Jeanine Lawler & Burak’s Beaver at Sulphur Creek

Welcome New Members! James Halcomb, Escondido, CA

Linda Barrie, Boise, ID Alan Baum, Kaysville, UT

Ray Dupree, Boise, ID Leigh Smith, Knox, IN

Larry Yount, Clark Fork, ID Ed Meyer, Cocolalla, ID

Christopher George, Coeur d’ Alene, ID Chris Aasen, Corvallis, OR

James & Karli Hagedorn, Port Washington, NY Rick Boone, Wichita Falls, TX

Buzz & JJ Hale, Victor, MT Carl Shepp, Jr., Billings, MT

Drew White, Billings, MT Wallace Brown, St. George, UT

John Hooker, Iowa Park, TX Lou Furlong, Cumming, GA

Jeffrey Russell, Waunakee, WI Larry Teeters, Shreveport, LA Gail White, Garden Valley, ID

New Members & Donors: Donley O. Jones, Sandy, UT, Johnson Creek Level

Denis Coates, Battle Ground, WA, Johnson Creek Level Pete Gutman, Chattaroy, WA, Big Creek Level

Larry Hayden-Wing, Laramie, WY, Big Creek Level Renewing Corporate Sponsors:

AvCenter Stick & Rudder Kitfox Aircraft

FUEL/OTHER DISCOUNTS FOR IAA MEMBERS! Print your IAA membership card for your wallet, and call: Western Aircraft Boise 338-1833 Turbo Air Boise 343-3300 Jackson Jet Boise 383-3300 Arnold Aviation Cascade 382-4844 Aero Mark Idaho Falls 524-1202 Atlantic Aviation Hailey 788-7511 Back Country Fuel Emmett 861-9055 AvCenter Nampa/Pocatello 866-3740 Reeder Flying Service Twin Falls 733-5920 Rapid Refueling Caldwell 454-1669 Granite Aviation Sandpoint 263-9102 Northern Air Inc. Bonners Ferry 267-4359 Sulphur Creek Ranch Sulphur Creek (254)378-7473 West Fork Lodge West Fork, MT (406)821-1853 More information available at www.IdahoAviation.com Tell our sponsors “thanks!” when you stop by!

November 2014

Events Calendar

November 1: 1940s Dinner/Dance— Warhawk Air Museum, Nampa, 6:30 p.m.–close. Silent auction, raffle for 1945 Willys Jeep. Among the auction items are a 7-day Salmon Whitewater Raft Trip for two from Salmon River Rafting Company ($4000 value); two beautiful new leather bombardier jackets; jewelry from various artists; a custom bamboo fly rod; and a new Ithaca Shotgun. Proceeds benefit the IAF’s project to rebuild Big Creek Lodge. Tickets $65, includes dinner, wine, and more, 208-861-9056,

www.RebuildBigCreek.com. December 9 TV Chapter Christmas Party: Warhawk Air Museum, Nampa. Speaker: Capt. Robert “Hoot” Gibson, U.S. Navy (Ret.)–“the man who’s flown everything”! 6 p.m. no host cocktails, 7 p.m. dinner; choice of beef or chicken; tickets $40 before Nov 20, $50 after, deadline Dec 1. For info, tickets, or if you’d like to donate to the raffle or silent auction, please call Tawni Swann (208) 867-4432 or TawniSwann@gmail.com.

Please send calendar and editorial submissions to: editor@IdahoAviation.com

Deadline is the 20th of the month

Dear Reader: We hope you enjoyed the little booklet about the Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP) that was included with your October Flyline. I received a call from a member in Washington who wanted to know if the person who had signed his name in her booklet was the same person who had paid to have them all sent out; she wanted to thank him. Actually, Bob & Gene Nora Jessen paid the extra costs associated with mailing all the booklets out. On behalf of the IAA, I’d like to thank them for helping to spread the word about this important piece of our history.

And yes, some, but not all, of the booklets are signed. Some of them are signed by former WASP members or other WWII veterans; many are signed by people who made a contribution to the museum; www.WASPMuseum.org.

