July 2007Monthly Archives

The numbers for Airventure are in, and it looks like it was a very good week.
Estimated attendance-560,000 which is an increase of 3.2% from 2006
More than 10,000 aircraft arrived at Whittman Regional Airport and others in east-central Wisconsin.
Total showplanes-2,647
Homebuilt-985
Vintage-1,014
Warbirds-365
Ultralights-136
Seaplanes-117
Rototcraft-30

There were 784 commercial exhibitors
Approximately 1,700 International visitors registered from 60 nations. This only counts international visitors who did register, so the actual number is larger.

Estimated campers in Camp Scholler-Over 38,000
Media-887 representatives from six continents (Including 1 from East Windsor, CT)

At the chapter leaders breakfast on Saturday, several items were announced.

Adam Smith stated that they are working to improve chapter communications. A speakers bureau will be formed by mid-September to provide a list of speakers who will be available to chapters nationwide. Also an online nationwide calendar of events is planned, as well as increase to the number of people staffing the chapter office.

Tom Poberezny expressed the concern to get the public more involved in aviation. Since we don’t have anything like the GI Bill, aging pilots aren’t being replaced. It’s still too expensive and time consuming to get into flying. 70% of those who start flying don’t finish. The new goal of EAA is to increase the pilot population from the current 640,000 to 1 million.

Paul Poberezny also spoke to the group. Paul expressed the need to continue safety improvements. We don’t want to slip backwards with safety. We can’t afford to lose our privileges. He said that EAA and the chapters are an aeronautical, educational, and most importantly, a social organization.

He continued stating a concern that the Light Sport Aircraft are still expensive, and people don’t get the educational experience as you do with homebuilding. Homebuilding too has become mostly an assembly process.

On the concern of the commercialization of the convention, early on he got no response from the major small aircraft manufacturers when he offered them free display space. His wife Audrey suggested charging for the displays so it showed the value

The chapter awards were then presented.
Major Achievement Awards went to:
Chapter 484-San Adreas, CA
Chapter 1300-James Bonelli
Chapter 274-Deactur, IL
Chapter 471-Gray Bridwell
Chapter 976-Barry Davis
Chapter 690-Debbie Huffman
Chapter 1414-Polar Grove, IL
Chapter 13-Ray, MI
Chapter 129-Bloomington-Normal, IL

Newsletter Editor Awards were won by:
5th place Chapter 976
4th Place Chapter 59
3rd Place Chapter 105
2nd Place Chapter 376
1st Place IAC Chapter 19

Web Editor Awards went to:
5th Place Chapter 48
4th Place Chapter 50
3rd Place Chapter 62
2nd Place Chapter 1226
1st Place Chapter 1410

Also announced at the breakfast, there will be a chapter summit workshop held September 14-16 at the Air Academy Lodge.

I’m back from the big show, and as I write this I’m listening to the Ed Hamill performing at the air show over EAA’s internet stream service. Sean D. Tucker is coming on now. Earlier Tom Poberezny, along with some of the major sponsors, announced the winners of the various prizes at the show. The closest winner to us was from Eastern Massachusetts.

Before we left Saturday afternoon, I spent some time listening to Bob Hoover speak at the Eagles Hangar in the museum. Bob covered a lot of the reasons he was, and continues to be, so successful.

When he was a test pilot, Bob always wanted to learn. Not just about test flying, but about engineering and manufacturing. When he was flying he concentrated on flying precicly to the test plan. This would reduce the data points in the test results. This made him a favorite pilot for the engineers, and also saved the company millions of dollars in testing costs.

His reputation did not go unnoticed by management who even wanted him to stay on their payroll when he went to work for another company so he would qualify for a bonus.

Even at 85 years of age, Bob isn’t taking it easy. He just started his third company three weeks ago. 

Both EAA and AOPA are pressing for the FAA reauthorization bill to not include any type of user fee. EAA devoted a large section of the Member Village tent to the cause. A petition is available to be signed, along with buttons that state “EAAers Unite: Say NO! to User Fees.” Hundreds of photographs of the people who signed the petition are now posted on the display. Senator James Inhofe is expected to be in the Member Village tomorrow. Sen. Inhofe, along with other members of Congress are expected to attend a forum on this topic tomorrow. The people who are staffing the booth, including myself, estimate that about 1,000 people a day have stopped by to sign the petition.

One member came back requesting another button. He wanted us to ask him why he needed another button. OK, We asked him. He said he saw FAA Administrator, and user fee proponent at an aircraft display and told her he wanted to give her something. He then handed the button to her.

AOPA has very large posters for people to sign to express their opposition to user fees. They went through six of these posters today alone.

Early reports are saying that an explosion has killed 2, and injured 4 people at the Scaled Composites rocket engine test facility in Mojave, CA. Unconfirmed reports say the test was supposed to be a cold flow test with no motor ignition.

