Henryetta, OK (F10), Vernon, TX (F05), Brownfield, TX (BFE—formerly Q26).

"The trip to Henryetta was uneventful for me, but the FBO manager there wasn't having the same luck. I had talked with him a few days prior, told him I would be flying in, and asked their hours. He told me they were 8 to 5, but if I wanted to come in early he would meet me there at 7. I told him if I was coming in early I would call, but I hadn't done so due to the weather report.

"Being the type of fellow he was, he thought it would be nice to be there before normal hours just in case. So he got up early, took his wife into town to work (also early), built her a fire in the stove, and then remembered he didn't have the keys to the airport. He made the 30-mile round trip back home in record time but knew I would be waiting on him.

"Instead, we arrived together. As I turned onto final I could see a white Ford truck barreling down the dirt road with dust flying everywhere. We pulled up to the pumps together, fueled, had a good laugh, and I was on my way. (No sign of the Viking.)

"My next stop was Vernon, Texas (F05), and Goldie cruised there like she owned the sky. Light winds and the old GPS showing 110 mph most of the way. I fueled and was told that it was my lucky day. Fuel prices were increasing right after my fueling. Still no sign of the Viking, but what the heck. Clint is loaded; he can afford the increased fuel cost.

"My next stop was Brownfield, Texas (BFE). Now, based on my past experience, the problem with Brownfield is they won't talk to you, and the wind is always blowing. But I gave them a call, and lo and behold, this sweet voice comes right back with winds and barometric pressure, and shortly thereafter Goldie and I are at the pumps. The folks at the FBO are dusters and don't have a whole lot to say, but before I leave, we tell a few tales, share a few laughs, and I pay the highest price for gas I would pay the whole trip.

"Still no sign of Clint and Marge. I was thinking that when they said they would 'sort of' fly along with me, they meant they would 'sort of' be thinking of me as they hightailed it on west in the Viking, leaving Goldie and me in their dust.

"Next stop was Carlsbad, New Mexico (CNM). I had left Gainesville at 5:45 a.m., and I was in western Texas by 1:30 p.m. This trip was going to be a piece of cake. I was already thinking a few hours ahead to a hot shower and something good to eat that didn't come in a wrapper.

"But while I was standing there daydreaming, the weather changed. Now it was obvious I would be experiencing turbulence and dodging rain showers. In short, I would have to concentrate on flying the plane instead of doing the sightseeing I'd enjoyed on the first part of the easy flight.

"I had been on the ground for about an hour when the FBO told me that Clint and Marge were about 30 minutes out and Clint was "peddling as fast as he could." Shortly thereafter, in between rain showers, the Viking appeared. It turned out that Clint and Marge hadn't left West Plains until nearly 10 a.m. They had made all the stops I had, but a few hours later. They had spent more money for gas than I had but still had some money left to burn. We congratulated ourselves on planning and executing such an uneventful, well-executed cross-country flight.

"But as the ol' saying goes, tomorrow would be a different day."

Jerry has set the stage, now we're looking forward to the next installment.

Member News
Tom and Phyllis White have returned from their vacation to the Southeast, during which they visited Kitty Hawk. Through a little "omission," Tom was lucky enough to get to help Ken Hyde move the Wright Flyer replica into the museum there.

Please continue praying for Charles Lee Ward. His condition is quite critical. Charlie and Anna Belle have gone to St. Louis.

See you all Saturday in Mansfield.

June Meeting Announcement