EAA Chapter 1373 Newsletter

Transcription

1 EAA Chapter 1373 Newsletter April, 2018 Next Meeting Notice: Saturday, April 7th, 10:00 AM, Graham s Hangar, Delta Blake Field. See the Calendar at for directions. Summary of March 3 rd Meeting: There was some discussion of how to improve our Chapter meetings to bring in more new participants and also provide project skills and/or help people still in the building process. It was also discussed that we try to organize more fly outs to Western Slope airports as a group. Here are a few of the points raised during and after the meeting: Separate the business meeting (officers and interested parties only) from the more social and informal general meeting Start each meeting with an event to draw new people, such as a pancake breakfast. These could also be a fundraiser for the chapter Show some of the EAA Chapter Videos as part of the meeting Our greatest asset, and what draws people's interest, is the number of projects chapter members are working on. Focus more on projects at the meetings. Fundraisers (such as pancake breakfast) could be put on to provide for compensating gas costs for Young Eagles flights or sending participants to Oshkosh for EAA seminars Encourage more Young Eagle Flight participation from chapter members by helping with the internet approval (background check) process and let pilots know about the liability insurance provided by EAA. We can discuss these ideas and more at the next meeting. Alan Collins New Cessna 182 Alan picked up this nice 1966 C-182 in Idaho last month. Read his interesting story of What if? at the end of the newsletter. Photo: Alan Collins, about to leave Coeur d'alene (KCOE) in the Cessna 182.

2 From Lowell Manary on His Sperocco Project: Dee has been after me for what seems like forever to clean off the Sperocco wing so she could get some recent progress photos. Well she finally got her wish not because I respond well to repeated requests, but due to build sequencing requirements. The electrical chore is done and I need to glue on the upper boot cowl so I can final fit the windshield fairings, which requires removal of all instruments and radios (gluing is potentially messy) and I really need to check weight and balance before disassembly which you guessed it wings need to be void of all the stuff stored on them for eons. I wondered why she was so eager to help with the weighing. Weight came out as with all aircraft, heavier than desired. Balance right on. Instrument panel is complete save painting. That bare spot on the right is for IFLY. A photo of retractable T-wheel complete with doors

3 Fully assembled aircraft photo is last before paint. Disassembly starts tomorrow.

4 I know Dee is good but where did that halo come from? Editor s Note: At one time there was a contest to guess the empty weight of Lowell s Sperocco. Not sure what happened to that, but we should try to find out where the entries are before he discloses the results now that it s weighed. Jim Barnowski s RV-7 Paint Update Frosty has completed the painting of the wings and tail components. Here are a few pics: Frosty with some tail assemblies

5 Sue Barnowski and Frosty Jim and Sue Paint Scheme for Jim s RV-7 (Can you tell he s ex-navy?)

6 Alan Collins Write-up of His Idaho Trip and History Lesson Photo: Looking east across western Idaho from 11,500 feet. (Clear skies and smooth terrain to the west.) What if? By Alan Collins, 28 February 2018 Over the past few months I ve been shopping for a good quality, older, Cessna to compliment my smaller Zenith 601 experimental. I found what I wanted in Coeur d Alene Idaho, and in late February I flew my first long crosscountry trip bringing her home to Blake Field. It was both exciting and a learning experience. However, meeting and talking with the previous owner was just as interesting. Below I ll share his story, and as you begin to connect the dots I think you ll find it quite remarkable. Richard Le Francis is Director of the Pappy Boyington Veterans Museum in Coeur d Alene, dedicated to celebrating and honoring those who served in uniform to preserve the freedoms we enjoy every day. He and his father, Richard senior, owned this beautiful 1966 Skylane since the mid-1980 s. (In fact, he was a little sentimental about letting her go. But I digress.) The museum has thousands of artifacts, primarily from World War II. Unfortunately, the museum lost its lease last year, so exhibits are only available online (pictures and videos) for now. Richard is working with Burt Rutan, also a resident of Coeur d Alene, and others to secure a new location. Until then, visit the museum s YouTube channel. Photo: Richard Le Francis (junior) and Alan Collins I took off from Coeur d Alene (KCOE) at about noon and flew almost due south to avoid weather to the east. (See picture at the top.) As I made my way over a sea of scattered clouds, I

7 recalled the fascinating story told of his father s experience, Francis senior, just prior to the WWII. Richard Richard Le end of Nearly three-quarters of a ago, the man who later flew my (relatively) small Cessna 182, Photo: C-54E flown by Cpt. Richard Le Francis. century Captain Richard Le Francis of the U.S. Army Air Forces, piloted a much larger Douglas C-54 Skymaster shuttling cargo and passengers between the islands of the Pacific and the U.S. west coast. In late July, 1945, Cpt. Le Francis saw something extraordinary, a story best told in his own words. Below are excerpts from a letter or diary of sorts the senior Le Francis wrote to his son and namesake. After several shuttles back and forth between islands we arrived at Nichols Field in Manila on the 27th of July. We loaded passengers and cargo and prepared to depart for Guam on the 29th of July. One of my passengers was an Army Brigadier General who was MacArthur's artillery officer. Prior to take-off I had been briefed that the Navy had been scheduling target practice for the fleet someplace between the Philippines and the Marianas. We were to stay about 20 miles north of the target area. The take-off had been at night, and we arrived at the target area about 9,000 feet. We observed massive firing by naval ships quite south of us but evidently targeting an object 10 miles to the south of us. I called the general to the cockpit, placed him in the co-pilot s seat so he could view the naval artillery in action. He enjoyed the action and commented that the target seemed to be firing back. We all thought this was humorous, but it appeared to be that way. Our observation of the action was fleeting and soon we had proceeded beyond the practice area. Total flight time from Coeur d Alene ID to Delta CO in my Cessna 182 (excluding an overnight stop in Burley ID) was just over eight hours, slightly longer than it took a C-54 to fly ~1600 miles from Manilla to Guam during that night in July Cpt. Le Francis continues: The next day at Harmon Field in Guam I got a ride to the Navy end and reported to a Navy commander that we observed the action where the object of practice seemed to be a large ship being sunk, and that the General had believed it fired back. The commander told me that he had no knowledge of any practice in that area and that we probably didn t see any action as described. I let it go at that.

