Your window to Oklahoma Aviation...Past, Present, FutureVol 18, No 6

Aerospace America Remembers Vietnam Vets

PRSRT STDU.S. POSTAGEPAID STONE MT, GAPERMIT NO.1068

June 2000

OKLAHOMA CITY -Entering its fifteenth year,and its second year at C. E.Page airport, award-winningAerospace America takes tothe air with the 69th Battal-ion, the only airshow act ofits kind, flying center stage inthe all star line-up of breath-taking aerobatic perfor-mances, military demonstra-tions, awesome pyrotechnicsof fire and fury, and spectacu-lar fire works.

The 69th Battalion Spe-cial Operations Group flys acombination of six Vietnam-era combat aircraft, that in-cludes the A-37 jet fighter/at-tack aircraft, an OV-1Mohawk, the A-1 Skyraider,and the A-37 Dragonfly jetfighter. With paratroopersand pyrotechnics, the groupwill perform a detailed re-en-actment of the rescue of adowned pilot that took placein Quang Tri province in thelate 1960s. Special Forcesparatroopers jump from a U.S. Army UV-18A twin tur-boprop while an inbound

Sandy (A1-D Skyraider) pro-vides cover from the air.

Robert Heckendorf, teamleader of the 69th SpecialOperations Group said everyperformance of the 69th'sRescue Re-creation is dedi-cated to all airmen, of everyservice, who didn't make itback. "The interserviceCombat Search and Rescue(CSAR) teams saved over3,000 airmen's lives in Viet-nam. The motto of theCSAR teams who performedthese heroic and dangerousefforts is 'Never leave a manbehind.'"

A crowd favorite, lastseen at Aerospace Americain 1994, is the French Con-nection, the only husband andwife formation aerobaticteam in the world, and theonly team in North Americato use the CAP-10B wood-and-fabric two-seat aerobatictrainers. Pilots DanielHeligoin and Montaine Mal-let together perform the clos-est formation aerobatics seenanywhere. Their presenta-

tion is a balletperformance,beautifully cho-r e o g r a p h e dwith music andpoetry. Theteam presents aunified blend ofvertical rolls,snap rolls, andclose head-onpasses. A high-light of theF r e n c hConnection'sact is an as-tounding cock-pit-to-cockpitmidair forma-tion 360-de-gree turn.

For morethan two de-cades, JulieClark, award-winning vet-eran pilot, hasbeen entertaining airshowaudiences in her pristine"Mopar Beechcraft T-34."Julie was unable to performat Aerospace America '99

due to a fleet-wide T-34aerobatic restriction by theFAA. After completingmonths of testing require-ments, Julie's T-34 has been

cleared for aerobatics and shewill take it to the limits of itsoperating capability as sheentertains the Aerospace

The flash and roar of Aero-space America InternationalAirshow will be at C.E. PageAirport, Oklahoma City,Father's Day weekend, June16,17 & 18. Aviation enthusi-asts will congregate forOklahoma's biggest celebrationof aviation. But this year, trysomething different: plan yourvisit as a business trip!

Out of the board room andonto the airfield, AerospaceAmerica is an opportunity foraviation professionals to con-nect for solid business-to-busi-ness reasons. Need informa-tion? Tools? Communica-tions? A quick stop by the

SkyMarket Exposition Tentand you will find products andservices uniquely suited to busi-ness needs - especially avia-tion business!

All too often we think ofairshows only as vehicles topresent aerobatic perfor-mances, demonstrate aircraftequipment, and show off un-usual aircraft. But what if youturned the idea of an airshowupside down in your mind, toemphasize the aviation busi-ness-to-business potential? Allthat glitz of the show may justbe ornamentation for the realmagic that happens when oneaviation professional meets an-other. Information is ex-changed; sales calls are set up;new agendas are established. Agood idea exchanged in that

Look at the Airshow Upside Down-- Consider Aviation B2B!environment could germinatetwenty more.

Since moving to C.E. PageAirport, as necessitated by con-struction at Will Rogers, Aero-space America has taken advan-tage of the change to redefineitself and its priorities. No-where is this more evident thanin the SkyMarket Exhibit Tent,an 18,000 square foot market-place about the size of a primaryexhibit hall at the Fairgrounds.Yes, there are products to at-tract and hold the interest of thegeneral audience, but businessopportunities for aviation pro-fessionals abound.

Check out prices in theCopilots Copilot Series AircraftPrice Handbook or arrange toadvertise your services in Avia-tion Week Magazine. Ready to

buy a plane? Talk with repre-sentatives of Luscombe Aircraftto sample an airplane maderight here in Oklahoma. Meetwith FAA personnel or set upyour sales call with the purchas-ing officer at Tinker AFB.

On more general subjects,spend time on investments andfinancial plans or special train-ing for important emergency re-sponse procedures.

As you take in all thebusiness-to-business possi-bilities Aerospace Americahas to offer, consider howcould YOUR aviation businessinterests be served next year byAerospace America Airshow2001? Need a good parts man-ager? Looking for certified me-chanics? Have a new productto introduce? Take your pick:

Aerospace America can beyour own trade show, right hereat home!

Aerospace America Inter-national Airshow, Inc. is a non-profit organization establishedto promote the Aviation Indus-try and its related interests inthe State of Oklahoma. Nextyear the event is moving backto Will Rogers World Airportand a larger venue will be avail-able for aviation industry pro-fessionals. Take advantage ofthis opportunity by planningahead.

Performances are excitingand the roar of those big en-gines stirs the blood. But thistime, look at the airshow up-side down! Business-to-Busi-ness Aviation holds the realcenter stage.

By Betsy Fry,Aerospace AmericaExhibit Manager

The fabulous French Connection Airshow, Daniel Heligoin andMontaine Maillot, in their famous “back-to-back” formation

continued on p. 4

The Oklahoma Aviator, June 2000, Page 2

THE OKLAHOMA AVIATOR

Published monthly at698 Rollingwood Drive

Stone Mountain, Ga. 30087(770)381-6379

FoundersJoe Cunningham and Mary Kelly

Editors/PublishersMichael and Barbara Huffman

Advertising SalesMichael Huffman

The Oklahoma Aviator is publishedmonthly. All rights reserved. BulkMail postage is paid at StoneMountain, Georgia. Subscriptionprice of $10.00 per year may be sentalong with other remittances to:

The Oklahoma Aviator698 Rollingwood Drive

Stone Mountain, GA 30087email:

ok_aviator@mindspring.com

From Mike... From Barbara...

When Michael and I began thisnewspaper, I had no idea that I wouldmake so many friends and valuable ac-quaintances during the process. Be-cause we are operating from Atlanta,we do a lot of telephoning and com-municating via email, which can beimpersonal, and leave a desire forcloser communication. I often long tolook into the faces of the people withwhom we are doing business and pro-moting aviation.

At Sun 'n Fun last April, we hadthe chance to put a few faces withnames. I was so pleased to meetmonthly columnists Earl Downs. Andafter all of the research and reportingI have done about the Women AirforceService Pilots, I was able to actuallymeet one in person and talk with her.It was magical for me. But names arestill just names, and I want to be face-to-face friends with so many of you.

So, from June 2nd through June11th of this month, I will have mychance. Michael and I are making atrip to Oklahoma, starting with theNational Biplane Fly-In in Bartlesville,then traveling to Oklahoma City to seehis parents, and ending in Cookson atour new home-to-be. During this tripI am anxious to meet one of my newfriends, Lorin Wilkinson, president ofthe Hatz group. I look forward tomeeting Charlie Harris, Biplane FlyinPresident. During a trip down to Lex-ington, we will meet Gladys McCaslinin person for the first time. And oneday, if I'm lucky, I will actually meetmy telephone friend Nan Gaylord.Nan has kept me buzzing with ideas,encouragement, references to peopleand products, and general friendship- and I so appreciate her great senseof humor!

One of my biggest thrills thismonth was a lengthy phone conversa-tion with Mr. Paul Poberezny. Paulhad called to ask for permission toreprint Michael's May editorial in "ToFly," the magazine of the Sport Avia-tion Association. I had seen Paul atSun 'n Fun and had a wonderful con-versation with his daughter, Bonnie,

but Paul was busy and I didn't get tospeak with him in person. During ourphone conversation, I appreciated hisintelligence, calm manner, enthusiasm,and gentlemanly ways. He explaineda new proposal to me - in words Icould understand - to have peopletrained and then certified to performthe maintenance and annuals on theirown airplanes. He explained the con-cepts gently, and didn't try to push hisideas. My logical side took over, re-alizing the potential benefits of such aplan, and I wholeheartedly supportedit. And in the same conversation, hespoke warm words about his wife,Audrey, their children, and their beau-tiful granddaughter Audra, who hadjust attended her first prom. Hiswords were those of a proud grandfa-ther, as he described her dress and herbright smile. So I hope to meet thisman one day in person, and shake hishand for the man his is. If you'd liketo know more about Paul, I suggestthat you read a recent interview withhim on the AVweb web site at http://www.avweb.com/articles/profiles/ppoberezny/index.html.

