News & Pictures
Wings Over Dallas - 29Oct2016
View a slideshow of ALL of the pictures (33) taken at Wings Over Dallas: Wings Over Dallas Slideshow
The mighty Archer got to mix it up with some WWII classics on Saturday, October 29,2016 at the Wings Over Dallas airshow at Dallas Executive airport. Mark Armstrong had the Archer reserved for Saturday with a tentative plan for a couple of us to make a lunch hop over to Pelican's Landing at Cedar Mills. It worked out so that only Mark and myself were able to go flying on Saturday. Since we both planned to attend the airshow anyway, Mark did some checking and confirmed the airfield was not NOTAM'd to be closed or under a TFR and that with a bit of patience you could get in and out of there during the airshow.
We launched from Majors around 0915 with beautiful blue skies and a considerable headwind. DFW ARTCC provided direct to KRBD through Class B with traffic advisories so it was a short and easy flight. The goal was to land before the airshow began at 1030 which we accomplished thanks to the well run tower at KRBD. However they had FIFI (THE B-29) set up to give rides and she was taxiing into position with her first load of the day as we were landing runway 13. We had the good fortune of being directed off the runway at taxiway D and to hold short for clearance across 13/31. We were rewarded with a front row seat as FIFI rolled down the runway and climbed away. It was awesome. We parked the Archer at Ambassador Jet Center outside of the ropes of the airshow and in the general vicinity of the Commemorative Air Force (CAF) airplanes being used to give paying customers rides. We spent the first two hours of the day hanging out around the CAF airplanes and talking with some of the Lancaster CAF pilots and one of our own, Kurt Mueller. Kurt is working in Waco and is now a member of the Lancaster CAF. We made some fast friends with pilots Fred and Keith, looked at the Vultee BT-15 and the Stearman PT-17 they will be bringing to our Breakfast Fly-In on November 5th, and had lunch with them. Apparently the Majors Flying Club had talked to Keith in the past about being an instructor for the club. It took Keith and Mark a couple of minutes before they realized they kind of new each other. It was good to see Kurt in that element and catch up with him. He really seemed to be all in in his role as a member of the CAF. It was a great way to start the day but it was time to get inside the ropes and look at some of the static displays.
Throughout the morning and all day long there was always something going on in the air. Between the airshow elements, the CAF giving rides in eleven different types of aircraft, and the tower landing and launching general aviation aircraft, there was always something going on overhead. Listening to Lt. Col (ret) Dick Cole, the last surviving member of the Doolittle Raiders at 101 years old (he was Jimmy Doolittle's co-pilot) speak was amazing. What a legacy. We met up with other club members Ryan Kozial and Craig Wheeler and hung out with them for most of the afternoon. FIFI was coming and going all day and it was a sight to see each time. We were up close and personal for an engine start and taxi for the Texas Raider B-17. Those radials are beasts when they are starting up. But the Tora, Tora, Tora finale was the icing on the cake. What a show with about fourteen planes in the air, some of them dive bombing and making low passes, machine gun fire from the ground, and big, loud, black smoke explosions simulating bomb drops really finished off the day! We overheard some of the folks involved with the event saying both parking lots were full and they were at maximum capacity. It wasn't crowded but it sure seems like it was well attended.
We loaded up around 1530 for an uneventful trip home. The tower got us right out, DFW ARTCC cleared us through Class B direct to KGVT with traffic advisories, and we caught a very nice tailwind. We even maneuvered a bit to check out Mark's neighborhood on the way back to Greenville. You can see what a great day it was for flying from Mark's pictures over Lake Ray Hubbard.
Great trip, great day, great airshow.
Check out the link to the 2016 Wings Over Dallas website:
http://wingsoverdallas.org/
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Scout Aviation Workshop - 08Oct2016
View a slideshow of ALL of the pictures (364) taken at the SAW: SAW Slideshow
The history of the Majors Flying Club (MFC) Scout Aviation Workshop (SAW) dates back to early 2005. The then MFC President, Clarke Erwin, made a bet that with the help of his aviation friends the MFC could put together a successful Boy Scout Aviation Workshop to help scouts attain their Scout Aviation Merit badge.
The Scout Aviation merit badge can be obtained by completing several tasks including visiting an airport, demonstrating basic knowledge about airplanes, performing a supervised pre-flight inspection of an aircraft, reading aeronautical charts, and building model airplanes for example. It just so happens that the MFC has the resources to help the scouts accomplish many of those goals as well as being able to offer a bonus most scouts don’t get to experience – a ride in a general aviation airplane!
