UncategorizedCategory Archives

I wasted a good part of Friday morning. I put my camera’s memory card in my computer to copy the files and clear the card. Forgot to put it back in the camera. The EAA shops only had XD cards, and I needed SD. Tried the two battery vendors in the display buildings. One didn’t carry them, and the others were out at all 3 of their locations. Next try was the media building to see if they knew where to get one, but Canon was right next door so I tried there first. They must have dealt with people like me before since they had a sign out on their counter saying that they were available at a vendor called Camera Casino in building C. I had walked by there twice already without knowing they were in there. They weren’t listed in the exhibitor guide either.

Oh well, got the card.  Oh joy! As I’m typing this I see that this high speed (SDHC) card can’t be read with either of my computers. One major lesson I learned working with computers is that there’s usually another way to get things done. I’ll have to transfer the photos and movie clips over through the camera. We’ve got lots of photos and video to post. It will take a few days to sort through them though.

Thursday brought steady rain early in the day, but only occasional showers in the afternoon. We attended a “Tent Talk” session with Burt Rutan. He opened with discussing how the X-15 had two of its flights to over 100 km. He wanted Space Ship 1 to go higher than the X-15.  On his flight, Brian Binnie let the engine run a couple seconds longer than necessary to achieve the X-Prize award in order to go higher than the X-15. At the peak of the flight, the ship was flying at Mach 3.3 with an indicated airspeed of 18 knots.

The rest of the session was questions and answers. Few were about aviation.

Alternative Energy-How do we know we won’t have higher reserves in the future. We will move to alternatives when it’s cheaper.

Climate Change-The Earth’s primary thermostat is cloud formations and precipitation. a 1.2% increase in those will offset a 100% CO2 increase.

Attention span and Jim Bede-Cap and trade proponents are charletons. They sell something without buying it themselves.

Health care-He was able to choose a doctor and got a defibrillator. He wouldn’t be able to under ObamaCare. He believes his dad wouldn’t be alive today under federal care since it wouldn’t be cost effective.

He has this info on a friend’s web site bobscherer.com

NASA should give engineers the opportunity to discover breakthroughs. There have been no improvements in safety or costs in getting people to orbit since the Gemini program

Transportation-He is a proponent of air taxis. The Eclipse didn’t have payload or range-only speed. Dr. Williams and Mr. Rutan left that project because of that.

Terrorist threats-Homeland security person appointed is not the right person. US is not increasing the population enough. Europe is even worse. The makeup of the population with have a major change in the next generation.

I’ll be posting more of the news summaries when we get back on Sunday.

Attendance is still looking better than last year. On Tuesday 1098 international visitors were registered vs. 1000 at this time last year.

I attended a seminar on obtaining 501(c)3 status for chapters. We received that status last year, but I was looking for additional tips. Patty Arthur mentioned that we need to receive at least 1/3 of our support from the general public. An airport can be a 501(c)4 organization which would make them tax exempt, but would not allow donor tax deductions. We also may want to keep a log book of viistors to record our educational activities.

AOPA and EAA made a joint announcement on a Memo of Understanding for collaboration between the organizations. They want to protect GA, promote safety and grow the aviation community. AOPA will be supporting the Young Eagles program while EAA will add their support to the GA Serves America program. Both organizations will cooperate on legislative and safety issues.

I attended a seminar on A380 braking systems. The plane has 16 wheels with brakes out of the 20 main wheels. A system has been developed where the flight crew can program the runway and desired turnoff information into the autobrake system. The system will adjust braking to minimize heating, and warns if the plane can’t stop before the end of a runway.

Ford Motor Company held a reception for chapter presidents last night. It’s a unique opportunity to discuss our chapters with other people. Besides Tom Poberenzy, (He’s everywhere this week) Edsel Ford III, Harrison Ford and Capt. Chesley Sullenberger were in attendance. I was able to thank Mr. Edsel Ford for hosting the event. He stated that he often flies into Westfield, MA because he has a child attending Deerfield Academy. He thinks very highly of the FBO’s at the airport there.

