Vol 25 No. 3
March 2002
REFLECTIONS Ed Chenevey
Well, spring is here and it is time for
Sun-n-Fun. We have the video of procedures and can show it if you wish. This one
is very nicely done and includes cautions for stall-spin crashes on turn to
final as happened to one of the guys ahead of us the last time that I flew in.
All of the procedures are the same as they have been for years. However, they
have lifted part of the Mode C veil in three places, east of Rt 39 at Tampa, and
NW of V152 and S of V441 at Orlando. We have several of the pocket Approach
booklets with frequencies and airport diagrams of Lakeland and surrounding
airports as well as a copy of the Notam if you want them. These can also be
found on the web site at sun-n-fun.org along with lists of Forums, evening
programs, and airshow performers. I must be getting old because I've never heard
of most of the airshow performers. Anyway, Gene Soucy is scheduled for the night
airshow and I think that he is the one who put on the spectacular display two
years ago.
New this year is a Homebuilt camping area, east of the Vintage area. Formerly,
you couldn't camp with your homebuilt, you had to camp in the regular camping
area. Ernie and I got stuck like that once and got Howard Levy
to take our stuff over to a campsite behind the
Fly Market. After that we parked in the Vintage Camping area.
As usual, I plan to be there and camp at about the middle of the south side of
the lake where the road from the corn roast intersects. Look for the orange
umbrella tent with the blue top and the silver canopy.
EAA says that the Sport Pilot proposal does what I want it to do; namely allow
those of us with Private licences to fly aircraft which meet light sport
aircraft requirements with a drivers licence rather than a medical. In the March
Sport Aviation in the Sport Pilot Suppliment on page 3 it says that " Private pilots or higher who want to exercise sport pilot privileges do not need to earn a sport pilot certificate to fly a sport pilot -eligible aircraft in the same category and class they are rated for, such as airplane single-engine land." On page 5, "The NPRM creates a new aircraft category - light sport aircraft (LSA) - and two associated airworthiness certificates. But sport pilots (and students) can fly any aircraft that meets the LSA requirements regardless of the airworthiness certificate it carries- amateur built experimental, primary category, or
standard category (type certificated) . There
is no need - or advantage - to change the airworthiness certificate of these
aircraft.” The last statement I have not yet been able to find in the NPRM
although it is reiterated on the sportpilot.org web site under FAQ. Anyway, I
assume they are correct, and as I questioned in the last newsletter, Alvin could
continue to fly his Cygnet without a medical (if it meets the LSA requirements)
, and I could fly the Taylorcraft. The 1232 lb limit should be raised however
since later T'cfts, Cubs, Champs, and Cessnas are too heavy. I also think that
you should be able to build into the experimental light sport aircraft category
after the 2 year grace period to get around the amateur built 51% rule. We'll
see what they say at Sun-n-Fun.
Vintage Chapter 7 is sponsoring a bus trip to the New England Air Museum on Sat
April 20. As an added attraction, they have arranged for Hellmut Hetz to relate
his experiences flying the ME262. The bus will leave at 8AM from Father Johns'
church on Main Street in Flanders. Cost is $38 which includes admission.It would
cost you at least $20 to drive so it is a good deal. The museum web site
neam.org has lists of the aircraft and engines on display. For reservations,
contact Bill Moore directly at 908-236-6619.
At the last meeting I picked up a Custom Planes from Alvin which had a news
brief from AMW Cuyuna for a light weight diesel fueled 2 cycle spark ignition
engine which would allow the military to replace gasoline on the battlefield.
Their web site is 2si.com and shows a single cylinder engine which has a piston
pump to inject a mixture of fuel and air into the engine after the exhaust ports
are closed. This was licenced from Piaggio in Italy, and is in principle
identical to the Clerke cycle engine invented in England in the 1870's which was
a piston charged 2 cycle gas engine. In the US, They were made by Joseph Reid in
Oil City Pa until the 1930's. Some may still be operating but most are still on
remote sites in Pa where they can be obtained for little more than the cost of
retrieval.
Anyhow, this is similar to the Orbital engine which I haven't heard about in the
last few years but was a direct injection gasoline burning 2 stroke. With the
California laws on exhaust emmisions, these engines are a way to go to keep your
Weedwacker. Of course, Ryobi made a 4 cycle which used to be at Home Depot but I
haven't seen any for two years, so whether they are all going to California or
not, I don't know. Meanwhile, Honda designed a 4 cycle with oil mist lubrication
in the crankcase to allow all angle operation. It can be found on their web
site.
Anyway, I'll bring some tapes, plans,
the NPRM, etc to the meeting and we can discuss or debate any and all concerns.
The Waiting Game
For the last couple of months my son, Steven, a high school senior has made the mailbox his first stop when getting home. He is eagerly awaiting word from the Air Force Academy that he will be starting there this summer.
I guess part of the reason he wants to go there is genetic, but unless I scare him when he flys with me, I wonder why he has found little time to learn in my Cygnet. Alright, it is not a F-15 or 16, and does’nt cover ground or shoot down anything in its sights like the computer simulations that he enjoys, but it does what most of us would consider to be the prime objective, flys.
If he does attend the AFA, I will relate any goodies he cares to share with me.
Extra Parts
Airspeed 40-160 mph
Water Temp, mechanical Stewart Warner
Fuel tank sealant
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