FLIGHTLINE EAA Chapter 119, 60 Aviation Way, Watsonville Airport, Watsonville CA 95076

Transcription

1 EAA CHAPTER 119 FLIGHTLINE EAA Chapter 119, 60 Aviation Way, Watsonville Airport, Watsonville CA April 2007 The Boeing B-17G Flying Fortress DESIGNED BY: Boeing Company, Seattle, Washington BUILT UNDER LICENSE BY: Vega Aircraft Company (now Lockheed) MODEL: B-17G Flying Fortress ARMY AIR CORPS SERIAL NUMBER: # DELIVERY DATE: May 18, 1945 REQUIRED CREW: Ten Pilot, Co-pilot, Navigator, Bombardier, Flight Engineer (top turret gunner), Radio Operator, 2 Waist Gunners, Tail Gunner and Ball Turret Gunner POWER: The B-17G is powered by four 1,200-horsepower Wright Cyclone Model R engines. These engines are nine cylinder, radial, air-cooled type with a 16:9 gear ratio. The propellers are three-bladed Hamilton Standard propellers, 11 feet, 7 inches in diameter. WEIGHTS: Basic Empty Weight 34,000 lbs. Gross Weight (Wartime) 65,500 lbs. FUEL CAPACITY: 1,700 gallons RANGE: 1,850 miles. Range could be extended when equipped with Tokyo Tanks which provided a total capacity of 3,630 gallons. WING SPAN: 103 feet, 9 inches LENGTH: 74 feet, 4 inches HEIGHT: 19 feet, 1 inch SERVICE CEILING: 35,600 feet ARMAMENT: Thirteen Browning M-2.50 caliber machine guns. Fire rate approximately 13 rounds per second. No gun on a B-17 carried more than one minute s supply of ammunition. BOMB LOAD: Depending on types of bombs, maximum normal load could go to 8,000 lbs. If B-17 was fitted with special external racks, maximum normal short-range bomb load could go as high as 17,600 lbs. NUMBER BUILT: 12,732. Production peaked at 16 airplanes a day in April Today there are about a dozen B-17 s still flying. SPEEDS: Maximum 300 mph. at 30,000 ft. Maximum continuous 263 mph. at 25,000 ft. Cruising speed 170 mph. Landing 74 mph. Rate of Climb 37 minutes to 20,000 ft. COLORS: 398th Bomb Group EAA s Aluminum Overcast will be at Watsonville Airport on April 24 - April 25, Many more authors have written more eloquently about it than I ever could. -- Editor.

2 EAA CHAPTER 119, 60 AVIATION WAY, WATSONVILLE AIRPORT President s Corner Hello Everyone, It seems to me that for the last few months this column has been pretty much a familiar story. Upcoming chapter activities and the subject of upcoming chapter meetings. Well this month, guess what? Same Old, Same Old. Next chapter meeting we will have a speaker who has been a member for only a relatively short time but has in that time became a big name. Larry Baker is a professional pilot, former Air Force, former Delta Airlines, CFI who seems never to fly from the left seat but is always giving instruction to someone else. Oh, by the way, he just finished a beautiful RV-10. Larry will be giving a talk about formation flying. Next month Bill McBride has managed once again to persuade Mr. Alan Brown of F-117 and Stealth Technology to present to us. Way to go Bill! I have been thinking for some time about a subject for a meeting but am unsure if there is enough interest to warrant bringing it to pass. Before I take the plunge I will earnestly ask your feedback and will only proceed if it is really wanted. Many of us who are passing into our senior years have a little growth forming around the middle, find ourselves slowing down a bit, and wonder if the next time we visit our friendly Flight Surgeon he is going to shake his head and tell us something we don t want to hear. What are the causes of aging pilots losing their medicals? Heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, hyper-tension, stroke, and the list goes on. An interesting fact provided by our medical folks is that all these conditions are lumped into a category called civilized diseases. In ancient man they did not exist. Further they rarely exist today in primitive cultures where people are still hunting, herding, farming and living simple lives. In other words, we do this to ourselves. If this sounds a bit too much like a sermon please know that as I m writing I alternate between looking in the mirror and down at my protruding belly! On this past New Years Day I thought to myself I don t need a set of resolutions for the New Year. I can just re-use the old ones I have not been keeping. You 2007 Chapter 119 Officers and Position Holders President Dennis Thomas VP & Program Chairman Secretary and Membership Chairman Treasurer Director & Hangar Boss Director Director Director and Young Eagles Coordinator Young Eagles Ground Instructors Flight Advisor/ Technical Counselor Fly-In and Air Show Reps Chapter Webmaster PVAviation Academy Reps Newsletter Editor Copy Editor Jerry Olsen Neil Brooks Mary Doherty Jack Hill John Davi Dan White Bob Sliter <rasliter@cruzio.com> Russ Moody Bill Normandin Jack Hill Hank Wempe Dan White Ron Shannon rshannon@cruzcom.com John Davi Bob Sliter Dan White Brian Moffet <editor@eaa119.org> Naomi Brokaw WordsTakeWing@skyhighway.com PAGE know what they are, lose 30 pounds, exercising more, eat better and drink fewer alcoholic beverages. I just this week had an opportunity to chat with an old acquaintance who has spent his life, very successfully I might add, as a competitive athlete, coach and physical trainer. I asked if he would be willing to speak to us about an exercise program. At first hesitant, he did say that if there was interest, he would. He said he could outline a program that could be followed from ones home without a great expenditure other than your time. I will close with my last thought for the month. Like finding salvation, it is never too late to improve your health with diet and exercises. What do you folks think? Hope to see you at the next meeting and in the meantime, please, Fly Safe Dennis

