11 minute read
Coax Helicopter
AROUND THE GROUNDS
COAXIAL HELICOPTER MAKES FIRST APPEARANCE AT AIRVENTURE
BY BARBARA A. SCHMITZ
AIRVENTURE TODAY STAFF
IT’S NEVER BEEN seen at EAA AirVenture Oshkosh before. That could explain why all the grass was worn down around the ultralight coaxial helicopter located in the exhibit area of ultralights on the convention grounds.
The Microcopter SCH-2A, built by a Slovenian company, is U.S. FAR Part 103 compliant and powered by a dualignition, two-cylinder, two-stroke gasoline engine, weighs less than 250 pounds, and has contra-rotating coax rotors mounted one above the other that turn in opposite directions. “Counter rotation cancels out all the torque inherent in the system,” said Mark Rumsey, of RotoTrek, one of two official U.S. sellers of the helicopter, making it easier to fly than conventional helicopters.
Looking to lessen his commute to work, Rumsey said he became interested in personal VTOL flight. For 10 years, he searched for an aircraft that would meet his needs. Some were too expensive. Others too complex to fly.
And then, in 2020, he saw a video of the Microcopter flying. Rumsey contacted the company, eventually asking to be a reseller. The SCH-2A sells for about $35,000, plus shipping, which averages about $4,000.
Since becoming the official reseller, he’s sold four in six months. The one on display is owned by Travis Reese, of Evansville, Indiana. Reese said it was shipped to his home on June 28, and it took him about four hours to put it together.
Although it is ready to fly, Reese must first complete the recommended 10 hours of helicopter training. For now, it’s stored in his garage.
“I’ve always been obsessed with helicopters,” said Reese, who has been a student pilot but never earned his pilot certificate. “Being an ultralight, and at this price point, it made sense. The coaxial makes it safer and easier to control. And it’s small enough to fit in my garage and easy to maneuver on the ground.”
Although Reese plans to fly for fun, Rumsey said the SCH-2A has many uses. “A rancher could use it to survey the land or check fences,” he said. “You could use these to dry cherries on cherry trees. Or police and fire departments could use it for search and rescue.”
Rumsey, a digital modeler with Kia, has also purchased a Microcopter; it should arrive by November.
“I plan to get trained on helicopters before so I’ll be ready to fly when it arrives,” he said.
PHOTO BY ANDREW ZABACK
OSHKOSH MOMENTS
PARAPLEGIC VETERAN BREAKS BARRIERS
Giving hope to returning veterans
BY ERIN HENZE
AIRVENTURE TODAY STAFF
CAPT. STEWART MCQUILLAN has a lot to be proud of. Not only is he a veteran of the Royal Air Force and U.S. Air Force, serving as a fighter pilot, but also he is the first paraplegic to fly a helicopter and the first to build a helicopter.
When Stewart was serving in the Royal Air Force, his Tornado GR-1 broke apart upon takeoff. This resulted in a severe injury, crushing his spinal cord and leaving him partly paralyzed. Stewart quickly returned to aviation, eventually wanting to learn to fly helicopters. However, being a paraplegic, he knew that using the foot pedals wouldn’t be an easy task. Eventually, Stewart decided to talk to the Blue Eagles helicopter display team, which resulted in a device called the Aeroleg.
“I went down there, we had a few meetings with a few ideas, we did drawings, and they said, ‘Come back in a week,’” Stewart said. “I came back in a week, and they had already built this unit and [figured out] how we’d get the leg to work. We tried it out on the military Gazelles. We got it perfected.”
PHOTO BY ERIN HENZE
However, the work didn’t stop there. Being from England, Stewart tried to get it approved in the United Kingdom, but he ran into a series of issues. Luckily, Stewart’s machinery interested the U.K. surgeon general, who in turn connected Stewart with the U.S. surgeon general.
“We took it to California,” Stewart said. “We did all the testing in the desert and got the approval.”
Stewart didn’t want to stop there. Actually, his final goal was to build a community for veterans, modeled after the veterans’ villages after World War I. Stewart moved from group to group, hoping to find a team to put this together. Eventually, he met Sean McClung, a retired U.S. Air Force colonel, and Kristen Christy, the 2018 U.S. Air Force Spouse of the Year. Together, they founded the National Veterans Vocational Village, NV3.
According to its website, “NV3 is a self-sustaining vocational training center and residential village that educates, employs, and houses disabled and injured veterans and those with invisible wounds, transitioning from military and first responder duties to civilian life.”
PHOTO BY KRISTEN CHRISTY
Based in Colorado Springs, Colorado, the village will have restaurants, a bakery, a general store, and possibly a small airport. The goal is to give these veterans a sense of community and purpose, especially for those who have been injured.
“He feels [like] a total outsider, alienated, because of his condition,” Stewart said. “Put him in an area where they’ve had the same experience, and you can help them along. It’s that kind of community. I was in a coma for six months, big deal, look at me now. It’s kind of a tough love thing, but helping.”
To help accomplish this goal, NV3 and partner Rotor X will be bringing a helicopter to 24 different VA spinal cord injury centers, where Stewart will fly. They hope to encourage veterans to “recapture the joys of flying and other vocations,” as well as raise money for the veterans’ village.
Sean, co-founder of NV3, reiterated the importance of programs like this.
“In one year, there are more veterans who commit suicide than there have been lost in combat since 9/11,” Sean said. “Part of the reason we’re doing what we’re doing is to get them out of despair, to give them a sense of community, a sense of purpose, a sense of hope.”
