June 2005

Hello, Members!
The lazy, hazy days of summer have arrived. We are bemoaning the lack of rain, but it makes for nice flying. Especially early in the morning and late in the afternoon.

Taus River Picnic
We all had a great time at the Memorial Day picnic at Taus River Ranch. Thanks to Jim and Millie for their wonderful hospitality. Only two airplanes arrived. The Rans was no surprise, but the 180 was. The short grass strip along the bluff is considered a bit of a challenge for anything but ultralights. But Bob Obert made it in—and out! It was a pretty thing to watch, too.

The food at the picnic was really good, with nice juicy burgers and hot dogs and all the trimmings, plus plenty of salads and desserts. We saw several people going back for seconds, can't blame 'em for that. Tom and Charlie manned the grill and cooked everything just right.
Bill Ghan brought the flight simulator to the picnic and helped run it. Hmm, that thing is really hard to fly. Everybody who tried it had trouble—we all lost sight of the airport, then couldn't get lined up with the runway, and tried to land it under the pavement. Oh, well…makes you feel good about flying the real thing and making a squeaker landing once in a while…or more often.

Lots of people there!	It's OK for a Rans, but what about the 180? What do you think, guys?
Here she goes...(she made it OK).	Meanwhile, back at the hangar, Clint takes on the real challenge!                                                                                                                                          Photographs by Sue Kalhoefer

May Chapter Meeting
Our last meeting, in May, was at Mountain Grove Memorial Airport in the pilot's lounge. Lots of work has been done there since last year. We now have countertops and cabinets, a sink, hot water, and a rest room. Very nice. Lloyd barbecued out on the little porch area, and the day was pleasant for meeting and eating. Several people managed to fly in even though the early morning weather looked a little "iffy." There was some early light rain and the clouds acted like they might stay around for a while. But then they just went away and the sky became clear and sunny.

The weather turned beautiful for flying, the meeting was short, and we were plenty long on good food.                                                                                                                                                                            Photographs by Sue Kalhoefer

Our helicopter pilots both flew in. Having members with helicopters is new enough to us that they always garner a lot of attention and questions about their birds. It's easier to take pictures of them, too!

We had a very brief business meeting, covering upcoming Young Eagles rallies, and the work that needs to be done on the hangar pretty soon, which includes some painting and electrical work first of all.

How to ruin a good burger!	Tweety Bird and Bumble Bee                                                                                                       Photographs by Sue Kalhoefer

June Meeting
The meeting this month will be at the home of Jim Evertsen. Unless you fly a helicopter, this one is a drive-in meeting. Jim and Tina are "thinking lunch" with barbecue. Of course, we do our part by bringing those side dishes. ("You know what to do.") Jim's place is south of West Plains, Missouri. There are two ways to get there off Highway 63. One way is to go south on 63 to the first cross road past the West Plains Speedway, which is County Road 9510. Turn right and go approximately 2¾ miles. The house is on the left. The other way is to go south on 63 to PP Highway. Turn right and go 7¾ miles to County Road 9510. Turn left (north) and go approximately ½ mile. The house will be on the right. (This way is approximately 3 miles past Clint and Marge Allen's home.) It's quite a little way to drive, but the members from that "neck of the woods" always seems to make it quite a little way to our meetings in other places. So we'll see you all there.

Memorable Flight
Henny Christensen took to the sky to get some pictures of the dedication ceremony for the new freeway interchange at Willow Springs. It was a good opportunity to get some positive PR for general aviation, especially since we are based in Willow and the town is quite supportive. We're going to call this a "memorable flight," since the story Henny shares shows that it was a fun occasion for her.

"Making slow circles at 4,500 feet MSL, I had the best bird's eye view of the highway interchange ceremony on Friday, May 20, 2005, just southeast of Willow Springs Memorial Airport. Phyllis White and Ray Fine kept the 122.7 frequency alerted about activities at the official grandstand, especially talking to Clint Allen overhead at about 4,000 feet in "Matilda," and the other guys waiting at the runway to start their flyby.

The Willow Springs Air Force ready to fly.	Clint in Matilda begins his spiral-down maneuver.
Continuing the maneuver...	...the crowd watches. Note the smoke trail.                                                    Photographs by Henny Christensen

"The lines of vehicles were getting longer, parked all along the new sections of the overpass, and I could see the governor's VIP stand, several shade tents, and rows of chairs set up between the lanes. The governor hadn't arrived yet, but there were lots of people standing on the new highway waiting for the official ceremony at noon.

Matilda, Clint's Citabria, began a big lazy spiral from just beneath my altitude at 11:00 a.m., and I lucked out by being in just the right place at the right time to take pictures of Matilda's smoke trail beneath me. That most beautiful bright white trail even cast a shadow on the highway interchange, and I got lucky again without knowing it at the time, as the shadow showed up in a couple of the pictures.
"As Clint spiraled down, the "Willow Springs Air Force" sprang into action, and six pilots started their single-file flyby of the reviewing stand. "Tiger," Max Bradley's Navion, led the formation, followed by "The Zipper," John Smith's RV4; "Gray Wolf," Mike Vaughn's Cessna 182; "Rocky Top," Mike White's Stearman; "Sweet Pea," Bob Bohemier's KIS; and "Bumble Bee," Jim Evertsen's Hughes helicopter.