3 PAGE Chapter News EAA Chapter Minutes EAA CHAPTER 119 MEETING MARCH 6, 2007 President Dennis Thomas called the meeting to order at Members present. Guests were introduced: Justin Braun, Ralph Love and Jim Green. Minutes of the February meeting were approved. Motion: Jerry Olsen, 2nd by R. Sliter. Neil Brooks gave Treas. Report as Mary Doherty was away. Chris Gularte of Specialized Helicopters gave a review of his company operations and safety procedures. OLD BUSINESS: 1. Model Airplane classes for young people will begin on March 31. The hours are from There will be a total of six classes. EAA volunteers are: Dan White, Jim Doherty. Neil Brooks is the coordinator. 2. The Tom Hoyt Park barbecue will be held on the 24th of March. This is to provide lunch for the EAA Workshop Group (in addition to the usual suspects) that is meeting that weekend. Volunteers are: Jim Carter, Bill McBride, Jeremy MacDonald and Neil Brooks. 3. Day In The Sky in April will be a Young Eagles Day 4. EAA B-17 ride raffle tickets were offered. They are $10 each. A total of 100 tickets will be sold. The costs of the rides are $385 (EAA member) or $399. The dates are 4/23 (Arrival), 4/24, 4/25 (Departure Day) 5. Bob Sliter gave a brief YE report. 6. Jim Doherty: The Rolling Boneyard Project is proceeding. Jim plans on display on the 24th of March. NEW BUSINESS: 1. Letter from EAA HQ and Paul Probenzy recogniz- EAA CHAPTER 119, 60 AVIATION WAY, WATSONVILLE AIRPORT ing the Chapter and in particular, Jim Carter, for his more than 50-year membership. 2. A letter from the US Dept. of Commerce warning about low flying over the Monterey Bay Sanctuary. The letter is on file at the Chapter office. 3. Ron Shannon, the Chapter Webmaster is leaving the area and a replacement person has been requested. Jeremy MacDonald volunteered to assume the responsibility. 4. Fly-Out: 3/10 to Schellville (Chapter 62), 3/17 Paso Robles (Chapter 119). 5. Gustine: The fuel pumps are out of commission. 6. Newsletter Editor, Brian Moffet, requests the articles be submitted by 3/21. He threatens to publish his poetry if no articles are received. 7. Larry Baker s RV-10 flew for the first time on recent days. Chapter member J.R. Warmkessel did the FAA inspection. J.R. is an FAA D.A.R.. 8. On a sad note, Jim Hackbush who was building a Dragonfly, was found deceased in his hangar at WVI. Minutes submitted by Neil Brooks, Sec. Airport Cleanup Day by Bob Sliter Bill McBride and I are the only ones who showed up for the Airport Blvd. Clean up this month. We were able to get the work done, but it took longer and we were more tired when it was done. It sure is a lot easier when there are more people to help out, and it takes a lot less time too! As I was cleaning up in front of one of the businesses this morning, the owner came out and while we were talking, he mentioned how nice it was for us to take on the task of clean-up and how much he appreciated what we were doing to help keep the area around the airport clean. He said that he tries to keep the area in front of his business clean, but it is a never ending project. I m sure that other business owners feel the same way too, it s just that most people will not go out of their way to complement the good work done, so it is nice to actually hear it now and then! I realize this was a very busy month for many of our members, many of whom attended the workshops, held today, but please keep in mind, the more people who volunteer for the road clean up, the faster and easier it is, plus you get a free lunch out of it.

