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DOPE SHEET

THE NEWSLETTER OF

CHAPTER 13 OF THE EXPERIMENTAL AIRCRAFT ASSOCIATION

SERVING SPORT AVIATION IN THE DETROIT AREA

Volume 59 Number 9 website: EAACHAPTER13.ORG October 2014

REGULAR MEETINGS

1ST

Thursday of Each Month.

Our regular meeting place is Ray Community Airport, in the Chapter #13 hangar (#304) located on the Northeast corner of the field. Meeting time is 7:30pm to 10pm. Burgers and dogs are available for a donation between 6:30 and 7:30pm.

November Speaker Jim McDaniel Every so often we check in on Jim McDaniel to see how he is doing on his project, the ever so complex Sea Fire (Trojan). It’s now been a year since we’ve had an update. At that time he was building the engine mount system and the engine cowling.

Be with us at the Regular November meeting to find out whether it’s been a productive year or not. Say Jim, you didn’t give up on the pro-ject and start play-ing the banjo, did you? (See the photo at left.)

Just kidding. (What the heck is that thing, any-way.) Ed

2014 YE Cadet Report Submitted by Bill Appleberry

Sarah White and Andy Rouse were this year’s attendees representing Chapter 13 at the annual Young Eagles camp in Oshkosh. They flew to Oshkosh with Dave Shirey in his Cirrus and joined other Young Eagle campers from as far away as Germany. Sarah said they were divided into two groups, classroom work and shop classes. The classroom group would study ground school topics like the physics of flying and weather. The shop group learned construc-tion practices and shop safety. Each student

built a spark plug / nail polish holder tray. Other construction projects included fabricating a fiber-glas clipboard and a built up wood rib. Andy es-pecially enjoyed learning gas welding. Sarah and Andy each passed around their completed projects for all to see at September’s EAA meet-ing, and the workmanship was excellent. They each got some stick (wheel?) time with a flight instructor, as well. Sarah and Andy both thanked the Chapter for sending them to summer camp and said they had a swell time.

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2014 Ray Community

Airport Improvements

Once again, we're embarking on a journey to sig-nificantly improve our airport's ground-level infra-structure. The next phase of airport improve-ments has begun: a significant runway and taxi-way renovation. The project should take about 12 days to complete, weather permitting.

The work is taking place in THREE areas:

the northeast corner of the airport property

the hard surface portion of runway 18/36,

and

The taxiway immediately west of that runway.

Runway 18/36 is CLOSED to takeoffs and land-ings and will remain so for the duration of the construction. You may continue to taxi on it to access the gas ramp. However you should exer-cise extreme caution around these work sites! There will be uneven surfaces plus men and ma-chines working. As in the past, all vehicles (air and ground) should avoid these areas to the maximum extent possible and yield to construc-tion trucks.

Be assured that we are working closely with the contractor to minimize delays and inconven-iences.

As additional details, diagrams, or photos of the taxiway changes become available, they will be posted here. Please check with the go2ray web-site for updates.

Thanks you Doug Conciatu for staying on top of all of these airport upgrades.

EAA Chapter Officers

President Rex Phelps

586 918 3838 runwayrex@juno.com

Vice President Mike Fisher

810 392 2020 fishfly73@live.com

Treasurer Steve Greene

586 864 2815 mtgproducts@comcast.net

Secretary Cliff Durand

248 853 0232 pchdurand@yahoo.com

Newsletter Editor Tom Vukonich

248 236 0951 tpvvuk@yahoo.com

Tech Counselor Bob Hunt

248 563 0927 robertfhunt@aol.com

Tech Counselor Ron Walters

248 435 0441 glasair@comcast.net

Young Eagles Coord Dennis Glaeser

248 953 0374 glasers@wideopenwest.com

Building and Grounds Pete Dugdale

586 463 6906 2madphd@gmail.com

Chapter Calendar

Oct 2 Regular Meeting* 7:30-10 pm

4 Young Eagles 9am—2pm

9 Officers’ Meeting** 7:30 pm

Nov 6 Regular Meeting* 7:30-10 pm

13 Officers’ Meeting** 7:30 pm

Dec 4 Regular Meeting* 7:30-10 pm

5 Awards Banquet 6:30 pm, Fri.

11 Officers’ Meeting** 7:30 pm

*All Regular Meetings (not all are listed) will have a pre-meeting Bar-B-Q/Setup get-together that starts at 6:30 pm. **Officer Meetings are normally held the 2nd Thursday of each month, in President Rex Phelps’s hangar, 420C.