8 On July 28, 1945, the day before Cpt. Le Francis took off for Guam, a ship left Guam sailing the other direction towards Leyte (another island in the Philippines). The heavy cruiser had just completed an historic mission to deliver parts and enriched uranium for the atomic bomb Little Boy to Tinian island (Northern Marianas). Photo: Left: Distance from Manilla to Guam (Google Maps). The pin indicates the location of the Indianapolis at the time she sank. Right: The Indianapolis's intended route from Guam to the Philippines. At 12:15 am July 30, 1945, the USS Indianapolis was about half way from Guam to Leyte. At about the same time, the C-54 was half way from Manilla to Guam. The Indianapolis was struck by two Japanese torpedoes. Massive damage caused the ship to list then settle on the bow. Twelve minutes later she rolled completely over, the stern rose into the air, and she sank. Of nearly 1200 sailors on board, ~300 went down with the ship. The remaining 900 faced exposure, dehydration, saltwater poisoning, and shark attacks for nearly four days. By the time they were rescued, only 317 had survived. The sinking of the Indianapolis led to the greatest single loss of life at sea, from a single ship, in the history of the US Navy [Wikipedia]. Rather than a sea battle, it is likely that what Cpt. Le Francis and the General saw that night were signal flares from the crew of the Indianapolis. Cpt. Le Francis continues:

9 Two days later it was announced on the island military radio that the Indianapolis had been sunk at about that area that we saw the practice bombardment. When I notified the Navy again of our observations, they disregarded the information. When I finally arrived at Hamilton Field some time later, I informed our base intelligence officer of the incident and he told me to forget it, that it was a Navy problem. I was not satisfied with the answer, so I called the FBI in San Francisco and they sent an agent out to my barracks. My navigator plotted the exact location of the incident on the map, which I gave the agent. I ve never heard anything about this since, except what I read in the newspaper. Photo: USS Indianapolis, July 10, What if the commander Cpt. Le Francis reported his observation to had acted on the information? Could hundreds of lives have been saved by rescuing the crew of the Indianapolis sooner? It is impossible to know. There were many areas of communication breakdown, and many factors that contributed to the fate of the Indianapolis. Back in the more recent past, I arrived at Blake Field in my little Cessna on February 21 st without incident. It was a memorable trip, and I got to hear a memorable story of historical significance.

10 News and Info From Bernie Hartnell: Pilot Getaway magazine in reorganization: On March 5, 2018 Pilot Getaway announced to their subscribers, reorganization & a hiatus, from their publishing the magazine. Their letter pointed forward in hopeful words, Throughout this year, we will be upgrading our systems and offerings and forming a new, more appropriate business model for our changing industry and technology. It was a fun and entertaining read. So goodby George Kounis, Pilot Getaways for now and best wishes, should you emerge from reorganization. To add paragraph to the Pilot Getaway Magazine closing- April 1st, AOPA has just announced two new free offerings! A new weekly E magazine authored by Pilot Getaways former writer Crista Videriksen Worthy! So while one venue sunsets another FREE offering takes its place. And AOPA, as its second new offering, is providing a free Travel Pilot Suite to help plan your next trip and obtain significant discounts. Flying After Hours, a FAA Wings Program Rick Jeffs from the FAA spoke last evening at the GJ Colorado Aircraft Patrol building on preflight deeper checks following ANY work being done by the pilot or ANP. Usually the mistake in equipment following service being done, is relative to, or around the work or services done. Rick recommended strongly that the cowling be left off and the services performed be reviewed with the log book entry and the mechanics who performed the service. Small things like safety wires, tools left in the engine compartment etc. can lead to unintended consequences. This same expanded, post service preflight inspection should include the work done by the pilot or friend. This is also true with folks who own and do their own work in the Experimental Home Built or non-certified Aircraft. List of Club Officers President - Gerald Kramer jmkramer@bresnan.net Vice President - Bill Albright albriwc@hotmail.com Secretary - Clay Caywood kickbuster@aol.com Treasurer Ray Veatch, , insguy47@gmail.com Tech Counselors - Lowell Manary Graham Meyer gmeyer1@tds.net - Bob Trumpfheller webmaster@eaa1373.org Young Eagles - Bill Patterson Newsletter Editor Bill Albright, , albriwc@hotmail.com Webmasters - Jeff Buchanan webmaster@eaa1373.org - Bob Trumpfheller webmaster@eaa1373.org