In Flight USA October 2017

October 2017

www.inflightusa.com

3

Calendar of Events

To list your group’s event on a space available basis, please send your event notice with date, time, place w/city and state, contact name, and phone number to: Calendar, In Flight USA, P.O. Box 5402, San Mateo, Calif. 94402, or email 3rdavenue@embarqmail.com.

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Q Chino, CA: Kilroy Coffee Klatch, 9 a.m. to 10 a.m., Planes of Fame Air Museum, (909) 597-7576.

Q San Jose, CA: Drone World Expo, San Jose Convention Center, (203) 371-6322, droneworldexpo.com.

Q West Chester, PA: Main Line Airport Dedication, 2 p.m., Richoh USA campus, (610) 436-9600, www.tehistory.org.

Q Groton, CT: AOPA Regional Fly-In, opens 9 a.m., Groton New London Airport, (800) 872-2672, www.aopa.org.

Q Dallas, TX: CAF Air Power Tour, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Dallas Executive Airport, (972) 387-2924, www.airpowertour.com.

Q Ranger, TX: Fly-In & Airshow, 11 a.m., Ranger Antique Airfield, (254) 433-1267, www.rangerairfield.org.

Q Dallas, TX: Wings over Dallas WWII Airshow, Dallas Executive Airport, (888) 945-3008, wingsoverdallas.org.

Q San Francisco, CA: Fleet Week Airshow, noon to 4 p.m., Waterfront, fleetweeksf.org.

Q Corona, CA: Aircraft Spruce West - Customer Appreciation Day, 7 a.m.to 3 p.m., Aircraft Spruce, (951) 372-9555, (800) 861-3192.

Q Livermore, CA: Open House & Air Show, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Livermore Municipal Airport, (925) 960-4000, www.cityoflivermore.net.

Q Chino, CA: Living History Flying Day, 10 a.m., Planes of Fame Air Museum, (909) 597-3722, www.planesoffame.org.

Q Georgetown, DE: Wings & Wheels, 9 a.m., Delaware Coastal Airport, www.wings-wheels.com.

Q Atlanta, GA: CAF Atlanta Warbird Weekend, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., Peachtree Dekalb Airport, (404) 913-2635, atlantawarbirdweekend.com.

Q Minden, NV: Minden-Tahoe Aviation Roundup, Minden-Tahoe Airport, (775) 782-9871, www.aviationroundup.com.

Q Virginia Beach, VA: WWI Airshow “Bi-Planes & Tri-Planes,� Military Aviation Museum, (757) 721-7767, www.vbairshow.com.

Q Las Vegas, NV: NBAA Business Aviation Convention & Exhibition, Las Vegas Convention Center & Henderson Executive Airport, www.nbaa.org.

Gainesville, TX: Texas Antique Airplane Fall Festival of Flight, Fri. 1-5 p.m./ Sat. 7 a.m., Gainesville Municipal Airport, www.texasantiqueairplane.com.

Q Punta Gorda, FL: Florida Int’l. Air Show, gates Fri. 4 p.m./Sat. & Sun. 9 a.m., Punta Gorda Airport, floridaairshow.com.

Q Erie, CO: Spirit of Flight Center Haunted Hangar, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., Erie Municipal Airport, (303) 460-1156, spiritofflightcom.

Q Natchitoches, LA: Wings over Natchitoches, gates 10 a.m., Nachitoches Regional Airport, (318) 352-0994, www.wingsovernatchitoches.org.

Q Brandy Station, VA: Culpeper Air Fest, gates 9 a.m., Culpeper Regional Airport, (877) 261-8499, www.culpeperairfest.com.

Q Apple Valley, CA: Apple Valley Airshow, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., Apple Valley Airport, (760) 247-2371, applevalleyairshow.com.

Q Boise, ID: Gowen Thunder Air Show, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Gowen Field, (208) 422-6162, gowenthunder.org.

Q Hampton, GA: Atlanta Air Show, gates 10 a.m., Atlanta Motor Speedway, (321) 395-3110, airshowatlanta.com.

Q Indianapolis, IN: Red Bull Air Race, open 10 a.m., Indianapolis Motor Speedway, airrace.redbull.com.

Q LaVerne, CA: Antique & Special Interest Aircraft Display, 10 a.m to 2 p.m., Brackett Airport, (909) 593-1395.

Q San Diego, CA: Montgomery Field Historic Aircraft Display, noon to 2 p.m., Gibbs Montgomery Executive Airport, (619) 301-2530.

Q San Luis Obispo, CA: Vintage Aircraft Associate’s Airport Day, San Luis Obispo Airport, (805) 801-7641.

Q El Cajon, CA: Warbirds West Air Museum Open House & Pancake Breakfast, 8 to 10:30 a.m., Gillespie Field, (858) 414-6258, www.wwam.org.

Q Riverside, CA: Aircraft Display Day Fly-In, 8 a.m., Flabob Airport, (951) 683-2309, www.flabob.org.

Q Bonham, TX: Bonham Festival of Flight, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., Jones Field, (903) 436-2522, www.bffairshow.com.

Q Rome, GA: Wings over North Georgia, gates 9 a.m., Russell Regional Airport, (706) 291-0030, wingsovernorthgeorgia.com.

Q Houston, TX: Wings over Houston Air Show, gates 8 a.m., Ellington Field, (713) 266-4492, wingsoverhouston.com.

Q San Bernardino, CA: San Bernardino Fest, gates Sat. 3 p.m./Sun. 11 a.m., San Bernardino Int’l. Airport, www.sbdfest.com.

Q Bethel, PA: Great Pumpkin Fly-In, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Golden Age Air Museum, Grimes Airfield, (717) 933-9566, www.goldenageair.org.

Q Santa Rosa, CA: Climb Aboard Weekend, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Pacific Coast Air Museum, Sonoma County Airport, (707) 575-7900.

Q Napa, CA: Vintage Aircraft Display, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., Napa Airport, (707) 944-9236.

Q Los Alamitos, CA: Wings, Wheels & Rotors Expo. CANCELLED.

Continued on Page 7

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In Flight USA Celebrating 34 Years

COVER STORY

By Ed Downs

JULIE CLARK, “TAKING AVIATION

“Taking Aviation by Storm” is what editorial folks call a “tagline.” But the simple “tagline” definition leaves a lot to be desired when in comes to Julie Clark and the aviation businesses that she represents through sponsorships and endorsements. The fact is, Julie does “Take Aviation by Storm” in a way that is unique in the airshow industry.

It would be hard to find an aviation enthusiast that does not know the name Julie Clark, or fail to recognize Julie’s famous Beech T-34 Mentor, painted in the colors and theme of Air Force One. The 2017 airshow season marks Julie’s 41st anniversary as a performing pilot and 38th year as a solo aerobatic act for her company, American Aerobatics. Julie Clark officially began her airshow company then named, Julie Clark’s American Aerobatics, in 1980. Julie and the entire Smokin’ Mentor T-34 aerobatic team have had a terrific 2017 show season and look forward to an exciting 2018 schedule. With 38 years of solo aerobatic airshow flying and more than 33,000 accident-free hours in the air, 11,000 hours in her T-34 alone, Julie and her beautiful T34 Mentor have become the icon of air-

BY

STORM”

Julie Clark behind the controls of her Beech T-34 Mentor, Free Spirit. (Dave Swartz) show performances.

Julie’s airshow routine takes her beautifully restored T-34 Free Spirit, to the limits of its operating capability.

Julie’s T-34 demands exceptional skill to perform aerobatics, and Julie’s experience has honed her coordination and responsiveness in a delicate balance. Her unique and patriotic presentation, “Serenade in Red, White and Blue,” is breathtakingly choreographed to Lee Greenwood’s “God Bless the USA” or

“God Bless You Canada.” To enhance her routine, multi-colored wing-tip smoke trails her every maneuver.

Julie has received an astonishing number of awards for her performance skills, contributions to the airshow industry, community work, and overall promotion of the aviation industry. To be sure, Julie’s impact on aviation, flying safety, and promotion of aviation opportunities for the youth of America speak very well to the truth of “Taking Aviation by

October 2017

Storm.” But in preparing this article, an interview with Julie led to an unexpected side of Julie’s contributions to flying.

Julie offered a comment that introduced a subject that is seldom discussed, “Sure, I am proud of the recognition I have received over the years, and eternally grateful to the individuals and organizations that have honored me for expressing my role as a professional pilot in a form that is actually a personal passion, not work. Those wishing to learn more about me and my remarkable team can do so by visiting www.julieclarkair shows.com, but there is a side to my career that I would like your readers, and my fans to give some thought to.”

Julie continued, “My airshow career and the ability to help others enjoy the thrills of both watching and participating in aviation would simply not have been possible without the sponsors and endorsements that have supported my airshow business. Running an airshow business is incredibly costly and in need of the best equipment and services in the industry. I sometimes wonder if fans take the time to look past the smoke and noise and see all of those companies that have their names on my T-34.”

Continued on Page 18

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OF

CONTENTS

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October 2017

ON THE COVER COVER STORY

PHOTO FINISH

JULIE CLARK “TAKING AVIATION

BY STORM”

RENO! UNLIMITED CLASS EPIC!

By Ed Downs Story starts on Page 4

By Pete Shirk Story and Photos begin on Page 25

NEWS FAA Small Drone rule Lets Unmanned Aircraft Soar ......................11 GA Groups Urge Congress to Focus on Bipartisan FAA Bill ........14 GA Pilots Aid In Hurricane Harvey Relief Efforts ............................20 Goldfein Delivers Air Force Update ....................................................22 Former Young Eagles Earn Pilot Certificates ....................................26 California Capital Airshow Connects Visitors With History ............28 GAMA Marks 40,000 Aircraft with ADS-B ..........................................32 X-Plane Design Model Test Quiet Supersonic Technology ............32 AOPA’s Fly-In Sets New Record ..........................................................35 Flying Pioneer Encourages Aviation Leaders to Support STEM ..39 AOPA Forms Airport Access Advisory Panel ..................................41 Stallion’s Stellar Year, 30th Anniversary ............................................43 Copperstate Fly-In Set for Oct. 27-28..................................................44 U.S. Sport Aviation Expo to Spark Your Engines..............................46 Tuskegee Airmen Highlight 2017 Atlanta Weekend..........................47

Cover Photo By Dave Swartz Courtesy of Julie Clark Airshows

FEATURES Editorial: Pilot Report by a Newbie

By Ed Downs ..................................................................6 The Right Thing to Do: AOPA Assignment Gets Personal to Next Level

By David Tulis, AOPA ......................................................8 It’s All About the Journey… And the Eclipse!

By Sarah Fishman ........................................................16 United Airlines Hosts Girls in Aviation Day

By Ana Urbe Ruiz and Denise Rae Donegan ....................33 SafeLandings: What’s All the Flap About? ..................................................................................40

COLUMNS Flying With Faber: Chicago Memories and Adventures

By Stuart J. Faber ..........................................................29 Flying Into Writing: Confession is Good for the Soul

By Eric McCarthy ............................................................38 Homebuilder’s Workshop: Leading Irma Around

By Ed Wischmeyer ..........................................................42 The Pylon Place: A Year to Remember – National Air Race

By Marilyn Dash ..............................................................45

DEPARTMENTS Calendar of Events ..........................................................3 Letters to the Editor ......................................................26 Classifieds ......................................................................47 Index of Advertisers ......................................................50

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In Flight USA Celebrating 34 Years

PILOT REPORT

Editorial

1981 Turbo Saratoga SP

1969 Piper Arrow

5565 TTAF. 550 SMOH. Immaculate Turbo Saratoga SP, recent paint and stunning interior, clean airplane with great history and attentive care. Air conditioning, 550 hours on an outstanding overhaul, capable Garmin and King avionics and maintenance

by Fresno Jet Center. The aircraft is being sold on behalf of an estate. The aircraft has had the same attentive owner and been Northern California based since 1984. .................$189,000

TTAF 4015. 470 SMOH. 148 SPOH. A clean, well maintained, and always hangared Piper Arrow. Great step up for pilots transitioning from a trainer to a single with retractable landing gear and controllable-pitch propeller. Beautiful cross-country IFR platform with low time engine. Garmin GNS 430 WAAS GPS/COMM, Isham Extended Wing Tips and Dorsal Fin. Located at KFTG Watkins, CO. ... $58,900

2003 Lancair Columbia 300

1999 Socata TB-21

1145 SNEW. This beautiful Columbia 300 was purchased new in 2003 by the first and only owner. Based in Bend, OR since new.

This is the same airport where the plane was manufactured, and the depth of local knowledge in type is beyond reproach. The airplane has been maintained since new by Lancair factory certified mechanics, and for the last several years by Steve Hanson, a former Lancair factory certified mechanic ........................$179,900

559 SNEW. Cruise in style, speed, and comfort. Fully IFR capable and ready for fast fun flights. Capable airframe is complimented by fabulous avionics and instrumentation. Always hangared, complete logs, and no known damage history...................$174,900

NEW OFFICE IN SAN CARLOS NOW OPEN!

Steve Feldman • Sales Manager (650) 394-7610 • steve@airplanesusa.com San Carlos Airport • 620 Airport Way • San Carlos, California 94070

www.airplanesusa.com

L

October 2017

By Ed Downs

ike it or not, drones (Unmanned Aerial Systems) are becoming a major player in the National Airspace System. This writer decided last year to add one more pilot rating to the list I now have by becoming an FAA UAS pilot. Sure enough, I visited www.faasafety.com, took the UAS pilot training course, fought my way through the IACRA process (electronic 8710 form) and presto, I was a drone pilot … sort of. Yes, I had the plastic in my pocket, but had never actually flown a drone.

Leaving that small detail behind, In Flight USA reached out to drone manufacturers, inviting them to submit news announcements that might help us provide the most current information to our reader base of contemporary (real?) pilots. In Flight USA is even attending the Drone World Expo, being held in San Jose in early October. But, the results of our outreach have been mixed, as the gaming and business world of drones has been slow to pick up on the fact that they are a part of the family of flying machines, mixing in with airplanes stuffed with people. But that suddenly changed, about two weeks before this October issue went to print.

An e-mail announcement from Hobbico Inc. suddenly showed up. Don’t recognize the name? Hobbico is the largest distributor of model products in the world, with more than 400 brand names and some 60,000 products. Do the names Revell Model, United Model, Tower Hobbies, Walmart, Target, Toys R Us, or Hobby Lobby ring a bell? Yep, this employeeowned company holds a leadership role in the world of drones, ranging from toys to professional commercial versions. The announcement addressed a new, low end, drone that probably falls into the “toy” category, but seemed to have some of the features normally reserved for the big guys.

With a Wi-Fi-connected camera that takes photos and videos (direct to an app on your smart phone), hand controller, 3D goggles and all the accoutrements needed to fly (including spare rotor blades and even a small screw driver), my interest was piqued. With an MSRP of $89.99, this intrepid aviator figured, “how about getting hold of this critter and actually learn how to fly a drone, from the perspective of a pilot report.” Thus, began a trip into the world of technological humiliation, ending with an enlightenment about the world of drones that exceeded my expectations.

Yep, an old dog can learn new tricks.

A call to Hobbico Inc. ended up with the offer to send this writer the new

BY A

NEWBIE

The Dromida Drone was a learning experience for this writer.

(Courtesy Dromida)

Hobbico Dromida, also labeled as the “KODO FPV.” Yes, I had to look up “FPV,” which translates to “First Person View.” This means you can fly the Dromida by looking though its camera, either by mounting your smart phone to the hand controller (it just snaps in) or by placing your smart phone in the 3D goggles. Basically, you can “get in” the cockpit of the Dromida. Now, form the world of gamers and active drone fans, I hear an overwhelming “duh dude!” as these capabilities are common in today’s home entertainment market, so let me set the stage for this “pilot report.” This writer is comfortable in modern airplanes, jets, classics, antiques, helicopters (that helped) and the Orion Spaceship. But I have never played a computer game, worked a game hand controller, worn a 3D view device or figured out how to talk on my smart phone and look up a contact at the same time. I am very cool with an E-6B but get lost in Foreflight. I do not own a tablet and use the now obsolete Galaxy 5 smart phone. Model airplane skills include U-control, free flight and a primitive, single channel RC. But I do have a UAS pilot certificate, (not actually required for this light weight drone) so flying the Dromida should be a piece of cake, right? Well, hold my beer!

A preflight of the Dromida box impressed me. It is designed to be used as a carrying case, with molded plastic inserts that protect delicate components.

Seemingly a small feature, but as it turned out, important. Given the short test time due to publication deadlines, I did all my flying at two hotels while teaching pilot class. Next, Dromida comes with big, easy to read, printed instructions.

Yes, real “printed on paper” instructions with lots of pictures, written in good English. Of the six pages, one is dedicated to battery safety, actually pretty important. Two pages are dedicated to maintenance, like replacing rotor blades, all well done. Flight controls are clearly defined, although some of the terminology is Continued on Page 9

October 2017

www.inflightusa.com

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Calendar of Events Continued from Page 3 27 — 28

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Q Tampa, FL: AOPA Regional Fly-In, various times/events, Peter O. Knight Airport, www.aopa.org.

Q Mesa, AZ: Copperstate Fly-In Aviation & Education Expo, Fri. 8 a.m. to 5 p.m./Sat. 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., Falcon Field, www.copperstate.org.

Q New Orleans, LA: CAF WWII Air, Sea & Land Festival, gates 9 a.m., Lakefront Airport, (972) 387-2924, www.airpowertour.com.

Q Chino, CA: Halloween Haunting Hunt, noon to 2 p.m., Yanks Air Museum, (909) 597-1735.

Q Fredericksburg, VA: Harvest Festival Fly-In/Airshow, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Shannon Airport, (540) 373-4431, www.shannonazf.com.

Q Fort Worth, TX: Bell Helicopter Fort Worth Alliance Air Show, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Alliance Airport, (800) 318-9268, www.allianceairshow.com.

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Q Stuart, FL: Stuart Air Show, Fri. 5 p.m./Sat. & Sun. 9 a.m., Witham Field, (772) 781-4882, stuartairshow.com.

Q Lakeview Terrace, CA: American Heroes Air Show, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., Hansen Dam, (818) 347-4577, www.heroes-airshow.com.

Q Chino, CA: Living History Flying Day, 10 a.m., Planes of Fame Air Museum, (909) 597-3722, www.planesoffame.org.

Q Jacksonville, FL: NAS JAX Air Show, gates 9 a.m., www.nasjaxairshow.com.

Q San Antonio, TX: Joint Base San Antonio Air Show & Open House, gates 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., JBSA-Lackland Kelly Field Annex, jbsairshow.com.

Q Chino, CA: Kilroy Coffee Klatch, 9 a.m. to 10 a.m., Planes of Fame Air Museum, (909) 597-7576.

Q Pensacola, FL: Blue Angels Homecoming Air Show, gates 8 a.m., Sherman Field, www.naspensacolaairshow.com.

Q Hammondsport, NY: Veterans Weekend, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Glenn H. Curtiss Museum, (607) 569-2160, www.curtissmuseum.org.

Q Chino, CA: Veterans Day, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., Yanks Air Museum, (909) 597-1735.

Q Fairview, OK: Fly-In & Air Show, opens 7 a.m., Fairview Municipal Airport, (580) 227-3788.

Q Las Vegas, NV: Aviation Nation, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Nellis AFB, www.nellis.af.mil.

Q Monroe, NC: Warbirds over Monroe Air Show, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., Charlotte-Monroe Airport, warbirdsovermonroe.com.

Q San Luis Obispo, CA: Vintage Aircraft Associate’s Airport Day, San Luis Obispo Airport, (805) 801-7641.

Q El Cajon, CA: Warbirds West Air Museum Open House & Pancake Breakfast, 8 to 10:30 a.m., Gillespie Field, (858) 414-6258, www.wwam.org.

Q Riverside, CA: Aircraft Display Day Fly-In, 8 a.m., Flabob Airport, (951) 683-2309, www.flabob.org.

Q Santa Rosa, CA: Climb Aboard Weekend, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Pacific Coast Air Museum, Sonoma County Airport, (707) 575-7900.

Q LaVerne, CA: Antique & Special Interest Aircraft Display, 10 a.m to 2 p.m., Brackett Airport, (909) 593-1395.

Q San Diego, CA: Montgomery Field Historic Aircraft Display, noon to 2 p.m., Gibbs Montgomery Executive Airport, (619) 301-2530.

DECEMBER

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16 — 17 17

Q Chino, CA: Living History Flying Day, 10 a.m., Planes of Fame Air Museum, (909) 597-3722, www.planesoffame.org.

Q Chino, CA: Kilroy Coffee Klatch, 9 a.m. to 10 a.m., Planes of Fame Air Museum, (909) 597-7576.

Q San Luis Obispo, CA: Vintage Aircraft Associate’s Airport Day, San Luis Obispo Airport, (805) 801-7641.

Q El Cajon, CA: Warbirds West Air Museum Open House & Pancake Breakfast, 8 to 10:30 a.m., Gillespie Field, (858) 414-6258, www.wwam.org.

Q Riverside, CA: Aircraft Display Day Fly-In, 8 a.m., Flabob Airport, (951) 683-2309, www.flabob.org.

Q Santa Rosa, CA: Climb Aboard Weekend, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Pacific Coast Air Museum, Sonoma County Airport, (707) 575-7900.

Q LaVerne, CA: Antique & Special Interest Aircraft Display, 10 a.m to 2 p.m., Brackett Airport, (909) 593-1395.

Q San Diego, CA: Montgomery Field Historic Aircraft Display, noon to 2 p.m., Gibbs Montgomery Executive Airport, (619) 301-2530.

BasicMed is here to stay Since BasicMed took effect on May 1, more than 18,000 pilots are now qualified to fly under the new alternative to third class medical certification.

