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.

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.

Our January Saturday BBQ Lunch Program on January 28 will dive into the ups and downs of flying in Europe, particularly Italy and Switzerland. Our presenter is chapter member Dave Magaw, an experienced pilot and builder based right here at Lincoln. He will talk about his experiences flying in Europe for the last nine years, and particularly in the last 4-5 years. Dave will cover some of the differences between flying in Europe compared to the USA, the airspace differences and some of the differences in the rules and regulations for flying. His experiences are only those of flying small private planes for fun and educational purposes (but mostly for fun and food), but he has pictures!

As a bit of background, Dave is 70 years old and received a U.S. pilot certificate in 1999. He received a European PPL in 2021 and an Italian Advanced Ultralight License in early 2022. He has logged in excess of 2,100 hours of flight time, about ¾ of which is in taildraggers. He towed gliders, mostly from the Byron Airport, though he retired from doing that in 2021. He flies Experimental and Light Sport aircraft, which are called Ultralights in Europe. His hangar at Lincoln holds his Pitts S1C and modified tailwheel Cessna 172, both of which he flies often.

Dave Magaw at a big European airshow at Friedrichshafen, Germany.
This is not Dave’s airplane.

Dave gets to Europe for a good part of every year and is part of a Swiss group doing a full rebuild of a Pitts S1C in Switzerland. He owns and files at Groppo Trail (advanced ultralight) based in Italy. His past U.S. projects include rebuilding a Thorpe T-18, building a Wittman Tailwind, and completing a half-built RV-4 project. He is a tool guy and, with his experience and background, has helped many in the Lincoln airport community with advice, knowledge, and hardware.

The BBQ Lunch will start at 11:00 a.m. with good food and hangar flying. We’ll have a short business meeting at about 11:45, and then Dave 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 $8.00 for adults, $5 for kids and $20 for a family.

So You Want To Build An Airplane?

Due to the rain and wind in the forecast for Saturday morning, we have decided to cancel the scheduled Pancake Breakfast that was to begin at 8:00 a.m.

Our December 15th Holiday party included a fine 2022 Year in Review video created by chapter member Tom O’Hair.  It’s 13 minutes of TV worth watching that covers our major events and milestones of the year.  You can view it on our YouTube channel or just click here to go straight to it.  Enjoy!