A 302nd Airlift Wing, Air Force Reserve Command, C-130 Hercules is scheduled to present a live-water, aerial demonstration drop upon its arrival to the 2009 EAA AirVenture on Monday, July 27 at Oshkosh, Wis.

The water drop demo will showcase the capabilities of the U.S. Forest Service’s new Military Airborne Firefighting System equipment used by the Air Force Reserve.  The ‘MAFFS II’ unit uses state-of-the-art technology which features several improvements to the aging legacy MAFFS system. MAFFS II enables C-130 tactical cargo aircraft to conduct more efficient firefighting operations from the air.  This is the first year Air Force Reserve aircrews and maintainers have been certified with, and will use the new equipment.

“This equipment is the future of aerial firefighting,” said Lt. Col. David Condit, 302nd Airlift Wing Chief of Safety and MAFFS program manager.

C-130s equipped with MAFFS can drop up to 3,000 gallons of retardant to contain wildland fires in just a few seconds.  There are eight MAFFS units available for use with military C-130 aircraft.  The military aircraft are activated through U.S. Northern Command, based on an agreement with the Department of Agriculture.

The 302nd Airlift Wing is the only Air Force Reserve unit tasked with the MAFFS mission, making up for 25 percent of the overall military C-130 MAFFS capability. The 302nd AW takes on the MAFFS responsibility, while continuing to perform its primary mission of tactical airlift and airdrop.  Additional MAFFS capability comes from three Air National Guard C-130 units.

The Lindbergh Foundation will show its new film, Over Africa! Low and Slow with the Kenya Wildlife Service, at the Theater in the Woods at 8:15 p.m. on Tuesday, July 28. The film documents the training of 12 Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) pilots by Lindbergh Foundation volunteers, Patty Wagstaff, Rich Sugden, and Lindbergh Board members, John and Martha King. Accompanying the Foundation on this trip was author and wildlife biologist, Mark Ross. This exciting adventure was documented by Foundation Board member Miles O’Brien.

KWS felt there was a need to enhance the recurrent training of their pilots. For Wagstaff, her passion for the environment is second only to the safety of the pilots. Acting on an invitation from KWS advisor and supporter Bill Clark, she took her sixth trip to Kenya this year to train the KWS pilots and make them safer. “Pilots aren’t always taught how to fly low and slow,” said Wagstaff.  “The KWS pilots, however, commonly fly under 200 feet, so receiving aerobatic and maneuvering training is extremely valuable to them.  Working with these pilots is one of the most rewarding experiences of my life.”

While the official opening of AirVenture is Monday, the first opening event is tonight with a pre-show Theater-in-the-Woods presentation with Denny Fitch, Tom Poberezny, Bill Lishman, and Frank Boring. EAA Radio is already online. Most mass arrivals occurred yesterday, and the Comanche’s and RV’s due in at 12:30 and 2:30 EST today.

They now have a live web cam looking to the south at the runway 36 arrivals.

The new main gate, and the refurbished Brown Arch will be dedicated today.

Several movies are running today: Gray Eagles, Spirit of Aviation, Red White Black and Blue, Air Racer the Movie, Red Tail Reborn, Barnstorming, and One Six Right Movie

Eve is the name of the ship which is named after Richard Branson’s mother.

A press conference was recently held with Tom Poberezny-EAA President, Will Whitehorn-Virgin Galactic president and Doug Shane –Scaled Composites President

Tom stated that AirVenture’s core is homebuilding and innovation. That’s what bonds EAA and Scaled. This year’s convention has an unprecedented depth & breath of displays. Advance ticket sales are up 32%. From last year camping is up 3%, and some warbirds are starting to arrive.

Will Whitehorn stated that he is grateful to EAA for hosting the display.

So far this year VMS test flights have progressed very well. The ship is capable of lifting 17 tons to 50,000 feet. A future application is to boost unmanned rocket for launching satellites and other unmanned ships.