Finally, if you don’t have a booklet and wish to read about the WASP, you can find it at the end of our online October newsletter; www.IdahoAviation.com. —Editor

The Flyline is in FULL COLOR online! The online version has more photos—Just log on to

www.IdahoAviation.com Click on “IAA Newsletters”

for past and present newsletters

President’s Corner Kerry Requa

As the season changes so does the way we fly in most cases. In the early summer we anticipate the high density altitude we are undoubtedly going to encounter. And then there are the bugs to clean off the airplane. They get so thick in late summer I swear I can tell a slight change in the flight characteristics when the plane

really gets plastered. Then we reach autumn and everything changes for the better in my opinion.

The change in the way I fly has to do with hunting season. I enjoy flying a few of my friends to look at the big game hunting areas each fall. This year is a bit different for me. As most of you know, I moved to Twin Falls about a year ago. I grew up in Twin Falls and I had so many hunting places in the area, I never had to go far to find a place to hunt birds. Now I am finding my old stomping grounds have been filled with home sites and things have changed drastically. Fortunately I can hop in the airplane and search for new places to hunt. I have found a few, and they are mostly places I have always been aware of. I just never needed to go that far when I was young. Oh well, times change and we must adapt as well.

I wanted to make a point with this and I hope everyone takes heed. Many of us like to scout the hills for big game. I know that it is easy to forget that there may already be hunters in the area we are scouting. The bow season opens early, some of the muzzle loader hunts do too. And we share the backcountry with many other people who enjoy the outdoor experience for different reasons and in different ways. I want to remind everyone to check the regulations and make sure you are not flying in a manner that you could be accused of disrupting someone's hunt, or harassing the game. Either of those accusations can cause a great deal of grief, even if you are not guilty. We also have restrictions on how soon you can hunt after flying, so check the regulations. I am not going to tell you what they are, you would just forget, look it up for yourself and you will absorb the info and know what you can do.

Some states are more restrictive than Idaho, a few are less. I believe flying is a right and a privilege, and we must not abuse our freedoms or intrude on others. As Idaho is discovered by more people, things are bound to change for all of us. So please be aware of the hunters in the hills; there are lots of them this year.

For me, I am going to concentrate on hunting waterfowl and upland game; I found some good places to go!

Fly safe and be aware of others. Tailwinds, Kerry Requa President, IAA (208) 221-7417

District 1 – Sandpoint/ Coeur d’ Alene

Don McIntosh

It really has remained a beautiful month to fly here in North Idaho. Even though Sandpoint Airport surprised all of us with the shutdown for runway repairs and resurfacing, it appears we all lived through it fairly unscathed. Those who really needed to go someplace found a location nearby to park where we could get out. All in all, it looks great from the air with the new

deep, black sealer on the runway and the bright new striping. We will appreciate the upgrade for quite a while.

In mid-September, the CDA guys contacted me and said they needed just a couple guys to meet them at Magee to put away the picnic tables and benches for the winter. I put the word out to “just a couple of guys” and man—what a turnout! We had 9 airplanes and 16 men and wives to do about 15 minutes’ worth of work. We took the opportunity to work on the west side drainage ditch that continues to be a problem. If we can get that kind of turnout for next year’s work parties, we will really be able to get a bunch of work done! At the last minute, I threw in some hot dogs and fixins which turned out great because everybody enjoyed the unexpected picnic. It was a very blustery day in Sandpoint and there was even some discussion about cancelling, but we decided to check it out and it ended up being calm on the ground at the airstrip. A big thanks to everyone who came to help.

The fall leaves are at their peak right now and we hope the weather holds like it has been so we can continue to enjoy the colors before all that white stuff shows up to

even things out.

