April 10, 2010
View from the
Cockpit
By John Slais
Contents:
View from the Cockpit
- Page
1
Chapter Officers
- Page
2
Featured Speaker
- Page
2
Advertisements
- Page
5
Map/Directions/Calendar
- Page
6
Articles:
April BBQ - Ernie Salmon
- Page 2
Air Force Flight Test Center
(AFFTC) Museum
Fund-raising for expansion.
By Harlis Brend
- Page 3
EAA Chapter 723
501 Aviation Drive
Camarillo, CA 93010
805) 383-0686
Since Wings Over Camarillo has been taken out
of our hands things have been less hectic with
fewer Chapter issues to contend with each month.
Now when I attend an air show meeting I see the
Camarillo Wings Association staff addressing
these same concerns Chapter 723 staff had to
resolve in the past. Although the participants are
mostly all the same ones I have observed in past
air show efforts the new situation does take a lot
of the pressure off my back. I attend all the
meetings I can to monitor the direction the event
is taking. The only difference I can see between
the 723 meetings and the WOC meetings is the
different name given to the sponsoring group and
the observation that the committee members
continue to build on the experience of past events
and utilize that experience to improve the show.
I remember when I first got involved in the air
show over a dozen years ago in 1997 the entire
air show was being run by just one person with
all the details in his head. In case you’re
wondering, that was Gary Stucker (if it wasn’t
’97 it was around that time) and I don’t know
how he was able to juggle all those balls in the
air and still manage a successful event. Somehow
he did it and, I believe, for more than one year
too. Of course the event was not as large and
complicated as it eventually evolved into but
still…I won’t attempt to name all the succeeding
air show chairmen but it was gratifying to watch
the air show planning year by year be brought
into the 21st century and the organizational skills
being utilized by the current air show staff. Of
course, all this means nothing without YOU, the
member volunteers that, after all is said and
done, actually make it all happen. We all realize
that, without you, there would be no air show
and the chapter, airport, community, county and
aviation enthusiasts would be poorer for it. Did I
forget to mention that we too would be poorer
for the lack of satisfaction and pride we take in
producing a great event?
We have received notice from the Department of
Airports about the new rent and fee schedule to
be effective July 1, 2010. It appears to effect
about a 20% increase in my personal hangar so
I’m sure it will affect our hangars also. Todd
McNamee, Director of Airports, will be meeting
with the Camarillo Hangar Owners Association
group at the Airport Meeting Room upstairs at
the airport offices Thursday, April 1st at 7 PM.
Come and get the straight scoop for your self.
Other public meetings will follow that would allow
you to make your views known. We will discuss
this at our meeting.
Onward and Upward,
John
John Slais presented Camarillo Wings Association (CWA)
President Ron Missildine with a Chapter 723 donation of
$7,500 toward the air show start-up expenses at the March
13, 2010 meeting
EAA CHAPTER 723
2010 OFFICERS AND STAFF
OFFICERS:
President
John Slais
(805)
445-9745
Vice President
Harlis Brend
(818)
775-0133
Secretary
Joe Tischler
(805)
497-6502
Treasurer
Larry David
(805)
497-2042
Directors at Large
Ron Missildine
(805)
526-3303
Tom Ridderbush
(805)
445-7502
Mike Reed
(805)
492-2742
(805)
383-0686
Hangar phone
Chapter Website
April Speaker: Brig. General Dan
Pemberton USAF (ret.)
Pemberton has fascinating stories to tell that range from
graduating in one of the early classes at the United States Air
Force Academy, through Strategic Air Command B-47 copilot,
to the Viet Nam war flying classified CIA C-130E missions out
of Takhli AB, Thailand.
http://www.eaa723.org
STAFF:
Flight Advisor
Hangar Bosses
Jim Ayers
Mike Reed
Dick Crowe
(805)
(805)
(805)
498-0861
492-2742
382-4848
Membership
Newsletter Editor
Photographer
Safety
Young Eagles
Webmaster
Chapter Store
Mark Johnson
Avril Roy-Smith
Burt Misevic
Ken Coolidge
Neal Fowler
Tom Nalevanko
Tom Ridderbush
(818)
(805)
(805)
(805)
(805)
(805)
(805)
509-6402
375-7090
482-7076
987-3128
647-6994
482-5016
445-7502
Fire Wall Forward Jim Ayres
Flight Test
Dale Machalleck
Sheet Metal Fabric Owen Smith
(805)
(805)
(310)
498-0861
969-1473
836-1304
TECH
The EAA Chapter 723 Newsletter is owned and published by EAA Chapter
723. It is published monthly. Chapter 723 Membership and the Newsletter
are available for $20.00 per year. This amount is due January 1st of each
year. Chapter 723 meets on the 2nd Saturday of each month.