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build the SPAD replica, we will put up the building to house it” The two groups (Selfridge Museum Volunteers and the Michigan Air Guard Historical Society) agreed to go forward with their respec-tive projects.

The SPAD project was started in January of 2005 and completed 3 years later. A set of plans was located in California and pur-chased. They were, however, drawn up using the metric sys-tem in 1/5th scale. Darrell’s first job was to redraw them full size and convert all data to the American (SAE) decimal inch system.

One of the volunteers was a machinist and had necessary equipment to fabricate a pair of replica Vickers 303 machine guns. Some of the aircraft parts were built at Selfridge and some pieces were built in volunteer’s garages and basements on their own time. As the pieces came together, no part was more than one half millimeter (0.5mm) off in dimension. The plane was com-pleted in June of 2008.

In addition to the SPAD XIII, the Museum’s volun-teer staff resurrected two Link Trainers from the WWII era. One unit they were able to restore to original working status. The second one is used as an introductory fun flyer for kids. Another re-cent addition to the museum is a North American AT-6 advanced trainer, something to keep the boys busy.

Stay tuned as plans are in the works for a mu-seum visit as a Chapter event.

October Speaker Review Submitted by Bill Appleberry

The program for the September meeting of EAA Chapter 13, “The Building of The SPAD XIII” was presented by Darrell Rohrbeck. The group of volunteers who support the Selfridge museum wanted to build a project to show the airplane’s place in our nation’s history. So, when Darrell and other museum volunteers met with the Selfridge Air National Guard Museum director, retired Lt. Col. Louis Nigro, they first proposed the idea of building a replica of a Wright Flyer of the type Lt. Thomas Selfridge was riding in when it crashed during demonstrations for the Army at Ft. Meyer, Virginia. The museum director replied that the Wright flyer had never been based at Selfridge and turned them down. Undaunted, they rethought the idea. Doing a little research, they discovered that members of the 17th Pursuit Squadron, First Pursuit Group, were Americans and flew the SPAD XIII over France in WWI. More importantly, they returned to America after the war and were based at Sel-fridge in 1919 and from 1922 through 1925. They

saw Lt. Col. Nigro a second time and pitched the new project idea. This time it was approved. And that’s how the group of volunteers settled on building a replica of a SPAD XIII.

As they began researching the aircraft prepara-tory to building it, the men realized the plane would need to be kept indoors permanently be-cause it was a fabric covered wood aircraft. This was a real problem, as there was no room in any of the buildings the museum currently occupies, for a display of this size. To this end, the Michi-gan Air Guard Historical Society stepped up and told the SANG Museum volunteers, “ If you

Old Photo of the Original Aircraft

The Completed Reproduction

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Judge Don G. Miller Joins Other Retired F-100 Sabre Fighter Pilots at a Smithsonian Event Celebrat-

ing Museum’s F-100 Exhibit

Harrison Township, MI – Today, U.S. Represen-tative Candice Miller (MI-10) issued the following statement after her husband, former F-100 fighter pilot Judge Don G. Miller, and other members of the Super Sabre Society celebrated the Smith-sonian National Air and Space Museum’s F-100 exhibit featuring the F-100 flown by Miller: Rep. Candice Miller: “Don is a proud member of the Super Sabre Society, an elite organization of retired F-100 fighter pilots that bravely protected our troops and this country during wartime. I join him in celebrating this exhibit of the F-100, and I support the Society’s efforts to preserve and tell the awesome history of the F-100.” At the Smithsonian event celebrating the F-100, Judge Don Miller read the following excerpt from his journal about his last flight on his F-100 (number 440) from Michigan to Andrews Air Force Base: In the morning of August 8, 1978, a beautiful late summer day, I walked out on the flight line and