If all goes as planned, Michael andI will move to Cookson the first fewdays of July. My parents, Alcie andWalter Thornton, have lovingly of-fered to make the trip from Atlanta toCookson with us to help us get settledinto our new home. I can't imagine asweeter thing for parents to do, espe-cially when they really don't want theirkids to move so far away! I hope Ican be as good a parent to my chil-dren as mine have been to us.

Can't wait to see all of your facesin Oklahoma!

As Barbara and I are getting readyfor our move to Oklahoma, I am re-minded that following one's dreams of-ten requires courage. In late 1978, Ihad decided to follow my dream ofbuilding airplanes for a living. I hadtaken the steps (I thought) to secure aSmall Business Administration loan tocover operating expenses for six months.At Christmas time, on the strength ofthat expectation, I quit my safe, secure,boring job in Corporate America. How-ever, very quickly it became obvious thatthe loan would not be forthcoming.

(I realize now that I was hopelesslynaïve about the loan possibilities, but Ineeded some rationalization to salve myfear and get me off my butt.)

By that time, the die had been cast.Very fearful about meeting my financialobligations, I was truly between a rockand a hard place. But, even though Iseriously entertained retreating back tothe Corporate "womb," I was ultimatelyunwilling to accept the embarrassmentand defeat that would bring.

So, in January, 1979, amid feelingsof hopelessness, I opened up for busi-ness in the big hangar at Gundy's Air-port. That winter was especially cold,with lots of snow. Many mornings inJanuary and February, I wonderedwhether I'd even be able to drive to theairport. The hangar had no heat andonly one four-foot fluorescent shoplight. I rigged up a Visqueen partitionto wall off about a fourth of the hangar,hung a few other lights, and installed asmall heater.

Several bleak mornings when I ar-rived, the temperature inside the han-gar was below zero. Dressed in a snow-mobile suit, I would light the heater andtry to work. Glen Pray of Broken Ar-row had thankfully asked me to do somework on the wings of his BeechStaggerwing. By 9:00AM, the tempera-ture in the hangar would be all the wayup to maybe 35F! To do any gluing orvarnishing, I’d have to wait until after-noon, when the sun had warmed theoutside of the hangar.

Those were bleak days when I won-dered how my new venture could everturn out well. Weeks went by withoutanother living soul visiting the airport.Every day, every hour was a challenge.At the end of each day, I would gladlyretreat into sleep, knowing another bleakday was facing me in the morning. Onemorning about 9:30AM, after I had kindof gotten used to the routine, it suddenlybegan to rain-- inside the hangar! Oh,Lord, what next??? I later determinedthat, under a specific set of weather con-ditions, water vapor from my heater hadcondensed on the bare corrugated tinroof and fallen as rain onto my work-tables.

At first, I had only about four dayswork lined up. I had no idea what Iwould do when that ended. However,at about noon on the third day, I gotanother three-day job. And, before itended, a two-week job came in. Mallie

Norton and I had sold our Steen Skyboltto John Denver and I contracted withJohn to install a new engine and do someother work. Using the money from thesale of the airplane, I was able to insu-late the hangar, install a couple of goodheaters, and improve the lighting.Around the first of March, I was enter-taining hopes that maybe, just maybe thismight work out. The weather begangradually warming up and on some daysI could open the hangar doors and en-joy the out-of-doors.

Then, John Denver decided to letme paint the Skybolt, which gave meanother month’s work. Before that wascomplete, Steve Campbell approachedme about building a Stearman for him,a job which lasted about a year. By thetime spring and summer arrived, I washaving a really good time doing what Iloved. And from that day forward forthe next five years, I was never out ofwork (even though I did no advertis-ing) and I loved every minute of it. Iwas doing my dream!

Now, fast-forwarding to the presenttime, Barbara and I are pursuing anotherdream: moving to the Tenkiller Airpark,continuing to improve the OklahomaAviator, and doing our daily work to-gether from there. This dream, like thatone, has its challenges. Our house inAtlanta has, at this writing, still not sold.And our hoped-for windfall from thesale of my company in Atlanta is nownot going to happen, so that means we’llhave to continue working for the fore-seeable future.

Twenty years ago, the prospect ofcontinuing to work indefinitely was onething. But, as I approach 60 years ofage, there is fear in that prospect.

However, it is said that a dream onecan accomplish by oneself is not bigenough, and I believe it. I have had ex-perience with seemingly hopeless situa-tions magically working themselves out.Thus, Barbara and I will courageouslycontinue to pursue our dream, acting inspite of our fear and expecting the best.As Henry David Thoreau said,

“If one advances confidently in thedirection of his dreams, and endeavorsto live the life which he has imagined,he will meet with a success unexpectedin common hours. He will put somethings behind, will pass an invisibleboundary. New, universal, and more lib-eral laws will begin to establish them-selves around and within him, or the oldlaws be expanded, and interpreted in hisfavor in a more liberal sense, and he will

live with the license of a higher order ofbeings. In proportion as he simplifies hislife, the laws of the universe will appearless complex, and solitude will not besolitude, nor poverty poverty, nor weak-ness weakness. If you have built castlesin the air, your work need not be lost;that is where they should be. Now putthe foundations under them.”

The Oklahoma Aviator, June 2000, Page 3

Up With Downs

Earl Downs

The Aviation AnswerGuy

Check Ride TipsBy Nan Gaylord

CFI Renewals andReinstatements

Last year I administered about 40CFI renewals and reinstatements which,for me, are the most fun and informa-tive of all the practical exams. Sincethese CFIs come from all over the coun-try and all different backgrounds in fly-ing, I get to look at and learn lots ofnew ways to teach things.

The difference between a renewaland a reinstatement relates to whetherthe CFI is "current." CFI certificatesare current for 24 months since last is-sued, renewed, or reinstated. CFIs can"renew" their ratings anytime within the24-month currency period. However,if they fail to renew within the currencyperiod, a "reinstatement" is allowed, as-suming all accompanying Pilot Certifi-cates are current and valid per FAR61.11.

A CFI certificate can be reinstatedonly by the applicant taking a practicalexam (check ride) such as those I ad-minister. On the other hand, a currentCFI certificate may be renewed by anyof several methods. If, during the two-year currency period, a CFI trains fivepilots who have an 80% passing aver-age on their FAA exams, their CFI rat-ing is renewed. Or, the CFI can take atwo-day Flight Instructor RefresherCourse (FIRC). As long as a CFI actsin the capacity of a Chief Flight Instruc-tor or check airman, his/her certificateis considered renewed. There are evensome companies, including Jeppesenand Gleim, who have approved homestudy courses for CFI certificate re-newal.

Probably the best news for the fly-ing public is that national average scoresfor flight instructor renewals/reinstate-ments are very HIGH! Those I admin-ister reflect the national average- in thehigh 90s! The renewal/reinstatementpractical exam is a great opportunity fora CFI to sit down with a DPE and getquestions answered, find renewed en-thusiasm for the awesome task of aFlight Instructor, and get batteries re-charged for another two years! It alsoprovides the CFI with an ongoing re-source to get new questions answeredas they arise.

CFI renewals/reinstatements arefun, non-threatening check rides fromwhich everyone learns something new,and should be a very positive experiencefor everybody. With the current highactivity and demand for pilots there is areal need for qualified CFIs all over thecountry. Don't put off renewing or re-instating your CFI any longer if youthink you might enjoy teaching even parttime. We need you, and you will enjoygetting back into one of the most re-warding jobs in aviation - instructing ourfuture pilots!

During my 39 years as an instruc-tor, I have been asked about everyimaginable question you could think ofregarding aviation. You have probablyheard the expression "there is no suchthing as a dumb question." I guessthat's true but it depends on your pointof view. If you ask me (the instructor)a question that I can answer, it's a goodquestion. If you ask me a question thatI can't answer, I get put in the positionof appearing "dumb." Of course, bydefinition, instructors can never be putinto positions of looking dumb, whichmeans that the student must have askeda dumb question to put me in this posi-tion in the first place. In other words,"yes Virginia, there is a Santa Claus,"and yes, there is such a thing as a dumbquestion.

