Aluminum Overcast at Watsonville May 18-19

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1 F EAA CHAPTER 119 LIGHTLIN E EAA Chapter 119, 60 Airport Way, Watsonville Airport May 2004 Aluminum Overcast at Watsonville May The Experimental Aircraft Association's B-17G-VE, serial number nicknamed Aluminum Overcast - was delivered to the U.S. Army Air Corps on May 18, Although delivered too late to see action in World War II, the airplane has an interesting history. Return to Military Roots The airplane's return to its military roots began in 1978, when it was purchased by a group of investors who wished to preserve the heritage of the magnificent B-17. The group, B-17s Around the World, was headed by Dr. Bill Harrison. Their goal was to return the B-17 to its former glory. Donation to EAA The economic reality of simply maintaining a vintage bomber, let alone the cost of restoration, prompted the group to donate the B-17 to the Experimental Aircraft Association in At that time, an extensive program of restoration and preservation was undertaken to insure Aluminum Overcast would be a living reminder of World War II aviation for many years to come. The restoration has taken more than 10 years and thousands of hours by dedicated staff and volunteers at EAA Oshkosh, Wisconsin, headquarters. Aluminum Overcast proudly carries the colors of the 398th Bomb Group of World War II, which flew hundreds of missions over Nazi-held territory during the war. Aluminum Overcast commemorates B-17G # which was shot down on its 34th combat mission over Le Manior, France, on August 13, Veterans of the 398th helped finance the bomber's restoration. The Plane When the airplane was sold in 1946, most of the original military equipment had been removed. Over the years, these items have been located, restored and returned to Aluminum Overcast. These include: the Norden bombsight located in the nose of the airplane restoration of the navigator's position, also located in the nose of the airplane installation of the waist guns on each side of the bomber rebuilding the radio compartment, including original communications equipment returning the airplane's floor to its original specifications installation of a complete tail turret assembly installation of a replica top turret just behind the pilot and co-pilot seats The airplane was on display at the EAA AirVenture Museum in Oshkosh until October 1993, when it was moved to EAA's Kermit Weeks Flight Research Center for maintenance and restoration in preparation for its first national tour in The B-17 will eventually be housed in the EAA AirVenture Museum's Eagle Hangar, which features numerous World War II aircraft and exhibits. When Aluminum Overcast is on tour, aviation enthusiasts can actually walk through the airplane. If they wish, they can take a trip back in time and feel the might of this magnificent flying machine through the flight experience program. Half hour flights are available at all Tour stops. Proceeds from the tour help keep Aluminum Overcast flying and will assist the continuing restoration, maintenance and preservation efforts of EAA. Even those too young to have lived through World War II can appreciate the history associated with this airplane. The Flying Fortress was one of the airplanes that helped the Allies achieve victory in World War II. Information obtained from

2 PAGE 2 The Castle outing was a FUN day. Dennis opened the hangar at 8am made coffee, and brought homemade cookies and donuts. John Davi came with more donuts. We left at 9:30. About people went but 3 planes needed more passengers. Where were you guys that do not get to Fly much? The shapely, fluffy, sunlit clouds were absolutely the most beautiful sight in the world and I was reminded of the perfect flying fantasy. It TRULY was Heavenly! When we got there we had our own tour guide. But on the return trip we had to fly around a few 2-mile-wide rain squalls. Gas was $2.36 at Gustine, it was 100LL, not car gas. Thank you Dennis for making it happen. Albertson's store executives recently came to visit our (their) local stores in their three