The EAA Chapter 54 Beacon October 30 2024

October 30, 2024

This is the semimonthly email newsletter from the Experimental Aircraft Association Chapter 54 of Lake Elmo, Minn.  If you have difficulty reading this information, view it on the chapter website. Unless otherwise noted, all events  occur at the Chapter House, at the south entrance of Lake Elmo Airport off Manning Avenue. Find fly-in and drive-in information here.

 

A Matrimonial Mission

The mission was clear: a parade of airplanes would find the spot where the chapter's treasurer was getting married, then crash the party at just the right time. It was the idea of Luke Hanson, the lucky gentleman set to marry Emma Gaustad, EAA Chapter 54's treasurer. He suggested a flyover at roughly the moment of their nuptials. The military was busy that day, so he turned to Chapter 54 for help. A few exchanged messages later and the plan was put into the hands of VP Jay Schrankler with member Paul Rankin the mission officer and flight planner. Read more and watch video >>

 

Remembering Bill Schanks

Bill Schanks Sr., who presided over EAA Chapter 54 during its most prolific years, died on October 27, Chapter President Marlon Gunderson announced. "Bill personified aviation at Lake Elmo for many decades," Gunderson said. "He was an early and longtime member of Chapter 54, building his own Acrosport Biplane and serving many roles including President (1999-2001). Bill was a CFI and Tech Counselor, and I was fortunate enough to take my dual instruction from him in my own J5 Cub on the way to earning my PPL. He was always upbeat, ready with a joke or a quip, and had a bottomless supply of entertaining stories. Bill was a founding member of the Holman Hobos aircraft club, which maintained and flew an L2 Taylorcraft (Elvira), and then a Champ after the demise of the Taylorcraft. For decades, on any given Saturday you could find Bill somewhere at a dozen different hangars at 21D helping with the rebuild or repair of some classic airplane. He taught me how to self-annual my own aircraft and introduced me to A&P Jim Montague who would inspect my work and sign off my annuals. Bill was a regular at AirVenture and was a camp instructor at Air Academy for a number of years." Read more >>

 

"Do Something!": Two Days in Oshkosh

It occurred to me about halfway through the two-day EAA Chapter Leadership Academy in Oshkosh October 23-25 that these things must be murder on the chapter leaders back home, what with their attendees coming back with all this enthusiasm and desire to swing into action and all.  But I already had enthusiasm and desire, so I didn't really think the EAA's session was going to make much difference. I was wrong. Sorry, Chapter 54 leaders. Brace yourselves!

I’m not the first Chapter 54 member to attend one of these things and I’ve never heard anything but enthusiasm from attendees so perhaps I should’ve expected a caffeine-like injection of ideas. And, really, the whole takeaway from the session can be summed up in EAA Communities Director Charlie Becker’s bottom line: “Do something!”  Read more >>

 

Wild about Harry's Bellanca

Chapter member Harry Holmberg, of Stillwater, shown during his presentation to Chapter 54 in 2023, loves flying his 1946 Bellanca Cruisair, according to the September/October 2024 EAA Vintage Magazine, which profiled the two in an extensive spread. "It's good to fly; it doesn't have any quirks," he told the magazine. "When you do a power-off stall, it just kind of squishes down. I like pulling the power back and flying slow enough to just soar around under a cloud -- it just handles really well, whether you're flying slow or cruising cross-country."

"It'll do 162 mph -- that's the highest I've seen -- straight and level. It's happy cruising anywhere from 90 mph burning 5.5 gph. on up to 150 mph burning 9 to 10 gph. If I'm not going anywhere and just want to be off the ground, I'll cruise around 90 to 100 mph; it's very efficient," he said. "It has no tail wag due to those cartoonishly large [auxiliary fins] on the tail, so it's an arrow going straight through turbulence. The gear is manually retracted, and I usually crank it 33 turns up and down. It's real memorable that way; it's pretty hard to forget you're flying a retract!" Download the article here (pdf)

 

From the Flight Deck: A Message from the President

It's clear to me that we are living up to the mission of our Chapter: providing a way for people to plug into and experience aviation, providing youth with the experience of flight and financial support for aviation camp or training, providing monthly programs that show how regular people can safely access the dream of flight, and helping to build a local community of folks who share a common interest. Read more >>

 

Next meeting: Monday November 11 at 7pm: Paul Dye

Paul Dye, a Roseville, Minn. area native, has over 40 years of aviation experience as an engineer, builder and pilot. His scope has ranged from restoring J-3 Cubs to planning and leading manned spaceflights. His love of flying machines dates back to early childhood, and he became involved with full-sized aircraft as a teenager, rebuilding J-3 Cubs with an FBO in Minnesota. He earned his degree in Aeronautical Engineering with a specialization in aircraft design and flight testing from the University of Minnesota in 1982. He worked in increasingly responsible roles within the US Manned Space Program since that time, both as a technical expert in spacecraft systems and eventually as the overall lead of many missions to space. He retired from NASA in 2013 as the longest-serving Flight Director in U.S. history. The winner of many prestigious awards, he delights in bringing the lessons learned from the most advanced flight operations back to the general aviation world for pilots and builders to understand. He is well-known as a risk-management specialist and advises designers and builders – as well as pilots – on ways to build and operate aircraft with greater margins of safety. He is a Leadership Consultant and speaker available to corporations and groups who wish to better their organizations and people. He has built an RV and several other models. Read more and listen to an interview >>

Cinema 54: A Century of Flight - Those Daring Young Men
Take flight with the legendary pioneers in aviation, from the Wright Brothers to barnstormers to the breathtaking exploits of the record setters. Re-live the thrilling key events from the early days of aviation. Exact showtime will be posted to the chapter's website shortly.