VMS is built from all carbon and is powered by 4 P&W 308A engines. Richard Branson will take his 1^st flight in EVE on the Tuesday arrival.

Historically space travel has been held back with the launch systems. This system provides flexibility and lower cost.

Doug Shane said a large group from scaled coming out to Oshkosh. The ship will arrive at OSH on its 16^th flight, having about 50 hours of flight time. The ship will fly in on Tue, have demo flights on Tue, Thu and depart Aug 1 at about 10 AM.

During the tests so far, they have flown as high as 35,000 ft, but expect to go as high as 43,000 during the flight to Oshkosh. The trip is expected to take about 4.5 hrs non stop from Mojave.

The VMS has a 140’ wingspan, and is 53’ between main wheels

After requests from tourist customers, Space Ship 2 was made to be able to carry a heavier payload. That allows a greater amount of “Human in loop” space science. One of the first commercial contracts they have is from NOAA for gas and carbon content measurements in the atmosphere. This allows a better collection than existing balloons. Astronaut training is also a desired commercial use.

So far they have invested about $130 million, and expect the costs to be about $400 million to reach commercial operation status.

I asked about the development environment in Mojave, and Mr. Shane responded that there is no better location for this type of development. The management of Mojave Airport does everything then can to help them. The location provides the best possible test environment since they can get access to nearby Military Operating Areas (MOA) which gives access to unique airspace which is not available anywhere else.

I attended a press conference today on the Airbus A380 visit and demonstration at AirVenture Oshkosh. The plane will arrive on Tuesday July 28, and leave on Friday July 31.

EAA President and AirVenture Chairman Ton Poberezny says ticket sales & vendor spaces ahead of projections

T. Allan McArtor Airbus Americas president was on the call.  Thomas Enders CEO of Airbus will be at Oshkosh.

This year is Airbus’ 40^th anniversary. Their major accomplishments have been the 1^st wide body twin engine – A300B. Technical advances were introduced in the A320 with efficiency, comfort, and systems. The first commercial plane with fly-by-wire side stick controls

The A380 brings new passenger comfort, environmental system and performance.

Bringing it to OSH is a thank you to the aviation community.

Capt. Terry Lutz championed the process of bringing the plane to OSH.

The main question was: ‘Can it operate at Wittman?’ The biggest concern was that the taxiways there are narrow except for P2 at the center which leads to AeroShell square.

They will land on runway 36 which is 8000’. They need to stop in 5500’ to turn off at P2. When it leaves on Friday, it will be pushed back north along part of RWY 18 to depart.

A towbarless tug will maneuver plane. On landing, it will lift the nose wheel and attach to the plane. It will pull into AeroShell Square (ASQ) and will turn south. The plane will then be pushed back to the north end. The unusual tug was shipped from JFK.

Wingspan of the A380 is within 1’ of width of ASQ apron.

EAA volunteers will be stationed in the plane who will keep people moving along. Some informational panels will be provided. They expect to be able to handle 1200 people/hour.

The visitors on the tour will come in at door 4 Right behind the wing and head aft. They will go up rear stairs, and walk through length of upper deck to main foreword stairs. Then down back to main deck to exit at door 2 Right.

Visits to the cockpit won’t be available due to the number of people that will be touring. There will be a large screen monitor with cockpit views and information.

As far as operating the A380, airports were concerned about taxiway wing tip clearance, but so far it hasn’t been much of a problem.

Turnaround time about the same about as a 747 (1 hour). Catering is the bottleneck.

I mentioned how quiet the plane was during its visit to Bradley in October, 2007, and Mr. McArtor replied that the plane has high left devices on the wing to land at a very slow speed for such a large aircraft. It makes less noise partially due to the interface between the wing and the fuselage. There is a new design of interior insulation for an extremely quiet cabin. They have even adjusted the galley configuration because it had become a prominent source of sound in the plane.