engine FALCON 900 bizjet. Our own Bob Carr found the two pilots and invited them to visit with students in our Education Center. The pilots invited the students to go on board to see the three 2004 Chapter 119 Officers and Position Holders President Dan White VP & Program Dennis Thomas Chairman Secretary/ Neil Brooks Treasurer Director & Jack Hill Hangar Boss Director Thad Fenton Young Eagle Coordinator Young Eagle Ground Instructors Membership Chairman Flight Advisor / Technical Counselor Fly-In and Air Show Reps Chapter Webmaster PVAviation Academy Reps Newsletter Editor John Davi Russ Moody Bill Normandin Neil Brooks Jack Hill Hank Wempe Dan White Bob Sliter <rasliter@cruzio.com> John Davi Bob Sliter Dan White President s Corner Brian Moffet <moffetb@cruzio.com> Harry Wilson Dates May 1 May 4 EAA CHAPTER 119, 60 AIRPORT WAY, WATSONVILLE room, wood trimmed, plush plane. The students noticed many laptops and briefcases laying about! The pilots put me into the left seat and I was so excited that I 'probably' said something dumb like, wow! Look at all of the gauges. Alex Salono volunteered to come and talk with the students in our aviation class. He wanted to help them see that English is important in the world of aviation & commerce. The Hispanic intensity in this area gives them the feeling that it is racist to expect English to be used. Party on May 8 at Tom Hoyt Park. Have lunch with us. No $50 Hamburgers unless you fly your plane, HA! May 1 is Young Eagle day. Have a free lunch with us and volunteer in some fun way. Wings 'n' Things at South County airport on April 30 - May 2, will offer many activities including free museum admission. See We will have Peanut Scale planes at the Watsonville Air show evening program. Drew Willerton & I need help finding participants and prizes. Call me at or Ch 119 meets 7:30 pm 1st Tuesday monthly, guests invited! Flightline is published every month. Members and others are encouraged to submit articles and free classified ads pertaining to aviation. Deadline is generally Tuesday, 2 weeks preceding the first Tuesday of the month to allow compiling and mailing of your newsletter. Route newsletter items to: moffetb@cruzio.com Mail: 143 Peyton St, Santa Cruz, CA April 3- May 2 May 1 May May 8 May Event Aviation Events Calendar Wings n Wings of History Museum San Martin/South County Airport 7:00-4:00 Young Eagles Day EAA Hangar 60 Aviation Way WVI 10:30-3:00 Carson City EAA 403 Silver State Fly-In. Tribute to RV airplanes. 8am to 4pm or Bruce Gray Chapter 119 Meeting EAA Hangar 60 Aviation Way 7:30 pm EAA s B-17 Aluminum Overcast Watsonville Airport 8am-2pm Picnic at Tom Hoyt Park Watsonville 40th Annual Fly-In and Air-Show

3 EAA CHAPTER 119, 60 AIRPORT WAY, WATSONVILLE Chapter News EAA CHAPTER 119 MEETING APRIL 6, 2004 The meeting was called to order by Pres. Dan 19:35 34 members and guests were present. Brian Althouse and Blake Hannigan were guests. (Brian joined the Chapter.) A program covering the upcoming Watsonville Fly-In was presented by Dave Brockman. Announcements Fly-In Volunteers are needed for the air show. Hank Wempe needs people the week before the Show and 3-4 days after. Hank s phone number to volunteer is John Hill is asking for volunteers for the hot dog stand and for the Pancake Breakfast. Bob Sliter needs volunteers for the Aircraft judging. Our Chapter will share in some of the proceeds of the Air Show. The amount depends on the number of hours of volunteer work that we provide for the air show. WPA )Richard Lippi, Pres.) Ocean Air is sponsoring a T-6 aircraft that will give rides, starting 4/10/04. Santa Cruz Flying Club is sponsoring an Upset program and ride given by Wayne Handley. New officers are to be elected at the upcoming meeting. Young Eagles The next YE Day is May 1. Pilots and ground volunteers are needed. EAA Workshop The EAA Builders Workshop was held recently and the metal working phase was held in the WAEC. WAEC Dan White, the teacher for the school, is requesting photos and video of any activity at the school. He is planning to assemble a video presentation covering the school. Fly Out Dennis Thomas is organizing a fly out to Castle Air Base on 4/17/04. He request that people show up at the WAEC hangar. 