Presidents Letter

PRESIDENT’S LETTER – – Sept, 2019

EAA92 Members and Friends,

As we move into Fall, we look forward to our last Young Eagle event of the year on Oct. 19 at Yanks Air Museum, our annual chapter elections in Nov., and our Christmas party in Dec..  For those of you who missed it, our August BBQ featured lots of good food, a demo by Brad Rawls of the use of vinyl covering instead of paint for an E-AB aircraft, and lots of aviation chatter.  Thanks to Dave Prizio for hosting us at his Chino hangar, and to Steve Livingston, our VP, for organizing the event and food.

Our Sept Young Eagles event at POF/ Cal Aero was the first to make use of the new national EAA Young Eagle website for registration of volunteers, Young Eagles, and pilots, and for logging in real time the Young Eagle flights so they were quickly registered in the Young Eagle logbook back in Oshkosh.  We had excellent weather and 40+ Young Eagles, and want to especially thank the pilots who came out to fly the kids – Al Gibbs, Don Mikami, Steve Livingston, Bob Lange, Rhon Willams, and Gary Stone.   Al Gibbs joined us from Chapter 7 in Long Beach, and is nearing a milestone of 300 Young Eagle flights, with only 17 to go.  Thanks also to Zack Cavanaugh, Jenee Steury, Debbie Cavanaugh, and all the other ground volunteers who came out to make this another great experience for the kids.

Speaking of youth events, we are embarking on a new youth program, jointly sponsored by EAA and AMA (Academy of Model Aeronautics) called Build and Fly.  It is a follow-on to Young Eagles, and provides an opportunity for a group of selected kids to experience the aircraft building process on a small scale by building a radio-controlled model aircraft and learning to fly it.  We are currently in the planning stages of a cooperative effort between EAA Chapter 92, and the Trabuco Flyers, a local RC model aircraft club.   The effort is being led on our side by Zack Cavanaugh, with the help of Thom Steury and Brad Rawls.  Stay tuned for further details as the plans are solidified.  For further info on the program, look for Build and Fly on the EAA national website.

We unfortunately had to vacate our Builder Center hangar space in February to make way for more maintenance space for Chino Aviation.  We continue to scout for a replacement hangar for our builders, so if you find a possible hangar, please let us know.

And finally, a short pitch to encourage members to up their participation level in the chapter by volunteering to serve as a chapter officer, board member, or activity chair.  We have our annual chapter elections at the November meeting, and are in need of a Newsletter Editor candidate, and perhaps later a Board member candidate, since one of our current members plans to move out of the area.  Our chapter has 5 officers (pres, VP, treas, sec’y, and newsletter editor) and a 4-person elected board with staggered 2 year terms.  In addition we have several appointed chairs for various functions.  You’ll enjoy being more involved and having a say in what the chapter does and contributing to its evolution.  Talk to any of our officers or board members.

‘Til next time,

Jim Randall, President, EAA92

A Visitor from Far Off Oshkosh-Land

We don’t often get out-of-town visitors when our EAA Chapter 92 holds our Young Eagle rallies at Chino Airport. Mostly the ground volunteers and volunteer pilots come from our chapter, the local SoCal Pilots organization, other EAA chapters in the area, or friends and neighbors. But at our March 24 event at Planes of Fame / Cal Aero Country Club, we had an unexpected visitor from the still-wintery land of Wisconsin.

When I arrived at the Cal Aero hangar to help set up the ground school tables, there was a green-shirted stranger chatting with one of our volunteers. Turns out he was lost –well, sort of. He was in town for business the following week and had an idle day to explore Chino airport and the mu-seums. He was actually looking, at that very moment, for a restroom. He passed by Flo’s but was discouraged by the long line of people waiting to get in for Sunday breakfast and early lunch. So he drove down Cal Aero drive, past the Planes of Fame Museum parking lot, which was also packed and busy, and happened to notice the open pedestrian gate at the Cal Aero hanger. He parked and walked through the gate and around the corner -and surprise!! -happened into the middle of preparations for our Young Eagle rally.