shook hands with Sgt. Bill Cousins, 440’s crew chief for the previous seven years. I did the walk around, checked the 781, climbed up and strapped in (with Bill’s sad assistance) and pre-pared for start. Sadly, 440’s flying days are soon to end. There

will be no more of these heart-gripping combat

take offs, climbing for altitude under the weight of

wall-to-wall Mk. 82s, the pilot’s left hand gripping

the throttle on the afterburner position, right hand

holding a control stick with a firm and steady grip,

ailerons centered to retain every ounce of pre-cious lift while coaxing more airspeed, knot by knot, and more altitude, foot by foot. No more dashes at tree-top level, spreading a carpet of 20 millimeter cannon fire into the target; shuddering and bouncing as the snake eyes were released, followed by high-g wrenching, twisting and jerking to escape the shower of enemy fire. No more, for this was to be the final flight; now was the time for retirement. 440, if you could only talk, would you object, argu-ing that you still had plenty of fight left, that you could show those shiny F-15s with their com-puters and heads-up displays, a few tricks of the trade gathered through hundreds of hours of air battle? Or would you sigh contentedly, quietly proud of a job well done and relieved of all the p a i n a nd we a r i n e s s o f c om b a t ? No more daydreaming it’s time to go. Bill takes his place awaiting my starting signal. The creaky old ARC-34 Radio slowly seeks the proper channel, finally clicks into Ground Control frequency, and I turn to Bill and signal for the start. I press the ignition button and the big Pratt & Whitney J-57 engine lights up. As it reaches idling speed, all of the mechanical hearts inside 440 start pumping the red, amber, and brown life fluids through the stainless steel veins. The bird awakes now as the inboard land-ing gear doors thump close. I advance the power slightly to bring the AC power on line, and without hesitation, the AC Power Fail light blinks off. No waiting! Somewhat amazing. I am now ready to taxi and Bill gives me the go-ahead wave. I advance the throttle and 440 rolls slowly ahead. Turning quickly to avoid blasting people and equipment with jet exhaust, I taxi away, slowly as always, savoring the joy and sat-isfaction in the anticipation of what’s ahead. As I approach the runway, I inform Selfridge Tower that I am ready for take-off, and am an-swered with those words that make a fighter pilot grin with happiness: “Demon seven one, wind 330 at 12, change to departure, monitor guard, cleared for take-off.” I checked the gauges as I advance the throttle and release the brakes. I tense up in anticipation as I snap the throttle out-board, promptly rewarded as the afterburner lights up, blasting 440 forward with over sixteen thou-sand pounds of thrust. 440 was accelerating rapidly now, pushed by the

continued force of seven gallons of JP4 burning

every second. As the airspeed indicator advances

past 157 knots, I ease back on

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they momentarily recall their happy F-100 flying days. Those who could master you, loved you; those who couldn’t, hated and feared you. There was no middle ground with an F-100! About Judge Don Miller: Born in Grand Rapids, Michigan on June 17, 1938, Judge Miller developed an early fascination with airplanes and was flying a Piper J-3 Cub at age 16. He attended Michigan State University, enrolled in the Air Force ROTC, and graduated in 1961 with a Bachelor of Science degree in physics and a com-mission as a second lieutenant in the U.S. Air Force. After completing undergraduate pilot training at Craig Air Force Base, Alabama, he entered fighter interceptor school and then served five years flying the Convair F-102 Delta Dagger from various na-tional and international locations, including assign-ment to the 509th Fighter Interceptor Squadron, where he flew combat missions from Da Nang and Tan Son Nhut Air Bases, Vietnam. After serving in active duty, Judge Miller served twenty years in the Michigan Air National Guard flying various fighter aircraft, including over 700 hours in the North American F-100 Super Sabre. On August 8, 1978, Judge Miller flew his F-100, number 440, on its final voyage to Andrews Air Force Base, where it was retired and is now on dis-play at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum’s Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chan-tilly, VA. Upon retirement as a Colonel in the Air National Guard, Judge Miller was selected to perform duties as a Judge in the Macomb County Circuit Court. Judge Miller continues his love for aviation by flying his home-built, single-engine RV-8 airplane throughout the USA, and his newly acquired Piper Cub locally.

Judge Don Miller in front of his F-100 (440) in 1978 before flying to Andrews Air Force Base.