Saturday Open House and Wings Seminar

Stop in at the EAA Chapter House at Lake Elmo Airport on most Saturdays starting at 8:45 a.m. and meet other chapter members, have a hot cup of coffee and fight for the last doughnut or muffin. At 9 a.m., we watch Laura Hermann's Saturday Coffee and Wings live Webinar. Attendance is eligible for credit under the FAA Safety Team's Wings program. Visitors are welcome so bring a friend. Upcoming schedule:

Saturday November 2 - Drones. Greg Schulz, Remote Pilot, provides an update on new and emerging sUAS topics for Hobby/Recreational, FPV, Part 107, First Responders, and anyone interested in Drones. Remember that if you are a "current" Part 61 pilot, you can go to the FAASafety.gov site and take your Part 107 for free, so why not add another certification?

Saturday November 9 -   An EZ Way To Complete Your Flight Review. Andy Pfahnl talks with us on the updated WINGS program.  He'll cover the EZWings portal.  Along with updating us on this program, he'll talk about how to obtain a WINGS phase when you complete a checkride, how to complete your flight review with the WINGS program and will introduce the Alpha and Bravo plans. For those of you interested in Advanced and Master WINGS phases, finding knowledge and flight activities at those levels will also be covered.

Saturday November 16 - Fly so your neighbors love you. Dan Dorson, Flying Cloud Airport Advisory Commission and Jennifer Lewis, Community Relations Coordinator, Metropolitan Airports Commission, discuss updates to the Flying Cloud Airport noise abatement efforts, including a new Fly Neighborly Guide and custom content created for use in ForeFlight. More information here.

Saturday November 23 - Flying and diving. Prof. Dr. Nihad Daidzic, Minnesota State University presents. Mixing diving and flying may be very dangerous. FAA regulations provide scant information and recommendation on flying-after-diving. Not much is known about human body operating in variable pressure environments. 

 

Reminder: Bring a toy to the November meeting

EAA Chapter 54 is teaming up with the Holiday Tree of Hope committee to collect toys for the holiday season. Thirty-four years ago, members of the aviation community began collecting and delivering toys to hospitals for children who are hospitalized during the holidays.  The organization serves approximately 38 Minnesota hospitals, as well as Ronald McDonald Houses and some women's shelters.  Pilots and others collect toys at EAA chapters, flying clubs, flight schools, etc. and then fly or drive them to the event, which will be held at Anoka County Airport on December 7.  The toys are then tagged with Tree of Hope stickers, sorted by age group, and bagged for the individual hospitals and shelters.  The bags are then delivered by volunteer drivers to the recipient hospitals, Ronald McDonald Houses, and shelters.     Shop for toys for ages infant to 18 now and bring them to the November Chapter 54 meeting on November 11. We'll also need a volunteer to fly or drive the collection to KANE on December 7.

 

October summary: The ups and downs of building an RV

Chapter member Bob Collins spent about 12 years building his first RV - an RV-7A with a rich pedigree. Life got in the way -- a lot.  Their time together was short, but the list of stories is long. At the October monthly meeting, he told many of them, including the time he almost lost control of his airplane by deliberately entering instrument meteorological conditions, just three days after attending a seminar about not straying into IMC conditions.  Here's a transcript of the presentation, more pictures, additional video, and lots of links with more stories.  Read more >>

 

 

November anniversaries

Ray Hassman (23 years)
John Regenold (8 years)
Frank Kurkowski (3 years)
Guy Freeman (1 year)

Welcome to our newest members!

Drew Lindquist
Joe Connolly
Dan Bathke
WoonYi Hanson

From the Archive: A Parade of Champs

In the past couple of months, I’ve been busy working on the Champ project. (The one recently purchased by our flying club.) In a previous article I referred to it as “a diamond in the rough.” At the time I didn’t realize that meant it was a lump of coal. At first, we assumed that it was a six-day project; patch the belly, clean up a little rust and corrosion, change out a little hardware, fix a couple of minor fuel leaks, change the oil, install a radio and transponder, pack the wheel bearings and do a weight and balance. It has turned into about a 10-week project, but it is nearing completion and hopefully a flight.

Enough time has passed (eons) that through geological phenomenon, due to tremendous pressure and chemical reaction, the lump of coal has actually evolved into an unpolished diamond. Dale Rupp should soon be able to get his RV-6 back into its rightful place in the hangar. I think the old girl (RV-6) is getting pretty cold over in the Hobo hangar. Dale has gone on his winter sojourn to warmer climate and returned, so I think it’s time to finish up.

I say I’ve been busy; I mean to say we’ve been busy. By we, I mean all the people who have pitched in with parts and labor and support. This is a perfect example of what the EAA means to me. I don’t know how such an endeavor could have been possible without such an organization as the EAA and the local chapter system. The organization has brought together people, through the existence of local chapters, of like interests and skills that are eager to offer their assistance and knowledge to fellow aviators in the building and restoration of aircraft. Aviation is the common denominator, but the EAA organization has strengthened that bond well beyond what anyone could have imagined 50 years ago.

I wish to take this opportunity to publicly express my appreciation to all those people who are so willing to give time and energy to make success a reality. No one person can do it by him or herself. Working on the Champ project opened my eyes a little more to what wonderful resources we have among the people of Chapter 54. There aren’t very many instrument panels installed in aircraft within the chapter membership that don’t have a piece of Dave Fiebiger riding along on every flight. I know of quite of few that were designed and assembled, including the one in my biplane, by Dave. 

- Bill Schanks
Tech Counselor Report
The Beacon - March 2003

 

The E-Beacon is a semimonthly newsletter highlighting news items from Chapter 54. If you no longer wish to receive the email, you can unsubscribe by sending an mail to facilities@eaa54.org.