Top: Helpers at Magee. Below: Jeff & Carol Bock with their newly

completed Kitfox Super Sport. Photos by Don McIntosh. Page 2

District 3 – Treasure Valley/McCall Wayne Thiel

I hope you’ve gotten out to fly in the

mountains in the last few weeks and enjoyed the beautiful fall colors like Linda and I did on Oct 19th. Along with the yellow tamaracks and aspen contrasted by green pines, we had “perfectly smooth” air on our flight from Caldwell to Sulphur Creek Ranch. It was the final fly-in breakfast day of the season. Kiere and Val are great hosts and served over 30 breakfasts. Linda

and I arrived at 8:25 a.m. and were the first aircraft on the ground, soon to be followed by 8–10 more. When we left at 9:30, there were about 25 hungry pilots and passengers in the lodge. We departed Sulphur Creek for a quick trip to Johnson Creek just to see the beautiful fall colors. Then on to Garden Valley for even more colors.

On October 14th, Treasure Valley Chapter had a general membership meeting conducted by Andrew George, in president Steve Burak’s absence. There were 25 members present to hear guest speaker Bob Barr who shared his experiences flying OV-10s and B-52s in Vietnam during his 3 tours there in the 60s. Wow, what an experience that must have been with little or no navigational aids!

The TV Christmas party will be Dec 9th at the Warhawk Air Museum this year (not to be confused with the IAF’s party at the same location Nov 1st.) The McCall Chapter will host a Christmas party Dec 6th at Mike Weiss’s home in McCall. For more info, call Mike at 208-340-3484.

On October 17th I attended the first “Aviation Safety Standdown” 8 a.m.–4:30 p.m., sponsored by the Idaho Division of Aeronautics. At least 150 aviators participated, many of whom I recognized as private pilots, ATPs, students and instructors. The outstanding speakers included: Shannon Forrest on single pilot CRM; Dr. Amy Hoover on operational challenges in mountains and canyons; Rich Stowell on managing your energy (have you ever watched him fly?); Rod Alne on survivor mindset—how to prepare for the unexpected night in the field; Dr. Mike Weiss on self-certification for over-the-counter drug use; Dale Wilson on VFR flight into IMC; Capt. Olinger (Boise Fire Department at BOI) on what we can expect from them if we have an emergency; and Tony Cortes on making the “right call” for safety. This was a great day with excellent speakers. I hope they plan to have a 2nd annual “Standdown” next year! Thank you Dept. of Aeronautics!

Suggestion: go fly this fall and winter and be prepared in case you have to spend the night away or in the mountains. Johnson Creek’s new shower house should be ready for use next spring as per Todd Glass (the new man in charge of the Idaho airstrips). There will be two new men’s showers and two new women’s showers along with the two existing showers! This should reduce the long

waits some of us have experienced in the past. Wayne Thiel, N4775B 208-890-8866 WThiel@IdahoFlyer.com

Kiere & ValDean are Sulphur Creek’s hosts, guides, and cooks. Stop in next year and see why their bounteous breakfast is the most

popular in all of Idaho’s backcountry! Photos by Colleen Back and Crista Worthy

You may have to re-compute your aircraft’s weight & balance after downing the exceptional bacon, eggs, and biscuits with gravy!

You don’t even have to hike far to go fishing. Here, Sparky Parker nabs a cutthroat in the lake right across the runway from the ranch.

Page 3

District 5 – Blackfoot/Pocatello

Text and photos by Jeanine Lawler

Even as the rest of Idaho gears up for winter weather, during the month of October Lava Airport has seen many airplanes grace its turf. Everything is relative, but I took pictures of a classic Aeronca Champ at sunrise, Greg and Tina Cobia from Blackfoot McCarley Field flew in their 172 to say “hi”, and Donley Jones, a new IAA member, took his grandson, Ryland, for his first flight

in his Piper Pacer. Ryland was smiling from ear to ear and no doubt will follow in gramps wings.

A visit to Soda Springs Airport and a phone call to city hall confirmed that an impromptu flight to the airport to buy gas is not a viable option. You need to make a prior phone call to the city, or register, in order to receive a key. A better option is to fly to Preston, Idaho—gas is cheaper and available.

