IMC/VMC club online meeting Thursday, May 4 at 7 pm PDT

Our online IMC/VMC club meeting for May will be held from 7 to 8 pm this coming Thursday, May 4.  The IMC “What Would You Do?” involves a morning departure from San Carlos airport while Bay Area fog is causing low IFR conditions, and a problem that develops right after takeoff. The VMC scenario is on the opposite side of the country, with a late afternoon VFR departure planned; while you are lined up for takeoff, a landing aircraft in front of you runs off the runway.

FAA Wings credit is available for this event by registering here.

To participate, click this link at 7 pm PDT on Thursday.

We look forward to a lively exchange of ideas, and everyone is invited to participate.

Fly-out to Nancy’s Airport Cafe at Willows/Glenn airport on Saturday, April 29th

We are holding our first chapter fly-out of the year this coming Saturday, April 29. The participants will gather at 9:00 am at the Gazebo, at KLHM and depart en masse, for a fine brunch at Nancy’s Airport Cafe located at the Willows/Glenn County Airport (KWLW).
 
For those aircraft not able to carry extra passengers or you just want to meet at Nancy’s, please plan to arrive at Willows at about 10:00 am. As noted below, we are trying to match chapter members who don’t have access to an aircraft a chance to participate also, so we want any pilots who can carry passengers to meet at the KLHM Gazebo at 9 a.m.

Willows is 64 fun-filled air miles northwest of Lincoln.
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We are also trying something new for this event. We are using SignUpGenius to see if this will help organize the fly-out. We are asking all who wish to participate to use this link to go to the sign up page, either as a pilot/plane or as a passenger. We’ll try to include as many non-pilot chapter members as possible as passengers…this will depend on how many pilot/planes participate and the ability to accommodate passengers. We are limiting the passenger sign-ups to just ten individuals. Please note that we cannot promise that we will be able to get all the passengers who sign-up on an airplane going to Willows.
 
This is the first organized chapter fly-out we’ve had post-COVID, so we are putting our toe in the water to determine the interest in this and future fly-outs. (As of right now, we are planning fly-outs for the five-Saturday months this year…that would be April, July, and September.)
 
Also, a word of warning: we are using the free version of SignUpGenius which is very advertisement-heavy. Verify what you are clicking on as you go through the signup process to ensure you are not actually clicking on an advertisement.
 
If this process works well, the chapter may spring for a paid, ad-less version of SignUpGenius.
 
Please email back to the chapter with any questions or concerns.
 
Scott Thompson
Chapter President

Saturday, April 22 BBQ Lunch Meeting: Aviation Author Nicholas A. Veronico Presenting

Mark Your Calendars!

For our Saturday, April 22, BBQ Lunch meeting, we are happy to welcome noted aviation author Nicholas A. Veronico to present a program on Wreckchasing.

Wreckchasing is researching, locating, and documenting aircraft crashes and crash sites that occurred before 1970. As the nation’s population expands, we are often encroaching upon historic aircraft crash sites. It is the job of the wreckchaser to respectfully locate and document these sites before they are scavenged by recyclers or built upon by developers. Wreckchasing is an avocation that combines meticulous research, detective work, and outdoor adventure.

Nicholas A. Veronico is the author of a number of aviation, military, and transportation books. He began looking for and documenting aircraft crash sites in the late 1980s, and in 1995 started the website Wreckchasing.com. His website’s message board has become an on-line community for those interested in researching and finding aircraft crash sites. Most recently, his research led to the City of San Carlos, California, commemorating the March 1945 crash of a Navy R4D that impacted less than a mile and a half of his home. Sixteen servicemen survived the incident while seven perished.

 

On May 28, 1944, his grand uncle was lost in the 390th Bomb Group’s B-17G “Decatur Deb.” Nothing was known by his family of the loss until Nick began to further research the air war, which led to his book Bloody Skies: U.S. Eighth Air Force Battle Damage in World War II.

 

Nick will present on a number of aircraft crash sites, both civilian and military, that he has documented over the years. Nick will also have a few of his many books available for purchase including Wreckchasing 101,  PB4Y-2 Privateer, and Boeing 377 Stratocruiser.

BBQ Lunch starts at 11:00 at our hangar at the Lincoln Regional Airport. If you are not familiar with our hangar’s location, come to the airport and just follow the “EAA” signs.

The grill is hot from 11:00 a.m. until 11:45 a.m. when it shuts down, so come early. BBQ Lunch is $10.00 for adults, $5.00 for kids 12 or under, and $25 for families.

March BBQ Lunch and Program on Saturday, March 25, 11 am to 1 pm

Our chapter will be having our Fourth Saturday BBQ Lunch on Saturday, March 25, beginning at 11:00 at our hangar. This month, something special. We’ll have Pulled Pork sandwiches and all the other fixings available for a good lunch. The grill is hot from 11:00 a.m. until 11:45 a.m. when the grill shuts down, so come early. BBQ Lunch is $10.00 for adults, $5.00 for kids 12 or under, and $25 for families.

Our Program for March

This month we have invited ex-ATC controller Gary Veer for a presentation. Gary will talk from a controller’s perspective about both airspace and critical language.

Gary has a philosophy about airspace that is not widely circulated, but probably prevails among other controllers–In spite of the many classifications of airspace, there are really only two kinds of airspace:

  • Pilot’s Airspace
  • Controller’s Airspace

Gary will then discuss critical language. He’s gone to great lengths to find the wisdom that encapsulates critical language.  The point is clear – our words, although perfectly clear, have different meanings in different contexts. In aviation, for the well-being of both pilots and controllers, it is vital that both share the same understanding of the language.