99 s (Sarah Chauve) The 99 s will be doing the registration for the air show. EAA B-17 (John Davi) Posters are available and volunteers are needed. May Our help will benefit the chapter. Ride raffle tickets are available for $10 ea. YE Day (Bob Sliter) Bay Photo located on Main street, near Longs by Green Valley Rd., in Watsonville will donate all the Polaroid film needed for the YE Days. Bay Photo is a new business in Watsonville and we are encouraged to support their business. PAGE 3 Old Business: 1. Minutes of the previous meeting were approved. 2. Treas. report: Sufficient funds are available for our needs. 3. Saturday opening of the WAEC Hangar is still encouraged. A volunteer is needed. New Business: 1. The Stinson Club is coming to the Fly-In and will be using the Tom Hoyt Park. Meeting Adjourned. Submitted by Neil Brooks Sec/Treas. Moffet Assumes Editor Job by Harry Wilson Brian Moffet has assumed the editor s job beginning with the May, 2004 edition. Brian works at UC Santa Cruz as a Digital Media Specialist, using several of his interests in computers, computer graphics, photography, and music. Brian learned to fly in a Cessna 150 in 1994, joined the EAA around His eventual goal is to fly a P-51, and as Brian notes, even if I don't, I figure the journey will be a lot of fun. Brian recently bought John Davi's beautiful Stinson 108, a new chapter in Brian s life, and a sad conclusion in John s. Now, about other EAAers behind the scenes: Bob Sliter, EAA Chapter 119 Web-master, has assisted with many newsletter technical details, is active with local high school student training and a wide variety of community activities including our annual Air Shows and other local aviation events. Jack & Sue Hill are a team. Jack is devoted to the success of our chapter and Sue, a pro, is an excellent newsletter proof-reader, helping with the quality of this newsletter and non profit printing costs. Dan White is devoted to local student activities (a retired high school science teacher), to local aviation, and to EAA. As your recent editor, I have sincerely enjoyed the experience, including my association with many very fine EAAers who contribute valuable time to our chapter and to this newsletter. I hope to do the same as Brian s assistant. As I commented to Brian my reasons for requesting his being active with our chapter newsletter are his level of talent, and his potential as our editor. Our mutual goals an outstanding EAA chapter newsletter, and an outstanding EAA chapter. Brian represents our younger generation.

4 PAGE 4 EAA CHAPTER 119, 60 AIRPORT WAY, WATSONVILLE AIRPORT 40th Watsonville Fly-In and AirShow Enjoy the show with your family Red Baron Squadron coming to 40th Air Show The No. 1 non-military air show act in the United States will be visiting the 40th Annual Watsonville AirShow. The bright red and white Boeing Stearman biplanes a trademark of the Red Baron Squadron are making their first appearance in Watsonville. The Red Baron Squadron pilots sponsored by Red Baron Pizza have thrilled airshow audiences with their formation takeoffs, precision aerobatics, hammerhead turns and barrel rolls for more than 20 years. We are excited that the two-ship Red Baron Squadron is coming to Watsonville for our 40th anniversary said Dave Brockman. These pilots are among the most talented in the air show industry. Bill Stein, a Red Baron Squadron Pilot, will also fly his ultra-high energy show in a state-of-the-art Zivko Edge 540. Shuttle Astronauts Stephen Robinson and Daniel Bursch NASA shuttle astronauts Stephen Robinson and Daniel Bursch will appear at the NASA Ames Research Center s Mars Exploration Rover Exhibit. Robinson, a mission specialist at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, has more than 497 hours in space, and has been selected to return in Bursch, a veteran of four space flights, has logged over 227 days in space and is currently an instructor at the Naval Post Graduate School in Monterey.