"I managed a couple of photos of the planes flying by, but I was too high to get detailed shots. The helicopter rotors showed up the best from my "camera in the sky" altitude, and "Tiger," being dark colored, showed up well. After the flyby, I circled the airport and got some decent shots of the guys landing.

"We debriefed while wolfing down leftovers from Thursday's MPA dinner in Ron White's hangar. He graciously did the "cooking thing" for us instead of joining in the formation with an airplane.

"As we milled around waiting for the next show, the state's King Air landed, and Governor Matt Blunt got out and headed for the ceremony. Not being aware at first that it was the governor, I didn't get to the far side of the airport to get his photograph. I had to settle for some static scenery shots with the Willow Springs Air Force planes in the background.
 

It takes a lot of "fuel" for the Willow Springs Air Force to defend against the big guys.
	Photographs by Henny Christensen

"OK, time to get going, so I took off again in the Cherokee 180, climbed back up to 4,500 feet, and coordinated on the radio with Phyllis, Clint on the runway, and the National Guard Huey heading in from Springfield. In all my looking and circling, I never did see the Guard helicopter, but when Phyllis announced that he was only a mile or two out, I alerted Clint. The Air Force, rallied on runway 35, began to depart for their formation run. This time, "Blue Bird," Floyd Deidiker's Cessna 150, joined the fleet. Again, luck held and I got a good shot of all the planes on the runway at the same time, including "Matilda."

"Clint had been on the phone with Springfield's National Guard Adjutant General, who attempted to dictate the flyby procedures by forbidding the spiral-down smoke trail maneuver, since his Huey would be in the area. I had a hunch that Clint would come up with something, and he did.

"The Guard Huey then departed the area. Following behind the Willow Springs Air Force aviators who made their flyby, Matilda's smoke trail began, from low altitude. The smoke trail did a funny little curly-cue, then grew in size, headed southeast over the highway, got fatter and fatter, and curved up and away as Matilda made a beautiful graceful ascending arc with the dark green forest as a background. I kept shooting through that little Piper window opening, hoping at least one picture would turn out.

"The Willow Springs Air Force dispersed, and each call sign announced departure for home.

"From above, I had the best seat in the house. It was downright beautiful, with the flag flying from a boom truck on the highway, the graceful new interchange making designs against the dark timber, the planes, the smoke trail—it's as good as it gets on a beautiful flying day."

It was nice of Henny to share with us the view that no one else could have. Makes us feel like we were there, too.

Ava Young Eagles Rally
A big round of applause to everyone who helped with the Young Eagles Rally on Saturday in Ava. We gave rides to 41 kids. This was a very enthusiastic group and we received many heartfelt thank yous Bob Obert - 23 Jim Evertsen - 7
Howard Wolford - 9 Bob Bohemier - 2
from the kids and the parents.

Our pilots on Saturday were:

Gene Pascoe was our flight line director. Bill Ghan manned the flight simulator, and Henny Christensen did the computer work.

Thank you, guys, for the hard work. It was a bit more difficult than usual, because the wind was acting in an unpredictable manner and it got hot. But you did a great job, and the kids were happy.

Jim answers a last-minute question before the flight, then an excited Jessica waves to Mom as they take off.
Look at those great big wonderful smiles.                                                                                                                                                                                                     Photographs by Sue Kalhoefer

For those of you who don't know, the hangar we used belongs to one of our members, Arnie Zimmerman. He has a ranch outside of Ava which is his vacation home. He also flies a lot of Young Eagles, many of them at Oshkosh in his Breezy. He lives at a residential air park outside of Chicago, LL22. He also flies a beautifully restored Aeronca Champ and a Piper Aztec. Arnie had hoped to come to Ava to help us, but the weather didn't permit that.

We had excellent cooperation from the City of Ava in setting up for the Rally: Marilyn Alms and Peggy Porter of the City Clerk's office; and Lee Rogers of the Electric Department made sure the airport was ready for us. Keith Moore, editor of the Douglas County Herald featured an article on the front page of the Herald, and Jody Porter of the Herald was a facilitator. The radio station, KKOZ 92.1 FM, did an interview with me last week to announce the Rally and explain it. Lee Rogers and Keith Moore both turned out to be supporters of the airport.

Our next scheduled Young Eagles Rally will be June 25, 2005 at Mountain Grove Memorial Airport (1MO). Mark your calendar for 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m.

Member News
John Zook says Jean is making progress from the stroke she suffered on May 22. He says she is responding "to everything" very well. They have just returned from a follow up appointment with her doctor.

Margaret Ghan will be starting treatment very soon now that the mammogram results are known. Keep her in your prayers, please.

Our Birthdays & Anniversaries

Buzz Thunderbee by Squawk
Buzz, what is it they say about a "little bit of knowledge?" Wind sox? Compass rose? Where did you hear those terms? Better watch out for these guys!

That's all for now! We'll see you all Saturday at the Evertsens'.

June Meeting Announcement