This new process is the most significant shift in third class medical reform since the early 1960s.

In its first four months, BasicMed has achieved some major milestones. Already expanded across borders, pilots can now fly under the new FAA medical approval in the Bahamas. The Civil Air Patrol also began accepting BasicMed pilots this summer and we are continuing to work with leadership across the globe to recognize BasicMed or similar medical alternatives in their countries.

In the next few years, BasicMed is expected to reach hundreds of thousands of pilots. We continue to develop resources to help more pilots transition over to BasicMed. At the AOPA headquarters, our aviation and medical certification specialists in the Pilot Information Center continue to field hundreds of calls from members interested in learning more about BasicMed and its benefits. If you still have questions regarding BasicMed, you can reach the AOPA Pilot Information Center at 888-462-3976, Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. Eastern.

As time goes on and more doctors and AME’s familiarize themselves with the BasicMed exam, we believe the numbers will continue to skyrocket. If you’ve had a positive experience with the BasicMed process and have a doctor you’d like to recommend to AOPA and other pilots, please send us their information through www.aopa.org/submit-doctors. AOPA will be following up with each doctor for their approval to share their information when the Pilot Information Center receives a request to connect a pilot with a BasicMed friendly doctor.

Mark R. Baker President & CEO, AOPA

Visit In Flight USA’s website for the latest aviation news...

www.inflightusa.com *For more information on the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association HUK [OL PZZ\LZ [OH[ HɈLJ[ `V\Y Å`PUN NV [V www.aopa.org [VKH`

8

A SEASON TO REMEMBER In Flight USA Celebrating 34 Years

T

By Mark Baker

AOPA President & CEO ime flies when you’re having fun.

That’s always the feeling throughout the GA community when AOPA Fly-In season comes to an end.

Looking back on this year, there are so many great memories that were shared

by AOPA members and staff throughout our fly-in season. From coming together to fight so call-privatization, to the enormous growth of BasicMed, to lending a helping hand to those suffering tragic losses following natural disasters.

Following this tragic hurricane season that ravaged regions from Texas to the Caribbean, we are reminded of why AOPA has dedicated so many resources to fight H.R. 2997, the 21st Century AIRR Act, which would remove air traf-

fic control from the FAA and turn it over to the airlines. These rural and sometimes remote airports that are a vital part of disaster relief and recovery efforts are the same airports that would be the most affected should the new legislation be adopted. We must continue to do whatever it takes to let Congress know so-called privatization would hurt rural America, and there’s absolutely no way we can let that happen.

There’s also pending legislation that would be a step in the right direction for GA, that helps protect these airports during disaster relief. The Forward Looking Investment in GA, Hangars, and Tarmacs (FLIGHT Act) would ensure strategic airports have access to funding specifically for emergency planning, equipment, and facilities. In addition, the FLIGHT Act helps protect airports desig-

nated for disaster relief.

AOPA members and fly-in attendees have already come through in a big way in the battle against “privatization.” From the wall of signatures collected at EAA AirVenture, to the more than 80,000 letters and calls from members to their congressional representatives through our calls-to-action, the urgency and enthusiasm to protect GA has been memorable to say the least.

Every year, I enjoy attending our flyins and meeting members who have as much passion for flying as I do. The most memorable stories come from attendees who show up to our events as rusty pilots, and leave with the same eagerness and passion to get back in the air that they had as a first time student pilot. It’s through our Rusty Pilots initiative, along with all the other avenues available to our mem-

'THE RIGHT THING

TO

DO'

October 2017

bers through You Can Fly, that we continue to pave the way for pilots of the past, present, and future.

As 2018 draws closer, I hope you consider The AOPA Foundation for your tax-deductible, end-of-year donations.

One hundred percent of the proceeds go to support AOPA’s programs including You Can Fly initiatives, Flight Training scholarships, and the Air Safety Institute.

Finally, to get involved in next year’s fly-ins, either as a volunteer or an attendee, please check out our website for more information on each of our 2018 locations and dates. Details can be found online and in the December issue of AOPA Pilot. Thanks for a memorable flyin season and I join you in looking forward to another great year ahead.

AOPA Assignment Gets Personal: Flying 1,100 Miles in Two Days Delivers Much More Than Supplies During Hurricane Irma Recovery

By David Tulis, AOPA

I’ve covered many hurricanes as a newspaper and wire service photojournalist. Hurricane Elena chased me around Florida’s western elbow. After Hurricanes Fran, Bonnie, and Floyd, I hopped in Cessna 172s to get aerial photos above North Carolina’s Outer Banks.

I rode out Hurricane Hugo in a friend’s second-floor Charleston, South Carolina, apartment as winds flung metal shrapnel through the air like darts. I remember miles and miles of trees cracked in half like toothpicks after Hurricane Hugo deposited ships in residents’ yards as far north as Mount Pleasant, South Carolina.

But this was my first coverage assignment as an aviator. I came prepared for Hurricane Irma’s aftermath because I knew that gasoline would be scarce, power nonexistent, and food absent. My backpack had enough food to feed a family of five; I had solar chargers for everything; ForeFlight was locked and loaded.

I packed a tent, sleeping bag, cook set, lots of camera gear, and a few pieces of clothing. Basically, I was well-prepared for wilderness–but the pack was so heavy it was nearly impossible to wrangle it into an aircraft.

My duties were to help reposition a Cessna 182 from AOPA’s Frederick, Maryland, headquarters to Florida’s Lakeland Linder Regional Airport where we could join an aerial supply caravan coordinated by AERObridge, the all-vol-

Meadowbrook Church’s Jamil Bess loads food staples into general aviation aircraft at an Ocala International Airport supply area for transport to Lakeland Linder Regional Airport and points further south Sept. 13.

(David Tulis, courtesy AOPA)

General aviation pilot Carlo Cilliers, who is also an AOPA mechanic, repositions a Cessna 182 from Maryland to central Florida to help in Hurricane Irma relief efforts coordinated by AERObridge Sept. 12.

(David Tulis, courtesy AOPA) unteer, nonprofit general aviation organization that acts as a clearing house after natural disasters at home and abroad.

Four GA aircraft, two moving vans, and about 16 people were involved in the operation, which is scheduled to continue for days.

Carlo Cilliers, an ace mechanic who is thoroughly familiar with the care and feeding of a Skylane, was pilot in command. I handled the radio frequencies and flight plan and spelled him for relief every now and then.

We had a tall order: Fly about 900 miles as quickly and as safely as possible to join fellow AOPA pilots Luz Beattie and Janet Davidson, AOPA Air Safety Institute Executive Director Richard McSpadden, and AOPA Senior Vice President of Media, Communications, and Outreach Tom Haines at

Lakeland–before deploying to the front lines in Homestead, and ultimately, the Florida Keys.

Our first day began shortly after sunrise with a pilot meeting to explain duties and compassion flight procedures, and to review temporary flight restrictions.

Carlo and I took off after low clouds lifted at 11 a.m. and dodged Hurricane Irma’s lingering wrath that had fanned out over the Eastern Seaboard.

Facing 20-knot headwinds, we ended the day about 450 miles later as the sun painted Wilmington, North Carolina, orange. After a few hours of shuteye, we were back at it early the next morning with a route that would allow us to check out coastal damage along the way.

A panel-mounted navigation unit displays a line of aircraft returning to Daytona Beach's Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University after Hurricane Irma Sept. 13.

(David Tulis, courtesy AOPA)

I’d heard from Georgia friends that St. Simons Island residences had flooded; and I wanted to survey downtown Continued on Page 10

October 2017

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9

Editorial: Pilot Report

Continued from Page 6 peculiar to the drone world, not using common aviation terms. No big deal.

Specific recommendations are made as to how to begin the learning process, which this “newbie” followed with success. The only “tech” stuff is the need to download a smart phone app, but the instructions are clear and download took place with no difficulty, even thought I was using a hotel Wi-Fi. So far, so good.

Now comes the flying part. The instructions clearly state that you need unobstructed space, so I used a wedge of floor space in a small hotel room … oh well! Next came a warning label on the front of the box, “14+.” This meant I was now going to challenge the intellect and flying skills of a typical 14-year-old who grew up playing with computers and gaming devices. One begins to wonder if the box should have a maximum age listed. No problem, just send the kid to his mother’s basement and get on with it. A specific checklist is used to activate the interface between the controller and Dromida, a simple but important process.

With throttle and yaw controls on the left and forward/aft/left/right on the right side of the controller, the instructions recommend short, small “hops” to figure out five seconds at a time, this student begins the process. One learns quickly, that you need constant control inputs to hover, like an old technology helicopter. Control inputs are small, and even with the tiny size of the Dromida (about 6-inches by 6inches), inertia sets in, and you need to give it an input and then take some of the input back. You learn quickly that maneuvering takes away lift, and power must be added and removed as you change direction. Coordination is a must. After about 15 minutes of hopping, the battery gave out and a 35-minute recharge was needed.

The next flight ended with the ability to hover and move in a square pattern, with lots of jumping and jerking, but no damage and a sense that control was possible.

A week went by before the next flight. High winds prevented outside practice, so with about 30 minutes of practice under my belt, the next hotel trip allowed an expansion of skills, in that large, unoccupied, conference rooms were available. With much more room, I almost surprised myself by going straight

into a hover, allowing use of “trim” controls to adjust the Dromida to hover hands off, a great aid in flight control. It was now time to try the smart phone interface. Connecting to the Dromida’s built in Wi-Fi (really!) was surprisingly simple and the phone can be mounted on the hand controller. The Galaxy 5 just fit, any phone larger than about 6-inches by 3.25-inches will not fit.

You can now see what the camera on the Dromida sees. This takes practice, as trying to maintain visual contact with the Dromida and looking at the phone display at the same time can be distracting.

While no high level of skill was developed, I did mange to fly around a corner to see what was on the other side, … nothing. It was then time to try the 3D goggles. The instructions are quite clear, start very slow and have a safety pilot next to you to tell you where you are and where the Dromida is. Of course, I had no safety pilot. I should have. To put it mildly, trying to function while looking though another set of eyes that is constantly moving is weird. The Dromida’s camera is wide angle, so there is some spatial distortion and rapid camera movement causes some pixilation to take place. More expensive drones have faster cameras. Disorientation can be considerable and it is quite possible to walk into an obstacle or fall, so be careful. After some practice, I did pull to a hover, and the view is great. Clearly this drone newbie needs more practice, but the technology is fascinating.

Sure, to an experienced drone pilot or gamer, these observations may seem almost silly, but this “real” pilot had a blast becoming a UAS pilot. In about an hour of actual flying time, it was clear that even a “toy” like the Dromida could serve practical purposes on my ranch. I can absolutely see the Dromida becoming sort of the “Cessna 150 of drones.” It can be assumed that large and more advanced drones will be easier to fly, with auto stabilization and flight path programming. But the simple little Dromida allowed this old pilot to add one more make and model to the long list that has accumulated over the years. Yep, you can teach an old dog new tricks …bark

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When it looked like his airport might be hit by Hurricane Irma, Sebring Airport Executive Director Mike Willingham said he and his staff put into action a long-established emergency plan that he credits with preventing injuries and speeding recovery efforts. To be sure, there is plenty of damage, but Sebring will be ready to host the U.S. Sport

October 2017

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Mike and his wife Marva spent the night at the airport when Irma hit Sebring. Said Willingham, “The roof of the terminal started to ‘dance’ when the roof membrane separated from the deck.

It sounded like a semi hitting the roof every 20 seconds. Winds were upwards Continued on Page 13

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Continued from Page 8 Jacksonville, Florida, where the St. John’s River lapped at Riverwalk shops and restaurants. VFR flight following from air traffic controllers helped us steer clear of active military operating areas; ATC staff could not have been more helpful. Controllers were especially pleasant during a photo flight around Jacksonville – and again in central Florida – as a long conga line of returning Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University pilots made a beeline east for their home base.

We arrived at Lakeland airport hot, tired, and thirsty at 1 p.m. after flying into a headwind for 450 miles, but our hearts lifted when we saw our friends taxiing out in aircraft loaded down with medicine, food, and bottled water.

AERObridge’s Michael Burwell had just arrived from Minnesota and quickly took the reins. Sun ‘n Fun’s Jeannie Schneider and her husband Scott marshalled aircraft, greeted volunteers, and tried to keep things as organized as possible in a chaotic environment. During the afternoon missions, the ramp was a flurry of activity as a half dozen college students from Southeastern University packed and unpacked critical supplies from airplanes, cargo vans, and 12-foot trailers.

Inside one of the three large Sun ‘n Fun show hangars, retired personnel from the U.S. Army’s 75th Ranger Regiment loaded an armada of pickup trucks with chain saws, bottled water, food, and baby supplies next to a restored MikoyanGurevich MiG-23 fighter jet. Schneider said 200 U.S. Air Force Reserve troops were due to arrive in Lockheed C-130s and were prepared to spend the night in the hangar, which normally houses vendors during the annual airshow.

After refilling the Cessna 182’s tanks and emptying the aircraft’s contents, and buoyed by receiving our first mission, Carlo and I lifted off at 4 p.m.

behind Haines and McSpadden, bound for Ocala International Airport, 100 miles away. The assignment was to load the aircraft with medicine, beans and rice, baby supplies, and other necessities and bring them back to Lakeland before sunset.

Meadowbrook Church’s Jamil Bess quickly tossed boxes of food to fellow volunteers who then carried them to the

Members of Task Force 75, veterans of the U.S. Army's 75th Ranger Regiment, load up chain saws, water, and staple items inside a Sun 'N Fun International Expo hangar at Lakeland Linder Regional Airport for delivery to Hurricane Irma victims Sept. 13.

(David Tulis, courtesy AOPA)

awaiting aircraft outside Ocala fixed-base operator Sheltair. “We’re doing this out of love and compassion for everybody,” said Bess, 16.

The loaded-down late-model Cessna 182 began to look more like a taildragger on the ramp, but its big Lycoming engine easily handled the takeoff, and we set a course due south for Lakeland, again.

By this time, the sun was low on the horizon and so was our energy level, but we were ecstatic to assist the enormous relief mission that is bound to take weeks, or longer. The feeling of accomplishment can’t be measured by words, deeds, or money. AOPA Senior Safety Advisor Bruce Landsberg summed it up best: When asked why he volunteered his Bonanza, his time, and his resources to help people he didn’t even know, Landsberg replied, “Because it was the right thing to do.”

FAA SMALL DRONE RULE LETS UNMANNED AIRCRAFT SOAR

October 2017

A host of new users is changing the world of commercial aviation thanks in large part to the Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) small unmanned aircraft rule, Part 107 (PDF), which has now been in place for a year. Under the new regulations, drones are changing the way countless jobs are done, from movie filming and real estate marketing to agricultural mapping and smokestack inspections.

The numbers tell part of the success story. Since the Part 107 rule became effective last August, more than 80,000 individual drones have been registered for commercial and government purposes.

And more than 60,000 people have obtained a Remote Pilot Certificate required to operate a drone under Part 107.

The FAA’s Part 107 is making is possible for a broad range of entities to find innovative uses for drones. Take a look at these examples.

Responding to Disaster – Hurricane Harvey

Drones have been invaluable in supporting response and recovery efforts for Hurricane Harvey. The FAA has issued 127 authorizations to drone operators per-

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forming seach and rescue missions and assessing damage to roads, bridges and other critical infrastructure; sometimes the agency has issued these authorizations within a few hours. In addition to the direct response and recovery efforts, several media outlets are operating drones over Houston to provide coverage to local residents and the world about flooding and damage in the area. All drone flights are carefully coordinated with manned aircraft operations to ensure the safety of everyone using the crowded Soth Texas airspace.

FAA Administrator Michael Huerta addressed the agency’s response to the “transformative role” drones are playing in Hurricane Harvey recovery operations in today’s remarks to the InterDrone conference.

Commercial Use of Drones is Taking Off

Several major property insurance companies are using drones to examine homes after storms, capturing images and video in crystal clear quality without requiring a person to climb up to a potentially hazardous roof. Dozens of television stations around the country fly

drones to bring fresh aerial views of breaking news at lower risk and cost than a typical news helicopter. Other commercial operators of unmanned aircraft are flying them to monitor construction sites, create topographical maps, survey vegetation and drainage on farm land, inspect pipelines and other gas facilities, and many other innovative tasks.

A

11

States and Municipalities are using Drones for Infrastructure Improvements

The Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development is saving the state hundreds of thousands of dollars by using drones to survey the median of IContinued on Page 13 P.O. Box 5402 • San Mateo, CA 94402 (650) 358-9908 • Fax (650) 358-9254

Founder ..................................................................................................................Ciro Buonocore Publisher/Editor................................................................................................Victoria Buonocore Managing Editor..........................................................................................Annamarie Buonocore Production Editors ..............................................................................Anne Dobbins, Toni Sieling Associate Editors ........................ Nicholas A. Veronico, Sagar Pathak, Richard VanderMeulen Staff Contributors..................................................................................................S. Mark Rhodes, .........................................................................................................Larry Nazimek, Joe Gonzalez, Columnists ....................................Steve Weaver, Stuart Faber, Larry Shapiro, Ed Wischmeyer, ..................................................................................................................Marilyn Dash, Ed Downs, Copy Editing ............................................................................................................Sally Gersbach Advertising Sales Manager ........................................Ed Downs (650) 358-9908, (918) 873-0280

In Flight USA is published each month by In Flight Publishing. It is circulated throughout the continental United States. Business matters, advertising and editorial concerns should be addressed to In Flight USA, P.O. Box 5402, San Mateo, Calif. 94402 or by calling (650) 358-9908–fax (650) 358-9254. Copyright © 2008 In Flight Publishing.

In Flight USA is not responsible for any action taken by any person as a result of reading any part of any issue. The pieces are written for information, entertainment and suggestion – not recommendation. The pursuit of flight or any action reflected by this paper is the responsibility of the individual and not of this paper, its staff or contributors. Opinions expressed are those of the individual author, and not necessarily those of In Flight USA. All editorial and advertising matter in this edition is copyrighted. Reproduction in any way is strictly prohibited without written permission of the publisher.

In Flight USA is not liable or in any way responsible for the condition or airworthiness of any aircraft advertised for sale in any edition. By law the airworthiness of any aircraft sold is the responsiblity of the seller and buyer.

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FAA Small Drone Rule Continued from Page 11 10 for a cable barrier project. Officials in Minnesota and Ohio have flown drones to inspect highway bridges. And a company working with Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport is using a drone to 3D map the runways in about half the time as teams armed with cameras.

Drones are a Valuable Tool for First Responders

When combating structure fires, the Wayne Township Fire Department near Indianapolis flies drones to provide a valuable perspective on hot spots and other potential hazards. In the area around Fort Collins, Col., several law enforcement and fire departments have launched a regional drone program to assist in investigations, including serious crashes and backcountry search and rescue operations. The Idaho State Police are using unmanned aircraft to get birdseye views of crash and crime scenes, including barricade situations, fatal accidents, hazardous materials spills, and natural disasters.

Scientific Research Gets a Boost from Drones

At the U.S. Geological Survey, officials have mounted sensors on drones to gather more accurate data than satellite imagery for the large swaths of land the USGS is responsible for monitoring. The

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has a fleet of 54 unmanned aircraft ranging in wingspan from less than six feet to more than 115 feet; the drones collect data from areas that can be dangerous for humans, such as the poles, oceans, wildlands, volcanic islands, and wildfires. Researchers at Oklahoma State University are flying sensor- and camera-equipped drones into developing storms to acquire measurements during tornado formation that will help improve knowledge of how tornadoes form and increase the confidence in issuing tornado warnings.

Part 107 as it now exists isn’t the end of this success story. The FAA is using a risk-based approach to enable increasingly more complex UAS operations, including operations over people, operations beyond visual line-of-sight, and transportation of persons and property.

The agency is capitalizing on each incremental step, making sure a framework of performance-based regulations can easily accommodate change while maintaining the United States’ unmatched aviation – just four years from now – the agency estimates there could be as many as 1.6 million small drones (under 55 lbs.) in commercial operation.

As FAA Administrator Michael Huerta said in a recent speech, “The only limitation seems to be: How quickly we – all of us, across the industry – can make it happen, safely.”

Disaster Recovery Plan

Continued from Page 10 of 100 to 120 mph.”

Two commercial hangars lost their roofs. Airside center’s roof was compromised, Building 60 suffered extensive roof damage. T-hangars suffered damage as well. Willingham had been at the airport six days, 24/7 following Irma. Currently temporary roofs are being installed so that all businesses are operational.

The hardest part was pre-planning for this hurricane. Experience has taught the Airport Director great lessons: Preplanning is key. Willingham had a disaster recovery plan in place with back hoes, other heavy equipment, and personnel to respond to the disaster starting the day after Irma hit. About 40 people descended on the airport to handle the challenges with great success.

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Former Thunderbirds and Blue Angels Oppose ATC Privatization

The General Aviation Manufacturers Association (GAMA) on Sept. 14 joined five other general aviation groups in sending letters to transportation leaders in the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives, urging them to enact an extension of Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) programs for at least six months and using that time to pass bipartisan, consensus driven FAA Reauthorization legislation that would address many critical aviation issues.

“There is a lack of consensus in the aviation community for Title II of H.R. 2997, the 21st Century AIRR Act, which seeks to effectively hand over control of our nation’s air traffic system to the airlines and special interests,” the letters state. “Removing Title II would ensure consensus and allow for our aviation system to continue to serve the traveling public and the aviation industry.”

The general aviation association leaders also emphasized the need for an FAA extension to ensure focus remains on the important progress being made on NextGen and needed airport projects.

The groups cite a recent Government Accountability Office (GAO) report concluding the U.S. air traffic modernization program is on schedule.