5 EAA CHAPTER 119, 60 AIRPORT WAY, WATSONVILLE PAGE 5 40th Watsonville Fly-In and AirShow Notable Performers Eddie Andreini With more than 25 years of air show experience behind him, Eddie Andreini is highly respected as the consummate professional in his Eddie Andreini Ribbon Cut mighty biplane. There are only a few pilots flying the big bull Stearman on the air show circuit, but there are none that can extract the thrilling performance from the huge 500 hp Pratt & Whitneypowered airplane like Eddie Andreini! Don't miss Eddie's aerobatic demonstration in his red Yak-9. John Collver With an aviation career spanning more than 30 years, John Collver has accumulated more than 13,000 hours in over 50 types of aircraft. John currently performs in the world-famous AT-6 Texan and his crowd-pleasing, non-stop aerobatic demonstration is a tribute to our armed forces and veterans of all wars. Rhett Thompson Born to fly, at age 15, he learned in an Aeronca Champ and progressed quickly into aerobatics. Later, he earned his aviation degree from the University of North Dakota. He taught aerobatics in the Pitts S-2A and S-2B aircraft before acquiring his Sukhoi Su-26M in With over 9,000 hours of flight experience, Rhett has been performing air shows for over eight years. Allen Silver Allen has over 41 years of experience and more than 3100 jumps as a sport and professional skydiver. For three seasons he performed a wingwalking/skydiving routine at air Harrier Jumpship coming back in 2004 shows throughout the western United States. After retiring from wingwalking Allen continues to thrill air show crowds as a performer doing demonstration parachute jumps. The Bay Area Sundowners This sport kite team has been recognized as the best kite team in the world. All of the routines are choreographed to music with dual line train kites with 40-foot tails. While team members have come and gone over the years, the team's philosophy hasn't changed: To have fun flying kites, to always do our best and above all, to entertain as many members of the public as we can. Photographing the air show Here are some tips for getting good airplane shots Prop Blur: Most aircraft props turn at about 2500 RPM when flying. In order to get a blurred prop, you need to shoot at less than 1/300 of a second. Set your camera, if possible, to shutter priority at 1/250 th sec. Focus on the plane: Pan along with the plane. Panning allows you to keep the subject in the frame by moving the camera along Formation Mustangs Taken with Canon Elan II-e mm lens Copyright 2001, Brian D. Moffet with the plane, so it remains in the same place in your picture. You are tracking the subject as it moves in front of you, and as far as the camera is concerned, the subject is no longer moving much. The background will be blurred, but the plane will not be. Getting Close: The airshow line at Watsonville is fairly close, allowing people to take good photos of the planes as they fly through the On a clear day: ISO 200 film air. A 400 mm lens will do a great job 1/250 th second of taking photographs. The P-51s f-stop f.11 shown were shot with a mm zoom lens.

6 PAGE 6 Vintage News EAA CHAPTER 119, 60 AIRPORT WAY, WATSONVILLE Young Eagles News Vintage Aircraft Open House at Flabob EAA Vintage Aircraft Chapter 33 hosts their fifth annual Open House at Flabob Airport on May 15. Some 200 antique and classic aircraft, dozens of vintage cars and hot rods, and 500 to 1000 people are expected for the event. Planned events include fabric covering demonstrations, radio controlled aircraft flying, welding demonstrations, and a flea market. But, clearly, the emphasis is on socializing, looking at aircraft and watching them fly around the pattern, said Chapter President Leo Williams. Members will stage flights for the Young Eagles program and some of the lucky kids may get to fly in open cockpit biplanes. For more information or to make reservations for Young Eagles Flights, contact Kathy Rohm at 090/ , ext. 104 or kathyrohm@aol.com. Sport Pilot and Light-Sport Aircraft News EAA is celebrating the birth of a new magazine this week, as the premiere issue of EAA Sport Pilot & Light-Sport Aircraft is off the presses and being mailed to members! All Polaroid film used for our Young Eagles Rallies donated by Pat & Robin Works owners of Bay Photo Watsonville 1962 Main St. (Watsonville