Judge Don G. Miller (Continued)

the stick, lifting the nose wheel off the run-way. Once again the invisible miracle occurs as the swept wings develop over 36,000 pounds of lift and 440 rises into the air. With the landing gear tucked inside, we soon at-tain 230 knots, enough to point the nose joyfully skyward and the ground falls away rapidly. I roll 440 into a bank and we turn east to our depar-ture heading. Wait a second! East? Why are we heading east when Davis-Monthan AFB is southwestern? No, 440, you will not share a fate of dismember-ment and scrap pile with your less fortunate com-rades. You are a special airplane. In less than an hour we will touch down at An-drews AFB, Maryland, and you will be handed over to the people of DC’s 113th Tactical Fighter Squadron, to begin the process of readying you for your new job on permanent display at the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum. You are to be an honorable monument to Viet-nam era war birds, so that the old will remember and the young will realize the role played by the crews that maintained you and the pilots that flew you. Now it’s time to start down. Approach control clears us for our descent, and I somehow sense a need to accelerate out of cruise airspeed. The rapid acceleration required a high g roll to main-tain control of the airspeed. I had to bellow a Ya Hoo – 440 did not go away without a final victory roll! I pull back the throttle, extend the speed brakes, and head for the pattern entry point. Cleared to land, I bend 440 around to final ap-proach as precise as possible; I don’t want to mar her last flight with a bounce. We cross the threshold at 172 knots; I ease the throttle back and the nose up as we round out for the touchdown. Now just a taste of additional back stick and 440 pauses momentarily, inches above the runway, then settles smoothly onto the concrete. I feel a grateful glow of satisfaction as I pull the T-handle deploying the drag chute; the chute bursts into an orange nylon blossom, and 440 slows to taxi speed. I jettison the chute and taxi into a parking space ringed by clicking cam-eras. Upon signal of all of the ground crew, I tug the throttle into the off position and the fire in the mighty engine dies. 440, your new job starts almost as soon as the engine winds down! A group of admirers rings around you, and a couple of Air Force Colonels come forward to pat a drop tank, all smiles as

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From the Flight Surgeon Unfortunately, it ap-pears, another fatal aircraft accident happened on Sep-tember 5th likely caused by hypoxia from cabin depres-surization. For those who regularly fly above 10,000 feet it is very impor-tant to make sure you know your per-sonal hypoxic signs are, so you can recognize them early and either descend or get on supplemental oxygen quickly. We provide high altitude hypoxia aware-ness training at Western Michigan College of Aviation. The training only takes a few hours and could save your life. For more information please go to our website: http://www.airdocs.net/lab.html. Fly safe! Gregory Pinnell, MD Senior AME/ Senior Flight Surgeon USAFR www.AIRDOCS.net 989-245-4494 517-580-0970 Fax

Chapter #13 Elections Chapter By-laws require the following: 1. that at the September Chapter meeting, nominations will be offered and accepted for each of the Chapter’s elected positions, 2. that a formal election of these officers will take place at the October meeting and, 3. that those elected will officially take office on the first day of the following year.

The nominations as forwarded are as follows.

President Rex Phelps

Vice President Mike Fisher

Treasurer Steve Greene

Secretary Cliff Durand

Each of the candidates has agreed to accept the responsibilities of their respective offices upon be-ing elected.

Sept. Young Eagles Event

Submitted by Dennis Glaeser

Dennis A Glaeser

Sep 10 at 11:06 AM

Well, the database had a

few duplicate entries, so

the actual total for Sun-

day is 76. It is still our

biggest event of the

year! A lot of flying for

8 pilots! Thanks to all

for hanging in there.

Everyone was hungry

too – the refrigerator is

bare!

Jim McDaniel – 17

Bryan Martin – 8

Bob Mahieu – 9

John Kean – 9

Steve Greene – 11

Don Miller – 4

Joe Gores – 9

Pat Healy – 9

Ground crew: Ren Sagaert, Lorne Minor,

Julie Rouse, Bill Appleberry, Mark Fulmer,

Tom Vukonich. Thanks to all.