The heads of the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association, Experimental Aircraft Association, General Aviation Manufacturers Association, Helicopter Association International, National Air Transportation Association and the National Business Aviation Association signed the letters.

The letters were sent to House Transportation and Infrastructure (T&I) Committee Chair Bill Shuster (R-9-PA) and Ranking Member Peter DeFazio (D4-OR), as well as Senate Commerce

Committee Chair John Thune (R-SD) and Ranking Member Bill Nelson (DFL).

For more information about the letter asking for an extension, as well as about GAMA, visit www.gama.aero.

On Sept. 17, a mobile air traffic control tower arrived at Key West International Airport in Florida after a road trip down the East Coast by trailer from Hartford, CT. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) repositioned the fully-equipped tower to provide air traffic services for all of the aircraft operating in and out of Key West that are supporting the relief and recovery of the isolated Florida Keys in the

wake of Hurricane Irma.

The FAA also has temporarily located many of the tower’s controllers closer to the airport to reduce lengthy commutes.

In addition to the mobile tower, the FAA has brought a trailer to the site to support the tower controllers with an airconditioned break room and lavatories.

Continued on Page 21

As the threat of ATC privatization continues, six former team commanders of the U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds and U.S. Navy Blue Angels have declared their strong opposition to the proposed legislation.

“It will add billions to our nation’s budget deficit, negatively impact our national security, and needlessly complicate border protection,” said retired Navy Capt. Greg McWherter in a video produced by the International Council of Air Shows.

These concerns are in addition to the threat privatization poses to the general aviation community, which would have little voice in the privatized system proposed by the House of Representatives in H.R. 2997.

“This is a deeply flawed piece of legislation that is opposed by the vast majority of people who understand the negative implications of this naked power grab by the airlines and their allies,” said ICAS President John Cudahy. “These former military officers are speaking out because they are genuinely concerned that the legislation could permanently damage our country.”

The officers urged the general public to voice their opposition to their elected representatives at www.ATC notforsale.com.

FAA BRINGS MOBILE AIR TRAFFIC CONTROL TOWER TO KEY WEST

October 2017

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A

IT’S ALL ABOUT

By Sarah Fishman

t 7 o’clock on the morning of Sunday, Aug. 20. I got into my beloved Chevy Trail Blazer and left my house in upstate New York, setting out for… somewhere on the path of totality. I wasn’t quite sure of my destination. I thought maybe it would be Charleston or Nashville, as they were about equidistant from my starting point, but figured I’d play it by ear and just head generally south until I made my decision.

I was making great time and didn’t feel restless or bored behind the wheel at all. Going in to the trip, I had worried about spending so much time alone with my thoughts, as I had just learned that my ex-boyfriend was cheating on me for half of our relationship. I was pleased to find, however, that being alone with my thoughts wasn’t scary at all. It was actually quite cathartic. I was able to think through all the reasons why it was a good thing he was out of my life for good. It was right in the middle of one of those thoughts, speeding down I-81 South in West Virginia, that I felt a jolt in my car. I looked down at my dashboard to see that my RPM had skyrocketed to 5,000 but my gas pedal wasn’t responding at all.

I quickly pulled off to the side of the highway and put the car in park.

Realizing I wasn’t as far off the road as I would have liked, I shifted back into drive and attempted to pull a little closer to the guardrail. Instead the RPM jumped to 5,000 again and I started rolling backwards into oncoming traffic. Immediately I turned off the car and decided I was fine right where I was.

If you’re at all familiar with cars, you’re probably thinking, “Oh it’s the transmission!” And you would be right. I, however, am not familiar with cars in the slightest so I popped the hood to look for… anything that might look strange?

Anything on fire? Anything at all?

Everything seemed to be in order so next I checked under the car. Did anything fall out? Would I even be able to tell if something was missing? Probably not.

Feeling that I had done all I could reasonably do, I got back in the car and called AAA. The operator informed me that a tow truck would be out my way in 30-45 minutes but that it’s Sunday so no shops or dealerships will be open until the following morning so I’d probably have to find a hotel. That didn’t really work for me, as the eclipse was the next day and I was still about eight hours from the path of totality.

I immediately got on the phone and began searching for a rental car company

THE JOURNEY…

In Flight USA Celebrating 34 Years

open nearby. I found one, an Enterprise about 20 miles back the way I came, with a Chevrolet dealership right next door. I called them and made a reservation, telling them I would be there in an hour, and they assured me they would have a car waiting for me. Shortly after that the tow truck arrived and I asked the driver to bring me back to the dealership right over the border in Maryland and then give me a ride to go pick up my rental car.

By the time I made it to the Enterprise, I had lost about three hours of driving time and was ready to get back on the road. I went to the front desk and told them my name and that I had called about an hour ago to make my reservation. The woman at the desk smiled politely and said, “Okay, well we actually don’t have any cars left and we have a waiting list of about five people, so we can get you a car tomorrow night at the earliest.”

“But what about the car I reserved when I called?”

“Well, you were actually on the phone with our national reservations office and they have to tell you we have a car even if we don’t. It’s company policy.”

Internally I was thinking how stupid of a policy that was. Externally, I immediately started crying.

In my experience, crying in public often motivates people to get you what you want. (I have a whole story about crying to the immigration agents at the border to Canada, but that’s for another time.)

Everyone standing around the Enterprise office was in a similar situation and they were all headed to the eclipse so I knew I couldn’t use that as my excuse.

“It’s just that I have a wedding in Roanoke in three hours and my car broke down and I need to get there!” The lie came out of me before I even realized what was happening, but I went with it. And the key to a good lie is details. “Sunday night weddings are so stupid. And the weekend of the eclipse too? Believe me, I’m so annoyed with my friend, but I’m a bridesmaid and I really need to get there. Please, I really need a car.” I hoped my lie would move them enough to give me literally anything they had, be it a secret car they weren’t renting or even a Razor scooter.

Either they were heartless or they actually had nothing to give me.

One woman suggested I try the Budget car rental about 5 miles away, but they closed in 30 minutes so I would have to rush. “And how do you propose I get there?” I asked. She suggested Uber but I was unconvinced a car would be available in this middle of nowhere town on the Bible belt. I checked the app and there were no cars in the area. Frustrated, I

AND

THE

refreshed it, and there was one car, 15 minutes away. I booked it before some other poor soul could snatch it up. While I was waiting, I decided to call Budget to ensure they would have a car waiting for me.

“Hi, is this the Budget in Hagerstown, MD?” “No, this is the national reservations office.”

I insisted that they connect me directly to the local office and they said they couldn’t but they could give me the direct number and I could call myself.

“Hi, is this the Budget in Hagerstown, MD?” “No, this is the national reservations office.”

Again, I insisted they connect me directly. Again, I was told they couldn’t do that. But he assured me he was looking at that specific location and he could guarantee they had at least three cars available. I explained what had happened with Enterprise.

“If you screw me over like Enterprise did, I will find you.”

“Would you like me to put through the reservation for you?”

Just as he was taking my information, though, the call dropped. The crying started again almost instantaneously. The Uber would be there in about two minutes and I decided to just go straight to Budget and hope that they really did have a car available. It was my last hope, after all.

When the Uber arrived, I got into the car, still crying. The driver asked me what was wrong and I told him everything that had happened.

“Well,” he said, “I own a rental car company. Do you want this car?”

Speechless and unsure of how real this situation was I allowed the driver to take me to his office where he copied my driver’s license and handed me the keys.

He didn’t take my credit card information. He didn’t take my insurance information. He told me I could pay in cash when I returned the car on Tuesday. Still in shock, I took the keys and (after comparing the weather between Charleston and Nashville and deciding on Tennessee) got back on the road. If I didn’t believe in a higher power before, I sure do now. Something made it so that I could get to the eclipse, even after I had exhausted every single option I possibly had and did everything I possibly could, there was still a way.

That night around 11 o’clock, I made it over the Tennessee border and decided to stop. If I had been in my Trail Blazer, with it’s hatchback trunk and tinted windows, I probably would have saved my money and slept in the car. But the Chevy

ECLIPSE!

October 2017

The author getting set up for the perfect eclipse shot. (Courtesy Sarah Fishman) Malibu I was given by the Uber driver was rather unintimidating and I didn’t feel safe camping out in the backseat.

Luckily, I was able to find a hotel. I’m not really sure how I got so lucky, though, because most hotels within a few hours of the path of totality had been sold out for weeks, if not months.

The next morning I woke up and set off to find my eclipse spot. I did some more weather checking and path of totality mapping and decided on the small town of Athens, about an hour south of Knoxville. When I arrived I read a bit about a large park in Athens that was the location of an eclipse fair, which sounded intriguing, but as I drove past I saw that it was completely packed with parking all the way down the street, miles in both directions. This was not the place for me.

As I was trying to decide on where to go, I pulled into a Walmart to buy some water and use the restroom. The entire parking lot was full and I had to find a spot at a gas station across the street. As I walked through the lot to get to the entrance of the store, I noticed hundreds of people setting up tripods and lawn chairs around the parking lot. For a moment I decided to just stay there for the eclipse because it was supposed to start in 45 minutes and I didn’t think I had time to drive around, looking for anywhere else, but as I was walking through the store I decided I really didn’t want to spend my eclipse in a brutally hot parking lot surrounded by people and cars.

I checked my maps app and looked for anywhere green. The first place I noticed was the big park I had already Continued on Page 17

October 2017

www.inflightusa.com

17

It’s All About the Journey

Continued from Page 16 checked out, but a little ways down the road was the Athens Veteran Memorial Park and it was only five minutes from me.

Bingo. I plugged the address into my GPS and was on my way. I passed a sign for the park and the place looked park-ish, but the GPS said I still had half a mile to go, so on I went. I found myself driving up a steep dirt road and thought it was a little strange, but, hey, it’s Tennessee, there might be main entrances on dirt roads.

Eventually I reached the top of the mountain and was greeted by about 15 other cars parked there. As I was maneuvering my car into a makeshift spot in the grass, a man came to my window.

“Are you friends with the woman who lives here?” I shook my head. “Well this is her driveway. She said we can stay as long as we don’t pass those trees over there.”

As the afternoon went on I discovered that most of the people parked at the top of this mountain found their way there the same way I did: searching for the Veteran Memorial Park. It was a pretty great group of people, all traveling from different places and for different reasons.

I had my three tripods set up with four different cameras. Beside me a science teacher who had called in sick from work set up a small telescope that projected the progress of the eclipse onto a screen. Across the driveway there was a family who had driven from Pennsylvania and had their plans made for six months. I met an elderly woman who had waited her whole life for the chance to see a total eclipse and some local kids who didn’t quite know how to handle their small town being inundated with so many tourists.

As the sun reached 90 percent eclipsed, we all oohed and ahhed at how dark it was getting and how the temperature had dropped a solid ten degrees. We commented on how when we all first arrived, we had been sweating like mad, but now we were reaching for our sweaters. As the moment of totality approached, we collectively became silent, almost like we were holding our breaths in anticipation. And then it happened. And we all cheered. And there were fireworks.

And for two minutes and thirty-five seconds we took off our paper glasses and welder’s goggles and celebrated.

And then it was over.

Within a few minutes, everyone had packed up their belongings and got back on the road. I was a bit slower at leaving but eventually got back in my car and headed back down the dirt road. As I punched “home” into my GPS and slowly made my way through town, it dawned on me that thousands and thousands of people

The moment of totality, taken with a telephoto lens attachment on an iPhone 6s.

(Sarah Fishman)

"Sunset" at 2:30pm, just moments before complete totality.

(Sarah Fishman)

When given the opportunity to drive on the back roads during sunset, take it.

(Sarah Fishman)

all around me and going in all directions are doing the exact same thing. This realization was driven home when it took me two and a half hours to go six miles. At that point I found a restaurant to spend some time at until the traffic cleared up. The wait at the restaurant was an hour and a half but I decided I’d rather spend my time chatting with other eclipse-goers who were also avoiding the traffic than sit alone in the car, going nowhere.

After waiting nearly two hours for a table and then eating in under 15 minutes, I got back on the road and headed up I-81 North. Anytime I came across even a little bit of traffic, I ditched the GPS and followed the first sign that said “north.” I ended up on so many tiny back roads in so many small towns I never would have seen otherwise. I probably added about four hours to my trip but the view was better and I didn’t spend any of that time Continued on Page 19

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18

In Flight USA Celebrating 34 Years

October 2017

Julie Clark, “Taking Aviation by Storm”

Continued from Page 4 Julie brings up a good point. A count will disclose that in addition to Julie’s primary supporting company, Tempest Plus, there are some 23 other companies that have their products and/or services discreetly displayed on the T-34. Tempest has been with Julie for two years, and according to Julie, “John Herman, President of Tempest, is a great guy, and the products sold by Tempest are paramount in helping me meet my demanding flight and show schedule. I do not

accept sponsorship or endorsements from a company unless I have personal knowledge of that product or use the product.

My wonderful T-34 has supported me for my entire solo acro career, and Free Spirit gets nothing but the best.”

Julie is justifiably proud of those who have supported Julie Clark Airshows. Frequently, her life depends on the reliability of those products. Julie personally flies her T-34 to each performance, often making side trips for publicservice appearances, in both industry set-

tings and community functions. As Julie points out, “airshows and public appearances are events that have a time stamp. I need to be there on time. I fly long distances at very high altitudes, and IFR gets the job done. My T-34 does not have to stand up to just the few minutes that are spent flying a specific show routine but needs to serve as company-corporate transportation, with all the reliability and endurance one would expect of an executive transport. I also give many promotional rides in the T-34 every year; relia-

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bility and passenger safety are vital.”

Julie has worked with a number of sponsors over the years. In all cases, these products and services have become a part of Julie’s everyday life on the show circuit. Tempest keeps Julie flying with engine accessories and components that keep the T-34’s powerplant powerful, economical, and reliable. But other companies have also played a significant role such as 19 years of sponsorship with Mopar, five years with Chevron Aviation Products, two years with Juice Plus and now, two years with Tempest. Avidyne, Good Year, Concorde Battery, Bose headsets, and L3 Avionics Systems (just to name a few, see Julie’s website for more details) provide endorsements and products all installed in the T-34.

When it comes to sponsorship, Julie adds, “We have a shared trust. These great companies trust that I will represent their products in the best way possible, and I trust that their products will keep me and my fans safe, given some of the most demanding circumstances one can imagine.” The bottom line is simple, when shopping for aviation products, start by visiting Julie’s website and look for those companies that Julie trusts. You cannot get a better recommendation.

But there are two sides to the commercial sponsorship story of airshow flying. How do companies choose a performer and justify their investment? A call to John Herman of Tempest offered some interesting insights. Like many business decisions, John’s was based in part on the gut feel that Julie is the right person at the right time. John commented, “Julie Clark is a performer I have admired throughout my entire career in aviation. I worked with Julie while with another aviation company and had noticed the personal effort Julie put into a business relationship. Julie does not just show up at an event, fly, and then disappear. She is a real pro at the public events, which accompany a show and always visits the pavilions of venders who support her. Tempest has several locations around the country and deals with many products. We know that Julie will help us with morale-building visits and performances that the entire Tempest team will have an opportunity to see. We view Julie Clark as a true force in aviation, the perfect person to represent our motto, “Taking Aviation by Storm.”

When asked about how Julie can increase Tempest’s business, a clear vison and understanding of the aviation support industry became evident. John responded, “Tempest is an interesting company, both selling and, through conContinued on Page 19

October 2017

www.inflightusa.com

It’s All About the Journey

Continued from Page17 in standstill traffic.

Eventually, though, I began to get tired and decided it was time to pull off and find a hotel. I figured I was far enough away from where the main event was to have a problem getting a room. I figured wrong. Every hotel at the exit I got off at was completely booked. I went onto my hotels.com app and booked a room about an hour ahead of me. When I arrived, at around 1:30 in the morning, there was a line of people out the door.

They had all booked on hotels.com and they were all being told that their reservations were not being honored. The hotel

Julie Clark

Continued from Page 18 tracted services, producing manufactured products. In keeping with our mission statement of exceeding customer expectations of quality and service on all products, we have taken engine components to a new level of lifespan and reliability.

But, the name Tempest, does not describe exactly what we do, as would a business called “Bill’s Auto Repair.”

“Most aircraft owners pride their choice of aircraft based on many factors, one of which is having an engine with a high TBO. Good idea, but most owners do not know that many engine sub-components and accessories, like the vacuum and hydraulic pumps, fuel system components, electrical and filtration products, ignition components, and monitoring systems vital to engine operation do not share their engine’s TBO. This is where Tempest comes in, with custom-manufactured products that have increased the service life of many engine system products. We are the guys who can help our customers reach TBO and fly with a level of reliability that is unparalleled. Julie is a mechanical pro and can really talk the path she walks on almost a daily basis.

The bottom line is, if Julie uses it, so should you. This is a format that works, because Julie makes it work.”

The world of airshow performers is much more than just racking up the Gs and turning on the smoke. Bills must be paid and families supported. In Julie’s case, there are thousands of miles of travel, multiple public appearances, and trust placed in a plane that is a lot more than just a show queen. Thanks, Julie, for giving the readers of In Flight USA an inside look into your world.

For more information about Julie Clark Airshows and Tempest, visit www.julieclarkairshows.com and www.tempestplus.com.

had been sold out for hours but hotels.com kept booking rooms anyway.

There were one or two people who were very angry, yelling at the woman running the front desk and complaining about the horrible customer service. The rest of us stood around in the parking lot, laughing and wishing each other luck.

We all knew the truth: we’d all be sleeping in our cars that night. Slowly everyone started leaving, trying to figure out where they’d go, but I hung out by my car because I was planning to stay right

there. I was on the phone with hotels.com, trying to get my refund, when a man came out to the parking lot.

“They’re giving me a room with two double beds. Do you want to crash?”

“Why, yes, kind stranger, I would love to crash.”

Turns out the hotel had a room they never rented out because the bathroom was completely useless, but this man had insisted he only needed a bed to sleep in and wouldn’t use the bathroom at all.

When we got into the room, he

19 offered me some whiskey and only tried to get me to take my dress off twice. He noticed a tattoo on my arm and asked if I had any others and if he could see them.

I have one on my back and one on my ribs but, as I was wearing a dress, I told him no.

“But you’re on an adventure.”

“Not that kind of adventure.”

When I told this story to some of the 16-year-olds I was working with over the summer, they were shocked that I had Continued on Page 20

20

GA PILOTS AID IN HURRICANE HARVEY RELIEF EFFORTS

In Flight USA Celebrating 34 Years

Planes of Fame Air Museum Over 150 Aircraft and Displays See the Northrop N9MB Flying Wing Fly!

Living History Flying Day Saturday, November 4, 10 am The November 4th Living History Flying Day will feature the N9MB Flying Wing. A speaker panel of distinguished aviation experts, historians and veterans will give a presentation, followed by a flight demonstration of the featured aircraft.

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Among the thousands of volunteers aiding recovery efforts in the Houston, Texas, area following the destruction caused by Hurricane Harvey are a few groups spearheaded by general aviation pilots and EAA members.

A group named Aviators Helping South Texas, operating out of ConroeNorth Houston Regional Airport (KCXO), has airlifted nearly 300 tons of water and about 50 tons of other goods to areas of Texas affected by the hurricane, specifically Beaumont.

Started as a grassroots civilian relief effort by Kayla Perez, Michael Barksdale Sr., Michael Barksdale Jr., Vickie Croston, and Merwyn Croston, Aviators Helping South Texas soon transformed into a joint military-civilian operation when Michael Jr., a military member, arranged for Army assistance for greater lifting power.

While the core group for the aid effort was roughly eight individuals, Michael Sr. estimated about 1,000 people, between civilians and military members, helped out with the operation. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The cooperation between the mili-

October 2017

A group named Aviators Helping South Texas, operating out of Conroe-North Houston Regional Airport (KCXO), has airlifted nearly 300 tons of water and about 50 tons of other goods to areas of Texas affected by the hurricane Harvey.

(EAA photo) tary and civilians was incredible,â&#x20AC;?

Michael Sr. said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;This was a civiliandirected operation using both civilian and military aircraft. EAA members were part of the effort.â&#x20AC;?

Now that supplies can be trucked into the area as water levels have receded, the operation has ceased.

Operation Airdrop, out of Denton, Texas, is a volunteer rescue organization composed of general aviation pilots. With around 150 pilots, OAD has made more Continued on Page 21

Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s All About the Journey

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Continued from Page 19 spent the night in a hotel room with a stranger, but I told them by the time you get to be my age you can tell the difference between dangerous and desperate.

This guy wasnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t dangerous. I never felt unsafe.

He asked me questions that he probably thought were incredibly insightful but I just saw them as annoying. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Whatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s your favorite color?â&#x20AC;&#x2122; â&#x20AC;&#x153;Whatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s your biggest fear?â&#x20AC;? â&#x20AC;&#x153;Whatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s your biggest dream in life?â&#x20AC;?

Out loud I answered politely and succinctly. In my head, I thought that it was three in the morning and my biggest dream was for him to shut up so I could go to sleep. Eventually I just stopped answering and he stopped asking and we both drifted off to sleep.

When I woke up the next morning he tried one more time to get me out of my dress, asking if I was planning to take a shower. (There were no towels and he knew the shower didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t work anyway.) I declined and thanked him for his kindness, then got straight in my car and left.

On my drive back to New York I made the necessary pit stops: returned the car to the Uber driver, picked up another car from Enterprise, made sure my bro-

ken down car was on itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s way by tow truck back to the shop near my house, etc.

I also made some unnecessary stops.

Even though there wasnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t much traffic anymore, I still opted to take the back roads when possible and I ended up in some beautiful places, including a place in Virginia called Naked Creek. And what else do you do when you find a place called Naked Creek besides get naked in the creek? And so I did.