Gary’s official aviation career began nearly fifty years ago when he became a pilot in February 1977. He joined the FAA in 1982 and went to work at an enroute center as a controller. He went to FAA flight check for a decade in the 1990s doing procedural and navaid checks, and then went back to controlling. He then returned to FAA flight check in 2012 when he ‘aged-out’ as a controller. He retired from the FAA in March 2019 and moved on to fly for Kenmore Airlines in Puget Sound and Axis Jet at Mather. He returned to the FAA in December 2020 again as a flight check pilot based at Sacramento. Also in his long career, he has done TERPS procedural design for the FAA and U.S. Army, and taught aviation and ATC courses at Green River College at Auburn, Washington. He also worked at the FAA Command Center, then at Herndon, Virginia. Gary brings his extensive background and aviation knowledge to us for what should be an entertaining and informative program. As a note…Gary is not speaking as an FAA representative for our program…he speaks as an ex-ATC controller with lots of real-world experience.

Come out Saturday morning to the EAA Hangar for some good food and good information. Remember…we’re only cooking until 11:45…

Summer Camp Opportunity: Aerospace Museum at McClellan

Aerospace Museum at McClellan Airport: 2023 Summer Camps
June 12th – August 4th
9am – 3pm

Aerospace Museum of California’s Summer Camp is back! Discover and explore the world of STEM this summer with weekly programs in Engineering, Space, and Aviation. Registration opens this Friday, March 10th at noon. Spots will fill quickly so don’t wait to grab your boarding pass.

For more information about this year’s camp program contact camp@aerospaceca.org

Member Pricing: $355
Non-Member Pricing: $385

Pancake Breakfast Saturday March 11, from 8 am to 10 am

We will be having our Second Saturday Pancake Breakfast from 8:00 to 10:00 a.m. in the EAA hangar, S-12 at the Lincoln Regional Airport.
We’ll be cooking pancakes, eggs, and other good stuff from 8:00 am to 9:30 am when the grill shuts down, so come early. Breakfast is  $10.00 per person, $5.00 per child under 12, or $20.00 per family.
Our chapter Board of Directors will be having its monthly meeting directly after the pancake breakfast, so you are welcome to stick around for that also.
Come on out and enjoy some
good food and hangar flying too.

Saturday Feb. 25th BBQ lunch and Program 11:00 a.m. – 1 p.m.

BBQ Lunch Program: Clyde, Walter, Lloyd, Clarence and William – The Creators  of the Cessna, Beechcraft, Stearman, Taylorcraft and Piper Aircraft Companies

Presented by chapter member Marty Maisel

In the two decades following World War I, numerous aeronautical entrepreneurs produced aircraft to meet the growing demand of civil aviation. A few of these industrialists made significant advancements to aviation technology and established businesses whose names are recognized today, nearly 100 years later. This is the story of some of those captains of the infant general aviation industry in the United States.

Our presenter, Marty Maisel attended the Polytechnic Institute of Brooklyn (now NY State University) and the Hartford Graduate Center of the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute for studies in aeronautical engineering and space sciences. His ten-year Industry experience included propeller aerodynamic analysis and test for conventional and VTOL aircraft at the Hamilton Standard Division of the United Aircraft Corporation and the Helicopter Division of the Boeing Company.

In 1970 he joined the Army Aeroflight-dynamics Directorate at the NASA Ames Research Center, as a member of joint Army/NASA XV-15 Tilt Rotor Research Aircraft Project Office, and was responsible for aerodynamics and the development of aircraft subsystems. In that activity he worked as principal investigator for several flight and wind tunnel tests.  Following completion of the XV-15 project, Marty served as the Airworthiness Officer for Army flight test operations in support of joint Army/NASA rotorcraft technology research programs at Ames conducted on Army UH-60 Blackhawk, AH-1 Cobra and OH-58 Kiowa helicopters. He retired in 2002. Marty earned his pilot license in 1966 and has completed a homebuilt aircraft (but no longer has a current medical).

Our BBQ Lunch will start at 11:00 a.m. at the EAA Hangar S-12 at Lincoln Regional Airport (KLHM). We’ll have a short business meeting at about 11:45, and then Marty will present at 12:00. If you are going to attend the BBQ Lunch, please arrive at 11:00 as we will only be cooking and serving food until 11:45, with the program to start promptly at noon. Cost for our full BBQ Lunch is $10.00 for adults, $5 for kids and $20 for a family.

Pancake Breakfast from 8:00 to 10:00 a.m. Saturday, Feb. 11th

A reminder, we will be having our Second Saturday Pancake Breakfast from 8:00 to 10:00 a.m. in the EAA hangar, S-12 at the Lincoln Regional Airport.  Weather forecast looks good for Saturday.

We’ll be cooking pancakes, eggs, and other good stuff from 8:00 am to 9:30 am when the grill shuts down, so come early. Breakfast will be $8.00 per person or $20.00 per family.
Our chapter Board of Directors will be having its monthly meeting directly after the pancake breakfast, so you are welcome to stick around for that also.
 Come on out and enjoy some good food and hangar flying too.

IMC/VMC club Thursday, Feb. 2 at 7pm PST

Our online IMC/VMC club meeting for February will be from 7 to 8 pm Pacific time this coming Thursday, February 2nd.  The IMC “what would you do?” scenario will involve a vacuum pump failure while on an instrument approach, and the VMC scenario will involve a Cessna 150 that becomes uncontrollable on final approach.
All pilots are invited to join in the discussion.  FAA Wings credit for this event is available by registering here.  The link to join the online meeting will be sent 24hrs. before the session begins.
Fly safe!