When I am asked a dumb question(remember, that's any question I can'tanswer) I am still obligated to comeup with an answer. While a correctanswer is preferable, there are timeswhen a good "delaying" answer will dothe job. A "delaying" answer can of-ten be obtained by quoting other avia-tion experts, by telling a story, or byrelating a personal anecdote. I haveincluded several examples of questionsI have been asked over these manyyears. Both instructors and studentsmay learn from these interesting in-sights. You pilots out there may wantto memorize these for the purpose ofbringing them up at parties and socialgatherings. After all, nothing is moreimpressive (especially to the oppositesex) than hearing pilots talk about pi-lot stuff.

Question: Why is it that pilotssometimes seem to be such wild andcrazy people?

My Answer: To quote Dr. HerbertHaynes of the FAA, "We have no ef-fective screening methods to make surepilots are sane." I should point out thatwhile sanity can not be assured, in atleast one case, morality can. Accord-ing to the FARs, to be eligible for anAirline Transport Pilot Certificate, theapplicant must "be of good moral char-acter." The ATP is the only pilot cer-tificate eligibility requirement thatmakes such a statement. So, I guessyou really don't have to lock up yourwife and daughters when an airline cap-tain is in the vicinity!

Question: A while back a friendasked me if I had just made a landingor was I shot down. What are the se-crets to making a good landing?

My Answer: Making a good land-ing is not the issue. It's defining a goodlanding that counts. After all, the term

"good" must be compared to the term"bad" in order to be defined. Aviationwisdom has always held that any land-ing you can walk away from is a goodlanding. I prefer to think that any land-ing that allows you to use the equip-ment again is a really good landing. Bythe way, anyone who asks you a ques-tion like that is not your friend.

Question: What makes an airplanestay up?

My Answer: I have always thoughtthe correct answer for this question was"money." But, after careful research, Ifound out that Orville Wright once said,"The airplane stays up because itdoesn't have time to fall". Sounds goodto me!

Question: What makes a helicop-ter fly?

My Answer: Unfortunately, Orvilledid not have a good answer for thisone. Basically, a helicopter is a col-lection of rotating parts going roundand round and reciprocating parts go-ing up and down; all of them trying tobecome random in motion. Only thepilot keeps all these parts going in thesame direction at the same time, whichalso proves the point that pilots arenot screened for sanity. The truth isthat a helicopter doesn't fly; it beatsthe ground away.

Question: Is flying dangerous?My Answer: No, crashing is dan-

gerous.Question: My wife does not like to

fly with me. How do I change hermind?

My Answer: Male pilots have al-ways been on the cutting edge whendealing with the fairer sex. Our abilityto be concise and clearly understoodstands us apart from other mere mor-tals. When asked a similar question,the famed aviation author Gordon

Baxter replied, "My first wife didn't liketo fly, either."

Question: Is it true that the wheel-barrow was invented to teach FAA in-spectors how to walk upright?

My Answer: To my knowledge, thewheelbarrow was invented long beforethe FAA. The FAA may use the wheel-barrow as a training aid but I have neverseen it in action. Of course, I don'toften see many FAA inspectors in ac-tion either. I do know a few FAA in-spectors that are able to walk uprightand I will ask them what training pro-gram is in use. I suspect I may see afew more FAA inspectors in action af-ter they read this!

Question: What is the secret to asafe flight?

My Answer: As you would expect,it has to do with takeoffs and landings.It is important to remember that take-offs are optional but landings are man-datory. It's also important to keepscore. Try to keep your number oflandings equal to your number of take-offs.

Question: During my training Ihave gone through several instructors.It seems they have all gone on to find"real" jobs, whatever that means. Oneinstructor stressed airspeed controlwhile another harped constantly aboutholding altitude. Yet another was al-ways on me about keeping the ball cen-tered. What is the most important in-strument in the airplane?

My Answer: The hour meter.There you have it. Try these ques-

tions out on your instructor and seehow he or she handles them. All in-structors like to be asked questions, butremember, only ask questions that theyhave answers for. Got some for me?Fire them off to "The Aviation AnswerGuy" at earldowns@hotmail.com.

The practical exam may be given inany aircraft in which the FAA Inspectoror Designated Pilot Examiner (DPE) isauthorized, and automatically renewsALL ratings and privileges on theapplicant's Flight Instructor Certificate.For instance, a CFI holding instrumentand multiengine ratings on his Certifi-cate may renew by flying a Cessna 172and still teach instruments and teach inmultiengine airplanes. An added rating(i.e., CFII or MEI) may only be addedto a current Flight Instructor Certificate.

I try to ensure that every CFI whocomes to me for a renewal or reinstate-ment leaves the office current on all PTSchanges, FARs, pertinent AdvisoryCirculars, endorsements, FAA web sites,etc. The flight portion of the practicalexam is as diversified as there are CFIs.I try to tailor that portion to the par-ticular CFI's use of his/her Certificate.Some CFIs just want to renew becausethey "worked so hard to get it they don'twant to let it go" even though they haveno plans to use it. Others are currentlyinstructing, or plan to instruct in the fu-ture. The CFI should leave the practi-cal exam with enough confidence to ex-ercise any flight instructor privileges heholds and is current to use.

The Oklahoma Aviator, June 2000, Page 4

Aerospace America Features Top-Notch Aerobatic Performerscontinued from p. 1America 2000 crowd. Julie's perfor-mance is classic showmanship. Herunique presentation of "Serenade inRed, White and Blue" in her Mopar T-34, a graceful aerial ballet choreo-graphed to Lee Greenwood's "GodBless The USA" and "God Bless UsCanada," accompanied by pyrotechnicsand colorful smoke trails, is a symbolof pride and patriotism. Julie Clark is

a captain for Northwest Airlines andhas logged more than 20,000 accident-free hours.

Yes, the Russians are returning. Atall three shows, Nicolai Timofeev,three-time Russian Aerobatic Cham-pion will demonstrate the skills neces-sary to fly a winning routine at theWorld Aerobatic Championships.

Eric Bear, another aerobatic per-former flying a Yak 54 with excitingand daring precision aerobatics willperform at the night show and bothdays.

Tiger Tom Klassen flys at Aero-space America in his Sukhoi SU-26"Buell Tiger." The Buell Tiger was de-signed for one purpose - unlimitedaerobatic performance. It has a nine-cylinder, 360 horsepower M-14P ra-dial engine that allows Tom to flystraight up for over 3,500 feet and levelat over 280 miles per hour. The wingand fuselage is made from carbon fiber

which is stronger and lighter than con-ventional aircraft materials. Tom saidthe Buell Tiger is a +12 and a -10 Gman-eater. To "keep up" with his air-craft he has to constantly train to main-tain his G tolerance. During his per-formance, Tom experiences ten timesthe force of gravity, or 10 Gs. At 10Gs, his body weighs over 2,000pounds. Tom has acquired more than8,000 hours of flight experience and hasbeen flying for over 17 years. He holds

a commercial pi-lots license forsingle- andmulti-engine air-craft, helicop-ters, and gliders.Basically, if it haswings, Tom sayshe will try to flyit.

D a nBuchanan bringsalmost 20 yearsand 2,000 hoursof hang glidingknow-how tothis year'sairshow. In spiteof being con-fined to a wheel-chair after a1981 motor-cycle accident,Dan puts on aspectacular andunique air show,suspended froma hang glider.His Friday nightshow with mu-sic, coloredsmoke, and py-r o t e c h n i c sleaves the crowdspeechless. Inhis daytime per-formance, Danreaches speedsup to 70 miles

per hour in his hang glider. His glid-ers, manufactured by Pacific Airwaysof Salinas, California, are certified andtested beyond the current structural re-quirements of +6Gs and -4Gs. Thewing has a span of 32 feet and a wingarea of 145 sq. ft, which allows topspeeds in excess of 70 mph, but pro-duces a stall speed of only 22 mph. Dansays he has to fly because he can't walk.

Once again Aerospace Americawill thrill airshow attendees with its Fireand Fury demonstration of modernmilitary air power. Supported by ex-plosives and pyrotechnics, modern mili-tary aircraft including an FA-18, an A-10 Wart Hog, a C-130H helicopter,and other combat-type aircraft, willpresent "Fire and Fury" for the airshowcrowd. Modern military aircraft dis-play will include a flyby formation oftwo B-1B bombers. A heritage flightof an A-10 and a WWII P-47 warbirdwill also take place. Only about 10 ci-

vilian Heritage flight pi-lots in the world are au-thorized to fly in a heri-tage flight formation withmodern military aircraft.

For those oldwarbird aircraft enthusi-asts, there will be theusual line up of propel-ler-driven, piston-pow-ered aircraft flying andon static display. Aircraftdating back to WWII in-clude T-28s, TBMAvenger, P-47, FM-2Wildcat, SB-25, C-45,TS-11 Iscar Jet, PT-19,and a host of others.