October 4 was the IAA Board Meeting in McCall, Idaho. It was a beautiful day and Mike Hart, myself, and Sam Perez started early in Mike’s 180 for breakfast at Sulphur Creek and a stop at Warm Springs (0U1) to explore and turn on the Go-Pro. Warm Springs sits in the South Fork of the Payette River Valley. With camping, hiking, hot springs, and a secluded grass strip in excellent shape it will definitely be on our “return” list.

The Blackfoot McCarley Airport improvements are set to proceed by end of October. My visit with Natalie Bergevin, EAA 407 Chapter President, included a tour and a beautiful sunset.

On October 18 I attended the EAA Chapter meeting at the same airport. Gary Wicklund, the Warning Coordination Meteorologist for NOAA, spoke to the members about the importance of weather spotting. Hazardous and severe weather can literally “sneak under the radar”. A spotter report includes the Who, What, Where and When. I am now an official weather spotter, and for those of you in different areas of the United Stated, NOAA is always looking for volunteers.

Heads up to IAA members; along with Nadine Burak and Steve Perez, we plan to start an IAA Facebook page! Stay

tuned for updates. Blue Skies, Jeanine Lawler

Aeronca Champ at sunrise, Lava Hot Springs Airport

Si Bueno Cantina & Grill—great food at McCall Airport

Sam Perez (right) and Dist 6 Director Mike Hart at McCall

New IAA member Donley Jones and grandson Ryland

Sawtooths looking toward Stanley

Takeoff from Lava Hot Springs Airstrip

Page 4

Amelia Was Right! by Gene Nora Jessen

Book Review by Crista Worthy I had just finished reading Birdmen, the story of

aviation’s earliest fliers, when I picked up Gene Nora Jessen’s Amelia Was Right! I cannot imagine two books that could be more polar opposites. As I read the excellent and thoroughly researched Birdmen, I shook my head time and again in amazement. Due to a surplus of greed, fear, ambition, and arrogance, it seems that some of aviation’s pioneers hardly enjoyed what they were doing. How could you not be “over the moon” if you were literally inventing aviation and becoming one of the first handful of humans ever to master powered flight?

By contrast, Jessen, herself a pioneer in women’s aviation, makes the joy of flight the central subject of her book. As Jessen notes, Amelia Earhart had titled her own book The Fun of It. “Amelia was right…flying is fun!” exclaims Jessen.

Anyone who has been flying long enough accumulates the kinds of stories we all relate when “hangar flying” with our friends. Jessen’s book is essentially a compilation of a lifetime’s worth of hangar flying stories. What makes the book unique is that Jessen started flying professionally in the days when female commercial pilots where very few and far between. Jessen simply wanted to fly, and smartly carved out niches for herself in a male-dominated field. Starting her career as a CFI, she soon moved on to fly for Beech Aircraft, then run by Walter Beech’s widow, Olive Ann Beech. Along with aerobatic champion Joyce Chase, Jessen became one of the Three Musketeers, led by Mike Gordon, who flew three new Beech Musketeers around the United States to demonstrate the new model to customers. The women made every flight, rain or shine, in high heels and dresses. Between the sometimes chauvinistic customers, celebrity clients, flights around the Statue of Liberty and inside the Grand Canyon (it was legal then!), taxiing in front of a U2 and up to an airliner at LAX to pick up a passenger directly from the jet, amusing stories abound, and it’s easy to understand why Jessen says she had the world’s greatest job.

From there, Jessen describes the founding of the 99s flying club and the initial Powder Puff Derby. Through her involvement with the 99s and racing, Jessen has made life-long friendships with a diverse group of women—more great hangar flying stories ensue.

Gene Nora met Bob Jessen at Beech, and the two of them eventually moved to Boise to open their own Beech dealership and FBO at BOI. Even the numerous celebrities who passed through Boise Air Service, however, are eclipsed by their friendship with legendary aviator Scott Crossfield. I love the photo of Crossfield with a wrench in his hand, standing in the Jessen’s driveway with Bob, both men attempting to fix a dead lawnmower.