Cold Winter Anticipated Annual Weather Summary: November

2014 to February 2015

Winter will be colder than normal, with the cold-est periods in late December, throughout Janu-ary, and in early February. Precipitation will be below normal in the east and near normal in the west. Snowfall will be above normal in most of the region, with the snowiest periods in mid-December, early and mid-January, and early February. (The source of this information is the Old Farmer’s Almanac. For further details, pick up a copy, or check the internet.) Remem-ber, good pilots check the weather from all available reliable sources before they climb into their plane. Based on the above, if you are not fond of win-ter flying, you may want to build up your hours this Fall. Fly Safe! Ed

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Meeting Minutes for the February

13, 2014 Officers’ Meeting,

Submitted by Secretary Cliff Durand

Present at the September 11, 2014 Board Meeting were the following members and guests: Rex Phelps, Mike Fisher, Steve Greene, Dick Green, Bill Appleberry, Tom Vukonich, Laurelle White, Bob Mahieu, Dennis Glaser, Bob Hunt, Rex Phelps Sr.

and Cliff Durand.

, Cliff Durand read the minutes from the August 14, 2014 meeting; the minutes were accepted as read.

. Steve Greene gave the Treasurers Report as follows: Receipts $1,988.29, Expenses $250.00, The CD was cashed in and transferred to the checking account, we now have 112 paid members. This brings our checking balance to $17,604.17. Steve will be working on an accurate membership list. Steve mentioned that the Chap-ter netted $366.00 in donations from the last Young Eagles Event. His report was accepted as read.

New Business

. Speakers for future meetings: Jim McDaniel will be giving one of his in depth progress reports on his building project for October. We are always looking for presenters; please consider making a presentation on your specialty subject.

. We still have a pallet jack left from our most previous equipment donation. It will be up for auc-tion soon.

. Rex is working on a visitation by the Chapter to the Selfridge Air Museum, more details to come when plans are firmed up.

. Dennis Glaser reports that we flew 76 Young Eagles at the last event. The next and last event for the season will be October 4th. On October 25th the 99’s are sponsoring a women’s aviation event at Oakland County Airport, they are looking for pilots to fly the participants. Please contact Dennis for details.

. Our Hangar report was highlighted by Dick Green’s news that the taxiway is complete. Bob Mahieu pointed out that the grass is getting a little tall around the hangar; Rex will take care of that the next time he is out to the airport.

. Tom Vukonich gave the Newsletter Report. He will be publishing news about the Young Eagles event. He also mentioned that we should adver-tise the fact that we have flown 10,000 Young Ea-gles. We will be looking into the possibility of get-ting a banner that advertises that information.

. Elections: Rex will address this at the next general membership meeting.

. Banquet: Planning has begun for the annual awards banquet. Steve Greene will be making the deposit for the catering company. The banquet is scheduled for Dec. 5, 2014.

. Under Other, Bill Appleberry mentioned that he has written an article on the Air Academy present-ers. Laurelle reminded the board that it was time to order the 2015 EAA calendars. Mike Fisher asked about doing an article in the newsletter on new members. Dennis Glaser has information on flying into Canada; he is the go to guy for this infor-mation if you are interested.

The meeting was adjourned at 9:23 p.m.

The next meeting is scheduled for October 9, 2014

Chapter Annual Dues

It’s Fall already, and time once again to remind you that we are collecting dues for 2015.

Dues, as you know, are our single largest source of income. So, don’t wait until the last minute. Stay ahead of the game and do your part.

In reviewing the Dope Sheet from 25 years ago, 1989, I noticed they weren’t as politically correct or polite as we are now. They used to print the names in the Newsletter of members who were still owing as early as October. For example Ren Sa-gaert, Dave Shirey, Newsletter Editorial Staff Member Bill Appleberry and two dozen others, were listed in print, NOT because they hadn’t paid their dues on time, but because they had-n’t paid them by October! Imagine that. We wouldn’t think of embarrassing anyone in such a manner nowadays. Or would we?

Ed

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Aviation History

First President to Fly

On October 11, 1910, Theodore Roosevelt be-came the first U.S. President to fly in an air-plane. On his way to visit to St. Louis, a year and a half after he left office, he stopped at an aviation field in Kinloch, MO. A pilot named Alex Hoxsey had just descended from a flight and soon was introduced to the former president. "Colonel," Hoxsey said, " I'd like to have you for a passenger."