In the tradition ofAerospace America, theFriday night airshow willfeature beautiful duskand night time flightsending with a spectacu-lar fireworks and highexplosives pyrotechnicsshow.

Aerospace America2000 will be held at C.E. Page Airport in west-ern Oklahoma City. Theexcitement takes placeFathers Day weekend,June 16-18. Ticket pricesremain the same as last year; at the gatethey are $12 for adults and $6 for chil-dren 6-12. Advance tickets, availableat Oklahoma Homeland and TulsaQuick Trip stores, are $8 for adults and$3 for children. For more informationcall (405)685-9546.

[Editors Note: in the final momentsbefore this edition was printed, we

Julie Harris “smokin’” in her Mopar Beechcraft T-34OKLAHOMA CITY - The skies

above north Oklahoma City will befull of hot air on August 11th and12th as Southwestern Bell BalloonFest 2000 gets off the ground! Thefestival, in its fifth year, will featuremore than 60 hot air balloons of ev-ery shape, size, and color as well asa multitude of other family activitiesand entertainment.

Activities include the DerbyDuck Dash, a children's activity tent,a static aircraft display, Safari Joe'sexotic animals, the Home DepotUniversity, remote controlled air-planes and helicopters, the South-western Bell Family FunZone withinflatable rides and games, theRainForest Adventure, arts andcrafts, great food, karaoke, tetheredballoon rides, a Legend Car display,live music, and much more!

Southwestern Bell Balloon Fest2000 will be held August 11th and12th at Wiley Post Airport, NW 50thand Council. Event hours are Fri-day, 4pm - 11pm, and Saturday, 6am

- 11pm. Admission is $5 at the gate.Half price weekend passes and freetickets for kids age 12 and under areavailable at all participating Buy ForLess stores, Tinker Federal CreditUnion, Toys R Us, and Red Lobster.Parking is free and can be accessedoff of NW 50th and Council.

Southwestern Bell Balloon Fest2000 is sponsored by SouthwesternBell, Buy For Less, All AmericanBottling/7UP, Nokia, The HomeDepot, Sonic Drive-Ins, OklahomaPork Council, the City of OklahomaCity, Harold's Stores, Inc. KOMA,KRXO, KMGL, and KFOR TV-4

Proceeds from the event benefitthe Regional Food Bank of Okla-homa. For information about vol-unteering at the event, call the FoodBank at (405)972-1111, ext. 110.For additional information aboutSouthwestern Bell Balloon Fest2000, please call (405)948-4000 orvisi t our web si te atwww.balloonfest.com.

Southwestern Bell Balloon Fest 2000 SetsAugust Date at Wiley Post Airport

Dan Buchanan, paraplegic hang glider pilotperforms a stunning night aerobatics perfor-mance with pyrotechnics

learned that Daniel Heligoin andMontaine were killed during a prac-tice session Saturday May 27 atFlagler Beach Airport in Bunnell, FL.We join the Aerospace America staffin expressing our sadness at the pass-ing of these well-loved aviators.]

The Oklahoma Aviator, June 2000, Page 5

U.S Military Stops Degrading GPS System Accuracy

WASHINGTON - Global positioningdevices used to steer cars, fly planes orfind missing skiers and hikers were givenpinpoint accuracy previously available onlyto the military under an order PresidentClinton signed Monday, May 1st.

Until now, civilians using a U.S.-builtnetwork of satellites for navigation got aless accurate reading than the military outof fear that potential enemies could usethe system to target missiles.

Effective midnight Monday May 1st,the United States stopped jamming the sig-nal for civilian users, but can still selec-tively block the improved Global Position-ing System over any given region at will,Clinton administration officials said.

The military will still use an encrypted,highly accurate version of the system forguiding precision weaponry such as themissiles used in the Persian Gulf War andlast year's Balkan air strikes.

"Police, firemen, emergency crewswill now be able to respond more accu-rately to exactly where help is needed,"said Neal Lane, the White House scienceadviser.

The change will make satellite navi-gation devices people already own 10times more accurate, Lane said, and willnot require the purchase of new machines.

The difference will mean satellite navi-gation can be used to track a missing per-son to an area about the size of a tenniscourt. Until now, the area of intense searchwould have been more like a football field.

That level of imprecision was prob-lematic in emergencies and when tryingto pinpoint such things as a stranded

motorist's exact location. With the lessaccurate system, a reading for the motor-ist might include both sides of a busy high-way or even several different roads. Thesystem, known as GPS, is used by morethan 4 million people worldwide for ev-erything from navigating in traffic to oilexploration. Boaters and hikers usehandheld GPS devices, and similar equip-ment is now installed in wristwatches andin the dashboards of some cars.

The market for GPS users is expectedto double in the next three years to morethan $16 million annually, the White Housesaid.

The system of two dozen U.S. satel-lites is free, but all kinds of businesses profitfrom it. Commercial interests have longasked the government to loosen its holdon the most accurate GPS information,but officials said outside pressure was nota factor in the decision.

The decision follows four years of dis-cussion among the White House, Pentagon,CIA and other agencies, and the develop-ment of new technology that allows the U.S.to block certain regions while offering theimproved service everywhere else.

Assistant Secretary of Defense ArthurMoney said the new service will be avail-able universally at first, and would only bedenied in response to a perceived threat.

John Pike, space policy analyst at theFederation of American Scientists, aWashington think tank, said the UnitedStates will benefit from the continued glo-bal use of its system and the control thataccrues to the U.S. military as a result.Offering the better U.S. system for free

With the "flick of a switch" at theAir Force Space Command, your GPSnavigation box just got better. As ofmidnight GMT on Monday May 1, theDepartment of Defense turned off se-lective availability (SA), the intentionaldegradation of the GPS signal that hasbeen supplied to civilian users world-wide. Instead of a 300-foot accuracy,civil GPS users can now expect accu-racy to within 100 feet or better. Nochanges are necessary in anyone's GPSnav boxes to take advantage of theimproved signal. Immediate benefitsto aviation users include better situ-ational awareness on the ground at air-ports while taxiing, and more reliableperformance from GPS-based terrainavoidance systems while in the ap-proach and landing phase.

The discontinuation of SA wasmade possible by the development oftechniques that allow the military torestore the intentional "dithering" of thetiming signal on a regional basis, whenrequired by national security concerns.This would effectively deny the in-creased GPS accuracy to unfriendlyusers in that particular area. ArthurMoney, assistant secretary of defense,was intentionally vague about how theregional degradation system would

Aviation Users Get Immediate Benefitswork in times of crisis, but did say thatif the improved GPS signal were de-nied to a region such as the Balkans,that users in Athens or Frankfurt wouldnot be affected.

So, whither the Wide Area Aug-mentation System (WAAS)? It wouldbe nice if we could all start flying pre-cision GPS approaches this week, butthe newly improved satellite signal isstill not enough to get us there. Basi-cally, the removal of SA has no imme-diate effect on the FAA's agonizinglyslow progress toward boosting GPSperformance with its technically con-troversial and over-budget Local-Areaand Wide- Area Augmentation Systems(LAAS and WAAS). While SA signaldegradation is the single largest sourceof error for GPS, there are othersources, including satellite orbit errors,GPS clock variations and atmosphericeffects. The FAA would like to haveaccuracy down to about 10 feet or bet-ter for precision approaches.

This originally appeared in AVweb,the Internet's aviation magazine andnews service at http://www.avweb.comand is reprinted here by permission.Copyright 2000 The AVweb Group. Allrights reserved.

takes away some incentive for anothercountry or consortium to build a compet-ing system, Pike said.

"Ensuring that the U.S. is the onlycountry with such a system and makingtravel safer outweighs the problem of hav-

ing to jam the signal to prevent the badguys from using it to target cruise mis-siles," he said.

By Ann Gleason, Associated Press.Reprinted by permission from AP, NewYork.

Maintenance of older lightplanes is aproblem that is being recognized all overNorth America. Design data is often un-available and parts are hard to find.Oftentimes old parts must be repaired ornew parts fabricated. Most A&P mechan-ics are not equipped to perform such main-tenance and, even if they were, the costwould likely be prohibitive for the own-ers. The result is that repairs are eithernot done, done improperly, or "boot-legged" by the owner. Many aircraft aretechnically operating outside the law be-cause of these conditions.

Meanwhile, due to the longstandingefforts of the EAA, many aircrafthomebuilders enjoy the freedom to main-tain their own aircraft. Owners of oldercertificated aircraft look longingly at thatfact and wish they could do the same.