4 EAA CHAPTER 119, 60 AVIATON WAY, WATSONVILLE AIRPORT Bill DeRouchey - March 18, 2007 The WPA lawsuit has been looking stronger for the pilots recently and the city manager approached the Watsonville Airport Advisory Committee (WAAC) with an idea intended to derail the lawsuit. He proposed a stake holder committee composed of home and airport interests whereby the city could control the outcome instead of letting the judge prescribe a remedy that could move control to the county. The City of Watsonville and the Santa Cruz County have a rough relationship. The three WVI pilot organizations [EAA, WPA & 99 s] each responded with the overall message that we were not interested in the City Manager s proposal because of the ongoing legislation or the city would bias the committee for their own purposes. After receiving our responses the City Manager added an item to the City Council (CC) meeting of March 13 asking permission to form a stakeholder committee. Donna Jones, of the Sentinel, reviewed and wrote an excellent article published the morning of the CC meeting that articulated the pilots position and balanced the flowery comments from our City Manager. The city council meeting was attended by some of our pilots and our President, Dennis Thomas, addressed this subject with a clear message. In the final, the council voted 4-2 deferring the committee formation until after the lawsuit has been settled. Next potential settlement date is mid June. So now we wait for due process of the court system. There are so many possible remedies the court could declare it makes further discussion on this subject interesting but worthless homes times $600K per home is $1.35 BILLION DOLLARS in the green corner and airport and neighborhood safety is in the blue corner of the boxing ring. It would require a powerful authority to balance these positions. Bill DeRouchey EAA 119 representative to the WAAC Watsonville Airport vs City Update Dan Chauvet - March 18, 2007 PAGE Dennis Thomas spoke to the city council, affirming that EAA supports the position of the pilot community. His statement was greatly responsible for our apparent success and the council s 4 to 2 decision. This is the first time in years that the aviation community (and the airport) has had any favorable decision. Even though the decision was to delay action until June 12th, it gives our litigation a chance of solving the runway 8-26 problem. (We still may face the City Manager/City Attorney putting a spin on the council s decision) Realistically nobody knows the outcome of the courts decision. Thinking positively we can speculate. The State Division of Aeronautics is involved. It is conceivable they will influence the court to prescribe land use decisions, through the state s system of airport safety and protection. Therefore the court could direct the Division of Aeronautics to provide a Compatibility Plan. This would remove the need for any stakeholder committee to develop a Compatibility Plan. All we can do is keep our fingers crossed and hope for the best. The Court could also prescribe a generic county Airport Land Use Commission (ALUC). As was heard at the meeting, there would be opposition by the city to relinquish any control of development planning decisions around the Airport. That s another story. I noticed that the City Manager did not acknowledge this possibility, but put it on the doorstep of pending state legislation pushed by AOPA? The city s new General Plan 2030 update, which calls for 2250 homes in Buena Vista proves bad planning by the City. At the lawsuit settlement hearing, the city attorney said they would not lower the housing number to 2249 houses, not one house. Without solidarity of the pilot community, reflected by Dennis s concise clear statement, the council might have gone another way. Another behind the scenes factor in this new council makeup is that Watsonville Regional Airport Promotion-Political Action Committee (WRAP-PAC) provided financial support (for election costs) to councilmen Din and indirectly Greg Caput, and in the past Dale Skillicorn. Councilman Kim Peterson joined the good guy s decision last night.

5 PAGE EAA Chapter 110 UL/LSA Open Hangar Gathering EAA CHAPTER 119, 60 AVIATION WAY, WATSONVILLE AIRPORT The Job of Chapter President Saturday May 5, :30am 1:00pm Hangar J32, South County Airport E16 San Martin, CA For Sale Open to all interested Ultralights and Light Sport Aircraft Pilots, wannabes, and fans of fun flight Low and Slow Poker Run begins 8:30am at E16, CVH, or WVI and ends at E16 at 11:30am at Hangar J32 Minimum of two cards are required to play. Pick up a card at any two or all three airports. Prizes awarded for best Texas Hold-Em Ultralight and LSA hands. Ultralights are advised to use published airport alternate patterns Radios must be used by all pilots (E16 CTAF 122.7, WVI 122.8, CVH 123.0) Please check for game details, maps, weather, and Ultralight pattern information Hot Dogs, Soft Drinks, etc will be served by EAA Chapter 110 UL starting at 11:30am Parking Guides will be available to assist pilots and visitors with parking. Prizes and refreshments are offered at no charge (Please help us defray costs by making a donation) Please let us know you are coming by contacting Steve White ( ) or scwhite101@ yahoo.com before May 1st C-172E 2927-TTAF, 1560-SMOH, 157- STOH, IFR, new annual, complete logs, Garmin XL300 GPS moving map, 4-place intercom, alternator upgrade, wing tip vortex generators. NEW: battery, mags, tires, new ELT battery. Cont. O-300, good compression, paint-10, interior-10 (leather), $49,995, Lance McBride What does a president of EAA 119 do? Well, you might expect things like helping organize Day in the Sky and conducting meetings. This month you can add: attend City Council meeting, mow the lawn, prop start your neighbor s plane and give another neighbor a tow. Thanks Dennis for all the other duties as assigned. Garmin 296 near new in box, All updates, Yoke mount, Auto mount, All Accessories $1,100 OBO Bill Scherer RV-4 w/0-360 A1A engine w/constant speed prop. Wings, fuselage, & tail done; on wheels 85% done, $30,000 Charlie Wood

6 Watsonville Chapter 119 Experimental Aircraft Association Watsonville Municipal Airport 60 Aviation Way Watsonville CA Upcoming Topics and Events: Date Topics Apr 4, 2007 Larry Baker, former Air Force, former Delta Airlines, 7:30 pm CFI. Ge just finished a beautiful RV-10. Larry will be Apr 24 - Apr 25, 2007 giving a talk about formation flying. EAA B-17 Aluminum Overcast at Watsonville Airport Apr 21, 2007 Day in the Sky, Watsonville Airport. 9:00-5:00 pm See May 1, 2007 EAA Chapter 119 Monthly meeting. EAA Hangar 7:30 pm May 5, 2007 First Young Eagles Rally. EAA Chapter Hangaer, 10:00-2:00