True to his word, the first SAW was successfully completed in the spring of 2005. It was however a learning experience for Clarke and his team of volunteers. With ninety five scouts in attendance, only four aircraft, and only one aircraft marshaller, it took all day to get each and every one of the scouts who wanted a ride the chance to experience the joy of flying. The MFC pilots even squeezed in rides for parents and scout masters (after all the scouts had gotten a ride) in what would turn out to be a twelve hour day. Clarke and his team of volunteers did a fantastic job educating the boys about flight and the possibilities of fulfilling ones dreams. By the end of the day the volunteers including Jim Henderson, Les Lindbeck, Dennis Mathis, Joe Rector, and Joe Wiser left the airport victorious, exhausted, and unsure if they would ever take on such a challenge again.
It didn't take but a couple of days for Jan Weatherbee, Manager of Girl Scout Service Unit 331, to hear about the event from Joe Rector. Jan encouraged Joe to see what could be done to set up a similar event for Girl Scouts in the fall. In October 2005, forty Girl Scouts attended a SAW that included a Ground School held on Friday evening, camping on the airport grounds, an aircraft pre-flight, model aircraft building and flights all held Saturday morning at the Greenville Airport. The Girl Scouts loved the experience and the MFC began making plans to continue holding SAW’s once each spring and fall welcoming both Boy Scout and Girl Scout Troops.
As a result of the success of those first two SAW events in 2005, the Majors Flying Club in concert with the City of Greenville, the Greenville Municipal airport managers, L-3 Communications, and a large base of dedicated and enthusiastic volunteers and pilots, has been able to conduct two workshops a year since 2005. The Greenville Municipal Airport General Managers have always been very supportive allowing the terminal to be used as dispatch area and a holding area for a bunch of excited scouts. L-3 Communications supports the event by providing aircraft fuel, printing ground school handouts and testing material, and the use of their recreational hall for the ground school. A fire truck and crew from L-3 volunteers at each event as well to give tours of their equipment as well as demonstrate the amazing amount of water a fire truck can pump out to fight an aircraft fire.
Over time it has been shown that it takes approximately thirty volunteers and several airplanes to make an event of this size a success. Each and every event for the last ten years has started with a well-organized plan developed and executed by Jan and her team. The MFC has helped organize and execute the event by recruiting volunteers, pilots, and planes for each and every event. It is an impressive group of volunteers that gladly gives up their Saturday morning to escort scouts, demonstrate how to pre-flight an airplane, supervise their pre-flight activity, help them with model airplane building, get them safely in and out of the airplanes, and in general do all they can do to make the day memorable for the scouts.
To date approximately 1,110 scouts have completed the Majors Flying Club Scout Aviation workshop. Troops from Lewisville, Plano, Garland, Rowlett, Rockwall, Quinlan, Caddo Mills, Celeste, Lone Oak, Greenville, Commerce, Wolfe City, Sulphur Springs and Paris have attended with many troop leaders returning every couple of years with the newest scouts in their troops. The Majors Flying Club and all the people who participate in this event are looking forward to continuing to support this well-established event. After all, we wouldn’t want the people such as Jim Henderson, Les Lindbeck, and Dennis Mathis, who have participated in every SAW, including the first event in the spring of 2005, off the hook that easy!
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Club Meeting - 29Sep2016
The quarterly Club Meeting was held in the Majors Flying Club hangar on the evening of Thursday, September 29, 2016. The event was attended by around twenty members of the club who were anxious to have a taste of Chief Rector's burgers and brats and to hear Harry Andonian speak.
The meeting was called to order around 5:30 p.m. to the smell of grilled burgers and brats by club president Dennis Mathis. As you can see from the agenda and from the pictures both Tom Hubert and Ned Howard were recognized for their solo flights. Don Reeder is shown presenting a solo certificate to Tom Hubert and Dennis Mathis is shown presenting Ned Howard with his certificate. Way to go gentlemen!
Club Safety Officer and Chief Pilot Mark Armstrong spoke to the group and reminded them of some basic issues to always be aware of. Mark plans to make short safety briefings a regular part of the quarterly club meetings. It never hurts to hear those important safety tip periodically.