Roosevelt lost no time, replying only, "Thanks," and climbing into the plane. An article in the following day's New York Trib-une recounts the flight in great detail: "The aeroplane sped quickly around the field at a height of less than one hundred feet. It made the first lap of a mile and a half before news percolated through the crowd that Mr. Roosevelt was Hoxsey's passenger. When he swept past the grandstand he leaned forward a bit and waved his hands. The spectators seemed fright-ened and remained silent, watching the aero-plane intently. The flying machine sped by and made the turn for the second lap. Hoxsey could be seen to bend over and shout something into Mr. Roose-velt's ear. The engine cracked regularly, hurling the aeroplane forward at a speed of nearly a mile a minute, but from the ground it looked as though it were travelling much slower because it sailed so evenly and smoothly. There was not a breath of wind, and the engine did not miss fire once." The pilot had been warning Roosevelt to hold

onto the rail, lest his he interfere with the en-gines or fall out. "Mr. Roosevelt's first act after alighting was to shake Hoxsey's hand vigor-ously. 'It was great! First class! It was the finest experience I have ever had,' he declared. 'I wish I could stay up for an hour, but I haven't the time this afternoon.'" Now running behind schedule, Roosevelt con-tinued on to his other stops, where he spoke excitedly of his recent experience. At the state fairgrounds, he greeted a group of more than a thousand schoolchildren, apologizing for his tar-diness. "As I know you all well, I know that you would all play hooky for a week to go up in an airship, so I know you won't blame me for being late." Teddy Roosevelt was sick, weak and asthmatic as a child. As an adult, he was given an exami-nation by a physician who declared that he had a weak heart. Upon hearing this he told the doctor, “Doctor, I’m going to do all the things you tell me not to do.” One year later, he climbed the Matterhorn.

Selfridge Air Museum Trip Planned for October 11, 2014

A Chapter #13 trip is being planned to visit the Selfridge Air Museum on Saturday, October 11, 2014 beginning at 9:00 am. Anyone planning on attending must fill out a form prior to the visit. The forms will be available at the Regular Octo-ber Chapter Meeting. Members who will not be attending the Regular Meeting can contact Rex Phelps by phone and he will fill out the form on your behalf. You must make the contact p rompt l y however, as the f o r m s must be submitted at least one week prior to the visit. Final details, including verification of date and time, transportation (if any), admission fees (if any), etc., will be shared with the membership at the Regular October Meeting. Submitted by President Rex Phelps

Teddy Roosevelt and pilot Alex Hoxsey

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Note: Cessna 150 in the September Newsletter has been sold. Pull that item

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AIRCRAFT FOR SALE

Swift N3271K

This American Beauty is ready to fly!

180hp Lycoming Fresh Annual

TTAF: 1998.5 New Tires/Brakes

Engine: TTSN 258.4 Hydraulics O/H

TSOH: 15hrs. New Hooker Belts

Sliding Canopy New Eng. Hoses

And Much More

For further details see the posting

in the Ray Airport office.

Proceeds from the sale go to the Swift

Museum Foundation.

Contact Dave Carpenter

Swift Parts Chairman

Cell: 859-661-2811

AIRCRAFT FOR SALE Challenger II LW—Sport Plane

N5624R

VLS, BRS, Rotax 503 DIDC, 10 Gal

Tank, EIS, ELT, Cabin Heater,

Strobe, Nav Radio, Brakes, Intercom,

Custom Seats, Warp Drive, 280

Hours, Fiberglass Landing Gear, Al-

ways Stored in Hangar

Asking $13,250

Located—Ray Airport

Tel: 248-805-3038, Walter

(This posting at Ray Airport Office)

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248-794-3784

tpvvuk@yahoo.com Address Service Requested

THE DOPE SHEET

Tom Vukonich, Editor First Class Mail 2961 Secluded Pines Dr Oxford, Michigan 48371

stamp

here

For those of you who are unable to make it to the October Regular Meeting, here is a plan view of the taxiway improvement currently under construction. Word is

that it should be completed by the end of September.

Ren Sagaert’s Hangar