People are definitely not supposed to be in the creek. This was made obvious to me because the only way I could get to it was by sneaking through someoneâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s backyard and get my arms and legs all scraped up on pricker bushes. The creek was also in full view of the road, so I spent most of my time there hiding behind a tree whenever it sounded like a car was coming.

Sixty-five hours after I left my house on Sunday morning, I returned home on Tuesday night. It was a whirlwind of an adventure, with so many lessons and so many experiences. Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m now addicted to total eclipses and plan to spend the rest of my life chasing them. The next one is in South America in July 2019! My bags are already itching to be packed.

October 2017

www.inflightusa.com

21

FAA Brings Mobile Air Traffic Control Tower to Key West

Continued from Page 14 Before the tower arrived, controllers were managing air traffic at the airport from a small tent.

As controllers started working the radios in the new mobile tower at Key West this morning, the FAA was making plans to pack up another mobile tower it airlifted to St. Thomas last week and temporarily relocate it to a safer mainland position in advance of Hurricane Maria.

The tower will remain on a military C-17 until the storm passes and will immediately head back to St. Thomas after the storm.

The FAA also has been supporting the Florida recovery effort by authorizing drone operations around the state to aid rapid damage assessment. To date, the FAA has authorized 173 drone operations for the area damaged by Hurricane Irma, and 121 of those are still in effect. The primary authorized drone operations are supporting power and insurance companies.

Government agencies with an FAA Certificate of Authorization (COA) and private sector Part 107 drone operators who want to fly to support of response and recovery operations are strongly encouraged to coordinate their activities with the local incident commander responsible for the area in which they want to operate.

If UAS operators need to fly in controlled airspace or a disaster TFR to support the response and recovery, operators must contact the FAA’s System Operations Support Center (SOSC) by emailing 9-ATOR-HQ-SOSC@faa.gov to determine the information they need to provide in order to secure authorization to access the airspace. Coordination with the SOSC may also include a requirement that the UAS operator obtain support from the appropriate incident com-

mander. The FAA may require information about the operator, the UAS type, a PDF copy of a current FAA COA, the pilot’s Part 107 certificate number, details about the proposed flight (date, time, location, altitude, direction and distance to the nearest airport, and latitude/longitude), nature of the event (fire, law enforcement, local/national disaster,

missing person) and the pilot’s qualification information.

The FAA warns unauthorized drone operators that they may be subject to significant fines if they interfere with emergency response operations. Many aircraft that are conducting life-saving missions and other critical response and recovery efforts are likely to be flying at low alti-

tudes over areas affected by the storm.

Flying a drone without authorization in or near the disaster area may unintentionally disrupt rescue operations and violate federal, state, or local laws and ordinances, even if a Temporary Flight Restriction (TFR) is not in place. Allow first responders to save lives and property without interference.

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Continued from Page 20

than 350 flights and delivered 250,000plus pounds of cargo to the Houston area.

In addition to airlifting water and nonperishable food items to the Texas coast, Operation Airdrop has also relocated victims at the request of the Salvation Army.

EAA Chapter 670 in Fort Worth, Texas, has had many of its members assist with Operation Airdrop.

The Commemorative Air Force used its Douglas C-47 Skytrain Bluebonnet Belle and B-25 Devil Dog to airlift countless supplies to the Houston area as well.

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22

GOLDFEIN DELIVERS AIR FORCE UPDATE

In Flight USA Celebrating 34 Years

October 2017

By Staff Sgt. Megan Friedl Defense Media Activity

®

Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. David L. Goldfein provided an update to his three focus areas during his remarks at the Air Force Association Air, Space and Cyber Conference in National Harbor, Sept. 19, 2017.

Goldfein announced three focus areas – revitalizing squadrons, strengthening joint leaders and teams, and advancing multi-domain command and control – during last year’s conference.

“A year ago I came out on this stage and laid out for you three focus areas,” Goldfein said. “Big rocks, we call them, because they’re big and they’re heavy, and it’s going to take all of us lifting together to get them moved. By design, it should not be surprising to you that they fit perfectly and are nested under our five [Air Force] priorities.”

Three teams, led by a brigadier general and command chief master sergeant, reviewed each of these efforts over the course of nine months and reported back on what they learned, and the actions they’ve taken to date, setting the table for the important work ahead.

Air Force senior leaders agree the first priority is to restore readiness and drive innovation, which Goldfein said begins at the squadron, the heartbeat of the Air Force.

One overwhelming truth came out of the review done in the last nine months... barriers to success need to be removed, Goldfein said.

“How do we ensure we’re not doing additional duties that are taking up essential time and actually not adding to the readiness of the squadron,” Goldfein asked.

Air Force senior leaders are minimizing computer-based training and adding commander support staffs and civilians back into the squadrons to take on some of those roles. They are also reviewing all Air Force instructions and empowering commanders to maneuver and make decisions.

In turn, Goldfein encouraged wing commanders to let squadron commanders make these decisions.

Ultimately each of these changes is part of the work the Air Force is doing to push decision authority back to the lowest practical level.

Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. David L. Golden gives his Air Force Update during the Air Force Association Air, Space and Cyber Conference in National Harbor, Md., Sept. 19, 2017.

(U.S. Air Force/Wayne A. Clark)

With the Air Force being part of every mission, the joint team executes, strengthening joint leaders and teams is vital to mission success, Goldfein said.

As military leaders look at operational war plans, the common theme across all the possible military campaigns is air and space.

“As we strengthen how we build joint leaders and develop exceptional leaders for the future, it’s important that we acknowledge the inherently joint nature of air and space power,” Goldfein said. “We must train Airmen to bring air, space and cyber capabilities together with all the other elements of a strategic military campaign.”

This will enable Goldfein’s responsibility of organizing trained and equipped ready forces for a combatant commander as the Air Force plans to deploy Airmen in teams of three beginning this month.

Goldfein also highlighted the importance of seeking ways to connect capabilities rather than focusing on individual platforms in future warfare. This requires agile and resilient networks.

“We are transitioning from wars of attrition to wars of cognition,” Goldfein said. “It forces us to ask different questions of industry. Now we are starting the dialogue with… does it connect… and…can it share. We’re putting together a wargame that’s focused on these concepts.”

The three focus areas converge in a singular vision to create healthy squadrons, who excel in multi-domain warfare and ready to lead the joint force.

“It’s the secretary and my job to release the brilliance found throughout the Airmen in our Air Force,” said Goldfein.

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SECAF OUTLINES AIR FORCE PRIORITIES DURING SPEECH

In Flight USA Celebrating 34 Years

October 2017

By Tech. Sgt. Natalie Stanley

Secretary of the Air Force Public Affairs Office

Secretary of the Air Force Heather Wilson discussed the state of the Air Force during the Air Force Association’s Air, Space and Cyber Conference Sept. 18, 2017.

Wilson covered the Air Force’s five priorities, all driven by the needs of the nation.

“We have been doing too much, for too long, with too few and that has to change,” said Wilson. “We have to plan and prepare for the high-end fight.”

Wilson stressed the need to restore readiness, cost-effectively modernize, drive innovation, develop exceptional leaders and strengthen alliances.

“The stark reality is the United States Air Force is too small to do all that the nation expects of it,” said Wilson.

According to Wilson, the past 26 years of constant combat operations has come at a cost to the Air Force’s personnel and equipment. The demand for what Airmen bring to the fight will only increase, and it is vital to take steps to ensure the readiness of the force..

“The greatest risk we’re facing here at home…is the risk of not having a budget,” said Wilson. “We put forward a budget that begins to restore the readiness of the force, so that we can win any fight, any time.”

That would be at risk if a budget isn’t approved, she added.

Readiness begins with people and we must continue to grow the force to perform current and future missions she said.

“Americans need to understand, low readiness for a crisis doesn’t mean we won’t go…what it means is fewer will come back,” said Wilson.

The Air Force is working on the acquisitions process to get items from the factory to the flight line efficiently and expeditiously in order to win the conventional and unconventional fight.

“Adversaries are modernizing and innovating faster than we are,” said Wilson. “We have to be able to evolve faster, to respond faster than our potential adversaries.”

With an increase of modernization over the next 10 years in the form of

Secretary of the Air Force Heather Wilson discusses the state of the Air Force during the Air Force Association's Air and Space Conference at National Harbor, Md., Sept. 18, 2017.

(U.S. Air Force/ Andy Morataya)

bombers, fighters, tankers, satellites and helicopters, it is paramount to harness the power of innovators and entrepreneurs within the Air Force, across the country and throughout the world.

“Innovation is the hallmark of the United States Air Force,” said Wilson.

“From time to time it is important to refresh our science and technology strategy, to step back from the programs and problems of today and project 10 or 20 years into the future.”

Wilson announced the Air Force will conduct a 12-month Science and Technology review to update its research priorities and strategy.

Innovation not only happens in academic environments, but also out on the flight line where Airmen are doing the job everyday.

“The chief and I are trying to put in place processes that are going to push authorities down to the lowest appropriate level,” said Wilson. “We’ve started to simplify Air Force instructions and policies so that we stop telling Airmen how to do everything, and tell them what to do instead.”

The Air Force will continue to lead and support the joint force in defending the U.S. by developing innovative leaders who can thrive in joint teams and develop strong military partnerships.

According to Wilson, a service doesn’t win on its own, and the Air Force’s allies and partners are friendly centers of gravity.

“Air and space superiority is not America’s birthright,” said Wilson.

“We’ve earned it the hard way, and we are not going to give it up without a fight.”

Visit In Flight USA for the latest aviation news...

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October 2017

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RENO AIR RACES 2017 – UNLIMITED CLASS EPIC www.inflightusa.com

Story and Photos By Pete Shirk

he 54rd running of the Reno National Championship Air Races was held Sept. 14 through Sept.

17, 2017. And this year fans witnessed an epic battle between two top competitors.

The signature event and most prominent class has always been the Unlimiteds. There was an excellent turnout and variety of entrants this year.

In addition to P-51s and Sea Furies, the field included a P-40E Warhawk, an FG1D Corsair, a Spitfire Mk. IXc, a Yakolev 3M, an FM-2 Wildcat, and even a P-51A Mustang. They were raced in a Heat altogether. Excellent to see these machines flown hard, reflecting their inherent engineering. Unfortunately there was not a single F8F Bearcat so the Grumman faithful will have to wait another year for one to be revived.

The set up for this year could not have been much better. There were several top competitors from the past: Strega (Race 7), Voodoo (Race 5), and Dreadnaught (Race 8) to name a few.

Strega and Voodoo have been so dominant over the years that sometimes the racing was fairly predictable and unexciting. Not this year. Consider Jay Consalvi racing Strega for the first time.

Of course the airplane is remarkable and has proved that many times over the years since its first win in 1998. But so is Voodoo and young Stevo Hinton, who is remarkable not only for his young age (30) but also his record. Stevo had previously won Gold seven times that he has raced.

The stage was set for a very competitive race if the Gods of Things Mechanical would allow it, and they did.

Strega qualified at 484.7 mph, and Voodoo at 479.4. In the Gold race on Sunday both machines ran full races and delivered flat-out performances. The spectacle was thrilling to watch.

The grandstands offer an excellent overall view of the 8.085-mile Unlimited course, and observers and Media are distributed around the course, some on Pylon 1 at the east end of the course, Pylon 8 at the west, but also a few at Pylon 4 (back of the course). Pylon 4 is on a hill so tiny it can accommodate only a few people. The view is from a very different perspective than the grandstands where you can see much more of the race. From Pylon 4 the view of the course is limited due to topography, but what can be seen is extraordinary.

Strega vs. Voodoo was a struggle like few others I’ve seen at Reno, and I first went in 1966. There are probably several ways to look at it, but here is

2017 Unlimited Gold went to Strega with Jay Consalvi at the controls.

mine: The machines were very closely matched highly modified, carefully prepared Mustangs. The pilots were as different as could be in terms of experience and background. But they had one characteristic in common: A white-hot drive to compete.

So much has been written about Stevo Hinton that I hesitate to try to add to it. Son of a great pilot (Steve Hinton Sr.) who has competed and won at Reno, Steve Sr. has become the Pace pilot and Dean of Pilots, the replacement of Bob Hoover to the extent that is possible. Son Stevo has good genes, good training, good experience, is very talented, and has established a meteoric racing career having won Reno seven times. He has become legendary at a very young age.

He is an incredible civilian-trained pilot.

Enter Jay Consalvi to save us from the predictable eighth win by Stevo. Jay is a 2002 Naval Academy grad, former Navy fighter pilot having served two combat tours in Iraq in 2004/5 (F-14s) and again in 2007/8 (F-18 Super Hornets). He has raced at Reno once before, handling Race 86 Czech Mate in 2016. Jay’s climb up the

(Pete Shirk)

Unlimited Class

1st Place: Jay Consalvi Race 7 Strega 481.34 mph 2nd Place: Stevo Hinton Race 5 Voodoo 480.74 mph 3rd Place: Joel Swager Race 8 Dreadnought 419.76 mph

hierarchy at Reno is an interesting sidestory in itself. He started out hanging around doing routine ground crew chores – even though he was already highly qualified in high-performance fighters, both current military as well as Warbirds. It is a sign of Jay’s approach to things, that he studies a situation carefully, then prepares thoroughly …. then blows your sox off with a stellar performance. He is one of the keenest competitors at Reno, and there have been many.

Another hallmark of Jay’s approach is his reliance on team work. Pilots who launch off aircraft carriers are keenly aware that they’re not doing the job alone.

Same goes for successful air racers. Enter Continued on Page 27

25

26

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Letters to the Editor

Airport Days Present Great Opportunities

Dear Editor,

Airshows are well known and very popular . . . however Airport Days or open houses are even more important to our local communities.

They present the opportunity to show off and promote your local airport. It’s a chance for non-flyers to get up close and personal to the running of the airport and the airplanes based there.

Families can come with their children and feel like the airport is actually theirs. It also is great for recruiting new pilots and getting your local airport some pats on the back.

I encourage all of you to attend at least one and maybe more open houses. We had at least four in our local area during the month.

Happy Landings Over!

Larry Shapiro

FORMER YOUNG EAGLES EARN PILOT CERTIFICATES

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Michael Long, Jakob Brouillette, Edward Kolb, and Dawson Morgan – all former Young Eagles – passed their FAA checkrides late in August at the conclusion of the three-week EAA Sport Pilot Academy flight training course they attended on scholarship.

Michael was the first to earn his sport pilot certificate, passing his checkride on Aug. 29.

“It’s a feeling of accomplishment, since I’ve been trying to get this for a while,” he said.

Jakob followed Michael, securing his certificate on the afternoon of Aug. 30. He praised the design of Sport Pilot Academy, pointing out that the condensed educational format made it easier to learn and retain knowledge.

“This is absolutely the way to do it,” Jakob said. “To be one with EAA and to be surrounded by airplane people. To be able to get it down in a condensed format where you have airplanes ready to go, you have mechanics that will fix it if you run into a problem. The guys at the (EAA Kermit Weeks Flight Operations Center) have been great about making sure the airplanes have been flying the whole time. To have the instructors here with us, all of us living together for a couple weeks to be able to work on our pilot license together – there’s a component of camaraderie there that you wouldn’t find in normal flight training.”

Edward and Dawson finished up with successful checkrides Aug. 31.

“It was a great experience to have,”

Michael Long, Jakob Brouillette, Edward Kolb, and Dawson Morgan – all former Young Eagles – passed their FAA checkrides late in August.

(EAA Photo)

Dawson said of his three weeks in Oshkosh. “Especially with the fact that everything is here for you every day.

There’s no better way to learn than constantly hearing things over and over again. It didn’t get old because I have a passion for it. I think it was more efficient than if you were to go and do it on your own. I enjoyed my time here.”

Edward added, “It was great. I got everything I came here to get, so I think it was pretty good.”

All four Sport Pilot Academy graduates plan to fly actively, and Dawson specifically noted he wants to graduate from college with an aviation-related degree and pursue a career as a pilot.

Michael and Jakob are also pondering careers in the sky, while Edward hopes to get a job as an aircraft maintenance technician and fly as a hobby.

THE BREITLING DC-3 WRAPS UP ITS WORLD TOUR

October 2017

www.inflightusa.com

Having departed from Geneva last March, the Breitling DC-3 made its grand return to Switzerland after circling the globe, landing in Sion where 100,000 passionate enthusiasts were set to attend the Breitling Sion Airshow 2017: A new feat for this legendary plane still in perfectly flight-worthy condition and which is celebrating its 77thbirthday this year.

To share its passion for aviation with a broad audience around the planet, Breitling launched its DC-3 on a world tour in stages that notably included the Balkans, the Middle East, India, South East Asia, the Pacific and North America.

This â&#x20AC;&#x153;Breitling DC-3 World Tourâ&#x20AC;? came to a fitting conclusion in Sion, where the propeller-driven twin engine plane arrived escorted by the Frecce Tricolori, the elite Italian Air Force squadron.

A press conference enabled the aircraft captain Francisco Agullo to present the key challenges and stages of this journey spanning 45,374 km (24,500 nautical miles). Breitling has in fact chosen to donate two Swiss francs to UNICEF for each mile covered.

At the Breitling Sion Airshow 2017, the Breitling DC-3 shared star billing with other formations and ambassadors

27

of the brand, such as the Breitling Jet Team, the Breitling Wingwalkers and the flying man Franky Zapata on his FlyboardÂŽAir.

A Wristworn Legend for a Flying Legend

The crew and certain privileged passengers were not the only ones to have flown aboard this veteran of the conquest of the skies. To mark the event, Breitling had also created a limited edition of its famous Navitimer aviation chronograph, the cult watch among pilots and aeronautical enthusiasts since 1952, and decided to have it travel around the world in the Breitling DC-3, thus ensuring it is truly part of this adventure and that it shares every stopover, as well as the finest airborne moments. The 500 Navitimer â&#x20AC;&#x153;Breitling DC-World Tourâ&#x20AC;? chronographs will be delivered to their lucky owners with a logbook signed by the captain notably listing all the takeoff and landing times, flight times, the names of the pilots as well as the weather conditions of each stage: A graphic means of reliving step by step the entire odyssey of both the plane and the watch.

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2017 CALIFORNIA CAPITAL AIRSHOW CONNECTS VISITORS REGIONAL AVIATION HISTORY AND CURRENT EVENTS In Flight USA Celebrating 34 Years

The 12th annual California Capital Airshow (CCA), presented by Sacramento County in partnership with the City of Rancho Cordova, thrilled crowds on Sept.

9 and 10 at Mather Airport with the heartstopping roar of U.S. Navy F/A-18 Super Hornet and battle-worn U.S. Air Force A10 Thunderbolt II jets above and some of the most rare and vintage planes displayed on the ground.

“We were pleased to see so many families and young people at the 2017 California Capital Airshow to experience the innovation and power of aviation through military jet demonstrations and interactive displays,” said CCA Executive Director Darcy Brewer.

“Attendees learned how aircraft were involved in historic events of the past and how they are depended upon in critical events unfolding today.”

For the first time, CCA was host to the prestigious 2017 National Aviation Heritage Invitational, a competition that reviews rare and beautifully restored vintage planes against rigorous criteria developed by the Smithsonian Institution's National Air and Space Museum. Awards are given for authenticity, quality of workmanship, attention to detail and technical merit. On Sunday, the Grand Champion Neil A. Armstrong National Aviation Heritage Trophy was awarded to the 1954 Grumman F111 Albatross, owned by Joe Duke of Ponte Vedra, Florida. Airshow attendees designated the 1944 Douglas DC-3 Historic Flight Foundation as the National Aviation Hall of Fame ‘People’s Choice’:

Air and Space Smithsonian recipient.

Also new in 2017, loyal fans and first-time spectators received a special surprise when the massive Boeing E-4B made its first-ever airshow fly-by demo.

Often referred to as the Doomsday Plane, this is one of only four Advanced Airborne Command Posts specially modified to serve as a survivable mobile command post for the National Command

Authority.

The California Air National Guard and other branches of military brought pilots and planes straight from rescue missions in Houston, Texas, and in route to areas anticipated to be impacted by Hurricane Irma, Hurricane Jose, and other natural disasters and threats.

National Guard highlights included an aerial demonstration of the F-15C Eagle

The National Aviation Hall of Fame Names Velvet Thomas as 2017 A. Scott Crossfield Aerospace Educator of Year The Board of Trustees of the National Aviation Hall of Fame (NAHF) announced last month that its 2017 A. Scott Crossfield Aerospace Educator of Year award will be presented to Velvet Thomas during the 55th Annual Enshrinement Dinner and Ceremony in Fort Worth, Texas on Oct. 28, 2017.

The Crossfield Award, founded in 1986 by NAHF enshrinee, engineer, and test pilot A. Scott Crossfield (19212006), is a juried annual competition to recognize one K-12 teacher for his or her

exemplary use of aerospace in their classroom curricula. Velvet Thomas, this year’s award recipient, currently teaches third grade at Golden Poppy Elementary School and is celebrated for her hands-on approach to aviation education.

Thomas’ non-traditional lessons have included taking students to watch the space shuttle re-enter the atmosphere and visit the Sage Planetarium. Thomas has also held take-off and landing simulations in class and even taught students the pilot’s alphabet.

“While most teachers say ‘no’ to paper airplanes in the classroom,” said Thomas’ colleague, Jeff Greenberg, “her

lessons have included making a paper hyper-jet to teach about jets and creating WWII paper airplanes to teach the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor.”

Thomas’ lessons don’t end in (or outside) the classroom. Her students regularly hear from guest speakers representing leading American aerospace organizations, including Northrop, Lockheed, and NASA. Thomas embodies the Crossfield Award and has inspired generations of students to dream about aviation as a career.