Amelia Was Right! is not just a fun way to spend the day when the weather’s too dreary for flying, it’s an inspiration to any young person who dreams of becoming an aviator or aviatrix—and, it would make a great holiday gift for any pilot. You can order a personally autographed copy for $22.95 at GNJFlyer@aol.com, or buy the book at the

Boise Pilot Shop or Warhawk Air Museum.

Angle of Attack Indicators

Crista Worthy Several years after selling our Cessna 210, my husband

and I are beginning to indulge in that pleasant pilot’s daydream: eventually getting another airplane, in our case a more backcountry-appropriate 182. What mods to make? For me, there are three must-haves for the backcountry: install up-to-date 5-point seat belts, an obvious major upgrade in safety. Bigger tires; those, too, are helpful. And last, but not least, an angle-of-attack indicator (AOA). Why?

We know aircraft can stall at any airspeed or attitude; a stall occurs when the aircraft exceeds its critical angle of attack. The key during takeoff, landing, and other maneuvers is to know how much lift you’ve got left so you can keep your airfoil flying. If your brain is as quick as a computer’s, you can instantly calculate when your airplane will stall. “All” you need to do is know your airplane’s exact weight at that moment, how many Gs you are subjecting the airplane to based on your rate of turn, and so forth. I don’t do that, nor do most of us, so we ballpark safe indicated airspeeds. But if you’re trying to get into a tight airstrip you can’t just throw in an extra 8–10 knots or you may overrun the end. You’ve got to shrink your margins, and not knowing exactly when the plane will stop flying is what greatly increases the pucker factor at short airstrips.

I know a math whiz who owns a Cessna 185; he has always calculated his exact minimum indicated airspeed for landings and other maneuvers. I know this because I’ve flown with him: if I come in at exactly the KIAS he tells me to, the plane sets down fine. If I come in faster, we float. But as the GA accident record shows, too many pilots run off the ends of runways or turn too steeply at too low an airspeed, stall, spin, and crash.

An AOA device ends this guessing game immediately, which means it can save lives—maybe yours—in my daydream, I’m definitely thinking mine! And in February of this year, the FAA recognized this safety benefit by greatly simplifying design approval requirements for AOA devices. Under the new policy, manufacturers must build their AOA indicator systems according to American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) standards, and then apply for FAA design approval with a letter that certifies their system meets ASTM F3011 standards. Now, AOA indicators offer the greatest safety enhancement for the money since seat belts, with most systems under $2,000.

OK, so how do they work? In many AOA systems, a lift reserve computer uses the difference in pressure measured between two ports on a calibrated pitot probe, usually mounted on an existing inspection plate on the underside of the wing outside the propeller arc. Proper calibration is critical though not difficult, plus, the instrument will only be 100% accurate in exactly the conditions during calibration. Heated probes are recommended for those who fly IFR. The differential pressure data collected by the probe is serialized within an interface module and then sent to the AOA indicator, which is mounted on the glareshield conveniently within the pilot’s field of vision. An AOA indicator reacts more quickly than your stall warning or airspeed indicator (AI) and is

more reliable; AIs often become inaccurate at low airspeeds or unusual attitudes, precisely when their information is most critical. Manufacturers have jumped into the AOA arena with both feet and pilots now have a variety of devices to choose from. Their displays vary, but they all indicate when you’re nearing the stall realm. Once you build confidence in your device you may find yourself able to safely fly into airstrips you once considered too short, and you’ll have a better understanding of what is happening during turns. My math whiz pilot friend got one; he told me it took him a year to stop looking at his AI and start trusting his AOA indicator, an Alpha Systems device, but he now relies on it for every approach.