Our local hero and friend, Harry Andonian, was introduced and as you can see from the pictures, regaled us with more interesting stories about his storied career as a military pilot. It is always entertaining and informative when Harry is giving a presentation. Thank you Harry. Dennis Mathis presented Harry with yet another MFC coffee cup as a thank you for being our guest speaker.
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C.R. Smith Museum and ZFW ARTCC Raincheck Program - 10 Sep 2016
The Majors Flying Club enjoyed a well attended and well organized Field Trip on Saturday, September 10, 2016. The club President, Mr. Dennis Mathis, organized and orchestrated and very enjoyable trip centered around a tour of the ZFW Air Route Traffic Control Center. In all we had twenty-three (23) people (members, member spousal units, member offspring) attend the event.
The morning started with a tour of the American Airlines C.R. Smith museum around 9 a.m. The group viewed the Pursuit of Flight introductory video in a theater (which of course has airplane seats) which was followed by an overview tour of the building and a beautifully restored American Flagship DC-3 that is on permanent display. Following the guided tour, the group wandered around the museum until around 11:30 a.m. reading the chronological history of AA, playing with stuff in the FlightLab, and reading the details of Flight 1549: Miracle on the Hudson. A short walk across the street got us to the American Airlines cafeteria for lunch. The place is set up for large crowds so we were able to grab a long table and all sit together. Pretty standard cafeteria food for a reasonable price.
After lunch we moved our cars to the ARTCC parking lot just a block or two down from the cafeteria and museum. Getting through the guard gate was almost like checking in for a flight but with a lot less hassle: keys and phones in a basket and a walk through a scanner where a Visitor Pass was issued. We were met by one of the two controllers who would be giving us the tour and headed to a conference room for introductions and a short presentation. The presentation had some interesting details regarding how the airspace is broken up both vertically and laterally. It really explained why there are so many hand offs when talking with ATC. The presentation was followed by a tour of the facility. We were broken up into two groups and everybody got to spend time with the Traffic Management Unit (TMU), the Weather Unit, and a Controller. The TMU function was not entirely clear but it was obvious they played a big role in how the controllers handle traffic at any moment as a function of weather, volume, and other disturbances in the system. The function of the Weather Unit is obvious. The real treat was to be able to sit with a controller and listen in while they worked. Talk about being tuned into radio calls and multitasking! Button were being mashed, aircraft were moving across the display, directions were being given, calls were being answered, and answering our questions all at the same time. Pretty impressive. It was a fairly light traffic day but there was still quite a bit talking being done by the controller. It gave a pretty good perspective that you are not the only plane the controller is talking to and what their job is really like. It would be something to sit in there during a "push" period. After the tour, we went back to the conference room for a question and answer period and a final video presentation. These controllers were very strongly in favor and encourage requesting Traffic Advisories for VFR flights. The video showed how much disruption one aircraft that is not in the system can cause for other traffic that are in the system. In this case, the one airplane not in the system required course deviations for the two airplanes in the system and required a significant amount controller time. The two controllers gave a very professional and informative presentation. It provided a good look at what goes on behind the scenes in the ATC system. We finished around 3:30 p.m, turned in our Visitor Badges, and headed home.
Thanks to Mr. Mathis for organizing the trip and to Theo Hughes for providing the pictures at the C.R. Smith museum (photography was not allowed inside ARTCC).
American Airline C.R. Smith Museum
http://crsmithmuseum.org/
Check out the ZFW D10 Boundary Map:
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Oshkosh 2016
Check out the 2016 EAA AirVenture trip report, pictures, link to the 2016 AirVenture website, and the 32 page NOTAM for KOSH!
Who can name the Texas aircraft repo guy in the Appareo picture? (Hint: it is not Rottler)
Plan “B� the lesson(s)…July 2016
Dennis Guinn & Denis Rottler
Denis Rottler and I made plans to fly the Archer to OSHKOSH (KOSH) this year for the 2016 EAA Airventure. Our adventure was met with multiple Plan B’s opportunities and each was a great learning experience in and of itself.
This adventure actually began last year. I was fortunate enough to attend the 2015 EAA Airventure as a right seat passenger. It was a great experience even in the “right seat�. I had been invited to ride along and share expenses in a Cessna 182 and a rented a house shared between thirteen friends from Gainesville. This year my Gainesville friends and I had decided to rent a house and return to Oshkosh again, but this time I wanted to “land on the dot� from the left seat.