The National Aviation Hall of Fame, a not-for-profit organization, is the only congressionally-chartered aviation hall of

WITH

October 2017

fighter jet, MAFFS-equipped C-130 Super Hercules and an on-ground MQ-9 Reaper display showcasing the 66-foot unmanned piloted aircraft.

“There’s no better way to learn how our military and regional public safety organizations save lives during response and recovery efforts than to talk with the pilots and crew directly,” Brewer said.

“It’s especially gratifying to see how the commitment and bravery of these men and women inspire the youth who attend our airshow every year.”

The Saturday and Sunday shows were headlined by the Patriots Jet Team, which features former U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds, U.S. Navy Blue Angels, and Royal Canadian Air Force Snowbirds pilots. Highly celebrated and talented pilots Steve Hinton, Bill Stein and Kent Pietsch also wowed the crowds with aerobatics and iconic planes of the past.

CCA proceeds fund charitable group donations and educational youth programming throughout the year, as well as scholarships awarded to students across the Sacramento region who are interested in pursuing education and careers in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM), and aviation and aerospace.

Special thanks go to Sacramento County, the City of Rancho Cordova, Sacramento Jet Center, Elliot Homes, Lasher Auto Group, Dr. Pepper Snapple Group, Aerojet Rocketdyne, Budweiser, FOX 40, iHeart Media, Atlas Disposal, Teichert, and Raley’s.

For more information, visit CaliforniaCapitalAirshow.com.

THE NATIONAL AVIATION HALL OF FAME NAMES VELVET THOMAS 2017 A. SCOTT CROSSFIELD AEROSPACE EDUCATOR OF YEAR

AS

fame in the U.S. The NAHF honors the people: The industry leaders, pilots, aviators, engineers, scientists, astronauts and inventors who have made American aerospace what it is today.

The 55th Annual NAHF Enshrinement Dinner & Ceremony is open to the public by advance registration only. Sponsorship opportunities and individual seats are still available, but a capacity crowd is expected. To make reservations or for more information, visit www.nationalaviation.org or call 937/256-0944 ext.19.

October 2017

www.inflightusa.com

29

Flying With Faber

I

CHICAGO: CHERISHED MEMORIES & NEW ADVENTURES

t was called the Chicago North Shore & Milwaukee Railroad. The short name was the North Shore Line. Every few hours, a train departed from Milwaukee to Chicago. It clickity-clacked south from Milwaukee toward Racine and Kenosha, then through Zion Ill., Waukegan Great Lakes Naval Station, Highland Park, Evanston, Lake Bluff, North Chicago and into the city. On arrival, the train twisted its way through the Loop (Chicago’s downtown), along the elevated tracks (called The L). There were other stops, the names of which I can’t recall. But I can still hear the conductor announcing each stop with a raucous, song-like cry, such as, “Waal-key-gun, Skooo-key, Kee-nosh-a, Raaaay-cine!”

two-lane highways dotted with numerous villages. We would depart Racine along Highway 32, head south past Kenosha after which we would cross the state line where roadstands popped up selling margarine-a product embargoed in Wisconsin, America’s Dairyland.

After about an hour along Sheridan Road, the highway widened, the traffic increased and the buildings grew taller.

Sheridan Road merged into Lake Shore Drive – an expansive boulevard with Lake Michigan to the east and majestic, mid-century buildings to the west. Within moments, a huge, bright red neon sign appeared: DRAKE HOTEL. To this day, that iconic sign is the town crier to travelers: “You are approaching the Magnificent Mile!”

A North Shore Railroad Car.

The Electroliner-a later version.

This inter-urban line hummed along from 1916 until the early 1960s when oil executives decided that the U.S. rail system was cannibalizing the gasoline industry. However, the Chicago L continues to operate more than 100 miles of tracks from the Loop to points north and south.

From the late 1930s through the mid-1950s, our family took countless trips from Racine, Wisc. to Chicago. The train was not our only means of transportation. We used airplanes, automobiles, and one time, friends and I skippered a sailboat along Lake Michigan’s waterfront. Before the advent of the Interstate system, the driving routes were

An aerial view of the Magnificent Mile.

(Courtesy City of Chicago)

The “Mag” Mile is a strip of Michigan Avenue that originates near the Drake Hotel and runs south to the Chicago River. Along its route are the Wrigley Building, The Water Tower, Tribune Tower, the Ritz-Carlton, the Four Seasons, and the 100-story John Hancock Center.

Throughout the day and night, the neighborhood bustles with locals and tourists.

To me, The Drake was, and still is, the gateway to the Magnificent Mile. This street, about one mile long, holds bundles of memories for our family. Before WWII, as little kids, my sister and I would accompany our parents on sojourns to Chicago.

Chicago Skyline (Copyright City of Chicago) Often we would stay at the Drake, dine at the Cape Cod Room (it’s still there), or the Pump Room in the Ambassador East Hotel. These places were too fancy for me.

I always begged to go to the Ontra Cafeteria, a 1200-seat restaurant built in 1919. Right after the war, as a teenager, my buddies and I would gather the 60-cent fare and mount the North Shore Line for a day in Chicago.

During the 1980s, my wife, Cheryl, and I took our parents back to Chicago.

Her father and my mother were born there. My dad attended medical school at Rush Medical College. We would visit the old haunts, often stay at the Drake, or stop in at the Cape Cod or the Pump Room. One cold Christmas Eve, The Drake chefs assembled a buffet of turkey, ham, roast beef, and all the trimmings.

These offerings seemed to flow from one end of the huge ballroom to the other – a memorable feast.

I recall joining my daughter, Dorothy, her hubby, Walter, and their two kids, David and Kimberly in Chicago.

Kimberly, raised in Wichita, always fancied herself as a big city girl. As we crossed the Michigan Avenue Bridge and strolled along the Magnificent Mile, she blurted out at the top of her teenage voice, “This is me! This is me!” She proclaimed herself as a big city girl. Now, flourishing in Dallas as a hot-shot marketing and PR entrepreneur, she has lived up to her proclamation.

As a new pilot in the 1950s, the legendary Meigs Field in downtown Chicago was my dream destination. Since I learned to fly off a towerless grass strip in rural Wisconsin, I was uneasy about flying into the big city. My radio skills and experience landing on hard surface runways at busy airports were limited.

One day, shortly after obtaining my private license, I hopped into a Cessna

Stuart J. Faber and Aunt Bea 150 and took off from Horlick field in Racine and turned south. The distance between Racine and Miegs was only about 40 NM, so on this super-clear day, the field came into view sooner than I had anticipated. Within minutes, I was approaching what was then the TRSA; today, Class B Airspace. I called Chicago Approach and announced my VFR intentions. Controllers vectored me to a straight-in to Meigs-a path parallel to the shoreline perhaps a half-mile east of where the Hancock Tower now stands.

My hand shook as I clutched the wheel.

My legs were trembling so much that I could barely operate the rudders. Handed off to the tower, I heard, “Cleared to land.” As the tires emitted that reassuring squeak on the concrete, an aviation dream became a reality.

While attending University of Wisconsin in Madison, friends and I occasionally piled into a Piper Tri-pacer, flew to Meigs, grabbed a taxi to Governor’s, an historic steak house in the meat packing district-gobbled down huge slabs of beef and returned back to the books.

Late one Sunday night, March 30, 2003, Mayor Richard M. Daley ordered crews to bulldoze the runway and close the field. Many aircraft were stranded.

The general aviation community-and Inever forgave him. During my recent visit, I took a boat ride and glanced at the fallow vestiges of the field-an extremely sad moment.

Back to Racine

My son, Brad, who also lives in California, is no stranger to Kewpee’s and Danish kringle. As a kid, he often accompanied me on trips to Wisconsin.

So when he heard that I was headed to Chicago with a side trip to Racine, he eagerly came aboard. We arrived in Chicago and headed to the car rental agency. Our mission was to drive north along the old Sheridan Road route to Racine, gobble down a few Kewpee burgers, pick up several kringles, visit Continued on Page 30

30

In Flight USA Celebrating 34 Years

October 2017

Flying With Faber Continued from Page 29 some of my childhood haunts and return to the big city by sunset.

What is a kringle? Flat, around 12inches in diameter, with a huge hole in the middle, it’s a light, flakey, melt-inyour-mouth Danish pastry. I’ve tried kringle in Solvang, California and Copenhagen, Denmark. Just as no pizza equals one from a Naples, Italy pizzeria, a Racine kringle has no equal.

We could have hopped on the I-94 and whizzed to Racine in about an hour.

We chose the spectacular scenic lakefront route-three hours of giddiness, reminiscences and just pure joy. Some of the landmarks we passed along Sheridan Road were the historic Edgewater Beach Hotel site, (replaced by condos), Loyola University, Northwestern University, Ft. Sheridan and Great Lakes Naval Station.

We weaved through North Chicago, Highland Park, Evanston, Glencoe, Skokie, Waukegan, Kenosha and Racine.

We drove by gorgeous lakefront homes, charming villages and dense forests. As we passed through towns which once were stops for the North Shore RR, I would mimic the old conductor as I cried out: “Hyy-land Park, Evvv-on-sten, Skoo-kie, Waal-key-gun, Kee-nosha-a, Raaay-cine!”

Kewpee’s Hamburgers, Racine.

(Brad Faber)

Pecan Kringle

(O & H Bakery)

After a memorable ride, we arrived in Racine and headed directly to Kewpee’s. The restaurant has hardly changed since I hosted my sixth birthday

party there in 1939. My all-time-favorite burgers taste the same-even better. The 10-cent burgers are now about $1.50.

Brad and I each consumed three cheeseburgers, an order of fries and a few homemade root beers. The check for this repast came to about $12.

In search of Racine’s best kringle, we selected three bakeries. To make a long story short, O&H Bakery makes the best by far. By the way, kringle can be ordered online – but never as good as when they come right out of the oven.

Rooftop Excitement (Kailley Lindman)

The Cozy Rooftop

The Godfrey (Courtesy Godfrey Hotel)

Godfrey Hotel, 127 W. Huron St., Chicago, Il. , 312/649-2000, www.god freyhotelchicago.com I love to keep one foot in history and the other in the contemporary world.

Folks tell me that I’m in denial about growing old. Darn right. I agree with them. My denial has served me well.

After eight decades, I’m still flying airplanes, fighting battles in court, and hanging out in exciting, contemporary places. I’m not denying who or what I am. I just refuse to condemn progress, retreat from modern technology, or yell at frolicking kids to get off my lawn.

I revere the Drake. But now, the Godfrey Hotel is one of my new Chicago headquarters. I love the streamlined splendor of the place. I enjoy mingling with, and watching folks from all ages, ethnicities and with varied political persuasions. So long as the discourse is peaceful and intelligent, I welcome a debate with any person whose views differ from mine.

The Godfrey and the surrounding neighborhood are a microcosm of the new Chicago. We hiked around for hours. I struck up dialogues with kids I never met before. Each of us walked away from the conversations enriched and enlightened.

Many years ago, urban hotels were local and tourists hangouts – not just places to sleep. For decades, the hangout craze was in hibernation. Now, it has returned. I|O Godfrey, located on the

(Kailley Lindman)

fourth floor of The Godfrey Hotel Chicago, presents the largest indoor-outdoor purlieus in Chicago. I|O Godfrey’s retractable roof, opens to year-round, dramatic south-facing, unobstructed skyline views. The dining and lounge space seats 750 guests in total – 500 indoor and 250 outdoor. The venue transitions from a premier destination for corporate daytime meetings and after-work happy hours to late-night lounging with a menu of refreshingly simple Midwest favorites, a selection of hand-crafted sushi, and chefinspired drinks.

Stodgy hotel cuisine is nowhere to be found at this rooftop. The lamb lollichops, crusted with bourbon-smoked paprika and orange are juicy and succulent. The burger is topped with burntonion marmalade, cheddar and garlic aioli with greens on a sesame bun-plus a bucket of fries. Hundreds of specially created cocktails are served, from a chef’s moijito, a rainbow sangria to a chef’s margarita.

The frenetic Godfrey rocks until the wee hours of the morning. Afterwards, I suggest the 24-hour fitness center or the Spa Boutique.

Streamlined Bedroom (The Godfrey Hotel) You won’t spot any traditional orange, gold, and blue carpets at this hotel. Everything is ultra-modern, but without sacrificing comfort. The 221 luxurious accommodations include 182 spacious guestrooms and 27 one-bedroom

suites – all with a stylized design incorporating built-in furnishings with subtle tones of white and mauve, blended with clever touches of fuchsia and dark purples. Additional room amenities include 46-inch HD LED televisions, complimentary Wi-Fi, plush bathrobes, L’Occitane bath products large work station, wet bar, refrigerator, iHome docking station, and more.

You can plan a pilot get-together, a wedding or just about any kind of an intimate pow-wow at the Godfrey. The two meeting rooms have floor-to-ceiling windows, high-tech sound systems and LED HD displays for video presentations and great catering.

Dolce Italian, an extraordinary, Fellini-styled eatery that happens to be housed in a hotel, is not your typical hotel restaurant. The freshest local ingredients are fashioned into handcrafted pastas, superb seafood risotto, meatballs over creamy polenta and authentic Neapolitan pizzas.

The Spa Boutique, on the fifth floor has private treatment rooms with massage and facial treatments for singles and couples.

The Spiffy Lobby

(Kailley Lindman)

The sleek, white marble lobby exudes both warmth and energy. The striking exterior adds a new dimension to the Chicago skyline. The designers created a Cubist form that zig-zags inward and outward to reveal the building’s expressive structural frame.

During our last night, we touched history. We took in a revival of Eugene O’Neill’s, “Ah Wilderness” at the 1922built Goodman Theater. We topped off the evening with dinner at the Signature Room on the 95th floor of the John Hancock Center. From the huge windows, (about the same level as the bygone Meigs final approach), I took one last glimpse of the moribund Meigs Field.

As we roamed the boulevards, some of the great parks and beaches, I gazed at the young crowd. I’m sure they gazed back and wondered, “Who is that old guy staring at us?” That old guy is a pilot who loves to fly jets, but who would walk a mile for a ride in a J-3 Cub.

October 2017

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GAMA MARKS MORE THAN 40,000 AIRCRAFT EQUIPPED WITH ADS-B In Flight USA Celebrating 34 Years

The General Aviation Manufacturers Association (GAMA) on Sept. 18 welcomed the news that as of Sept. 1, rulecompliant Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B) equipment is now on board more than 40,000 aircraft flying in the United States.

Air traffic control system modernization activities are accelerating worldwide.

It is vital that aircraft owners begin to make informed decisions about how to comply with emerging and existing regulatory mandates by selecting the right

equipment for their aircraft’s typical mission. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has estimated that 100,000 to 160,000 general aviation aircraft will need to be equipped with ADS-B Out before the Jan. 1, 2020, mandate.

“We’re now just over two years out from the FAA compliance deadline,” said GAMA President and CEO Pete Bunce.

“As we move forward, knowing that date will not change, it is essential that those operators who haven’t yet, make a plan for equipage to avoid having their aircraft

grounded and losing its residual value.”

Since the FAA announced the mandate, general aviation manufacturers have worked hard to design, develop, certify and make available ADS-B products that enhance safety for operators at a reasonable cost. Some solutions for light general aviation aircraft are available for a range from $1,200 to $4,000, each providing significant safety benefits when presented on an ADS-B IN capable display. The FAA is also offering a $500 rebate to offset an owner’s cost on an eli-

Over the next several weeks, engineers from Jacobs Technology Inc. and NASA will conduct aerodynamic tests on a 15-percent scale model of the Quiet Supersonic Technology (QueSST) Preliminary Design Model inside the 14by-22-foot Subsonic tunnel at NASA Langley Research Center. The data collected from the wind tunnel test will be used to predict how the vehicle will perform and fly in low-speed flight.

The QueSST Preliminary Design is the initial design stage of NASA’s planned Low-Boom Flight Demonstration experimental airplane, otherwise known as an X-plane. This future Xplane is one of a series of X-planes envisioned in NASA’s New Aviation Horizons initiative, which aims to reduce fuel use, emissions and noise through innovations in aircraft design that depart from the conventional tube-and-wing aircraft shape.

NASA achieved a significant milestone during the summer in its effort to make supersonic passenger jet travel over land a real possibility by completing the

preliminary design review (PDR) of its Quiet Supersonic Transport or QueSST aircraft design.

Senior experts and engineers from across the agency and the Lockheed Martin Corporation concluded that the QueSST design is capable of fulfilling the Low Boom Flight Demonstration (LBFD) aircraft’s mission objectives, which are to fly at supersonic speeds, but create a soft “thump” instead of the disruptive sonic boom associated with supersonic flight today. The LBFD Xplane will be flown over communities to collect data necessary for regulators to enable supersonic flight over land in the United States and elsewhere in the world.

NASA partnered with lead contractor, Lockheed Martin, in Feb. 2016 for the QueSST preliminary design. Last month, a scale model of the QueSST design completed testing in the eight-by six-foot supersonic wind tunnel at NASA’s Glenn Research Center in Cleveland.

“Managing a project like this is all about moving from one milestone to the next,” said David Richwine, manager for

the preliminary design effort under NASA’s Commercial Supersonic Technology Project. “Our strong partnership with Lockheed Martin helped get us to this point. We’re now one step closer to building an actual X-plane.”

After the success of completing the PDR, NASA’s project team can start the process of soliciting proposals later this year and awarding a contract early next year to build the piloted, single-engine Xplane. The acquisition for the LBFD Xplane contract will be fully open and competitive, with the QueSST preliminary design data being made available to qualified bidders. Flight testing of an LBFD Xplane could begin as early as 2021.

Over the next few months, NASA will work with Lockheed on finalizing the QueSST preliminary design effort.

This includes a static inlet performance test and a low-speed wind tunnel test at NASA’s Langley Research Center in Hampton, Va. For more information about QueSST and LBFD, visit: https://go.nasa.gov/ 2tdiNif. For more information about

Well-known safety advocate Bruce Landsberg is set to be nominated by President Donald Trump to serve as a member of the National Transportation Safety Board. Following Senate confirmation, Landsberg will serve a five-year term and would be designated vice chairman for two years.

Landsberg has had a long and distinguished career in aviation safety. He

served as an officer in the U.S. Air Force, and subsequently worked in safety-related positions with Cessna Aircraft Co., FlightSafety International, and AOPA’s Air Safety Institute.

The announcement of Landsberg’s nomination follows last month’s appointment of Robert Sumwalt to chair the NTSB. “Bruce’s extensive knowledge and expertise in the safety arena are well-suit-

ed for this important position and I applaud President Trump for selecting him to serve on the board,” said AOPA President and CEO Mark Baker.

October 2017

gible aircraft until midnight tonight.

“By choosing to equip now, operators are investing in their safety and ensuring they meet the 2020 deadline before installation lines grow long,” added Bunce. “We are very pleased with the continuous growth in equipage, and manufacturers will continue working with the FAA and operators to facilitate equipage as the deadline approaches.”

For more information about equipping your aircraft with ADS-B, visit the GAMA website at gama.aero.

X-PLANE PRELIMINARY DESIGN MODEL TESTS QUIET SUPERSONIC TECHNOLOGY

Samantha O’Flaherty, Test Engineer for Jacobs Technology Inc., finalizes the setup of the Quiet Supersonic Technology (QueSST) Preliminary Design Model inside the 14- by- 22 Foot Subsonic Tunnel at NASA Langley Research Center.

(INASA/Chris Giersch) NASA’s aeronautics work, www.nasa.gov/aeronautics

WHITE HOUSE INTENDS TO NOMINATE LONGTIME SAFETY EXPERT FOR NTSB SEAT Safety advocate Bruce Landsberg is set to be nominated to serve as a member of the National Transportation Safety Board.

(Christopher Rose/Courtesy AOPA)

visit:

October 2017

www.inflightusa.com

THANK FOR

YOU,

BEING

THE

33

UNITED AIRLINES, BAY AREA HOST

OF

GIRLS IN AVIATION DAY 2017

E

By Ana Urbe Ruiz and Denise Donegan

mpowering women in many different areas of the aviation industry is key for the future of the industry.

Under the leadership of Marilyn Adkins, Sr. Production Controller Technical Operations, and Kim Pritchard, Sr. Mgr. Technical Talent Acquisition Tech. Operations, Girls in Aviation Day, Saturday, Sept. 23, 2017 was a real success. Women In Aviation International - San Francisco Bay Area Chapter, with Co-President Ana Urbe Ruiz, joined them on Saturday to celebrate the day.

Girls had the opportunity to listen to the needs of the industry on the mechanical side, as well as on the operation’s and the pilot’s sides. They had the chance to ask questions on how and why the professional women took the path of becoming mechanics and pilots, which are the most recognized places that young people relate aviation with. They did not realize the world of aviation includes the people on the ramp, the baggage handlers, the operations that prepares the flight plans for the planes, the person who looks at the weather, the amount of fuel that is required to have on board, and

being able to see that this world has many faces and places where they can excel and grow in a career.

When talking to one of the women captains, and asking her when she realize she wanted to be a pilot, they heard this: “I was 14 when on the top of the stairs at home I saw outside… look up to the ski… and knew that was where I wanted to be…” We all have different stories of why we want to be part of the industry.

Kim mentioned that she loved pulling things apart, starting with her dirt bike, and then she was at the maintenance side of United fixing engines on Boeing 737s.

Empowering women to be what they can be is key. This day was about showing them the ropes, tapping into their curiosity and giving them a view of what their future can look like if they set their minds to it. It is also necessary to understand that sometimes we can add to the knowledge we acquire and in the middle of the career path, when for some reason or another, things change, and that is okay too. Find your passion and run with it… look around, ask questions, be involved, look for a mentor, and some guidance. The sky is not the limit.