But as it turned out, this guy was no stranger to Young Eagle rallies; he was Shane Baker, the president of EAA Chapter 93 in Madison, Wisconsin! So of course we did what any respectable EAA chapter would do –we put him to work.

We had a great rally with 45+ kids and 5 pilots, and Shane manned the Navigation ground school table. You could tell he had done this before, because he had the kids spellbound with his navigation lessons, as is evident in the photos.

After the rally, Shane managed to beg a ride in Jay Steffenhagen’s Bonanza, since he has a 1965 Cessna 172 at home, and had never experienced a Bonanza be-fore. When everyone headed home, I got his car through the gate so he could ex-plore the wonders of the Chino hangars.

His family came out for a holiday during his business meetings, and on Friday I got a call that he had a new, but unwanted printer that he offered to donate to the chapter. So I met them down near Orange County airport to transfer the printer, and then we went on a tour of the GA side of John Wayne airport.Shane has a 14-something year old son, Owen, who initially seemed pretty quiet. But on our tour of the GA tie downs, we came upon Bob Lange working on his new (to him) L-19 Birddog. Bob went through the full story on the L-19, and then Shane happened to notice Bob’s Army Mule. Bob fired it up and offered to teach Owen how to drive the stick shift. Owen hung back initially, not knowing how to drive a stick, plus it was much cruder that the John Deere he had at home, but Bob ORDERED him to jump on board –as only a Marine Lt. Col. can do. They took off up the tie-down row, and returned –with a HUGE smile on Owen’s face. I think Shane’s next job is to find Owen an Army Mule.

6of 12A Visitor From Far Off Oshkosh-LandWe continued our tour past the GA tie-downs and around to the east side of the field where the business jets live, and Owen, now energized, was suitably im-pressed. Madison’s Dane County airport is a Class C, similar to Orange County, with a mix of GA, airlines, and business jets, but due to the cold climate, most planes are hidden in hangars and not visible when you drive around.

Shane invited everyone to stop by Madison’s Dane County Airport, where Chapter 93 is based, the weekend before EAA AirVenture on their way to Oshkosh, be-cause the big bombers (including Doc) hang out there for Heavy Bomber Weekend, offering rides and exhibits. Click here for more details, and tell them EAA Chapter 92 sent you. They’ll put you to work.

            

FOR SALE – VIKING DRAGONFLY MKII PROJECT

Announcing a VIKING DRAGONFLY MKII project for sale.  All major layups have been completed by a true craftsman. The fiberglass work is fantastic.  Gear, canopy, fuel tanks, control surfaces all complete.  It just needs finish work/paint, avionics, controls, and FWF.  If you know anyone who might be interested in this project, please pass my information to them.  It really is a great start to a unique airplane.  It is hangared at Gillespie field, KSEE.  The wings are in a rolling stand and the fuselage is on a rolling dolly.  It is really easy to transport.  I’m selling it for $1,500.  Thank you!  Contact Nate Maier at 559-305-0781 for further details.

Chapter 92 News

December Christmas Dinner

Our annual Christmas and Member Appreciation Dinner is coming up sooner than you think, with a tentative date of Saturday, Dec. 14.  Watch our website for details and sign-up information.

Builder Center

We are still looking for a hangar at Chino Airport to use as a chapter Builder Center.  If you have a lead on one, contact Brad Rawls: eaa92buildercenter@gmail.com or any of our chapter officers.

Base Ops

Base Ops is looking for a new manager.  If you are out at the Chino Airport often, and can drop by Base Ops to make sure everything is OK and can call Maintenance if anything on the building or with the utilities needs fixed, then contact any of our officers or board members.

Membership Dues

We have decided to change our annual chapter dues cycle so that all dues are payable on Jan. 1.  This will simplify the dues collection process, and will also simplify the process for the members.