The FAA, in cooperation with otheraviation organizations, recently conducteda conference on maintaining older aircraft.Some valuable suggestions were made,which are now being studied. However,the government of Canada, in coopera-tion with the Canadian Owners and Pilots

Assocation (COPA), has taken action.Canadian Program

On April 17, 2000, Transport Canadalaunched the Owner-Maintenance AircraftCategory. Currently, the program is op-erating on an "exemption" basis while for-mal regulations are being approved. Ac-cording to Garth Wallace, newsletter pub-lisher for COPA, the first owner mainte-nance "Special Flight Permit" was issuedon May 5.

Essentially, individual owners can electto place their aircraft under the programand subsequently maintain them basicallythe same as a homebuilt aircraft in Canada.Once in the program, the "normal cat-egory" airworthiness certificate is surren-dered and the data plates for the airframe,powerplant, propeller, and other majorpieces of the aircraft are permanentlymodified with an "X" to identify them asnon-certified. The list of eligible aircraftmodels includes most "classic" lightplanes,with some exceptions.

Wallace acknowledged that the pro-gram may not be for everybody. He com-mented, "While it is technically possible to

return an owner-maintained aircraft to nor-mal category, it would be highly impracti-cal. The entire aircraft would have to bere-inspected to the original design data bya Transport Canada representative."

Also, the current expectation is thatthe value of an aircraft will be reduced byputting it in the owner-maintained pro-gram, due primarily to the fact that it couldnot then be sold in the U.S. There arealso questions as to whether such aircraftcould fly across the border into the U.S.A bi-lateral exemption is in place whichallows homebuilt aircraft from both coun-tries to cross the border in both directions.Paul Poberezny’s Proposal

Meanwhile in the U.S., EAA founderPaul Poberezny is drafting a somewhatsimilar proposal. However, in contrast tothe Canadian program, Paul's proposalwould leave the owner-maintained aircraftin standard category, but require the ownerto be certified to work on that particularaircraft (similar to the repairman certifi-cate a homebuilder can obtain for his ex-perimental aircraft).

There are still unanswered questions

with Paul's proposal. For instance, whichaircraft should be eligible? What flightrestrictions would be imposed; for in-stance, should a prohibition be establishedabout using the aircraft for hire? Wouldthe use of FAA-PMA airframe and/or en-gine parts be required? Who would cer-tify owners? Paul originally proposed thataircraft "type clubs" might take on thatresponsibility, but it now appears thoseclubs are not set up to handle certificationactivities. Another possibility is that theEAA Alexander Workshop program orsome other entrepreneurial organizationmight be certified by FAA to issue repair-man certificates. Could a certified repair-man maintain an aircraft he does not own?

Paul is actively seeking input from theaviation public on his proposal. We be-lieve this is a very significant issue whichcould be beneficial to many owners ofolder aircraft and we are working withPaul to complete the draft proposal. Weencourage all interested Oklahoma Avia-tor readers to respond to us by email(ok_aviator@mindspring.com) or by U.S.mail with comments and suggestions.

Canadian Lightplane Owners Maintain Their Own Aircraft-Paul Poberezny Proposes Similar Change for U.S.

GPS Affects Many Areas of Life

The Oklahoma Aviator, June 2000, Page 6

Kid’s Corner

Soda Blasting for Aircraft Paint StrippingHave you ever had the pleasure of

stripping paint off an airplane? Strip-ping a few parts, or maybe an autobody is bad enough. Chemical paintstrippers are really mean materials.Not only are they toxic and damagingto skin, but the very chemicals whichare compounded to remove paint alsodo a number on most commonly-avail-able types of rubber gloves and pro-tective clothing. And, on top of that,some paint strippers just do not workall that well, especially for multiplelayers of different types of paint. Ifthe weather is too hot or too cold, oryou leave the stripper on the surfacetoo long or not long enough, the re-sults are, to say the least, very frus-trating.

But for the ultimate in unpleasantexperiences, do an entire airplane!Besides generally needing to be morecareful on an airplane than, say, an au-tomobile, there are real practical con-cerns, such as keeping the chemicalsaway from all those expensivePlexiglas windows, rubber moldings,tires, etc. The real killers are the bot-tom surfaces of the wings; for do-it-yourselfers, the only effective way isto bite the bullet, cover up all exposedskin (no matter how hot the ambienttemperature), find the best gloves youcan, wear goggles, and lay on yourback scrubbing your way through thelayers.

In about 1979, I got the bright ideathat I wanted to paint airplanes for aliving. My first job was a friend's TwinComanche. The stripping operation

wasn't too bad until we got to the bot-tom of the wings. Even with all theprotective clothing I could find, thepaint stripper soaked through, and theexperience was akin to lying in a redant bed. I'd lay under the wings scrub-bing, crying, and often jumping up tofrantically wash the burning stuff offmy arms, stomach, or face.

Finally, the owner took pity on meand helped. When we at last got doneand pulled off the aluminum tapemasking, sure enough, there were afew spots where the Plexiglass hadbeen damaged. After that job, I re-considered my chosen occupation.

However, I have continued to fol-low paint removal methods with a sortof morbid fascination ever since.Sandblasting is of course very effec-tive but also very damaging to mostaircraft parts. Glass bead blasting is alittle better, but still not useful on theexterior surfaces of an airplane. If youhave a zillion dollars (like maybe theBoeing Company or the U.S. military),you can employ advanced technolo-gies like lasers, high-intensity flashlamps, liquid nitrogen, dry-ice blast-ing, etc. But for most of us, there wasnot really suitable alternative to chemi-cal strippers.

Now however, an old technologyknown as "soda blasting" is being verysuccessfully applied to aircraft paintstripping. On the surface (no pun in-tended), soda blasting is essentially thesame as sand blasting except that theblasting medium is sodium bicarbon-ate (baking soda) rather than sand.However, the basic mechanism ofpaint removal is considerably differ-

ent. In sandblasting, paint is removedby the kinetic energy of the hard an-gular sand particles digging into thepaint layers (and the substrates also).

By contrast, soda crystals are verysoft, but when they strike the surface,they explode. Apparently, the pres-sure pulses created by the tiny explo-sions separate the paint film withoutdamaging the underlying surface, cre-ating sparks, or causing heat buildup.

According to the literature, sodablasting will not harm glass, rubberseals, bearings, wood, or plastic(though I'd still want to be carefularound Plexiglas). Also, sodium bi-carbonate chemically reacts with hy-drocarbons and thus, soda blasting isvery effective for degreasing parts-itis starting to be used extensively inauto salvage operations, cleanup offood manufacturing equipment, and inthe cleaning of expensive engravedrollers in offset printing operations.Soda blasting is also used extensivelyby municipal governments for graffitiremoval.

On steel, sodium bicarbonateleaves a protective coating that pre-vents "flash" rusting. (I've seen steelturn rusty in a few seconds after sand-blasting or paint stripping.)

The sodium bicarbonate crystalscan be propelled by a stream of com-pressed air, as in sandblasting, or by astream of high pressure water. Sodainjection systems are available forpressure washers; optimum results areproduced using water pressures from10,000 to 40,000 psi.

An addition, the environmentalimpact of soda blasting is far less than

chemical strippers (which are consid-ered hazardous chemicals by the EPA)or sandblasting (which liberates freesilica into the air, and can lead to lungproblems). Sodium bicarbonate blast-ing material is non-toxic, watersoluble, and, being food-grade, caneven be eaten! The only toxicity ef-fects to consider with soda blasting arewith the paint particles, grease, orother contaminants entrained in theblast residue. A few precautions doneed to be taken: the sodium bicar-bonate itself can raise the pH of soil,can damage vegetation, and becauseit breaks down hydrocarbons, candamage asphalt paving. Also, it isimportant for operators to have ap-propriate respirators so as not tobreathe any airborne dust.

Soda blasting, like sandblasting,can be done using cabinet-type blast-ers or open-air blasting rigs. At thehigh end, portable trailer-mountedblasting rigs using high-output dieselor gasoline compressors are available.Apparently, soda blasting rigs can berented at typical equipment rentalbusinesses.

Or, you can avail yourself of theservices of professional soda blasters.One such professional is Western OkieSoda Blasting, Colony, OK, operatedby Art and Cathy Rhoads. Art spe-cializes in aircraft stripping-- he has aportable blasting rig and, if desired,will travel to your location.

Soda blasting looks like a verygood way to strip paint from airplanes.It sure beats laying under those wingshaving corrosive chemicals drip onyou!

By Mike Huffman

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The Oklahoma Aviator698 Rollingwood Drive

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Reprinted from AOPA publications with permission

The Oklahoma Aviator, June 2000, Page 7

Multi-PartyAircraft

OwnershipBy Clifford R. Magee,Attorney-at-Law

Multi-party ownership is a popularmeans of offsetting the ever-increasing costof owning an airplane. As with any en-deavor, careful planning can result in a suc-cessful ownership experience for all par-ticipants. This article addresses legal andpractical considerations in structuring amulti-party aircraft ownership agreement.