Welcome to the aviation world!

Let your intuition be your guide as you reach for new heights!

34

In Flight USA Celebrating 34 Years

An Award Winning Family Film Written and directed by Bo Brinkman Produced by Linda Pandolph Starring: James MacKrell, Kate French, Barry Corbin, Morgan Sheppard and Richard Riehle Bring the Last Man Club DVD home for the holidays

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October 2017

October 2017

AOPA’S FLY-IN TO NORMAN SETS NEW FLY-IN RECORD

By Mike Collins

Technical Editor, AOPA Near-perfect weather conditions helped to draw just over 500 aircraft, and more than 7,500 people, to the University of Oklahoma Westheimer Airport in Norman on Saturday, Sept. 9, for the second of AOPA’s four 2017 regional flyins. The airport held its eleventh annual Aviation Festival on Saturday morning, in conjunction with the fly-in. The Norman event sets a new record for the highest attendance of any AOPA Fly-In, although the Bremerton, Wash., Fly-In in Aug. 2016 still holds the record for the most aircraft.

But like all of AOPA’s 2017 Fly-Ins, the Norman event actually began on Friday with a series of all-day workshops.

One of the workshops, Understanding Aviation Weather, leveraged Norman’s proximity to the National Weather Center, located on the south side of the University of Oklahoma’s sprawling campus in Norman. “I never thought about the weather until I became a pilot,” said Elizabeth Kummer of Dallas, a pilot for nine years who flies a Piper Archer. She said she enjoyed the variety of topics. “It’s interesting to see how they develop the [different weather] products.”

“They emphasized that it’s more difficult to predict the weather than everybody thinks,” added Dave James of Kansas City.

“There are multiple models. It’s not like there’s just one answer. You have to consolidate them – decide which is more accurate and which are more biased.”

And a cadre of volunteers stayed busy Friday, parking aircraft and cars, and completing myriad other tasks required for the event to succeed. “I’m a rusty pilot. I figured this would be a good way to get back into it,” said Mike Klatt of Norman, who learned to fly as a University of Oklahoma student. Klatt, who said he hasn’t flown in 10 years, signed up for a Rusty Pilot seminar dur-

www.inflightusa.com

35

More than 7,500 Attend Oklahoma Event

ing the fly-in.

Nearby, Mike Derrick of Spencer, Oklahoma, also was marshalling arriving aircraft. He volunteered three days of his time to the event. “It’s the first opportunity I’ve had to do something like this,” he explained. “As much as AOPA has answered my questions over the years, I most assuredly had to volunteer and do whatever I could.” A former U.S. Air Force crew chief, flight engineer, and airline pilot, he mostly flies a Grumman AA-5 Traveler today.

Later in the afternoon, Jim Wick of Cañon City, Colo., was pitching a tent under the wing of a Piper Tri-Pacer with a little help from his son, Xander, age three and a half. They had flown about four and a half hours to reach Norman. Wick looked forward to camping with his son.

“It’s something we just don’t get to do very often,” he said.

They soon were among the crowd streaming toward the Main Stage for the Barnstormers Party, presented by Jeppesen. Country musician John Wayne Schulz regaled his audience with a combination of original tunes and classic covers. A pilot as well as an active flight instructor, Schulz is also a cowboy and a horse trainer who sees some striking similarities between training pilots and training horses. Later in the evening, his rendition of John Denver’s “Take Me Home, Country Roads” became a sing-along.

Saturday morning’s pancake breakfast began with AOPA President Mark Baker introducing Doug Jackson of Operation Airdrop, a nascent organization recently formed to facilitate general aviation transportation of urgently needed supplies to hurricane-ravaged areas of Texas.

“We’ve had over 500 flights so far. The response has been overwhelming,” Jackson said. More than 150 aircraft–some from as far away as Virginia, Minnesota, and Mexico–have delivered 250,000 pounds of supplies. Airplanes have ranged from Piper Comanches to a Douglas DC-

3. Twenty to 30 flights were anticipated Saturday, he added.

Everything surrounding the effort has been coordinated through social media, Jackson explained. “We’ve had the speed of social media combined with the speed of aviation,” he said. “This might possibly be the largest general aviation response to a national disaster, and it happened with a grassroots effort.”

Asked why trucks weren’t used, he said, “We didn’t have trucks–we have airplanes. And some of the roads were blocked.” The group expects to be working in Florida in a matter of days, he added.

Tom Haines, AOPA senior vice president of media, communications, and outreach, announced that AOPA was collecting relief supplies in anticipation of Hurricane Irma, with plans to deliver them in Florida next week as soon as the storm passes.

During the day Saturday, guests could choose from a wide variety of seminars, static display aircraft, the exhibit hall, and the AOPA Village. The University of Oklahoma’s Sooner Air Academy – which runs aviation-themed summer camps in Norman for youth – offered special activities for young people all day. The university’s flight team was offering to clean windshields for $15 as a fundraiser, but early in the morning a flight team member said that business was slow.

At noon many eyes were on the skies for AOPA’s first short takeoff and landing demonstration, the Texas STOL Roundup flight demonstration, for which Phillips 66 Aviation was the presenting sponsor. The team behind the Texas STOL Roundup demonstrated both its unique Obstacle STOL event, using inflatable pylons to represent that 50-foot obstacle frequently referenced in pilot operating handbooks, and traditional or Valdez-style STOL competition procedures. A seminar on Saturday morning covered important aspects of STOL operations and backcountry flying techniques.

Each Fly-In will host a similar schedule over the two-day event:

Party Presented by Jeppesen Saturday Event: 8 a.m.-9 a.m.: Pancake Breakfast 9 a.m. - 1:45 p.m.: Free Seminars* 9 a.m. - 2 p.m.: Exhibit Hall and AOPA Village Open 9 a.m. - 3 p.m.: Aircraft Display Open 11 a.m. - 2 p.m.: Lunch Service Open 2 p.m. - 2:45 p.m.: Pilot Town Hall with AOPA President and CEO Mark Baker 2:45 p.m. – 3 p.m.: Ice Cream Social

Overview: Day breaks of the University of Oklahoma Westheimer Airport in Norman on Saturday, Sept. 9, welcoming AOPA’s 2017 Norman Fly-In. (Walt Strong/Courtesy AOPA)

Operation Airdrop talks about relief flights made by the new organization to hurricane-ravaged areas in Texas.

(Mike Collins/Courtesy AOPA) During the afternoon’s Pilot Town Hall with AOPA President Mark Baker, which concluded the Fly-In, Baker and senior AOPA leadership discussed GA safety, BasicMed, and AOPA’s You Can Fly initiatives. But the audience seemed especially interested in the status of H.R.2997, also known as the 21st Century AIRR Act, the legislation that seeks to privatize the U.S. air traffic control system.

“We have the best system in the world. I’m still trying to figure out where it’s broken,” Baker said. “It’s about control – and it’s about the money.”

Jim Coon, AOPA senior vice president of government affairs and advocacy, said that a vote on H.R.2997 scheduled for next week has been postponed. “They don’t have the votes yet, but there’s a lot of arm-twisting going on,” Coon said.

“This is probably going to be a full-on fight for the rest of the year. The current focus is in the House of Representatives, he said. “We want to stop it there.”

UPCOMING AOPA-FLY-INS PROMISE AUTUMN INFORMATION & EXCITEMENT

The 2017 AOPA Fly-In season continues at Groton - New London Airport (KGON), Oct. 6-7. And, the 2017 AOPA Fly-In season wraps up at Peter O. Knight Airport (KTPF), Oct. 27-28.

These events offer more ways to develop your skills while you hang out with other pilots. AOPA offers two days of workshops, seminars, exhibits, aircraft display, good food, and fun at each of the upcoming event locations.

Schedule

Friday Event: 9:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.

Hands-on Workshops (pre–registration & tuition fees apply) 4:00 p.m.-7:00 p.m.:Exhibit Hall, AOPA Village, and Aircraft Display Open 6:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.:Barnstormers

3 p.m.: AOPA Fly–In Ends *All seminars are free with the exception of Rusty Pilots, which is free to AOPA members and $69 for non-members.

For more information about either event, visit aopa.org and click through to Fly-Ins.

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38

In Flight USA Celebrating 34 Years

CONFESSION IS GOOD FOR THE SOUL

October 2017

Flying into Writing By Eric McCarthy

I

t was about a year ago that I had the opportunity to fly my squadron’s Cessna 182 to MCAS Miramar (KNKX) for their annual air show. (Can’t you just hear the show announcer: “Ladies and gentlemen, from the left, the mighty Civil Air Patrol Cessna 182 Skylane…still from the left… approaching show center…). Alas, we don’t actually fly in the airshow, but provide our aircraft as a static display.

In addition to Search & Rescue, Disaster Relief and other “missionbased” activities, one of the things we do in Civil Air Patrol is display our aircraft to the public at various events. This can be a lot of fun, and presents a great recruiting opportunity, as many of the people we see at these events, both young and old, have never been up close to an airplane. We put them right in the pilot’s seat, answer any questions they might have, and take pictures of the kids – usually with huge grins on their faces!

Not many people get to fly into an active military base, especially the airfield made famous in the movie Top Gun! Fightertown U.S.A. as it was known when it hosted the Navy’s elite fighter weapons school, is located just a few miles north of downtown San Diego and a couple of miles from the beach.

Currently home of the 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing with F/A-18 Hornet and KC-130 Hercules squadrons as well as MV-22 Osprey tiltrotors and CH-53E Super Stallion helicopters based there, Miramar has a long and distinguished history. My mission was to fly our aircraft from our base at Fallbrook Air Park (L18) 30 miles south to Miramar, a 20minute flight – simple right?

Well, it wouldn’t be much of a story if there weren’t some additional complexities – and there were! Needless to say, we weren’t the only ones flying into Miramar for the show; lots of other static display aircraft, show aircraft and, of course the usual (and unusual) military traffic were also carefully scheduled with precise arrival times. Couple that with the Blue Angels and other show performers’ practice times, it’s a busy place!

As I recall, we were due to arrive at our “entry gate” over the 15 Freeway at Black Mountain at 4:15 p.m.; from there we would be directed to enter our base

leg for runway 24R over Miramar Reservoir.

Unfortunately, the weather wasn’t cooperating for us that day; my crew and I stood ready to launch under a low cloud cover at L18 as our time to depart approached… then passed. As difficult as it was, knowing we would be missing our time slot, disappointing others who were counting on us – most directly, the guy who had driven to Miramar to pick us up and bring us back to Fallbrook, we really had no choice: the weather was not good enough to make the trip safely.

The AWOS at L18 had shown steady improvement over the past hour, as had the ATIS at Palomar (KCRQ) and reports from our man on the ground waiting for us at Miramar, but we were still below VFR minimums. I called our Project Officer to let him know we would not be able to make our allotted time slot.

Standing in the Operations Center for the show, he had direct access to the decision-makers; apparently, we weren’t the only ones experiencing weather problems – others were scrambling as well.

They would make arrangements for us if we could launch in the next 20 minutes.

By this point the weather had improved to marginal VFR conditions and the slow but steady improvements continued; in fact, the clouds had cleared over Miramar and improving weather appeared to be pushing northward toward us. I talked it over with my crew – both more experienced ATP-rated pilots. It was my call as Mission Pilot and PIC, but I wanted to make sure we were all in agreement about attempting the flight.

We decided to give it a try.

Departing Fallbrook, we had contact SOCAL, fly southeast to fly over the 15 Freeway and basically follow the 15 south to our reporting point. If we felt uncomfortable, we could “bail out” to Palomar about halfway to Miramar or return to L18.

We got airborne and made our way under the cloud cover at about 1,800-feet.

Visibility beneath the clouds was good, probably five or six miles, but the cloud deck hung solidly over us. We continued south through the valleys the 15 follows.

We weren’t exactly “scud-running,” but we were looking forward to the promised improving conditions.

In the middle of one of the valleys we encountered traffic at our altitude, opposite direction. We saw him in plenty of time and passed about a mile apart, but it certainly heightened our awareness of the hazards of our current situation. We were squeezed down by the cloud deck into a relatively narrow valley with limited options to evade traffic.

We pressed on. The cloud deck began to lighten and occasional holes revealed blue skies overhead. Forward visibility remained good, and we could see the terrain around us. As we approached Black Mountain, SOCAL was about to hand us off to Miramar Tower, when we were suddenly enveloped in cloud. I was stunned! What happened? A moment ago, we flying along with good visibility, then suddenly, everything went grey!

I gave it about three seconds to see if we’d pop out of the other side; when we didn’t, I immediately began a 180-degree turn to the left. I knew I had Black Mountain a mile or so ahead and to the right, and had, moments ago, a clear view of the terrain to the left and knew I could make the 180 safely. I told my crew we were aborting and planned to return to L18.

My Mission Observer/Co-Pilot, a seasoned Navy and airline pilot, handled the radios as SOCAL took notice of our deviation. We explained our situation – that we were reversing course due to IMC conditions ahead. They offered vectors, cleared us into the Class Bravo if needed, and also told us the coast had cleared if we wanted to try the approach to Miramar from the west.

Within about 15 seconds our 180 had delivered us back into clear air. The clouds had begun to separate over us, allowing us to pick our way between them and safely climb to altitude. Once on top at about 4,000-feet we could clearly see the coastline about five miles west, the clouds dissipating completely to the southwest. Following Approach’s vectors, we reached the coast near the Del Mar Race Track. SOCAL handed us off to Miramar Tower at Torrey Pines, and they cleared us to land on 6 Left. I made an uneventful landing despite having to land more than 2,000-feet down the runway to avoid the arresting gear strung

across the runway – the remaining 10,000 feet proved more than enough (way more!) for the mighty 182. In fact, our instructions were to clear the runway all the way at the end, requiring sustained power just to get there!

I was absolutely stunned that this had happened to me. I’d like to say the IMC conditions came out of the clear blue, but that wouldn’t be accurate; it was definitely cloudy, but the IMC conditions hit without warning and with such abruptness that to this day I’m astonished that this happened. We were not scud running beneath the ragged edges of the clouds, yet somehow we went from clear of clouds to in the clouds in an instant.

Hindsight is 20/20, and it may not have even been possible due to Miramar’s arrival time allocations, but had I waited even 15 minutes longer to launch, the weather would have been much better, and I wouldn’t be writing this mea culpa.

I’m not trying to make excuses, but offer this as yet another cautionary tale. I let the desire to complete my mission, to not disappoint others, time constraints, and self-imposed peer pressure influence my decision to launch into less-than-optimal conditions.

A couple of lessons: with weather, you don’t always get what’s forecast or anticipated – you get what you get; oh and, yes, it can happen to me!

Say again I heard an amusing exchange flying southeast-bound from Fillmore (FIM) into the San Fernando Valley; I don’t remember the exact call signs, but it went something like this: ATC: Falcon 345 Alpha Bravo traffic ahead 10 o’clock, five miles, a Cessna at 5,000.

345AB: We’ve got the traffic, 5 Alpha Bravo.

ATC: Falcon 354 Alpha Bravo turn left heading 210.

354AB: Left to 210, Falcon 354 Alpha Bravo ATC: Falcon 345 Alpha Bravo traffic no factor and read back full tail number, similar tail number on frequency.

345AB: Yeah, that creep’s been following me for the last 300 miles…

Until next time, fly safe!

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FLYING PIONEER SHAESTA WAIZ ENCOURAGES INDUSTRY LEADERS SUPPORT CHILDREN SEEKING AVIATION, STEM CAREERS

October 2017

Inspiring children around the world was an honor, Shaesta Waiz told attendees last month at the Seventh Meeting of the North American, Central American and Caribbean Directors of Civil Aviation (ICAO NACC/DCA/7), but now that her around-the-world solo flight is nearly complete, she has bigger plans.

“I’ve learned that it’s great to inspire, but we also need to empower,” Waiz said.

“I encourage you all to stand up and support STEM education.”

Waiz founded Dreams Soar several years ago with a goal of inspiring girls to consider STEM (science, technology, engineering, math) careers, including those in aviation. With the help of partners, sponsors and volunteers around the world, she is nearing the end of her journey, in which she flew her Beechcraft Bonanza A36 more than 22,000 miles, visited 20 countries on five continents and met with thousands of young people face-to-face.

Dreams Soar, she said, has a scholarship fund with a goal of encouraging young people to apply for assistance to help them achieve their goals. “Empower these children who were inspired and just waiting for someone to invest in them,” she urged attendees.

Waiz also shared with the group her personal story of coming to America as a refugee from Afghanistan, growing up in an underfunded school district and being afraid to fly until her first commercial flight at age 17 inspired her curiosity to learn how aviation worked and fueled her dream of becoming a pilot.

From these humble beginnings, the Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University graduate is now the first female certified pilot from Afghanistan.

“No matter what challenges I came from, I was always propelling forward,” Waiz said, adding that success is never achieved alone. She thanked partners such as ICAO and the FAA for their support, as well as industry groups such as NBAA. FAA Deputy Administrator Dan Elwell, who introduced Waiz at the ICAO meeting, said her accomplishments “were nothing short of amazing.”

“The aviation industry is so wonderful because it redefines neighbors and it redefines opportunity, and no one embodies that precept better than Shaesta Waiz,” he said. “If you want to make a name for yourself in this business, you have to start with safety and I think that Shaesta Waiz understands that better than most. Really,

www.inflightusa.com

Shaesta is showing us all that if you’re willing to work hard, if you’re willing to do your homework, if you’re willing to put in the time, you can soar – your dreams can indeed come true.”

During her visit to Washington, DC, NBAA presented Waiz with its prestigious Silk Scarf Award for her accomplishments and dedication to the industry.

Waiz will be the keynote speaker at Careers in Business Aviation Day, taking

place Oct. 12 at NBAA’s Business Aviation Convention & Exhibition (NBAA-BACE). The airplane, a Beechcraft Bonanza A36, will make its first U.S. appearance since returning from the flight at the NBAA-BACE Static Display at Henderson Executive Airport. Learn more about Career Day at https://www.nbaa.org/news/pr/2017/201 70905-059.php. Learn more about Dreams Soar at http://dreamssoar.org/.

TO

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Shaesta Waiz founded Dreams Soar several years ago with a goal of inspiring girls to consider STEM (science, technology, engineering, math) careers, including those in aviation.

(NBAA Photo)

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In Flight USA Celebrating 34 Years

October 2017

It has been said that the only voluntary act in aviation is the decision to take-off. Every action after take-off involves the skillful management of risk, the enjoyment of flight and a continuous stream of decisions that result in a safe landing.

In 1974, NASA created the Aviation Safety Reporting System (ASRS) to allow aviation professionals to share experiences in a frank, non-punitive manner. The ASRS structure allows pilots and other aviation professionals to file an anonymous report of an incident, error or occurrence that the contributor feels might be of value to others. These reports are gathered, analyzed and data based by NASA experts and made available to all interested parties as a tool for creating proactive aviation safety programs. Additionally, NASA distributes an electronic publication, CALLBACK, which contains selected, de-identified, reports on a free subscription basis. In Flight USA is proud to reprint selected reports, exerpted from CALLBACK, for our readers to read, study, occasionally laugh at, and always learn from. Visit http://asrs.arc.nasa.gov/ to learn how you can participate in the ASRS program.

This month, CALLBACK again offers the reader a chance to “interact” with the information given in a selection of ASRS reports. In “The First Half of the Story,” you will find report excerpts describing an event up to a point where a decision must be made or some direction must be given. You may then exercise your own judgment to make a decision or determine a possible course of action that would best resolve the situation.

The selected ASRS reports may not give all the information you want, and you may not be experienced in the type of aircraft involved, but each incident should give you a chance to refine your aviation decision-making skills. In “The Rest of the Story…” you will find the actions that were taken by reporters in response to each situation. Bear in mind that their decisions may not necessarily represent the best course of action. Our intent is to stimulate thought, training, and discussion related to the type of incidents that were reported.

The First Half of the Story What’s All the Flap? B737 First Officer’s Report

• As the Pilot Flying while maneuvering in the busy terminal area, I didn’t notice that the flap indicator did not match the [flap] handle (2 indicated, 30 selected) until the Captain identified it with the…Before Landing Checklist. We checked the Leading Edge Device [LED] indicator on the overhead panel; the LED’s [indicated] FULL EXTEND. We discussed how the aircraft felt as it was being hand flown. The feel was normal.…

The airspeed indicator was normal. The aircraft flew normally in all aspects except for the flap indication. All this occurred approaching the final approach fix..

What Would You Have Done?

Takeoff Face-Off C182 Pilot’s Report

• [The] airport (with a single runway) was undergoing major construction and had no parallel taxiway.… The only exit from the runway was a single narrow

WHAT’S ALL

THE

taxiway at the [approach] end of Runway 02 leading between some hangars to and from the FBO. [There was] no operating Control Tower, only UNICOM. Before departure I asked…the FBO what the active runway was, and the reply was, “People are taking off on Runway 02 and landing on Runway 20 to avoid a back taxi on a long runway.” Taxiing out to Runway 02 for departure I encountered another…single engine airplane near the runway end taxiing in on a narrow taxiway…, so we talked ourselves past each other on UNICOM. I had apparently not heard the radio call…of a small jet landing on Runway 20, so I started my takeoff roll on Runway 02.… The aircraft that had [just] landed…was at taxi speed.

During my takeoff roll, I only saw that aircraft when I was near rotation speed.

The Weak Side B767 Captain’s Report

• While on climb out, [we] noticed the aircraft was having difficulty climbing through 30,000 feet. We checked the engine instruments and noticed that the right engine fuel flow was indicating 700 pounds per hour. We checked the other engine indications and noticed that they were significantly below the left engine indications.