One by one, each of the previous year’s attendees dropped out, leaving only four people this year. Two friends from Gainesville, Denis Rottler (1st time) and I were the only ones that would be making the trip this year. My friends from Gainesville also informed us that they would not be flying this year but decided to drive. Obviously, we would not be able to rent a house with only the four of us, so we decided (Plan B) to stay in tents like most of the other guests.
Denis and I meticulously planned and studied for our trip. Camping gear, NOTAMS, routes, fuel stops, weather, alternating PIC duties, etc. We even practiced our slow flight and landing on the simulated dots at Majors.
Sunday morning, July 24th at 0800 we were airborne and enroute to Wisconsin. The first stop in Branson (KSGF) and the second stop in Davenport Iowa (KDVN) were fairly uneventful except in Davenport we met some float plane pilots that knew several of the same people we knew from Gainseville. What a small world.
The third and last leg of our flight was planned to take us all the way to Oshkosh.
As you may or may not know, almost all airplanes arriving in Oshkosh are required to navigate to the city of Ripon (southwest of KOSH) and begin to merge into a line with ½ mile spacing. The requirement is to be at 1800’ and 90 kts at Ripon and follow the railroad tracks for about 10 nm to the northeast to Fisk. At Fisk each airplane is asked not to respond on the radio, just follow instructions. Red & White Cessna, rock your wings…good rock…follow the RR tracks to 27. Blue low wing…rock your wings…turn right on the east-west road to 36L, etc.
Each command was seemingly given as fast as one could talk. All incoming pilots were expected to understand and perform as directed in the thirty-two page NOTAMS.
After being assigned a runway, each pilot was to tune to a new and separate frequency associated with their runway assignment. Upon nearing the runway, a new controller would then assign landing instructions (which colored DOT to land on).
Sounds confusing and difficult but believe me when I tell you that these controllers really know what they are doing. And if you studied the NOTAMS, it really isn’t that difficult.
As we were arriving to Ripon, we were in awe while intently listening to the traffic and controllers ahead of us, and anxiously waiting for our instructions. Suddenly the controllers announced (Plan B) “THE AIRPORT IS CLOSED, THE AIRPORT IS CLOSED�. All traffic was then advised to go the pre-designated holding areas. There had been a crash on runway 36L. We were advised that these types of incidences were normally not quick to resolve and we were given an option of continuing to hold or continue on to our Alternate Airport. We decided to continue to our alternate, Fond Du Lac (KFLD).
Arrival procedures at KFLD were similar to KOSH (same listen only and color of airplane calls from the controllers and a similar flurry of calls – no colored dots though) so we were prepared and ready for the now busy arrival and landing at our new destination. We were to enter downwind for 27 and follow the T-6 to landing. All went well until (Plan B) we were on short final and to the best of my knowledge we were into the T-6’s wake turbulence (if that’s even possible?) The Archer rocked hard left and then right. We then executed a (Plan B) go-around and were then asked to re-enter the base leg and land long (at least mid-field) as we were followed closely by other airplanes. The landing on the Dot practice paid off, we landed at mid-field without any more complications.
The Airshow was all that we had hoped for and more. I highly recommend this trip as at least a bucket list item for all pilots and anyone interested in general aviation. Ask Rottler to see his “beads�
On the day of our departure, we were met with weather in the general vicinity and also along our route. We navigated (Plan B) around, over and under many types of weather with assistance from weather briefers, iPads, Stratus, flight following, other pilots during our fuel stops, and anything else we could think of.
As we were approaching our final planned fuel stop in McAlester Regional (KMLC) in Oklahoma, we were confident that we would not be able to make it all the way to KMLC because of thunderstorms. Our alternate airport (Tahlequah – KTQH) was also experiencing thunderstorms in the area. We decided to land (Plan C) in Pittsburgh, Kansas at Atkinson (KPTS) where the weather was clear so we could reevaluate the weather rather than pushing on and getting in over our heads.
After using the courtesy car to get some supper and checking with the
Weather briefers we decided our best option would be to hangar the Archer and get a hotel for the night. Of course, the next morning we were surprised to hear that KGVT was now experiencing thunderstorms in the area. By this time we were growing accustomed to all the PLAN B’s. With a bit more weather dodging and some light rain on the windscreen, we touched down at Majors around 1000 on Thursday, July 28th.
Lessons Learned:
Be prepared for PLAN B and FLYING IS FUN!