The plane’s maximum weight is 565 metric tons, or about 1.25 million lbs. At Oshkosh it will weigh about 330 Metric tons, or 725,000 lbs. in order to take off and land in the required distances. The runway load factor is no higher than other wide-body planes since it has 20 wheels to distribute the load. Turn radius is also similar to other wide-body planes

At arrival and departure there will be a flight demo lasting 7 minutes. It will demonstrate agility, speed, and acceleration.

The reason the plane is being displayed is that AirVenture is a global event. It is the home of aviation innovation. Airbus has been generous showing the test aircraft that is unique at OSH.

This particular aircraft is the 2^nd A380 to fly – S/N 004. Is equipped with GE/Pratt joint venture engines, and is in a testing configuration. It has ballast tanks and test instrumentation on both decks and very little interior seating and interior panels. Visitors will see some structure all regular wiring and test wiring. It looks like a micro-brewery with all the ballast tanks.

Mr. Lutz didn’t commit to what colored runway dot will they land on.

Airbus is doing this because they want to support all aviation. AirVenture is an outstanding place to meet people with the same passion. It’s not surprising to want to show off the product of the engineers & flight test group.

After the plane leaves, a recently renovated C-5M transport plane will take the place of the A380 on AeroShell Square.

For further information visit http://www.airventure.org

We all know that there’s an incredible variety of aircraft attending the EAA convention each year, but this year there promises to be several that you may not be able to get this close to again.

• Virgin Galactic VMS Mothership “Eve” (July 27-August 1): Born as “WhiteKnightTwo,” VMS Eve is the next generation of civilian space carrier vehicles

• Airbus A380 (July 28-31): The world’s largest passenger airliner, which will also be open for public tours during its stay in Oshkosh

• Erickson S-64F Aircrane Helitanker “Elvis”: A heavy-duty, twin-engine firefighting helicopter that will make aerial displays

• 1934 Klemm mission aircraft and Comper Swift (all week): Shipped from Australia, these airplanes are associated with the “Fly4Life” public-benefit aviation program

• U.S. Customs/Border Protection Predator B (all week): The latest unmanned aerial platform technology that will be on display at the Federal Pavilion all week
• U.S Air Force C-5M (July 31-August 2): The newest upgrade of the USAF’s huge cargo aircraft
• Avro Lancaster bomber (July 27-31): A classic World War II bomber in Oshkosh to help celebrate the 100th anniversary of flight in Canada

• Silver Dart replica (all week): A faithful re-creation of the aircraft that made the first flight in Canada back in 1909

• 1909 Wright B Flyer replica (all week): A flying example of the Wright brothers’ second-generation aircraft, direct from Dayton, Ohio

• U.S. Air Force “Thunderbirds” F-16 (July 26-27): One of many current military fighters expected to attend Oshkosh this year
• Lockheed P-38 “Ruff Stuff”: A rare flying example of the World War II aircraft that changed the tide of the war in the Pacific Theater
• Japanese “Zero” and German Messerschmitt ME109: Vintage warbirds rarely seen in the U.S.
• 1932 Pitcairn PA-18 Autogiro: The world’s only flying example of this forerunner of the modern helicopter
• Electric aircraft/”Flying Cars”: The latest technologies from a variety of companies showcasing what’s ahead
• Grimes Flying Lab: One-of-a-kind airplane that played a key role in aircraft lighting development

There are also anniversaries for the Pietenpol homebuilt (80th),
T-28 warbirds (60th), Cessna 150 (50th) and others, with a comprehensive
listing at www.airventure.org/attractions/aircraft.html.