Square Shopping Center) Watsonville This new magazine replaces Experimenter magazine, shifting its primary focus to the exciting proposed new sport pilot certificate and light-sport aircraft category, while retaining many of the former publication s popular features. EAA members who subscribe to Experimenter will automatically receive the new magazine in their mailboxes soon. Any EAA member who receives EAA Sport Aviation can add an EAA Sport Pilot & Light-Sport Aircraft subscription for $20 a year. Harrison Ford, best known as an actor in more than three dozen films but also an extremely active pilot and member of the Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA), was introduced today as the new Chairman of the EAA Young Eagles Program, which has flown more than 1 million young people since During a welcoming program at Van Nuys, Calif., with EAA President Tom Poberezny, Ford accepted the chairmanship of the program, saying, It s daunting to step into General Yeager s shoes, but aviation is about learning new skills and the satisfaction that comes with practicing them and doing better. Brig. Gen. Chuck Yeager, who has served as Young Eagles Chairman since 1994, has been named the program s Chairman Emeritus and will continue to participate as one of more than 35,000 volunteer pilots who have been involved since Young Eagles was founded. Harrison Ford s passion for flight has grown through the years, as he has achieved several pilot certificates and ratings, and made aviation a major part of his life, Poberezny said. He discovered Young Eagles on his own several years ago and quietly started flying young people. He now has flown 81 Young Eagles. He is a natural fit to help lead us to even greater achievements as EAA members prepare the next generation of aviators. Young Eagles gives kids a view of the world they ve never seen before, Ford said. Each Young Eagle flight is an opportunity to excite kids by sharing your passion for flight and to show them that they, too, can learn the skills to participate in aviation. The new Chairman is the third in the history of the Young Eagles Program. Academy Award-winning actor Cliff Robertson served as Chairman from the program s founding in July 1992 through 1994, with Gen. Yeager serving Under these two chairmen, EAA s Young Eagles has grown into the largest youth aviation education program ever created.

7 EAA CHAPTER 119, 60 AIRPORT WAY, WATSONVILLE PAGE 7 EAAer Bill Randolph Briefing, Chapter 119 Meeting, Tuesday, May 4th Proposed Round-the-World Flight by Bill Randolph My original intent was to fly around the world via Russia/Siberia. That changed when my son sold his business in California and went to live in, and work out of Bali (freelance contract pilot). Now the object of my flight is Bali, then coming home completes the circumnavigation. My itinerary has changed a dozen times as I learn more about each projected stop (country). I set as a requirement for a stop that it must have 100 octane fuel and an ILS. Political and visa restrictions/ considerations eliminated some preliminary stops. I feel pretty good about the current itinerary, except for India, but no way around that, although I still expect to make minor changes. The internet was very useful in gathering information. I still don t know what fuel costs will be, but I ve budgeted $10/gallon. I expect my trip will require somewhere between 4 to 10 weeks, depending on start date and weather. If weather should delay me beyond 10 weeks and I don t get started by July 1st, then the trip conceivably could require a year. I will welcome any firsthand information anyone has vis-à-vis flight in countries on my itinerary. Bill, next to his 90% complete RV-8, viewing the cockpit/instrument panel (Bill s Home?) A 3/4 View of Bill s RV and the canopy where he will be spending time viewing the world

8 WATSONVILLE CHAPTER 119 EXPERIMENTAL AIRCRAFT ASSOCIATION Watsonville Municipal Airport 60 Aviation Way Watsonville CA Mailing Address Line 1 Mailing Address Line 2 Mailing Address Line 3 Mailing Address Line 4 Mailing Address Line 5 Win a ride in the B-17 Flying Fortress Raffle tickets $10.00 each, 5 for $40.00 EAA officers have tickets to sell, or call Bob for tickets Only 200 will be sold and the drawing will be held on Wed. May 12th. Need not be present at drawing. Winner will be notified.