The concept is simply that more thanone individual, entity, or business organi-zation shares in the ownership of an air-craft. It is important to distinguish simplemulti-party ownership from "fractionalownership," where aircraft with single ormultiple owners are placed in a pool un-der the management of a fractional own-ership company. This article does notaddress fractional ownership situations.

In Oklahoma and other states, severalforms of business organizations are suit-able for multi-party aircraft ownership, in-cluding Corporations, Limited LiabilityCompanies (LLCs), and Joint Ventures. Aswill be illustrated later in this article, "part-nerships" should be avoided when settingup multi-party ownership of an aircraft.

The specific type of business organi-zation selected should be driven by twoprimary factors: taxes and liability.

The Oklahoma Tax Commission(OTC) administers the registration of taxeson aircraft based in Oklahoma or operat-ing from an Oklahoma airport for morethan 30 days. The tax rate is 3-3/4% ofthe purchase price or fair market value,whichever is greater.

If a corporation (or LLC) owns theaircraft, the aircraft title is in the name ofthe corporation rather than its sharehold-ers (or for an LLC, its "members"). Theshares of the corporation (or "units" of anLLC) may be transferred, traded, or oth-erwise exchanged; normally such trans-fers do not affect the aircraft title. Thus,once the initial registration taxes have beenpaid, ownership interest may be transferredwithout incurring additional taxes.

By contrast, if the aircraft is titled inthe name of two or more individuals andone of them sells his/her interest, the pay-ment of taxes is triggered once again, thusadding significant cost to the transaction.In the cases of partnerships, changes inownership may or may not trigger addi-tional taxes. However, you can safely as-sume the OTC will take a pro-tax position!

Regarding liability, owning and oper-

ating an aircraft has inherent financial liabili-ties and casualty liabilities. Both types ofliability can be limited or avoided altogether.

Financial liability to lenders and ven-dors can be limited or eliminated in any ofseveral different ways. First, contractswith lenders and vendors can contain lan-guage which limits the financial liability ofthe principals of the business. If your busi-ness organization has sufficient financialstrength, personal guarantees by the busi-ness principals for amounts owed by thebusiness can be avoided. Financial liabili-ties arising from casualty losses can alsobe insured. Additionally, the use of theright type of business organization canprovide significant protection.

Regarding casualty liability, the basicpremise in Oklahoma is that shareholdersof corporations and members of LLCs arenot personally liable for the acts of the busi-

ness organization. Thus, if a companyowns an aircraft and an accident occurs,the people who own the company are notpersonally responsible. There are excep-tions: for instance, if a shareholder or mem-ber were piloting the aircraft at the timeof the accident or had done work on theaircraft that resulted in an accident, thatperson may be held liable as an individual.

By contrast, if the aircraft is owned bya partnership, each partner may be held li-able for the acts of the other partners. Thisvicarious liability is a very strong deterrentto a simple partnership owning an aircraft.

The LLC is the best type of organiza-tion we’ve found for multi-party aircraftownership. Prior to the purchase of anaircraft, an LLC is formed. The aircraft ispurchased and registered in the name ofthe LLC. The LLC pays the registrationtaxes. Each month, the LLC collects ap-

propriate amounts from each member.Other persons or entity may buy a shareof the aircraft by purchasing additionalunits of the LLC. The means of account-ing, limitation on sale of units, and otherorganizational matters are addressedwithin the incorporation documents of theLLC.

In addition to tax and liability, mul-tiple ownership of an aircraft requires somepractical considerations. The day-to-dayoperations of the aircraft should be cov-ered in an operation agreement set up inadvance and signed by all the members.The operation agreement should clearlydescribe how the airplane is to be sched-uled and maintained, how maintenancereserves are set, and how hourly chargesare to be assessed. When a disagreementbetween members arises, it is too late toestablish ground rules.

The Oklahoma Aviator, June 2000, Page 8

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THE SQUADRONAn Atlanta-area EAA member designed this set of decorative airplane lights.We liked them so much we are making them available for sale. The set in-cludes six low wing airplanes, six biplanes, and a string of bulbs. The airplanesare pearl white and lights are white (with four colored bulbs). The price is $19a set plus $4 S&H. Allow 3-week delivery. Use them in place of Christmaslights, for hangar dances, for fly-ins-- any aviation celebration!

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ADA- The Ada Municipal Airport(KADH) was recently awarded "Air-port of the Year" for 2000 by theOklahoma Airport Operators Associa-tion. Mark Kranenburg, past presi-dent of the state-wide organization,presented the award to airport man-ager Terry Hall at the organization'sannual awards banquet.

"This is a great honor for the Cityof Ada," says Mr. Hall. "It provesthat people working together can ac-complish great things and receive duerecognition from their peers." Mr.

Hall highlighted the assistance ofvarious city departments and of thevolunteers who work with the air-port. "Without their assistance, itwould be very difficult to run the air-port efficiently. I am appreciative oftheir help."

The Airport of the Year Award isgiven annually to the most outstand-ing general aviation airport in plan-ning, capital improvement, and eco-nomic development for Oklahoma.

For more information contactTerry Hall at (480)546-8190.

The Allergy SeasonAs the summer rolls around, I

can anticipate that the majority ofthe patients I see in the office aregoing to have allergies. As you cansee yourself, the grass is green, thetrees are in bloom, and there is alot of material in the air that causesus to have watery eyes, snifflynoses , and somet imes hackycoughs. For aviators, we have tobe careful of what we take to re-lieve the allergy symptoms. Thereis a tendency to grab things fromthe shelves of pharmacies withoutknowing how they might affectyour flying abilities.

The major i ty o f over - thecounter allergy medicines that youbuy are antihistamines. They aresedating so you can't take them andfly. The only medicine that you cantake over the counter that mighthelp with some of the al lergysymptoms is pseudoephdrine, un-der the trade name Sudafed. It is

excellent, but we do find that thereis a lot of stimulation from takingthe drug. It interferes with somepatient's sleep patterns.

There are three prescriptionoral medications that are good forallergies. The one I like the bestand prescribe the most is Claritin10 mg or Claritin D 12 or 24. Thesecond is Allegra 60 mg., AllegraD, and Allegra 180. The last medi-cine to be approved by the FAAwas Zyrtec 10 mg. I have used allthree with flyers. The one thatworks for you has to be determinedvia the trial-and-error method.The "D" in the first two productsalso helps if you have a lot of con-gestion along with the allergies.These three are the main non-se-dating antihistamines that can betaken by pilots.

We also find that there are twonasal preparations that are good:Nasonex and Flomax. Both aremorning doses. Two squirts inboth nostrils once daily gives re-lief. They can be taken by them-selves or with one of the three pre-viously-mentioned oral antihista-mines.

Be sure and educate your doc-tors on all medications you are tak-ing. If you have any questionsabout this article, or other ques-tions about medically-related is-sues for airmen, do not hesitate tocontact my office.

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Dusters and Sprayers PersevereFollowing 1999 Tornado

by Charlie HarrisMonday, May 3, 1999, in Oklahoma,

was an evening and night NOT to remem-ber, but to try to forget! Mother Naturecreated a weather system that struck witha fury never seen before in the CentralOklahoma area.

The system spawned scores of torna-does, one of which was an F5 level, one-mile wide twister that destroyed every-thing in its path. An F5 level storm haswinds of 261-318 miles per hour. Thisdevastating storm system hit Chickasha,OK and its airport hard. Dusters andSprayers Supply, the world's largest sup-plier of Stearman parts, is located on thatairport. They suffered an overwhelmingloss. Their buildings were destroyed orheavily damaged and their inventory wasblown away or scattered. It was morethan a mess. There was some question ifthey could even continue. They were in-sured, but the effort it would require torebuild was monumental.

Three days after the storm, their in-surance agent and a representative of theinsurance carrier arrived on the scene withan advance draft of "one half million dol-lars." They now have four new buildings,their machine shop is up and running andthey are building inventory! Bob Cham-bers has steadfastly steered a recoverycourse from the darkest hour until today!

Dusters and Sprayers were unable toset up their exhibit space at the BiplaneExpo last year as it was but one monthafter the tornado, but they will once againbe at the Expo this year to serve their cus-tomers and the entire biplane community!

Bob said he had paid insurance pre-miums since 1950 without any significantlosses. He is surely glad he had coverageon the evening of May 3, 1999.

Stop by Dusters and Sprayers' partsdisplays at Bartlesville and thank Bob forsteering the course. You can get Stearmanparts quicker than you can current fac-tory production airplane parts.

