eaa chapter 84 newsletter - march 2012 chapter 84... · newsletter of experimental aircraft...

____________________________________________________________________________________ EAA Chapter 84 March 2012

Newsletter of Experimental Aircraft Association Chapter 84 at Harvey Field in Snohomish, WA March 2012

From the President David Weber, President

Value Defined from an EAA Chapter 84 member viewpoint

As an elected officer of the chapter I have always felt that one of the most important goals to maintain is a responsible stewardship of the membership funds. Part of that goal includes providing the membership a valuable return on their “investment”. This alone is the reason why the chapter board has worked hard to provide workshops and training targeted toward the skills members need to start and complete their projects. Just within the last 8 weeks we have had 3 different workshops including aircraft electrical systems, aircraft hardware, and SkyView glass panel avionics. These workshops included over 12 hours of valuable information for our chapter members! Now if you included the last two general meetings which covered skills to complete a custom wood turtle deck and basic knowledge of radial engines that number is closer to 14 hours of very valuable information. And we’re not even into March yet! Very soon we will be making an announcement regarding a workshop on the basics of building with wood. Several members have expressed interest in this and so the board has concluded this is another valuable workshop that should be organized. Check the website for upcoming details. If you are electing not to participate in these well organized workshops I would like to encourage you to do so. Even members who have been building and flying for several years have commented on how much they learn at the workshops. So show up!

Our next general meeting is going to take a different approach to our presentations. We are going to showcase the aviation careers and history of some of our own members. We have several members that will give presentations including military, commercial and general aviation. I think you will all enjoy it and I know you will get some value out of it.

February 14th 2012 Meeting Minutes Submitted by Mark Morse

The meeting was called to order by President Dave Weber at 7:05pm. Visitors: Mike is looking for an A & P mechanic. Has a canard project. Matt is interested in radial engines and is working on a Skybolt project. Keith came to hear about radial engines. Treasurer’s Report: Cash: $939.48 Checking: $4720.41

New Experiences • Brian Durham bought a MiniMax from Craigslist. He is also partner in the Dragonfly • Wayne Stafford reported a successful signoff on the Glastar project (roughly $400) – sadly, the #3

cylinder blew, delaying the first flight. • Chapter 84 is now on Facebook – search for EAA84. • Steve Mauler bought a ACK 406 MHz ELT ($500) for his plane. Connect to a GPS unit at 9600 baud

and the ELT sends your coordinates to the rescue team.

Next Chapter Meeting November 8th, 7:00pm Guess Speaker: Lt. Troy Bertran, NAS Whidbey

Island's Air Traffic Control Officer

Next Chapter Meeting: March 13th, Starting at 7:00pm

(No BBQ during winter months)


Old Business: • The electrical workshop went well, including attendees from chapter 1440 in Redmond. • The pancake breakfast and inspection workshop went well. Attendees learned a lot about preparation

for a technical inspection. • In response to popular interest, the project visits have been supplanted by workshops. Watch the

website for upcoming events.

New Business: • Sold the Dragonfly to Brian Durham. The club intends to use the funds to purchase an electronic

projector for meetings, movies and other club events (to avert the need to always borrow one). • Membership renewal – 23 so far. Dues are $50 per year. Members in good standing by the April

meeting receive a card good for 10% discount at Snohomish Flying Service at Harvey Field. • Chapter 84 has a new website: http://84.eaachapter.org/. Thanks to Jeff Bongard for volunteering as

webmaster. • Plaques are being engraved (without names) for the “wall of fame” – Honor award, Golden Hammer

Award and the President’s Award. Nominations will be solicited soon.Annual chapter membership renewal is due no later than the March meeting.

• Check out the video of President Rod Hightower describing the 6-point plan to increase communication with the chapters and visit them more often.

Aviation Issues • TFR on Friday Feb 17th, 2012 while the President visits Everett. • The President’s budget includes a $100 user fee for every flight. All aviators are encouraged to contact

elected officials and express their opinions.