Alpha Systems is the current leader in terms of available display options. Green lights are shown during normal cruise. On approach, a blue light is an on-speed indication. Yellow means your AOA is too low and you should raise the nose. If your AOA is too high, you’ll see red lights that warn you to lower the nose. These color-coded lights allow the pilot to take the airplane closer to the stall without exceeding the critical AOA. Right now they offer at least six different displays, with colored lights shown in vertical, horizontal, or round configurations, each sold in a kit. They also offer a new HUD adapter. Many of the indicators have up to 16 different LED brightness levels; although my friend told me he still finds his older-model Alpha Systems AOA indicator a bit bright at night over dark terrain, even on the dimmest setting. There’s also an audio alert output with a mute switch, www.AlphaSystemsAOA.com or 763-506-9990. Alpha Systems also makes the KLR10 for Bendix King. The KLR10 has the same color scheme and similar options, 855-250-7027, www.BendixKing.com.

Garmin’s AOA uses what’s called a normalized system. Compared to lift reserve systems described above, it measures AOA slightly more accurately, although its multiple components will probably make installation more expensive (ask your mechanic). The components are the GI260 indicator, which, like those above, is easy to read: four green bars and a green dot mean you’re on the correct AOA, increasing yellow bars, chevrons, and then red mean you are approaching a stall. It also provides aural warnings. The other components are a GAP26 probe and GSU25 air/data computer. Pitot and AOA air pressure are sent from the probe to the computer through pneumatic plumbing. The computer takes the probe measurement and an independent static source measurement, corrects for current flap setting, G-load, and atmospheric conditions, computes proper AOA, and sends it to the indicator through an RS-232 serial data connection. The display can also be shown on a G3X Touch integrated glass avionics suite, if you have one, but that’s not on the glareshield, 913-397-8200, 800-800-1020, www.Garmin.com.

Got an experimental aircraft? Advanced Flight Systems’ Pro and Sport series models operate on differential pressure gathered from two small holes in the wing. A flap sensor lets you calibrate it for both clean and approach flaps—it then corrects automatically. A built-in gear warning is included. Owners of certified aircraft might, but probably won’t, be able to get FAA field approval though, 503-263-0037, www.Advanced-Flight-Systems.com.

Meanwhile, Safe Flight, which invented stall warning lift detectors nearly 70 years ago, offers the SCX, mounted on the wing’s leading edge. The company contends it has the most accurate device on the market, the leading edge location being the only place to accurately measure AOA in all conditions. That location has also so far precluded FAA approval, as installation requires cutting the wing, but the company now expects certification in the first quarter of 2015, 914-220-1125, www.SafeFlight.com.

Is an AOA a must for the experienced aviator? No—but with the high costs of flying, many pilots don’t fly as often as they’d like, and proficiency suffers. For the backcountry pilot, an AOA indicator can take some of the guesswork out of getting in and out of short strips. For others, particularly less-experienced pilots, an AOA indicator might help avoid some of the more common, and usually tragic, low altitude stall/spin accidents that occur in the traffic pattern. An AOA indicator might just be something to

dream about over the winter.

A variety of AOA displays from Alpha Systems

Contacts State President Kerry Requa 221-7417 Vice Presidents: Bill Miller—Gov’t Affairs/Scholarships 853-8585 Larry Taylor—Agency Liaison 855-0261 Jerry Terlisner—Activities 859-7959 Doug Culley—Membership/Scholarships 861-6926 Joe Corlett—Communications 336-1097 Dave Rigby—Awards 343-1985 Don Lojek—Legal Affairs 484-2292 Andy Patrick—Commercial Operators 383-3323 Nadine Burak—Secretary/Treasurer 861-9056 Directors: Director-at-large Jim Davies 859-5537 Dist #1 Don McIntosh 946-8490 Dist #2 Bill Ables (541) 263-1327 Dist #3 Wayne Thiel 890-8866 Dist #4 Kerry Requa 221-7417 Dist #5 Jeanine Lawler 221-4741 Dist #6 Mike Hart 528-7672 FLYLINE Crista Worthy (310) 560-7324

editor@idahoaviation.com Page 6

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Idaho Aviation Association PO Box 2016 Eagle, ID 83616

The FLYLINE November 2014

The Monthly Newsletter

of the

Idaho Aviation Association