At the end of August, the size of the Washington DC Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ) will be reduced to a constant 30 nm radius from National Airport. There will be a cutout for Leesburg, VA. This removes 33 airports from the zone.

This is the first of (hopefully) many postings during AirVenture next week. I’ve picked up a new lens to get better long range shots and look forward to capturing a little of the ‘look & feel’ again this year at OSH. If anyone has a particular item, aircraft, engine (or whatever) you would like commented on, or photographed, let us know and we will try to accommodate your requests.

Jim Weir of RST Engineering has done most of the leg work, and has found, what he thinks, are the best new products at the convention.

Further information can be seen at http://www.rstengineering.com/osh07

He found five products he considers to be the best. The first one even has the best price. Free!
DUATS Golden Eagle software has been updated. Leon Thomas, the author presented a quick introduction. It now has automatic updates and real time TFR’s. Moving the mouse over visible items gives a brief description. The software allows personally configurable chart preferences. Route planning allows rubber-band stretching.

There is a terrain avoidance window for your route. Reports can make a Triptik style printout. One option will make a flight plan form and a 50 mile wide flight strip. The program also will overlay weather on a route map.

The next winner was from Scion Systems. They showed their portable collision avoidance systems. The MRS sells for $549 plus a $50 show discount. The XRX goes for $1,795 plus a $100 show discount.
Both devices pick up mode C and S transponders. The device then gives the range and how far above or below your position. It does not give direction to the target. It does not actively interrogate transponders, but uses passive listening. It can send it’s information to Gramin, Blue Mountain and several other systems.

Bill Waterman won from Clarity Aloft. Their passive lightweight headset can be quieter than active noise canceling headsets. David Clark is still the standard for passive headsets, but they are best for reducing high frequencies. Bose introduced the world to active cancellation, but they work best at 100-500Hz. You still need a heavy cup to cancel high frequencies.
The Clarity Aloft product uses special foam inserts. The foam is better than custom molded plugs since it adjusts to your ear canal. A hearing aid style speaker provides clear sound.
The Air Force tested this product and found that radio volume could be 7db lower than with other headsets. Their show special is for $500 for the standard version and $665 for the TSO version.
Davinci software won for their Airplane PDQ software for airplane design. It’s currently being used at KidVenture where they compete to design the best plane possible.
MuttMuffs won for their earmuffs for dogs. They run $50, and are available in several different sizes. Unlike regular headsets, these are curved to match a dog’s head. Dogs will often take them off in the plane, but once they hear the difference, they usually allow them to be put back on. They will be left on afterward.

The Chapter Office ran a program on the requirements for obtaining non-profit status for EAA chapters. The guidelines are in IRS Publication 557. Among the items the IRS wants to see what happens with the disposition of assets should the organization dissolve. The assets must go to another non-profit organization.

Chapters usually fit into the educational category. If you lobby for legislation, the chapter needs to give both sides of the issue. Supporting specific candidates is not allowed.

On IRS form 1027, the chapter should identify how much time is spent on educational activities.

If the chapter has income of less than $25,000 per year, it doesn’t need to file a form 990 annually. There is an electronic postcard, form 990-N that can be used.

When reviewing an application for non-profit status, the IRS likes to see specific numbers. This would be the hours spent on qualifying activities. If the IRS reviewer requests additional information, be prompt with the reply. If you need more time, always communicate with the person who is reviewing the information.

Further information can be found on the IRS web site under exempt organizations/continuing education.

I went to the presentation from Canon. How to take pictures at Airventure.
The first part of the presentation was on the basics of digital photography. Then the tips on aircraft photography came on.
For an airshow, use manual focus.
For prop planes, use about 1/250 sec for 2 blade props. Can use 1/225 for 4 blade props in order to give some blur. Warbirds usually have slower RPMs, so use a slower speed for them.
You many need many, many shots to get the right result.
Air-to-air photography needs a thourough plan before getting in the air. Safety is the much more important than getting the right shot.
For an sirshow, be sure you pan with the plane
Use long lenses
Wait for the plane to get close to you
Shoot to the sides of show center. You won’t be looking straight up as much.
If you have image stabailzation, use it, but only in mode 2 that doesn’t do horizontal stabilization. Otherwise panning by a plane will not look right.
Tele-converters degrade the lens quality up to 12%. It’s better to just crop a photo
If using a polarizing filter, use a circular polarization. It won’t interfere with auto-focus.
How do you handle crowds? Get up early!
Shoot airplane parts up close for interesting shots.
Don’t forget to get a self portrait of yourself in polished parts.

Canon runs a dawn patrol Thu-Sat at 7 AM where an instructor takes a group out on the grounds for photographing.