Fun Facts:
Consumed: 130 gallons of fuel
Average cost of fuel: $4.13 per gallon
Average gas mileage: 9.12 gallons/tach hour
Total tach time: 14.21 hours
Distance flown: 1478 nm
Average ground speed: 104 kts/tach hour
Trivia and Notes:
Outbound Route: KGVT - KSGF - KDVN - KFLD
KSGF - Springfield-Branson Regional (Missouri) - nice FBO. Fuel discounted on the WEEKENDS and available during the week at a discount to EAA Members. The guy landing behind us was pretty nervous about us getting out of his way. The very calm controller urged him to continue his approach, "it will work out". After we were clear of the runway and headed up the taxiway in direction opposite of how we landed, we saw the big FedEx jet make his landing. Well done Mr. Controller.
KDVN - Davenport Municipal (Iowa) - Another nice FBO with a courtesy car. We ate at the Machine Shed in town to let some of the weather at KOSH go by. Bread, coleslaw, and applesauce (actually more like apple pie filling) is served family style as a kind of an appetizer. Passed on trying cheese curds. One of the reasons we picked this airport was lower cost fuel (by a $1.00) than surrounding airports. We failed to notice that was the self service price and paid the highest fuel cost of the trip. Good planning, poor execution.
KFLD - Fond du Lac Country (Wisconsin) - We ended up setting up camp here due to KOSH being closed upon our arrival. We parked the Archer in the grass as directed and pitched the tent behind the left wing. We were just off of Taxiway A on the eastern edge and just north of the 18/36 and 9/27 intersection. We wanted some ice to cool off our "water" but were without transportation. One of the workers offered us the keys to his truck and ended up driving us to get ice. A sign of good things to come for the week. We had an extra sack of ice and made fast friends with RV and his family by offering them the ice. The Care Flight helicopter base was about a 100 yards behind us and they only needed fuel and flights twice a night most nights. That jet that roared off 27 at 0528 Monday morning was only slightly unsettling. When the sun set on Sunday evening, there was about 20 airplanes parked in the grass. The four male and four female showers that were set up seemed like a reasonable number and they were less than 200 yards from our tent. By the time we got back from Oshkosh on Monday night, there were at least 200 airplanes and tents parked all over the airport. Guess what? There were still only a total of 8 showers. Oshkosh stopped accepting GA campers by 1100 on Monday and at least part of the overflow was diverted to KFLD. Apparently Fond du Loc had never seen this may campers. It all worked out. There is not a lot of competition for a 0430 shower. The charge was $50 to camp for the week but the bus ride was $20 per day round-trip. It is just a 20 minute ride to KOSH and the cost of the bus ride seemed a bit steep. It actually was quite painless and ran pretty much on schedule. NOTE OF CAUTION: bring effective mosquito spray and be prepared to be in the tent at dusk.
Inbound Route: KFLD - KMBY - KPTS - KGVT
KMBY - Omar N Bradley (Missouri)- a small, old fashioned terminal with the cheapest self serve gas of the trip. They had a food trailer set up outside that made for a convenient and yummy pulled pork sandwich. Chatted with a young man and his Grandpa who were maintaining the place and mowing the property and with some pilots coming back from Oshkosh. One set was headed to Aero Country and the other to Paris. Great example of pilots helping pilots at this stop. The folks headed to Paris in their RV-10 heard us discussing the weather and told us to contact them on 123.45 MHz for a weather report. When we got airborne we were unsure about the tops and concerned about getting trapped on top. Fred in the RV-10 reported he was at 8500' with the tops at 6500' and he was right. We enjoyed a cool, smooth ride with a view on this leg thanks to Fred.
KPTS - Atkinson Municipal (Kansas) -a very comfortable, old school terminal (cinder block walls) with some really nice folks. They were so friendly and helpful. We took the courtesy car to clear our heads and get something to eat and decided to stay the night. They gassed up the Archer, put it in the hangar, and had it out by the time we got there in the morning. They let us keep the courtesy car overnight and even offered to let us sleep in the FBO overnight. All of the Pitt State gorilla statues around town is a bit freaky but GO PITT. Swing by and say hello to Bill Pyle the airport manager the next time you are up that way.
Is is not politically correct to ask about the "beads".
Link to EAA AirVenture 2016 - Oshkosh:
http://www.eaa.org/en/airventure
Check out the 32 page NOTAM for Oshkosh:
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