The Oklahoma Aviator, June 2000, Page 9

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Oshkosh in YourBlood?

"Oshkosh gets in your blood" re-marked a friend, as if trying to jus-tify his tenth visit to Oskhosh. Hewas, of course, talking about themother of all air show/flyins, put onannually by the Experimental AircraftAssociation, at Oshkosh, WI, duringthe last week of July and the firstweek in August.

That remark reminded me ofManny who, after years of plying histrade as an A&P mechanic in generalaviation, finally decided he neededsteady employment and applied at thelocal McDonnell Douglas plant for ajob.

One of Manny's close friends, whohad some influence at the plant, ar-ranged for him to have a meeting withone of the company's employment in-terviewers. At the appointed time,Manny trotted out his full resume. Hewas a war veteran, a Spartan Schoolgraduate, via the WWII GI Bill Pro-gram, and had done everything thatgeneral aviation A&Ps usually do.

His specialty had been buyingwrecked aircraft and returning themto airworthy condition, then selling therestored airplane and making a profit.This went on during the years when

financing was fairly easy, but by theearly eighties financing was no longerreadily available and to keep body andsoul together, Manny had to humblehimself, with hat in hand, before themanufacturer's personnel officer.

The interview went along verywell. In fact, management was look-ing for people who had sheet metalexperience and was glad to get some-one of Manny's vast background. Thepay was comparatively good, and itwas steady work, something thatManny didn't always have throughouthis years in the field of general avia-tion. The papers were completed andall that was left was for Manny to signon the dotted line.

But here Manny hesitated. "Canthe McDonnell-Douglas Companyguarantee that I can have my vacationevery year during the last week of Julyand the first week of August?" heasked.

The McDonnell Douglas mandidn't know. At first the interviewerthought Manny was a little weird,passing up a good job offer becauseof concern for vacation time. Mannyexplained, "I've got to be able to goto the big show at Oshkosh every yearor I won't be able to take the job"!The man gave an understanding nod,made some phone calls and workedthings out. Manny signed up as a sheetmetal worker assigned to second shiftin the fabrication department where hespent the next few years happily build-ing airplanes.

"Oshkosh" was in Manny's blood,too!

JoAnn Terrell Retires From Moore-Norman

NORMAN- About the time this ar-ticle appears Mrs. JoAnn Terrell, adulteducation coordinator of the Moore-Norman Technology Center’s Flight In-structor Refresher Course (FIRC) pro-gram, will have retired to the good life.

JoAnn has been the cement that heldthis program together for 21 years. Twicea year, flight instructors from all over Okla-homa and adjoining states would receivean invitation to attend the FIRC courseconducted in Norman, OK. Only onecourse out of 42 scheduled was cancelled.

JoAnn's leadership kept the quality ofinstructors to one of the highest levels inthe industry. All of the instructors involvedin teaching the program have a total ap-preciation of the hard work she put intoplanning and executing the schedule.

Always working behind the scenes,JoAnn made the difficult look easy. Shedealt with FAA Headquarters for renewalof the program every two years. She per-severed when most of us would havethrown up our hands. She coordinatedand received the support of the localFSDO continuously. Through her efforts,an ACR or Aviation Safety Inspector waspresent to renew instructor certificates onSunday afternoon.

The Oklahoma Flight Instructor com-munity will miss a very supportive pro-

fessional. For all of us who participatedas presenters or students: "JoAnn, enjoya well-deserved retirement. May your lifebe full of the same joy you provided to allof us. Thanks!!!"

By Martin Weaver

The Oklahoma Aviator, June 2000, Page 10

GRASSROOTS AVIATIONMAINTENANCE

Fred Barrs A&P/IA PilotTenkiller Airpark 918-457-3539

REGULAR MONTHLY EVENTSEvery Sunday- IAC Chapter 10aerobatics practice and airplane rides,Claremore Municipal Airport,Claremore, OK1st Thursday- Oklahoma PilotsAssociation meeting and dinner,Wiley Post Airport, Oklahoma City,OK. Contact Helen Holbird- 405-942-63081st Saturday- Ponca City AviationBoosters Club fly-in breakfast, rainor shine, 7:30-10:00AM, Ponca CityRegional Airport, Ponca City, OK.Contact Don Nuzum-nuzum@poncacity.net or BruceEberle- 580-762-57352nd Saturday- Debbie’s Diner fly-inbreakfast, R.L. Jones Airport, Jenks,OK.4th Saturday- Keystone Aviatorsmeeting and fly-out, 8:30AM, PogueAirport, Sand Springs, OK, contactCarl Cartwright at 918-865-72134th Thursday- Vintage AircraftAssociation Chapter 10, 7:30PM,South Regional Library, 71st &Memorial, Tulsa, OKJUNE 20002nd-3rd- 14th Annual NationalBiplane Convention and Exposition,Frank Phillips Field, Bartlesville, OK,contact Charles Harris- 918-622-8400 or Virgil Gaede- 918-336-39762nd-3rd- 4th annual gathering,American Hatz Association, to beheld at the National Biplane Conven-tion in Bartlesville. Board meetingon June 3

2nd-3rd- 16th Annual “Okie Twist-Off” aerobatics competition,Stillwater Regional Airport,Stillwater, OK10th- Air Ride Aviation Fly-In,Sallisaw, OK, 11:00AM-3:00PM,followed by an FAA Safety Seminar,contact Jerry Gunsolus- 918-775-525210th-11th- Arkansas Air MuseumFifth Annual Airfest, Drake Field,Fayetteville, AR, fly-in guests wel-come, for info call 501-521-494712th-16th- Tulsa Community Col-lege, Aviation Careers Academy,Grades 10-12, Tulsa TechnologyCenter, Riverside Campus, 918-595-7766 or www.tulsa.cc.ok.us16th-18th- Aerospace AmericaInternational Airshow in OklahomaCity, Clarence E. Page Airport, ElReno, contact Betsy Fry at 405-722-4706 or Aerospace America office at405-685-954619th- EAA Chapter 10 meeting,7:30PM, Gundy’s Airport, Owasso,OK19th-22nd- Ponca City EAA Chap-ter 1046, B-17 "Aluminum Overcast"visit, Ponca City Regional Airport,contact Bert Blanton at 580-762-3794 or blantonb@poncacity.net24th- EAA Chapter 10 Fly-In Break-fast, Gundy’s Airport, Owasso, OKJULY 200017th- EAA Chapter 10 meeting,7:30PM, Gundy’s Airport, Owasso,OK22nd- EAA Chapter 10 Fly-In

Breakfast, Gundy’s Airport, Owasso,OK26th- Aug 1- EAA AirVenture 2000,Wittman Field, Oshkosh, WIAUGUST 200011th-12th- Southwestern Bell Bal-loon Fest 2000, Wiley Post Airport,Bethany, OK18th-19th- 22nd Annual Okie Derby,Oklahoma Chapter of the 99s, con-tact Michelle Green at 405-351-033921st- EAA Chapter 10 meeting,7:30PM, with watermelon feed tofollow, Gundy’s Airport, Owasso,OK.26th- EAA Chapter 10 Fly-In Break-fast, Gundy’s Airport, Owasso, OKSEPTEMBER 20009th-10th- Airshow, Whiteman AFB,MO. Vintage aircraft owners inter-ested in displaying their planes.Contact Lt. Col Ken Lowry 1-800-260-0253 or e-mailken.lowry@whiteman.af.mil18th- EAA Chapter 10 meeting,7:30PM, Gundy’s Airport, Owasso,OK22nd- EAA Chapter 10 Fly-InBreakfast, Gundy’s Airport, Owasso,OK23rd-24th- Airshow Oklahoma,Davis Field, Muskogee, OK. Con-tact Don Van Alstine at 918-683-4581 x 269 orvanalstine@bacone.eduOCTOBER 20001st-3rd- Planes on the Prairie Na-tional Fly-In, Cessna 172-182 Club,

Calendar of EventsFor a free listing of your event, email us at ok_aviator.com or call 770-381-6379

Wiley Post Airport, Bethany, OK,contact Debbie Jones, 405-495-8664or 800-535-75335th-8th- 25th Annual InternationalCessna 120/140 Fly-In, GainesvilleMunicipal Airport (FLE), Gainesville,TX. Contact L. or M. Richey at 940-670-1883 or mrichey@ntws.net8th-EAA Chapter 10 AnnualWingding, 1:00PM, Gundy’s Airport,Owasso, OK14th- Fourth Annual Fun Fly-In andYouth Air Expo, Ada MunicipalAirport, sponsored by EAA Chapter1005. Free food for fly-ins, free T-shirt for first 50 fly-ins. ContactTerry Hall at 580-436-819016th- EAA Chapter 10 meeting,7:30PM, Gundy’s Airport, Owasso,OKNOVEMBER 200020th- EAA Chapter 10 meeting andPie Auction, 7:30PM, Gundy’sAirport, Owasso, OK

