PROPWASH A Newsletter of EAA Chapter 517, Inc.

Transcription

1 September 2014 PROPWASH A Newsletter of EAA Chapter 517, Inc. U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds at Dusk during AirVenture 2014 Photo Courtesy Sherry Rossiter July31, 2014 September Trivia Question: WHO AM I? Clue #1: I was a painter and sculptor and used my drawing skills to create plans for flying machines. Clue #2: One of my plans was for the Ornithopter, which would be powered by the person flying it. Clue #3: Some of my other designs also include tanks, armored cars, bridges, and parachutes. Clue #4: Many of my designs were way ahead of their time and never built due to lack of technology. Answer Choices: A. Diego Marin Aquilera B. Leonardo da Vinci C. Giuseppe Mario Bellanca D. Anton Fokker

2 From the Chapter President... Even though we were only in Oshkosh for two days, my husband and I really enjoyed attending AirVenture The afternoon that the U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds arrived was rainy, but they were able to land safely. We were delighted to later see the airplanes parked right outside the window of the airport terminal, where we were attending the annual meeting and banquet of the Society of Aviation & Flight Educators on July 31. It was interesting to see the process the crew went through to button up the aircraft for the night. Perhaps some of you went to Kalispell on August to see the Thunderbirds perform there. They always put on a really spectacular show wherever they perform. I am pleased to announce that EAA 517 now has two used rivet guns available for use by Chapter members. These are currently in my possession, but I will take them down to the Chapter hangar very soon. I m also pleased to announce the donation to the Chapter of a partially constructed Dragonfly fuselage and wings (no engine). The donor had a recent change in personal circumstances due to a medical condition and didn t think he would be able to finish building the airplane. The EAA 517 Board of Directors gladly accepted this in kind donation and we are open to suggestions as to what to do with it. In the meantime, Chapter member Don Lorenzen, who has built a Dragonfly airplane himself, will write an article about the Dragonfly design for the October 2014 PROPWASH. Several weeks ago I sent out a Member Roster via . It was a long time in coming, but now we have one. I know that at least two members of the Chapter have used the roster to contact other members. This Member Roster is only for internal use. In closing, I would like to announce that I will not be running for re-election as Chapter President. However, Jim Younkin is willing to run for re-election as Vice President. Ideally, it would be nice to have two nominees for each position, but that has not happened in the last few elections. If any of you are interested in becoming a nominee for Chapter President or Vice President, please contact me before October 5. The election for these two officer positions will be held during the Chapter s Annual Meeting on October 20, Until next month, blue skies and happy landings... Sherry Rossiter Welcome, New Members! At the August 18 meeting, our Chapter acquired four new members. Their personal contact information is on the Member Roster. However, here is a brief introduction of each one. Brittany Belgarde is a student pilot who now lives and works in Missoula. Travis Horrell recently earned his Private Pilot Certificate at Vetter Aviation in Helena. Travis also now lives in Missoula. Erick Roblessy recently moved to Missoula from Indiana. He grew up in Central America, has an engineering background, and owns a RANS 12. Bill Schertz and his wife Paula moved to Lolo, Montan, from Illinois a few months ago. Bill flies a KIS Cruiser with a rotary engine that he built himself. He is a retired chemical engineer from Argonne Laboratories. August 2014 Page 2

3 August Chapter Meeting A Huge Success New Chapter member Bill Schertz presented a great program at our August 18 meeting in Stevensville. Bill used a PowerPoint presentation to explain the many challenges he had in installing a rotary engine into his KIS Cruiser. Judging by the many questions from the audience, everyone really enjoyed Bill s program. Prior to the program presentation, we enjoyed a barbecue featuring hamburgers, hotdogs, chips, side salads, and great desserts. Attendance may have set a Chapter record with 27 people present. August Trivia: WHO AM I? Clue #1: I m an American aerospace engineer known for designing light, strong, unusual-looking aircraft. Clue #2: My first airplane design, which I began building in my garage in 1968, had a rear wing, forward canard, and a pusher configuration, which later became my design trademark. Clue #3: Currently, I m very interested in the development of suborbital technology. Clue #4: In 2012, I made a presentation to the World Affairs Council on the topic Innovation and the Space Race, which was carried on C-Span. Answer Choices: A. Chris Heintz B. Julian Wolkovitch C. Robert T. Jones D. Burt Rutan The answer to the August Trivia Question is D. Burt Rutan. This was probably an easy trivia question for most of you to answer. To learn more about Burt Rutan s life and many successful aircraft designs, please check out the following websites: me-airplanes-burt-rutan or Above Photos Courtesy Roger Shaw August 2014 Page 3

4 September 15 Chapter Meeting Info For the September 15 meeting, we will visit Duane Felstet s Zenith CH-750 airplane project. Duane lives at Mullan Road, Missoula (but it s actually closer to Frenchtown.) Specific directions on how to reach his house and where to park will be sent out via a few days before the meeting. Please be there by 7:00 PM Below is a photo of the factory prototype Zenith CH-750. maybe 30% complete. The gentleman donating the project also had most of the material to complete the fiberglass work. Both wings were moved to the Stevensville hangar; the fuselage and all other material remain in the trailer. Now we as a Chapter need to determine what we might do with this project. We do have the plans and the construction manuals. Do we want to complete it as a Chapter project? Do we want to sell it to one of our members, who will take on the project to complete it? Do we want to sell it to an outside party? Is there something else we might do with it? We all need to start thinking about it, as this will be a subject of discussion for a while. If you have any ideas, please let Sherry or another member of the Board of Directors know your thoughts. Below are two photos of what a completed Viking Dragonfly looks like. EAA Chapter 517 Acquires a Dragonfly by Steve Rossiter No, not the bug, a Viking Dragonfly. The Dragonfly is a fiberglass, single engine, homebuilt biplane with the lower wing located like a canard forward of the crew cabin and the upper wing located behind the crew cabin. It also has a vertical tail without a horizontal tail. On August 23, Gary Weyerman and Steve Rossiter retrieved the Chapter trailer, and after dragging it to East Missoula, loaded the Dragonfly project for movement to Stevensville. The wings and fuselage have been fabricated, so the project is. August 2014 Page 4

5 CONTACTS President Sherry Rossiter Vice President Jim Younkin Secretary Gary Weyermann Treasurer Steve Knopp Young Eagles Ray Aten EAA Tech Counselor Larry DePute Propwash Editor Steve Rossiter Web Site Larye Parkins BUILDER'S REPORT Cygnet Don Lorenzen 60% Glassair Allen Burruss FT S-II 100% Phase one flight test underway. Piper Exp. Brad Condra Bushmaster 60% Fabric covering being installed. RANS Dan Dixon S7S Courier 15% Rutan Ed Lovrien Limo-Easy 25% Sonex Larye Parkins Waiex 30% Van's RV John Barba RV-6 Zenith Laurens Ackerman CH % Ray Aten CH-601 Completed Phase one testing Terry Philips CH-601 8% Duane Felstet CH % August 2014 Page 5