Keep the M in MDA CRJ Captain’s Report

• We were flying the localizer approach to [Runway] 24L. As we started down to the MDA, we broke out and I started looking for the airport. I was making the callouts to MDA and thought the First Officer was stopping the descent at the MDA. I looked out and back;… he was still descending.…

An Approach to Remember B737 Captain’s Report

• The First Officer (FO) was flying his first arrival to Corpus Christi, and I believe the last time I was there was more than a decade ago, so needless to say, we were not familiar with the Corpus Christi environment. We had been kept high on

FLAP ABOUT?

the arrival by ATC and were hurrying to descend to be stabilized for the approach.

We realized that we would be too high for the approach.…

What Would You Have Done?

The Rest of the Story

What’s All the Flap? B737 First Officer’s Report

The Reporter’s Action • The Captain elected to continue to land. We used flaps 15 Vref [speed for the approach] and added 10 knots. Landing was uneventful. The flap indicator moved to match the [flap] handle shortly after clearing the runway during taxi. We notified maintenance on gate arrival.

First Half of "Takeoff Face-Off" Takeoff Face-Off C182 Pilot’s Report

The Reporter’s Action • I thought the best option was to immediately lift off with a slight turn to the right to laterally clear the runway in any case, and that worked. I missed him vertically by 50 feet and laterally by more than 150 feet. Was that the best split-second decision? I thought so - I am an [experienced] pilot. In my opinion, the airport management had made some bad decisions concerning their improvement construction (reconstructing the parallel taxiway), and the airport was dangerous considering their heavy corporate jet traffic. I had not heard the small jet on UNICOM - possibly due to my conversation on UNICOM with the…plane taxiing in (opposite direction) just prior to takeoff. The wind was…light, and Runway 20 was apparently chosen by the jet traffic to, likewise, avoid a back taxi since the only runway exit was at the [departure] end of Runway 20.

First Half of “The Weak Side” The Weak Side B767 Captain’s Report

The Reporter’s Action • I [requested] to level off at FL350,

then to descend to FL320. I was the pilot monitoring. I did not [request priority handling] at this time because we received no EICAS messages or alerts telling us of this situation.

After rechecking the engine instruments and conferring with the pilot flying, I made the decision to shut down the engine inflight via the QRH Engine Failure/Shutdown Checklist… I also made the decision that we would attempt to restart the engine because no limitations or engine parameters or engine vibrations were present or were exceeded. At this time we were about 20 minutes into the flight...

The inflight shutdown checklist was completed, and the engine inflight start checklist was completed. The engine started and accelerated normally,…and all parameters [remained within] limitations... I contacted Dispatch and Maintenance Control… After speaking with them and informing them of our situation and what transpired, I made the decision to continue to destination.

First Half of "Keep the M in MDA" Keep the M in MDA CRJ Captain’s Report

The Reporter’s Action • [I] told him to stop the descent. We stopped 150 feet below the MDA, continued the approach, and landed. Looking back at the approach, I should have called for a missed approach and received vectors for another approach. The only reason for continuing was…poor judgment or just a bad decision at the time.

First Half of ‘An Approach to Remember’ An Approach to Remember B737 Captain’s Report

The Reporter’s Action • [We] requested a 360-degree turn for our descent from the Tower. They approved us to maneuver either left or right as requested, and we initiated a goaround and a 360 degree left turn in VMC conditions. We initiated the go-around above 1,000 feet but descended slightly Continued on Page 41

October 2017

AOPA

FORMS

AIRPORT ACCESS ADVISORY PANEL www.inflightusa.com

FBO, Airport Officials, Industry Experts Meet to Address Egregious FBO Pricing

A cross-section of the general aviation industry met at AOPA headquarters in Frederick, Ma., Sept. 19 to discuss how to work with the FAA, elected officials, airport leaders, pilots, and fixed-base operators to develop policies that support access to airports as well as FBO transparency, pricing, and competition.

The meeting included current and former airport officials, industry experts, and numerous FBO owners and executives such as Jeff Baum, president of Wisconsin Aviation; Bill Borgsmiller, CEO of ACI Jet; Gary Cox, General Manager of Cox Aviation; Shelly deZevallos, president of West Houston Airport and member of the National Business Aviation Association’s board of directors; Matt Hagans, CEO of Montgomery Aviation; and Bob Wilson, CEO of Wilson Air. The panel started the day with staff briefings on recent efforts includingAOPA’s recently filed Part 13 complaints.

Following member complaints to the AOPA Pilot Information Center (and staff experiences), the association began asking pilots in January if they had experienced egregious FBO fees. The panel spent hours considering ideas to ensure fair and reasonable access at the few airports that have become limited by FBO fees and pricing practices.

AOPA General Counsel Ken Mead, who leads AOPA’s cross-departmental effort to research and fight unreasonable FBO fees, headed the meeting.

“This is really only about a number of places, mostly large FBOs with a monopoly position, where a particular set of circumstances have come together and resulted in egregious fees and pricing practices,” Mead said. “That, combined with consolidation in the FBO industry, has pilots concerned about what the future might bring. We welcome this diverse and experienced group to advise AOPA on how we can work to empower airport boards, pilots, and elected officials to find the right balance between reasonable pricing for pilots and profitability for FBOs.” Chairman of the AOPA Board of Trustees Bill Trimble, President and CEO Mark Baker, Senior Vice President of Government Affairs Jim Coon, and Senior Vice President of Media, Communications, and Outreach Tom Haines also participated in the meeting.

Baker thanked the panel for their commitment and work, saying, “This is an important step in our work, and this panel will give us the advice and insight pilots across America need to ensure rea-

Safe Landings

Continued from Page 40 during the first part of the turn. I directed the FO to climb to 1,000 feet, which he slowly did. I had referenced the approach plate and noticed that the obstacles on the plate in our quadrant were at 487 feet and our climb ensured clearance from them.

During the 360 [degree] maneuver, the FO lost sight of the airport, but I had it in sight and talked him through the turn back to the landing runway.

The FO completed the maneuver, but we were, again, not in a position to make a safe landing, as we were not well aligned with the landing runway... We initiated another go-around, again getting approval to stay with Tower, but we maneuvered in a right hand pattern so the FO could see the runway in the turn. I directed a climb to 1,500 feet for the 579 foot towers west of the field. The FO…had lost sight of the field and wasn’t sure what maneuver we were doing while on downwind... I had not adequately communicated my intentions for the pattern we were flying. We were maneuvering visually, so I took control of the aircraft and directed the FO to resequence the FMC…and extend the centerline. I completed the base and final turns and landed uneventfully on Runway 18.

sonableness at these public airports.”

One panelist, Carl Hopkins, a member and former chairman of California's Santa Barbara Airport Commission, said his journey started with an email to Baker asking for help at his airport.

AOPA has received numerous complaints about fees and prices at Santa Barbara. Hopkins is shepherding a request for proposals for two FBO leaseholds through drafting and approval, and he hopes they will ensure transparency and reasonable fees in Santa Barbara for years to come.

The meeting came weeks after AOPA named the top five most-complained about FBOs in America and filed three FAA Part 13 complaints along with seven affected pilots at Illinois's Waukegan National Airport, North Carolina's Asheville Regional Airport, and Florida's Key West International Airport. The complaints received a number of local headlines and extensive coverage in aviation media.

And OK3 Air at Heber City Municipal Airport, among the most-complained about FBOs according to AOPA’s survey due to reports of high fuel prices and unreasonable fees, has been making waves.

The Heber City Council is planning to consider revisions to the airport’s minimum standards, which AOPA believes

will help facilitate competition over the provision of fuel services. On behalf of AOPA, Mead has sent two letters to the city recommending they adopt the revised standards.

OK3 Air believes the city needs the FBO’s consent for revisions to minimum standards. So much so that it is threatening to sue the city if the changes are adopted.

In the past the owner of OK3 Air has said that making Heber City Airport a “cheap fuel” destination would result in an increase in traffic and noise.

Similarly, the latest letter from OK3 Air threatening legal action against the city cited “a difference between attracting more business and attracting good business.”

OK3 Air has also been busy on Twitter criticizing AOPA and specific members as well as Heber City’s efforts to revise minimum standards and make the airport friendlier to all segments of general aviation.

“More and more, we are seeing airport boards and cities stand up,” Mead said, “and with the help of the Airport Access Advisory Panel, we will be even more effective in helping communities and pilots reclaim their airport.”

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42

In Flight USA Celebrating 34 Years

LEADING IRMA AROUND

October 2017

Homebuilder’s Workshop

F

riday: Spent yesterday, the day before, and this morning getting the house and the hangar ready for Irma. In the hangar, everything that shouldn’t get wet or that could blow away went into plastic tubs and into the back of the car. In the garage, I moved some low-lying tools up off the floor, but it would be too much work to get everything high enough for a bad flood. In the house, the major concern was roof leaks, so I put plastic drop cloths over things that should not get wet… most of them, anyway. And if the neighbor’s pine tree fell on my house, or if the water level got up to the hardwood floors, well, too bad.

A friend who is on the insurance for the RV-9A will fly it somewhere safe, I’ll fly the RV-8 to my sister’s house in Knoxville. Irma is forecast to come up the east coast, so I’ll be well out of the way. A friend helps me hang storm shutters on the windows. They’re numbered, the windows are not, but it makes little difference, they all seem to fit. I go out to the hangar for a final clean up, but I have all my baggage with me for the trip. Hey, weather is good, and if I wait until tomorrow morning and the weather is uncooperative, I’ll have no good options. I fly to Knoxville.

Saturday: Glad to see family, and they’re glad to see me, but my impromptu visit doesn’t fit all that well with what they’ve already got going on. I take them out to dinner that night and watch the weather, almost obsessively. With Irma now headed for Knoxville and threatening to stall there for a few days, Wilmington, N.C., seems like a good option. However, there are mountains between Knoxville and Wilmington, some pretty good winds aloft, headwinds to boot, and gusty winds there. I stay put.

Sunday: Good call not to go to

Wilmington, as it continues to be gusty, and its forecast has gone to pot. Irma is following me. I saddle up the RV-8 and head to Dallas to visit a friend.

On this flight, I have the oxygen bottle where I can reach it, a good call, but I have real problems plugging in the cannula. A little saliva helps that, and I have oxygen. My physiology doesn’t like to be above 8,000 without O2 – yes, pretty low – but I head to Dallas at 8,500 and 10,500, above the clouds in the smooth air.

With all the accumulated stress and uncertainty, and not much recent experience, flying the RV-8 is a pain in the ass.

I have recollections of it being great fun when flown with panache and élan, but flying it with stress and boredom is not the same.

First gas stop, believe it or not, is at Ripley, Miss. Gas, bathroom, sofa. When I flew over what I thought was downtown, all I saw was a trailer park, but the cell phone tells me that there are 20, count ‘em, places to eat in town, the closest three miles away. And the autopilot, which had not worked before, works when I decide to try it; a small but welcome blessing.

Monday: Get a text message from the alarm system that the power is off.

Twelve hours later, another message that the alarm system battery is low. I know that the milk will spoil (I’d not emptied the fridge because I thought I might be coming back that afternoon, a bad call), but hopefully it won’t stink up everything. I was well stressed before I took off and there has been little to alleviate the stress. Flying the RV-8 over unfamiliar territory with only the unfamiliar little GPS has added to the stress.

Tuesday: Good flying weather for getting home, except most all of the run-

ways along the Gulf Coast are north/south, and the winds are out of the west, sometimes gusty. There’s a ton of military airspace along the coast around Pensacola, and with a handheld GPS as my primary nav (iPhone and iPad as backups), I don’t want to avoid both airspaces and weather at the same time. I stay put.

Besides, the power is still off at home.

A neighbor posted pictures that indicate that the street was flooded at her end, but I don’t know about my house. No point going home to a dark house. And it was the near-certainty of power outages that was a big motivator for evacuating.

A kind soul from central Mississippi had offered to let me stay at his house and park the plane in his hangar. His place is now getting rain from Irma with unflyable weather the rest of the day.

Wednesday: Weather looks good except for maybe a line of showers at the end of the flight. Two days of rest and good company have greatly improved my state of mind and energy levels. The first leg is only an hour with kidney management in mind, and when I pull the plane to the gas pump in east Texas, there is a sound from one wheel reminiscent of when kids put playing cards across bicycle spokes. Expletive deleted. Turns out that it is a brake caliper that is chattering, not a big deal, but something I’d neither encountered nor heard of before. We put the front part of the wheel pant back on, but a half hour is wasted.

Next stop: Louisiana, where there is cheap gas, a courtesy car to get lunch, and a terminal building with only park benches.

No nap here, and I continue towards home.

And it’s on this leg that the RV-8 starts to be fun again. I’m more comfortable with the little GPS screen, several crosswind land-

ings have gone well, and I know that the house Ed and hangar have sur- Wischmeyer vived with little if any damage.

Next stop, Tuskegee, Ala., a quiet little airport with great service. Halfway there, I discover that the GPS is programmed for Tuscaloosa, but a 30-degree heading change gets me on course. There are lots of clouds, and I only occasionally get up to 3,500 feet over the trackless forests, but a 15-knot tailwind cures many perceived ills. It is bumpy, and I’m glad there’s nobody in the back seat – they’d get not only bumps, but also sideto-side jostling as the RV-8 does its little tail wag, almost unnoticeable up front.

Still, this leg would be so much easier IFR and with a full autopilot.

By the time I get to Tuskegee, I don’t just have a tired butt, I have a flaming fanny. Ouch and a half! But the gas stop was quick, the folks were friendly as always, and it was homeward bound, a 90-minute flight that would get me home 45 minutes before sunset.

The line of showers was dissipating in the later afternoon, and I got through with no more than small raindrops that unfortunately did not clean the bugs off the airplane. The landing was fine and suddenly I was back in my old reality, after visiting two totally different cities, much more well-kempt than the tired parts of Savannah that you always have to drive through.

The insurance maximum reimbursement for evacuating the airplane is $500, about what I’ve spent on gas alone. We’ll see how they handle my claim.

I was lucky on this hurricane, but I have friends in Texas who were not. Be a friend when you get the chance.

By Dan Namowitz, AOPA

ing it safe and enjoyable is taking the time to understand U.S. Customs requirements and procedures, as well as the requirements of the destination country, said Nobuyo Sakata, AOPA director of aviation security.

To organize and simplify the process, Cross Borders looks at a flight one step at a time, and answers many of the “What if” questions that come up as a pilot prepares for the journey.

For example, when validating travel documents of those who will fly, what if a traveler has two passports? The guide explains that in such a case, the pilot should be sure that the passport the pas-

senger is carrying matches the travel document data in the Electronic Advance Passenger Information System (eAPIS) manifest, and if the passenger is a U.S. citizen, that he or she is using a U.S. passport. Also, the pilot should check the passport’s expiration date.

The guide contains a detailed checklist that provides a step-by-step approach to managing each phase of a cross-border flight, including emergency-landing procedures for reporting the event and segregating an aircraft’s contents.

How CBP classifies airports is needto-know information for a pilot when it

AOPA has released a new flying guide, Cross Borders, available online at www.aopa.org.

(Mike Fizer, courtesy AOPA) comes to planning the return flight to the United States.

Continued on Page 43

AOPA RELEASES GUIDE FOR CROSS-BORDER FLYING

AOPA has released a new flying guide, Cross Borders, to help make planning and executing cross-border flights easier for general aviation pilots.

The 16-page guide, one of several initiatives AOPA is pursuing with U.S. Customs and Border Protection and other government agencies and industry groups to streamline international flights, may be viewed online or downloaded as a PDF. Cross-border flying does not have to be an intimidating or complicated undertaking for a GA pilot – and the key to mak-

STALLION’S STELLAR YEAR, HIGHLIGHTED

October 2017

www.inflightusa.com

BY

30TH ANNIVERSARY

2017 has been an awesome year for Stallion 51 Corporation filled with adventure, awards, and anniversaries. The year started with Lee Lauderback, President and Chief Pilot of Stallion 51 having recently become a member of the Society of Experimental Test Pilots, an exclusive group of exceptional pilots such as R.A. “Bob” Hoover and Hoot Gibson, who nominated Lee to the organization.

April of this year also marked Stallion 51’s 30th Anniversary; commemorated by inviting the almost 200 Mustang check-out graduates to a home-

coming before and during the annual Sun’n Fun airshow in Lakeland, Fla. Seventeen of the graduates brought their Mustangs to help celebrate Stallion’s three decades of aviation excellence, flying in formation during the show, as well as Lee being honored with the FAA Wright Brothers Master Pilot award for his 50 years of safe flight operations and his many contributions to aviation safety.

This summer, Lee was asked to fly the rare B-Model Mustang, Berlin Express to Duxford, England for the Flying Legends Airshow. The epic 5,470 mile

aviation adventure started in Texas and flew over the North Atlantic ocean landing in Greenland, Iceland and Scotland before its final destination in Duxford; eight legs in seven days. This historic WWII Atlantic crossing flight path was followed by millions of enthusiasts via social media.

Stallion 51 has had a memorable year indeed! You can join the fun in one of their dual-cockpit, dual-control Mustangs to take the controls and make your own Mustang memories. Visit www.stallion51.com for more information.

Angel Flight Southeast, a network of approximately 650 volunteer pilots, is flying missions to help victims of Hurricane Irma in the Caribbean as well as with Florida evacuation efforts. Flights continued prior to the hurricane making landfall, as weather conditions allowed, to transport people out of the path of the storm.

Additionally, Angel Flight Southeast has offered to assist the Florida Voluntary

Organizations Active in Disaster (FLVOAD) to transport supplies into affected areas now that the storm has passed.

Angel Flight Southeast will also help relocate people out of devastated areas.

For more than 25 years, Angel Flight Southeast has provided free air transportation to adults and children in need of far-from-home medical care. The charity’s volunteer pilots donate the fuel, air-

planes and their time for these missions.

Angel Flight Southeast supports relief efforts after a natural disaster and has been assisting Air Charity Network affiliates in Texas with bringing supplies to Hurricane Harvey victims.

The charity’s pilots are on alert to fly missions in support of post-Hurricane Irma relief efforts.

Florida callers requesting Angel Flight

43

Stallion 51’s 30th Anniversary was marked by a homecoming of Mustangs before and during the annual Sun’n Fun airshow in Lakeland, Fla, this past April.

(Courtesy Stallion 51)

ANGEL FLIGHT SOUTHEAST VOLUNTEER PILOTS ON STANDBY FOR IRMA RELIEF

AOPA Releases Guide For Cross-Border Flying

Continued from Page 42 The guide explains the differences between the types of airports of entry and how much notice may be required to use a particular type of entry airport. A map of CBP Designated Airports – those to be used when arriving from areas directly south of the United States – is provided.

In July, AOPA conducted a member survey to better understand the experiences GA pilots have had with cross-border flying. Several of the 15 questions focused on pilots’ experiences with CBP requirements and procedures including eAPIS. The survey recorded 1,232 responses from pilots who indicated that they have flown a GA aircraft across a border separating the United States and another country in the past three years. Among GA destinations, Canada was the mostvisited country (42 percent), followed by the Bahamas (32 percent), and Mexico (26 percent).

The survey revealed that the majority of GA pilots “have positive experience flying cross border and clearing U.S. Customs; however, many feel that compliance procedures could be made easier.”

They said they would like to see standardized and streamlined procedures; improvements to eAPIS such as adding capability to store passenger data, and flexibility to change date/time/place of entry; automated estimated time of

arrival update; and a simplified clearance process such as a trusted traveler program for GA. AOPA is working with CBP and other GA stakeholders through the CBP General Aviation Working Group, whose goal is to address these issues and streamline cross-border flying.

A recommendation to develop a trusted traveler program for GA will be on the agenda when AOPA President Mark Baker meets in the near future with Acting CBP Commissioner Kevin K. McAleenan to discuss key initiatives that would benefit GA and CBP.

Southeast air support, should call 800/3524256 or visit www.AngelFlightSE.org.

To inquire about relief support from outside the state, please call the Air Charity Network hotline at 877/621-7177 or visit www.aircharitynetwork.org. Calls will be routed to the appropriate regional affiliate.

“AOPA strongly supports CBP’s efforts to streamline and simplify the procedures using a risk-based approach,” Sakata said.

To access AOPA’s new flying guide, Cross Borders, visit www.aopa.org.

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COPPERSTATE FLY-IN AND EDUCATION EXPO

In Flight USA Celebrating 34 Years

Anna Serbinenko

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The 45th Annual Copperstate Fly-In and Education Expo will be held Oct. 27 and 28, 2017 at the Falcon Field Airport located at McKellips and Greenfield in Mesa, AZ. Gates open at 8 a.m. both days and close at 5 p.m. on Friday and 4 p.m. on Saturday. Cost is $15 per day or $25 for both days for adults with 18 and under free.

Each year there are more than 500 aircraft available for display. There will also be more than 90 exhibitors on site including aircraft manufacturers introducing new models of aircraft, avionics and other aviation goods and services.

Copperstate is sure to provide a fun day to get familiar with aviation. Be sure to take a break and visit the food court.

Several aviation schools will be represented so if you are thinking about learning how to fly, this is a great time to talk to people that can make that dream real.

Copperstate is a non-profit organization with its focus on education in the aviation industry. Originally started as a show for homebuilders of aircraft, it is

October 2017

now more inclusive covering all areas of aviation from building your own aircraft to establishing a career in aviation.

If you like all kinds of aircraft, come out and have a good day at Copperstate.

For more information, visit www.copperstate.org.

There is free parking Northwest of the runway, North of McKellips on Greenfield at Mallory Circle with free shuttles to the display area.

New this year will be Convenience Parking at a cost is $10. Enter at the main Airport entrance on East Falcon Drive.

Funds will be used for Copperstate Special Projects.