* Virgin Galactic VMS Mothership "Eve" (July 27-August 1): Born as
"WhiteKnightTwo," VMS Eve is the next generation of civilian space
carrier vehicles
* Airbus A380 (July 28-31):  The world's largest passenger airliner,
which will also be open for public tours during its stay in Oshkosh
* Erickson S-64F Aircrane Helitanker "Elvis": A heavy-duty, twin-engine
firefighting helicopter that will make aerial displays
* 1934 Klemm mission aircraft and Comper Swift (all week): Shipped from
Australia, these airplanes are associated with the "Fly4Life"
public-benefit aviation program 
* U.S. Customs/Border Protection Predator B (all week): The latest
unmanned aerial platform technology that will be on display at the
Federal Pavilion all week
* U.S Air Force C-5M (July 31-August 2): The newest upgrade of the
USAF's huge cargo aircraft
* Avro Lancaster bomber (July 27-31): A classic World War II bomber in
Oshkosh to help celebrate the 100th anniversary of flight in Canada
* Silver Dart replica (all week): A faithful re-creation of the aircraft
that made the first flight in Canada back in 1909
* 1909 Wright B Flyer replica (all week): A flying example of the Wright
brothers' second-generation aircraft, direct from Dayton, Ohio
* U.S. Air Force "Thunderbirds" F-16 (July 26-27): One of many current
military fighters expected to attend Oshkosh this year
* Lockheed P-38 "Ruff Stuff": A rare flying example of the World War II
aircraft that changed the tide of the war in the Pacific Theater
* Japanese "Zero" and German Messerschmitt ME109: Vintage warbirds
rarely seen in the U.S.
* 1932 Pitcairn PA-18 Autogiro: The world's only flying example of this
forerunner of the modern helicopter
* Electric aircraft/"Flying Cars": The latest technologies from a
variety of companies showcasing what's ahead
* Grimes Flying Lab: One-of-a-kind airplane that played a key role in
aircraft lighting development

	There are also anniversaries for the Pietenpol homebuilt (80th),
T-28 warbirds (60th), Cessna 150 (50th) and others, with a comprehensive
* Virgin Galactic VMS Mothership "Eve" (July 27-August 1): Born as
"WhiteKnightTwo," VMS Eve is the next generation of civilian space
carrier vehicles
* Airbus A380 (July 28-31):  The world's largest passenger airliner,
which will also be open for public tours during its stay in Oshkosh
* Erickson S-64F Aircrane Helitanker "Elvis": A heavy-duty, twin-engine
firefighting helicopter that will make aerial displays
* 1934 Klemm mission aircraft and Comper Swift (all week): Shipped from
Australia, these airplanes are associated with the "Fly4Life"
public-benefit aviation program 
* U.S. Customs/Border Protection Predator B (all week): The latest
unmanned aerial platform technology that will be on display at the
Federal Pavilion all week
* U.S Air Force C-5M (July 31-August 2): The newest upgrade of the
USAF's huge cargo aircraft
* Avro Lancaster bomber (July 27-31): A classic World War II bomber in
Oshkosh to help celebrate the 100th anniversary of flight in Canada
* Silver Dart replica (all week): A faithful re-creation of the aircraft
that made the first flight in Canada back in 1909
* 1909 Wright B Flyer replica (all week): A flying example of the Wright
brothers' second-generation aircraft, direct from Dayton, Ohio
* U.S. Air Force "Thunderbirds" F-16 (July 26-27): One of many current
military fighters expected to attend Oshkosh this year
* Lockheed P-38 "Ruff Stuff": A rare flying example of the World War II
aircraft that changed the tide of the war in the Pacific Theater
* Japanese "Zero" and German Messerschmitt ME109: Vintage warbirds
rarely seen in the U.S.
* 1932 Pitcairn PA-18 Autogiro: The world's only flying example of this
forerunner of the modern helicopter
* Electric aircraft/"Flying Cars": The latest technologies from a
variety of companies showcasing what's ahead
* Grimes Flying Lab: One-of-a-kind airplane that played a key role in
aircraft lighting development

	There are also anniversaries for the Pietenpol homebuilt (80th),
T-28 warbirds (60th), Cessna 150 (50th) and others, with a comprehensive
listing at www.airventure.org/attractions/aircraft.html.listing at www.airventure.org/attractions/aircraft.html.

For further information, visit http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/msl/participate/sendyourname/
NASA web servers seem to be somewhat slow today. I’m guessing it’s because of all the Apollo 11 40th anniversary multimedia files they’re serving this week.