25th- EAA Chapter 10 Fly-In Break-fast, Gundy’s Airport, Owasso, OK

Aircraft Financing! Easy Application! Generous Repayment Terms! Competetive Rates! No Points or Application Fees! Fast Approvals

First National Bank and Trust Co.Shawnee, OK

1-800-227-8362Member FDIC

Visit our website at www.fnbshawnee.com

SOUTHWEST AVIATION SPECIALTIES, LLC8803 Jack Bates Avenue

Riverside/Jones Airport (RVS)FAA CRS #S30R818N

FlightSafety R Trained Mechanics and Pilots on Staff

Reasonable and competetive rates on all services

918-298-404424-Hour On Call Service

*Precision Aircraft Maintenance*Airframe and Exhaust Welding*Aircraft Sales and Consulting*Complete Airframe & Engine Repair

*Full Avionics Sales and Service*All Major Brands Avionics Dealer*Custom Metal Panel Work

AIRPLANE FOR SALE1946 Luscombe 8A, 2199 TT,

Continental A65-8, 275 SMOH.Excellent Condition. Two wingtanks, new fabric on wings, new

magnetos, harness, plugs. Asking$13,900. See at Mooreland Munici-

pal Airport, OK. Call Jim Judge,580-994-9305.

The Oklahoma Aviator, June 2000, Page 11

CushingFlight ServiceCushing Municipal Airport

100LL & Jet ACall for Prices

Dusk to Dawn Pilot-ControlledRunway Lights- Unicom 122.8

Open 7 Days 8AM-5PMHangar Space Available

Call 918-225-6979Pager 888-479-5253

Air BPAir BPAir BPAir BPAir BP

FOR SALEAVGAS FOR $1.90 A GALLON

(subject to change)

Available Self Service Only24 Hours a Day at

GOLDSBY’S DAVID J. PERRYAIRPORT

New Identifier 1K4 (Prev. OK-14)

Phillips, Master Card, VISA,Discover, Diners Club

International, Carte Blanche, andAmerican Express cards

are accepted.We also have open T-hangars

for rent.Call Vergie @ 405-288-6675.

BARRETT AIRCRAFTMAINTENANCE, INC.

Gainesville Municipal AirportGainesville, TX

Maintenance and Repairs on Recip& Turbine-Powered Aircraft

Pre-Buy Inspections, Annuals,Prop Balancing

Call 1-940-668-2009

SMALL AIRCRAFT OWNERSPILOTS AND AMATEUR BUILDERS

SHOP MANAGERSFor Airworthiness Certificates, C of Afor Export Certificates, Ferry Permits orAirworthiness Consultations, contactR.E. “Bob” Richardson, FAA Desig-nated Airworthiness Representative.Phone (918) 455-6066. 1217 W.Vandever St., Broken Arrow, OK 74012

Have You Dreamed...of

Living With Your Plane?

Here’s Your Chance!

For sale: three-quarter acre loton Tenkiller Airpark,

Cookson, OK

Now reduced to$15,000

Call 404-229-9123 or

FAA Medical CertificatesJohn C. Jackson, D.O.

410 Cherokee, Wagoner, OK 74467Office: 918-485-5591FAX: 918-485-8455

Wagoner Community Hospital:918-485-5514

email: formula@ionet.net

Speed Craft InteriorsAircraft Upholstery

Gundy’s AirportOwasso, OK

Call 918-272-9863John & Jane Fisher Owner/Opr.

Be a better Pilot! Sharpen skills,broaden aviation knowledge and breakbad habits by training with Earl C.Downs, ATP, CFII, A&P. Antiques,classics, modern aircraft. Taildraggertraining in 1946 Champ. Flight re-views, ground training. EAA FlightAdvisor. Thirty-eight years experiencein flight and ground training.

Be the best you can be!Golden Age Aviation, Inc,

Cushing, OK.918-225-7374 (Home & Office)

Email: earldowns@hotmail.com

Classified AdvertisementsTo place a plain-text classified ad, mail us the text along with a check. Plain text ads with first line bold- $0.35/word/month- $15.00 min/month.

For ads containing graphics, photos, or custom text formatting, email ok_aviator@mindspring.com or call 770-381-6379 for rates.

Stillwater Municipal AirportWash your own plane, your way, at Oklahoma’s only

covered commercial self-service aircraft wash.Fly in & use our new State of the Art Equipment

High pressure sprayer and bubble brushWill accommodate 52’ span, 16’ tail heightBring your step stool, tow bar, and chamois.$1.25 per cycle or $3.50 per token- 3 cycles.

Tokens avail at airport terminal or line serviceOpen dawn- dusk, April- November

Call 405-372-788 - Unicom 122.7 - VOR 108.4Auto WX 135.725

Western Okie Soda BlastingDry Aircraft Paint Stripping

No Chemicals -Environmentally Safe

Safe for Aluminum, Steel, Composites

Portable Rig-- We Come to You!

Art Rhoads, RR1 Box 25 Colony,OK 73021 405-929-7337

ULTRALIGHT AVIATIONTulsa, OK

918-449-0324918-724-0821

randy@ultralightaviation.comwww.ultralightaviation.com

Cleveland Municipal Airport24-Hour Self-Service Fuel

4000-Ft. Hard Surface RunwayAffordable Hangar Space

Lake Keystone Area

Helicopter Training Available

Unicom:122.9 Identifier:95F918-865-8075

Aero Service of OklahomaHaskell Airport

Maintenance, Inspections, RepairsRoger Kimball

A&P AI, 25+ Years Experience

918-686-3328PO Box 777, Haskell, OK 74436

Lloyd Stelljes

Steel Clear Span BuildingsConstruction Management

8501 Highway 271 South, Suite CFort Smith, Arkansas 72908

Phone 501-646-0747 FAX 501-649-3435Toll Free 888-572-3322

(888-LSB-3322)

Mini Storage Buildings- Aircraft Hangars

Special OfferNon-Complex Aircraft Annual

Inspection- $200.00This price is available only on the firstfour inspections we perform in 2000.Inspections five and on will be $400!You open-up, close-up, clean-up, etc.You provide hangar or pad for inspec-

tion. Other details may apply.Call 918-834-7215

HANGAR FOR SALESeminole Municipal Airport (H45)

60 x 50 engineered steel building withsliding folding doors- office with heat& air, restroom and closet. Contact

Jim Goff, days 918-486-8411 ornights 918-279-1110

Kingfisher MunicipalAirport

24-Hour UnattendedSelf-Service Fuel- 100LL/$1.89

Amex, VISA, Mastercard, Discover

Located 1 mile West ofKingfisher on Airport Rd

Tel: 405-375-3705Fax: 405-375-3630

Flight InstructionChad Nail, CFII

Grand Lake and Pryor Area

918-782-9696918-230-6245 (cell)

FAA-Certified Repair, Overhaul,And Dynamic BalancingOver 20 Years ExperienceDynamic balancing half-price with

overhaul or major repair.

Remember!If it shakes don’t delay!Call Dr. Dan Today!

in Owasso, OKPhone# (918) 272-3567FAX# (918) 272-7664

email: PropDoc@aol.com

The Oklahoma Aviator, June 2000, Page 12

EXPERIENCE TRUE TEXAS HOSPITALITY!Gainesville, Texas

•Open 24 Hours- 7 Days/Week Attendant on call after 5:00 PM•Major Credit Cards Accepted Including Multi-Service & Avcard, CAA, Phillips Into-Plane & UVAir Discounts

•DTN WX Satellite System•5 Mins to Outlet Mall•18 Hole Golf Course

•Conference Room•Courtesy Cars (3)•Pilot Lounge

940-668-4565 940-665-6884 Faxwww.gainesville.tx.us/GMAindex.shtml

email: airport@cooke.net

Unicom 123.0 AWOS 118.375

100LL- $1.69 Weekdays $1.64 Weekends Jet A- $1.50 (Self-Service)

SPARKS AVIATION CENTERTULSA INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT

HANGAR 23918-835-2048

Unicom 122.9524-Hour Service

New Home ofCourtesy VanRental Cars

CateringRestaurantHangaring

AutopilotsAvionics

InstrumentsMaintenance

Interiors

Phone: 918-836-6418 FAX: 918-832-0136

Jet A 100LL

Serving the interests of the owners and operatorsof all airports in Oklahoma

For information or application contact Debra Coughlan, ExecutiveDirector OAOA, P. O. Box 581838, Tulsa, OK 74158

Telephone 918.838.5018 Fax 918.838.5405