Calendar of Events: • Saturday 2/18/12 – Dynon Skyview training workshop 9:00 – 12:30. • NW Aviation Conference in Puyallup 2/25-26. • General meeting 3/13/2012. The program will be members telling their building stories. • Pancake breakfast 3/24 9:00 – followed by an aviation activity to be named later. • BEFA Redbird Simulator visit Feb 26 (enroute to the Conference). Watch the website for

details. • Parade participation being planned for Snohomish KlaHaYa Days and Lake Stevens Aquafest.

Need volunteers to build more push planes. • May 19, 2012 will be Young Eagles – GA Day at Paine. (museums are free that day) No

parking at the field – visitors will be bused in from outlying parking lots. • Denim shirts with embroidered Chapter 84 logo now taking orders. Estimated cost is $40 –

depending on size of the order. Watch the website for details. Deposit due by the March meeting.

• A shop tour of the Precision Engine shop is scheduled for March 17th at 9:00am. Their facilities are located on Paine field next to the Paine Field Flight Terminal.

February Speaker: Bob Dalton Bob Dalton from Precision Engines told his life story of working outside in Alaska as a mechanic. Bob spent the last 15 years working for Precision Engines LLC rebuilding the radial engines indoors. Attendees were mesmerized by Bob’s tales of the big round engines.

Meeting adjourned at 9:15 pm.


Flying Should be Neat by Kirk Kleinholz, CFII

Like many of the best liquors, flying is done best when you keep it neat. And yes, by “neat” I mean with no ice.

Our recent snow events in the Puget Sound area serve as an excellent reminder that while Seattle may be best known for its rainy days, freezing temperatures with snow and ice can just as easily turn an annoyingly damp day into an uncomfortable and even dangerous one. That is especially true for pilots of small piston powered aircraft. We’ve all heard the cautions and warnings about aircraft icing, but a gentle reminder never hurts.

Structural icing seems to be the first thought conjured when we start talking about airplanes and freezing temperatures. Yet I suspect only a relatively small percentage of all GA pilots have actually seen ice on their wings or other surfaces in flight, and that is certainly a good thing. Even so, most pilots probably believe they would easily spot ice accumulating should it ever occur, and that may or may not be true. Structural icing on the wing may indeed become readily apparent with relatively small accumulations, particularly when it forms as what is known as rime ice. This type of ice is characterized by its rough surface texture and milky white appearance. It generally follows the contours of the surface it forms on, and it can often be removed by the various types of aircraft deice systems or prevented by anti-ice systems such as weeping leading edges.

The other common type of accumulation is known as clear or glaze ice. It is usually clear and smooth but can also contain air pockets making its appearance lumpy and translucent. This ice is generally denser and harder, making it more difficult to be removed by de-ice systems such as inflatable boots. Clear and rime can also form

together as mixed ice.

In most small aircraft types, the pilot generally has at least some visibility to all or portions of the wing leading edges. Thus if a pilot remains vigilant when moisture is visible in the air and below-freezing temperatures exist, they should easily spot rime ice forming before it has accumulated to a dangerous degree, though clear ice can be harder to detect at least in its early stages.

Unfortunately, the wing leading edges are not the only surfaces susceptible to ice formation. In fact, virtually any frontal area of

the aircraft can accumulate ice, including antennas, wing and tail struts, flying wires, door handles, intake ducts and many others. Ice build up on these surfaces may drastically compound the drag and weight penalties of ice buildup, and most of these surfaces are not readily visible to the pilot in flight. Equally difficult for a pilot to see, and possibly more dangerous than most of the other areas mentioned, is ice accumulation on the horizontal stabilizer. Ice buildup there can result in an uncontrollable dive due to what is known as tail stall.

Another type of icing on the wing especially bears mentioning here; that is frost. I bet most of us have jumped in the car once or twice with a layer of frost on the windshield, betting that the wipers and defroster would soon overcome to restore visibility. But aircraft wings generally don’t have wiper blades or defrosters. It’s critically important for pilots to understand that same seemingly insignificant layer of frost on ones wings can have a dramatic effect on the wing’s ability to produce lift. According to wind tunnel and flight tests, a layer of frost no thicker than course sandpaper can reduce lift by 30% and drag by as much as 40%.