OSHKOSH MOMENTS
TOOLBOX SAGA ENDS WITH HAPPY CAMPERS
BY BARBARA A. SCHMITZ
AIRVENTURE TODAY STAFF
THE STEGER FAMILY, of Prescott, Wisconsin, had their EAA AirVenture Oshkosh visit all planned out. They would arrive on Sunday, walk around the grounds on Monday, and spend Tuesday morning at KidVenture with their children, Liivi, 6, and Vinten, 1, before heading back home on Wednesday.
With EAA offering free admission for all children, Chad and his wife, Jenna, had decided to take their kids to AirVenture for the first time. “It was too big of a draw not to take advantage of it,” Chad said.
Everything went according to plan … until Tuesday.
“We got up, ate breakfast, and headed right to KidVenture, thinking we were early enough to beat the biggest part of the rush,” Chad said.
Liivi managed to finish three activities as she worked to earn the free toolbox that is given to kids who complete all available stations. But then the lines grew: 30 minutes for one activity, 45 for another, and 60 for a third. There was no way the young girl would have time to complete the rest of the projects in the time they had, especially considering that Vinten really needed a nap, Chad said.
To Liivi’s disappointment, they went back to their camper in Camp Scholler, ate lunch, and put Vinten down for a nap. A few hours later, they headed back to the convention grounds in their golf cart.
“That’s when I noticed the wheel was making a funny noise,” Chad said. “It wiggled every time it would turn.”
Chad stopped next to a campsite occupied only by a boy who they thought was in his early teens.
“We asked him if he had any tools that I could use to tighten the lug nuts,” Chad said. The youth answered by holding up his KidVenture toolbox.
Unfortunately, there was nothing in the toolbox that would fix their problem, so the boy called his parents for suggestions, and they directed the family to the mechanics shop by the Red Barn.
“After he hung up the phone, we made small talk and mentioned that our daughter wasn’t able to get her tool set at KidVenture,” Chad said. “And then he picked up his toolbox and handed it to Liivi, who was still sitting in the golf cart.”
The boy told them he didn’t need a second kit, as he had earned another toolbox a year ago. Livvi didn’t say anything — she’s a little shy — but she was super excited and played with it while they were at the mechanics shop, even all the way home.
“We never got his name, but we wanted to thank him and let his parents know what a great son they had raised,” Chad said. “That’s why we put the story out on Facebook. There is so much negative news; this was positive news about a genuinely nice young man. He is exactly what’s right about EAA.”
PHOTO COURTESY OF CHAD STEGER
CHAD STEGER
AROUND THE GROUNDS
Friends Gather to Honor an AirVenture Regular
Online community raises funds for Glen Towler memorial brick
BY ERIN HENZE
AIRVENTURE TODAY STAFF
GLEN TOWLER, EAA 1112536, a beloved member of the online aviation community, passed away after a brief battle with cancer. According to his good friend Hillel Glazer, EAA Lifetime 1108948, Glen would save up all year to make the journey from New Zealand to Oshkosh each summer.
“He was just this all-around avid aviation geek, warbirds especially,” Hillel said. “He really loved the genre, he was a man of modest means, and he saved up pretty much all year to come to AirVenture every year, which also happened to coincide with his birthday. He was just super, super humble, and that made him so friendly that you can’t help but enjoy being around him.”
Using his online presence, Glen made friends all around the world, including EAA’s own managing editor.
“As is more common than not these days, Glen and I first met virtually via social media,” said Hal Bryan, EAA’s managing editor. “When we finally shook hands in person, it felt like we were already old friends. Glen’s passion for aviation was unabashed and infectious, and I always looked forward to seeing him at AirVenture. Our convention will be a little darker and a little quieter for me this year — I miss him already.”
Glen was passionate about a lot of things, such as aviation photography, his service in both the British and New Zealand armies, and, of course, finding free food.
“He knew every which way possible to get free food and drink at AirVenture,” Hillel explained.
In fact, according to an article on the EAA blog written by Glen, free food is what first got him to AirVenture in 2012.
PHOTO COURTESY OF EAA ARCHIVES
Glen Towler enjoyed trying on various warbird cockpits during his trips to AirVenture.
HILLEL GLAZER
“I was following a blog called AirPigz that is run by my now good friend Martt Clupper,” Glen wrote in 2019. “He had a photo caption contest for a photo of a Cessna 152 with a large four-bladed propeller. My caption was ‘Does this prop make my plane look small?’ I won the caption contest and my prize was a bacon sandwich at EAA AirVenture Oshkosh. So I thought why not? I’ve never been and it looks interesting. So I booked my flights and bought tickets for three days.”
Ten years after his first AirVenture, friends of Glen have come together to raise money in his memory. With the initial plan of raising enough money for a brick at the Brown Arch, donations quickly surpassed that goal.
“We collected over $6,000 to buy Glen a brick at the Brown Arch, where Glen endeavored to arrange a group photo each year of all his online friends that he could only see in person that one time a year,” Hillel said. “We also purchased a memorial plaque at the Memorial Wall and donated the rest to other EAA programs.”
In his honor, these friends got together again, meeting at the Brown Arch on Thursday for one final group photo.
“We knew his love for aviation and his love for warbirds, his photography and his pride in the work that he’d done for the countries he served,” Hillel said. “It was just bizarrely tragic in how quickly he left.”