FLYING INTO THE FUTURE ON THE WINGS OF EDUCATION

Wings Over Kansas.com, is a McGraw-Hill recognized and dedicated Internet aviation supporter and cheerleader for Wichita, known as “The Air Capital of the World,” and a dedicated supporter of the complete educational spectrum. The website was created by owner Carl Chance. Besides focusing on Wichita’s aviation history, news careers and pioneers, was the recognized importance and value of creating an Aviation Education page. Funded by a generous grant from the Wolf Aviation Fund, it is titled “Flying Into The Future On The Wings Of Education.”

Linking & Learning

Chance has developed this special feature as a resource for aviation and aerospace continuing education, locating colleges and universities, scholarship sources, Kansas Starbase, FAA Aviation Education, AOPA Aviation Education information, and much more to be developed on an ongoing basis. Included will be help and support for home schooling, special projects for in-class school activities and much more in an effort to help grow future aviation and aerospace professionals.

Pioneer Aviator Lesson Plans

Of particular interest are 23 lesson plans provided with this aviation education page which were created by Chance, a former middle and high school educator, to help students further explore the subject of how aviation pioneers were integral in the development of aviation.

Theses plans include coverage of the subjects of history, language arts, and technology. Many of these lessons not only tie-in with feature article-content on the Wings Over Kansas.com website, but with content provided by other link connections provided. Each lesson plan includes learning objectives, education standards, procedures, activities, and suggestions for extensions of the lessons.

Content standards were supervised under the advisement of Lisa Heibert and Norma Lou Hilton of USD259 School System.

Wings Over Kansas.com is honored to have the support of valued contributing editors, offering and hosting aviation and aerospace articles of unique information and interest, all with backgrounds in general and commercial aviation, military aviation and educational classroom Continued on Page 47

October 2017

www.inflightusa.com

45

T he Py lon P lac e

A YEAR

Marilyn Dash’s

TO

REMEMBER

NATIONAL AIR RACE CHAMPIONSHIPS

This year provided some of the best racing in recent memory. It seemed that all the classes had epic battles, fought before the larger than expected crowd.

Biplane

prop which enables him to hot rod down the runway on takeoff. He then leads for the first few laps – until the other props can dig into the air and get their groove on.

You’d have to see it to believe it – watching Phil on the runway, dodging slower movers, is worth the price of admission!

The top three jumbled a few times during the week, but remained the same on Sunday for the IF1 Gold. Lowell, Steve and Vito.

Air Race 1 World Cup

Phantom 2017 Biplane Winner (Anthony Taylor/warbirdfotos.com)

Even in the Biplane Class there was some close racing. Andrew Buehler was flying Phantom this year instead of Tom Aberle. Earlier in the week, Andrew had some troubles keeping Phantom on the course and on the right side of the pylons.

Jake Stewart in Mojo won two of the three heat races and lost to Andrew in the Gold Final.

Andrew was pulling double duty, racing his Mong in the Silver also. While Jake and his dad, Mike Stewart brought two highly competitive aircraft and finished are strong competitors and second and fourth. Nice showing for a father and son team.

Hoping to see more Biplanes in the future, this was likely the smallest field the Biplanes have had since I started racing in 2003.

International Formula 1

IF1 always puts on a great show. The battles begin in Qualifying, move to the runway and finally finish at the checkered flag.

Qualifying held few surprises.

Lowell Slatter, last year’s winner – took the lead with Steve Senegal in Endeavor and Vito Wypraechtiger, both previous winners, coming in second and third.

Justin Phillipson fought miscellaneous gremlins all week and ended up winning the Bronze instead of fighting for the podium in Gold. But, I’m sure Justin will have it all figured out in time for Thailand. More on that later.

The fifth place qualifier was Philip Goforth. Philip has some sort of magic

Lowell Slatter in Fraed Naught (Anthony Taylor/warbirdfotos.com)

After the race, the IF1s started packing up and heading to U-Tapao Airport in Thailand on their International tour with Air Race 1. The Race will be Nov. 17-19.

The Thai government is hosting the event and the Prime Minister of Thailand will be in attendance. For a country with very little general aviation – the IF1 Race Teams are treated like the Rockstars that they are!

Big hat tip to Jeff Zaltman for putting this together and making it happen!

And to the 18 IF1 Race Teams attending – have fun, fly well, make memories.

Midnight Miss III and John Lohmar in Radial Velocity. With barely 3 mph between the three – less than 1.5 seconds on their qualifying laps – the title was up for grabs.

Nick and Dennis have tossed the win back and forth for several years – both with six wins. This would be the deciding race – first to seven wins. But, John Lohmar had a different ending in mind.

John Lohmar started racing more than 10 years ago – but is still the newbie compared to Dennis and Nick. In 2007 when I met John, he had just won the Bronze and was not happy. He was so focused on winning the Gold, I knew it was just a matter of time.

The Gold Race was epic! Nick had the lead, but John was not letting up. Every time he would get to the straightaways, he would gain on Nick. And then lose it in the corners again. Lucky for John, the Home Pylon is on the front straight. It was “by a nose” – just over half a tenth of second between the first two racers.

Even if you didn’t have a horse in the race, you were on your feet. You couldn’t sit this one out – you had to feel like you were part of the outcome. The entire crowd was mesmerized by the finish. A big congrats to our friend, John Lohmar and his crew. You did it!

Rick Vandam in American Spirit . (Anthony Taylor/warbirdfotos.com)

Jeff La Velle in his Super Glasair . (Anthony Taylor/warbirdfotos.com)

The T6 Class always provides close, exciting racing. This year – they outdid themselves.

The top three qualifiers were Nick Macy in Six Cat, Dennis Buehn in

Jets

Sport Class

T6

John Lohmar making his move on Nick Macy. (Anthony Taylor/warbirdfotos.com)

So, the Gold in Sport Class ended up Jeff LaVelle in that seemingly benign Super Glasair III, with Vicky Benzing in Second, and Dave Sterling in third.

Vicky is once again the fastest woman in air racing, competing in the Sport Gold and the Jet Class.

Another great story coming out of the Sport Class is the return of Alan Crawford. Alan won the Silver in his Lancair Legacy affectionately called The Beast – but we know her as The Phoenix.

This Legacy sports an 8-cylinder 720cc super motor. But, that’s not what makes Alan a fan favorite.

In 2014, after competing in a crosscountry race, Alan’s last Lancair Legacy, Spirit of America, had a mechanical problem and before Alan could get the plane down in a field, the cockpit was overcome with smoke and flames. Alan had severe burns, which put him out of flying/racing for several years. But, with the love of his amazing wife, Sherri and his friends and family – he fought back and is the most inspirational person I know.

Love you, man!

The Sport Class has its champion back and it seems no one can beat Jeff LaVelle. They line up to try yet they fail.

He’s that good. It seems the only one able to beat Jeff is Jeff himself.

John Parker always puts on a good fight, but his Blue Thunder II was cranky all week and he had to sit this one out.

Vicky Benzing has a new ride, but again – close but no cigar. Andrew Findlay keeps getting closer – but again, failed in the final test.

While the winner of the Jet Race wasn’t a surprise, the racing had you mesmerized. With Rick Vandam sharing the flying duties with Mike Steiger, American Spirit was always in the lead.

From Qualifying to the final Checkered Flag, it was all Jet #5.

The race then became for second place. Zach McNeill brought his Vampire back – but this time it’s painted black and looks ominous – something out of a horror movie {shiver}. David “Killer” Culler, Vicky Benzing and Scott Farnsworth making the racing heart throbbingly exciting.

Soko O’No flown by Robert Continued on Page 46

U.S. SPORT AVIATION EXPO: JAN. 24-27

46

In Flight USA Celebrating 34 Years

October 2017

Four, Jam Packed Days of the Coolest Stuff Sure to Spark your Engines!

Acres of sport aircraft, conventional aircraft, kit planes, powered parachutes, trikes, gyros, amphibians, and drones!

You can demo exciting simulators, and take workshops to learn amazing stuff like how to build your own plane. Don’t worry there will be food trucks for refueling so you can keep going. Believe us… you’re going to want to!

Easy-To-Use Sign Up Form For Exhibitors

U.S. Sport Aviation Expo has developed a new, very streamlined system to register for exhibitor space online.

Exhibitors can choose a booth location from a very detailed and easy-to-use diagram. And, exhibitors can also choose extras, name each participant, plus specify any additional desires.

Dynamic Speakers

Sebring’s Expo will feature exciting new aviation speakers including Niloofar

The Pylon Place Continued from Page 45 McCormack added more excitement to the racing. Always good to see something unusual in the field. The Vampire and the 2 Galeb G2s were the only non-L-29/39s in the field.

Unlimiteds

Jay Consalvi in Strega for the Gold . (Anthony Taylor/warbirdfotos.com) I know that 50 years from now, I will be able to say; I was there!

For the two weeks leading upt to the the National Championships Air Races, Voodoo, Steven Hinton and the crew have been holed up in Idaho going for the 3KM speed record. With wildfires, weather and engine issues adding to the drama, they set the Absolute Propeller

Rahmani, the first female fixed-wing Air Force aviator in Afghanistan history. Dr. Story Musgrave, former Astronaut with six graduate degrees; Dr. Peggy Chabrian, Pilot, President and Founder of WAI, and Kevin Coleman, the only American to compete in the Red Bull Challenge Cup and the Youngest pilot in 2017.

Says Kevin, "This is what I've wanted to do pretty much since I was 3 years old. I get to travel all over the United States in Air Shows and now I get to fly all over the world in the Red Bull Air Race so it's a dream come true."

A Peek at a Few of the Workshops to be Offered

Zenith Aircraft Company and Stewart Systems workshops were in such high demand that they are being offered again.

Zenith is bringing back the two-day hands-on kit aircraft-building workshop to the Sebring Expo. The rudder workshops have become popular with sport aviation enthusiasts who have considered

Driven Piston Powered 3KM Speed C1E Record. Their average speed over four runs was 531 mph. They had hoped to break the now retired record set by Lyle Shelton in Rare Bear in 1989 of just over 528mph. The rules state that a record must be bettered by 1 percent and they wanted to get 533 to put all the naysayers to rest. But, because Lyle’s record is now obsolete – and the C1E record was held

by Will Whiteside in Steadfast, his Yak 3U back in 2012. So, they easily beat Will’s record – just not Lyle’s by the required margin. A win – but not an absolute win.

After that drama-filled experience of record setting, the Voodoo crew headed to Reno. What did we expect? Did we think they would sit back and rest up? Did we expect them to go for it from the beginning? I had no idea if they would be able to hold together after all they went through just days before.

But Voodoo had a few surprises up her sleeve. And Tiger wanted nothing more than to say – that Strega beat “The World’s Fastest Mustang.”

Jay Consalvi flew Czech Mate last year – but was happily saddled in Strega this year. Steven in Voodoo and Joel Swager

building their own aircraft, but were not sure if they could handle the required skills, workspace and tools. During the two-day workshop, participants actually construct a Zenith Aircraft rudder assembly from a standard kit. The workshop will be offered twice.

Stewart Systems will produce daily Fabric Covering Workshops.

Attendees will be able to learn how to fabric cover an aircraft with the latest technology in waterborne aircraft coatings. Stewart Systems products are non hazardous, non flammable, environmentally friendly, and provide a beautiful, durable and long lasting finish anyone would be proud to have.

YAZ: Young Aviators Zone is back!

providing a forum for aviation communication and education as well as scholarships that will enable participants to learn to fly, become advocates in their communities for aviation, and become an inspiration to others. The mission of the YAZ is to promote education, empowerment and safety in aviation for youth, minorities and women (ages 16-21) with an emphasis on economically under served areas. Scholarships are funded through U.S. Sport Aviation Institute, the nonprofit arm of Sebring’s Expo.

Drone Racing

Two distinctly different races will be held over the four-day event in the DroneZone. Prize money to be awarded is expected to exceed $10,000.

To learn more, visit www.sport aviationexpo.com.

YAZ is designed to encourage youth, minorities, and women pilots, by

in Dreadnaught. Three Young Guns all ready to take to the air. If the Mustangs coughed, Joel was there to take the win.

Qualifying saw Jay and Strega in the lead 484.724 vs 479.364 for Voodoo. The first Heat Race on Friday looked like it was going to be all Strega this year.

Saturday’s race didn’t change any minds.

But then came Sunday and the Final Gold match between these two young men and their Super Mustangs.

Coming down the Chute, Voodoo put the coal to it and took off. What!?

Like the plane was shot out of a cannon – amazing start. But, Strega wasn’t going to sit back and let that happen. Jay went high, knowing he had to pass high and outside. The first lap speed was nearly 500 mph. Amazing.

The laps went that way until only two laps to go. They were passing slower traffic and suddenly, it looked like Jay found another gear. He wouldn’t be satisfied with second place for two years in a row. He wanted that win.

They were passing Curt Brown in Sawbones – lapping the fourth place aircraft – when Jay started pulling ahead.

Then Voodoo got the lead back. Coming up on 924 flown by Mark Watt, Jay went

high and Stevo stayed low – holding his line. Jay dove down and took the lead away – exchanging the altitude he gained into airspeed and shot passed Voodoo.

And that’s all she wrote.

It was a duel between these two amazing aviators and two legendary Mustangs. Not to mention Tiger vs.

Button – two friends who love to compete against each other in this, the highest stakes racing we can find.

Thank you

A big thank you to everyone associated with the Air Races. The Fans, for coming out and supporting us. The Racers and the Crews who dedicated their entire year for one week in the sun.

To the volunteers and photographers – thank you all for what you do! And to the staff and Board at the Reno Air Races, thanks for giving us a playground again this year. To Stihl, thanks for the sponsorship and the chain saws! And to all the other sponsors, friends and family of the races. We couldn’t do it without you.

And to Anthony Taylor – thanks for the amazing shots I used in this column.

You rock!

Have an event coming up? Submit it for publication in the online events calendar at www.inflightusa.com

TUSKEGEE AIRMEN HIGHLIGHT 2017 ATLANTA WARBIRD WEEKEND DINNER

October 2017

www.inflightusa.com

Movie Night Friday, Oct.. 6 to Feature Tuskegee Airmen Documentary

Original Tuskegee Airmen veterans will share their fascinating experiences and stories at the Atlanta Warbird Weekend (AWW) “Dinner with the Tuskegee Airmen,” at 7 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 7 at the 57th Fighter Group restaurant, Dekalb-Peachtree Airport.

This is a rare event to hear first-hand about WWII from some of the dwindling number of heroes who flew the aircraft and experienced the battles. Five fighter pilots plan to attend, including Col. Charles E. McGee, LT. Col. Robert J. “Bob” Friend, Lt. Col. Harold H. “Buick” Brown, Lt. Col. Harry T. Stewart, Jr., and Lt. Col. James H. Harvey, III. They all earned their wings at Tuskegee Army Airfield in Alabama in 1943 and 1944. For tickets, go to atlantawarbirdweekend.com/dinner.htm.

AWW is adding a new feature this year, an outdoor movie night for families on Friday, Oct. 6. Enjoy the projection of an aviation documentary right on the airport ramp. the documentary, In Their Own Words: The Tuskegee Airmen, will be featured along with a question-andanswer session with original Tuskegee Airmen. Gates open at 6 pm, with a preshow presentation beginning at 6:30 pm.

The 45-minute show will begin at 8 pm.

“In Their Own Words: The Tuskegee Airmen,” tells the exciting and heroic story of America’s first black fighter group from the beginning of their journey. This exclusive documentary event features a panel discussion with Tuskegee Airman George Hardy, granddaughter of Alfred Anderson (Chief Flight Instructor of the Tuskegee Airmen) Christina Anderson, Producer Bryan Williams, and Director Denton Adkinson. Watch as the Airmen recall being part of the beginning stages of the

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civil rights movement, and what it was like to see their contributions make changes that continue to resonate today.

The projection will take place in the unique setting of the Epps Aviation ramp at Dekalb-Peachtree Airport. A $5 cash donation is requested. Attendees are encouraged to bring their own chairs; no seating will be provided. Refreshments and popcorn will be available for purchase.

For more information on the Atlanta Warbird Weekend, visit www.atlanta warbirdweekend.com For more information about the CAF Dixie Wing Warbird Museum, visit www.dixiewing.org.

Flying Into The Future Continued from Page 44 teaching experience.

Chance, owner/editor of www.wingsoverkansas.com, is a former News Consultant/Correspondent and Video Producer for Wingspan Air & Space Channel. Additionally, Chance has served as Trustee on the Kansas Aviation Museum Board of Directors and is a Charter Member. The website has visitors daily from all 52 States of the U.S.

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Reno Air Races 2017 Unlimited Class Epic

(All photos by Pete Shirk)

Continued from Page 25 L.D. Hughes, Jay’s crew chief. Hughes is one of the most experienced and effective at that game. His success-formula approach to things is a key ingredient for winning races. Quite a team.

Among the race rules insisted upon by the FAA in an effort to protect the seated crowd and bystanders are height limitations. No racing aircraft can fly lower than 50 feet, but also no higher than 250 feet above ground level. The rules are available at: http://airrace.org (Ref. pg. 15 “National Championship Air Races Official Rules of Operation & Competition”).

The height parameters make passing much more difficult. Getting around another aircraft requires using airspace, and with such a shallow envelope of height it’s not easy. A typical – and safe – way to pass is to overtake an aircraft high on its outside, pull up and past, and then descend to pick up airspeed. Sounds simple enough but at 50 feet per min./250 feet max and almost 500 mph, it’s not that simple. In reality it means having to pass at almost the same altitude.

Much strategy and effort by Race 7 had gone into securing the pole position

with the fastest qualifying time, but in the Gold Race on Sunday afternoon it was Stevo in Race 5 that bolted into the lead.

Jay spent the rest of the race engineering a pass. And that pass was legendary.

These two great pilots battled the whole way but with Stevo slightly ahead for most of it. The entire race was very close and the lead changed only once in a sudden and dramatic pass on the last lap.

On the last lap, screaming past Pylon 4, Jay went outside and slightly above Stevo. Crew Chief L.D. had been on the radio the whole time and at the precise moment when it could be pulled off, said “You are clear. Come down.” Jay dove a little and flashed past Stevo at about Pylon 5. It happened so quickly it kind of snatched your breath away. So quick, so precise. And keep in mind that at race speed they were doing over 700 feet per second. Imagine at that speed and altitude diving - even a little – at the ground.

Further complicating the passing task was that Jay and Race 5 were overtaking slower aircraft on the course by speed differentials of between about 60 to 170 mph.

Think about it. That is screaming fast. For comparison, on the freeway if you are

doing 70 mph and overtake another vehicle going 45 mph, your closure rate is a differential of only about 25 mph.

In the end, Jay crossed the finish line only 0.59 seconds ahead. Race 7 and Jay proceeded to the Winners Circle.

Rolling out Race 5 emitted a couple of puffs of black smoke, quit entirely, rolled to the end of the runway and off onto the runup area. Stevo got out, chocked it himself, and waited for the tow truck as his dad taxied by in the Pace Plane. Then Race 5 was towed back to the pits.

When I saw the winning pass, the U.S. Navy’s Air Combat Maneuvering syllabus came to mind. Did that make a difference this day? I felt it did. Not saying Jay outflew Race 5, just saying that when it comes to working on close margins, military training can really help.

What an incredible contest of will, machinery, and luck.

The results for the 2017 Reno

National Championship Air Races Unlimited Class Gold Race are briefly summarized below. The complete results showing all classes for all four days of racing are posted on the Reno Air Race Association (RARA) websites starting with airrace.org. There is a lot of other info such as history, people stories, and diagrams of the race courses for the various classes as well as great photos.

In the end, it is interesting to reflect on just how close a race it was. When Jay fired up Race 7 the next day to take it home, it wouldn’t make normal oil pressure. The Gods of Things Mechanical had held their wrath in abeyance only long enough to do the deed. But for a slim margin it could have been Race 7 instead Race 5 that was towed back to the pits to collect the 2nd Place trophy.

Jay shut it down, pushed it back into the hangar, and will return later to swap motors so it can be flown home. Like most military fighter pilots he is bold but has good judgment and knows when to to be prudent.

50

In Flight USA Celebrating 34 Years

October 2017

AD INDEX Aerozona Parts ................26

Aircraft Simulator Training 20

Aircraft Specialties Services19

Aircraft Spruce ..........15, 24

Airplanes USA A/C Sales 6 Airtronics ........................31

Alliance Int’l. Aviation (AIA)6

American Aircraft............47 AOPA ................................7

Arizona Soaring ..............41

Attitude Aviation ............51

Aviation Ins. Resources ..22

IN FLIGHT USA OCTOBER 2017

Scheyden Eyewear....22, 52

Copperstate ......................12

Kitfox ..............................11

Sky Dancer ......................44

Corona Engines ..............27

Lawyers for Men’s Rights26

T.J. Aircraft Sales ............23

Corona Air Ventures........44

Donny Rae Photography 37

Donny Rae Productions ..36

Dr. Susan Biegel, MD ....14

Hartwig Fuel Cells ............3

Hiller Museum ..................2

HME Watches..................21

Jorgenson Lawrence A/C ..50

J.T. Evans ..........................4

Last Man Club ................34

Sterling Air ......................13

Mike Smith Aviation ......27

Threshold Aviation ..........17

Pacific Coast Avionics ....10

U.S. Sport Expo ..............39

Planes of Fame ................20

Vans Aircraft ....................24

R&M Steel ......................14

Zannette Aircraft Insurance 5

Mountain High Oxygen ....3

Tiffin Aire ........................43

Pacific Oil Cooler..............9

USA Aircraft Brokers........9

QREF Media....................18

Victory Girls ....................13

Schweiss Bi-Fold Doors 26

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