All of this information on structural icing is excerpted from and explained in much greater detail in an excellent publication in AOPA’s Safety Advisor series titled appropriately enough: “Aircraft Icing” (http://www.aopa.org/asf/publications/sa11.pdf). That same document also discusses induction system icing, including the commonly referred to carburetor ice, which I have not discussed here. That is another topic worthy of your review and appreciation and possibly a future mention in one of these articles.

Meanwhile, I would encourage all VFR pilots to review this article as a worthy refresher for winter flying. All IFR pilots should consider this document required reading, especially those who regularly fly in the clouds around here in what has become known as the Pacific Northwest Ice Machine.


What I Learned from my Homebuilt. By Michael Henderson

If you remember, a few months ago I wrote about a large quantity of water that I found in all four of my fuel tanks. This was due to a single refueling event at a reputable airport that sells a large volume of 100LL fuel.

Well, the legacy of that refueling did not end with the purge of the water. The vast majority of the water was removed from the system after the initial discovery – which was at the next preflight fuel sample. However, small amounts of water kept appearing. Nearly 8 weeks after the initial event, I was still getting a few “balls” of rusty water in each pre-flight fuel sample. I surmised that the fuel sloshing during the previous flight was liberating water from within the fuel tanks.

Unlike those folks with composite wings (like a Glasair) or an RV with a leading edge sealed tank, a Glastar uses welded aluminum tanks installed within the wing. The tanks have internal ribs to provide strength. Because of wing dihedral (1.5 degrees) each of the internal tank ribs produces a local “low point” that prevents migration of a small quantity of water. Of course, the quick drains are installed at the lowest point in the tank. Water eventually collects at this low point within the tank. Again, I suspect water was tramped at the ribs and during flight this small residual water migrated and collected at the low point.

Well, as the photo to the left clearly illustrates, having standing water, even just a little bit, causes significant amount of corrosion on the steel quick drain. Even though aircraft quality quick drains are cad-plated, is appears standing water will corrode the drain in a fairly short period of time.

I knew something was up when I could not open the drain easily. In hindsight, the orange tint of the water in the fuel samples was a signal corrosion was taking place somewhere in the system.

Next time, I will continue with “what I learned from my homebuilt” with the gascolator.

Airforce One on short final to runway 16R at Paine field. The Boeing factory

where it was manufactured is in the background.


Chapter visit to the Redbird motion based flight simulator

A few of the club members made the

early morning rendezvous at the Redbird motion based flight simulator located at

the Renton BEFA facility.

The owner, Robert Lancaster, graciously let members, and their family members,

have free access to the simulator.

Nick puts the Redbird through it’s paces while climbing out of Harvey Field. Notice the waste water treatment ponds out his

“window” Rumor has it that he barrel-rolled the

Simulator?!?!

Nick and Mike fly in the special airspace over the Grand Canyon – legally!!

Thanks to the Folks at

Chapter 84 Contact Information

President David Weber (425) 357-1595 [email protected] Vice President Ken Reyburn (360) 794-6148 [email protected] Secretary Jim Burke (425) 346-6509 [email protected] Treasurer Nick Gentry (425) 355-9143 [email protected] Newsletter Editor Michael Henderson (425) 672-4257 [email protected] Hangar Manager Tracy Hach & (206) 321-3041 [email protected] Webmaster Jeff Bongard (425) 327 6365 [email protected] Librarian Gordon Kranick Technical Counselor Jim Davison (425) 334-1215 [email protected] Technical Counselor Mike Henderson (425) 672-4257 [email protected] Technical Counselor Wayne Stafford (425) 256-2435 [email protected] Technical Counselor Jeff Bongard (425) 327 6365 [email protected] Young Eagles Coordinators Dan Thomas (425) 337-5908 [email protected] Kirk Kleinholz (425) 233-7723 [email protected]

Print Services provided by Art Works, owned by Linda Gentry Visit our website: www.84.eaachapter.org

☺ ☺ ☺ Next Chapter Meeting: March 13th at 7:00pm 10th ☺ ☺ ☺

C/O Nick Gentry 12124 1st Avenue SE Everett, WA 98208

eaa chapter 84 newsletter - march 2012 chapter 84... · newsletter of experimental aircraft...

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