The Newsletter is distributed to members of Chapter 723 in the interest
of promoting Sport Aviation. Chapter 723 welcomes articles, new tips,
photos and inquiries from its members and other readers. These articles
may be reproduced in full provided they do not carry a copyright and
provided proper credit is given to EAA Chapter 723.
The closing date for submissions to the next month's edition is the third
Friday of the month.
E-Mail submissions to the editor, Avril Roy-Smith, at avrilmh@gmail.com.
Submissions by mail: Send to the editor, Avril Roy-Smith, 616 Avenida
Del Platino, Newbury Park. CA 91320
EAA Chapter 723 neither assumes any responsibility for the accuracy of
these articles nor any liability rising out of reliance upon these articles.
In 1969 he was accepted into the Air National Guard 146th Airlift
Wing at Van Nuys and served through the transition to Channel
Islands ANG Station where he served as the Wing Commander.
While at the ANG, he flew C-130 aerial tanker missions fighting
wild fires. During his ANG tenure, he also flew for various
airlines. His stories thread their way through airline furloughs,
deregulation and corporate mismanagement to flying in exotic
parts of the world.
He retired in 1999 with 16,000 hours of combined civilian and
military flying.
Pemberton is now involved with the Library of Congress
Veterans History Project through the Ronald Reagan Library.
The project mission is to "collect, preserve and make accessible
the personal accounts of American war veterans so that future
generations may hear directly from veterans and better
understand the realities of war." He will discuss how veterans
can become involved in this important project.
Barbeque!
Remember to plan your day so that you will be able to stay
for lunch at the April meeting. We will be enjoying free
hamburgers, hot dogs, and all the trimmings. You know that
spouses or significant others are always welcome at Chapter
723 events, but also please invite aviation enthusiast friends
who are not yet members of the Chapter. Just warn them
that they will want to join after meeting the great folks of
Chapter 723. See you there.
Ernie Salmon
EAA Chapter 723 - April 10, 2010 - Page 2
Air Force Flight Test Center
(AFFTC) Museum
Fund-raising for expansion
appropriate!” General Eichhorn joked, “It may not be a Happy
Bottom Riding Club."
By Harlis Brend
The Air Force Flight Test Center (AFFTC) at Edwards AFB, earlier
known as Muroc Flight Test Center, and the surrounding Mojave
Desert have been host to flight testing for many years.
While flight testing still continues, there is a lot of history to be
preserved. The AFFTC Museum at Edwards AFB is an Air Force
Field Museum operating within the guidelines of the USAF
Heritage Program. Its mission: "to collect, interpret, preserve,
and display the material history of the AFFTC, Edwards Air Force
Base and its antecedents, and the history of USAF flight testing."
The Flight Test Historical Foundation (FTHF), a private nonprofit
organization, funded construction of a 12,000 sq ft facility,
including 8,500 sq ft of exhibits, a forty seat theater, research
library, gift shop and administrative offices. The exhibits include
aircraft propulsion systems, missiles, hardware, life support
equipment, technical drawings, test reports, personal
memorabilia, photographs, and wind tunnel models in addition
to an inventory of over 80 aircraft. Approximately 40 are on
display and the remainder are in storage or restoration. The
museum opened in July 2000.
A full-scale replica of the Bell X-1 hangs from the
ceiling in the AFFTC museum.
There is a solution! The Edwards Air Force Base Flight Test
Historical Foundation needs to raise six million dollars to build
a facility outside the Edwards west gate where the public has
access to the museum. The Flight Test Historical Foundation
EXCELLENCE IN AVIATION AWARDS ceremony/dinner will kick
off the fund raising campaign on May 8, 2010.
The FTHF will honor three pilots for EXCELLENCE IN AVIATION:
Robert ‘Bob’ Hoover and Brig. Gen. Robert Cardenas USAF (ret.)
will receive awards for excellence in Flight Test and Clay Lacy
will receive an award for excellence in Aviation Business. The
event will be held at the Proud Bird Restaurant Ballroom near
Los Angeles International Airport. Entertainment for the evening
will be provided by Barbara Morrison, internationally renowned
jazz and blues performer and her Morrison Jazz Quartet.
Additional information and tickets are available online at
www.EdwardsMuseum.com .
A portion of the AFFTC Museum assets are already located along
the Edwards AFB access road, Rosamond Blvd., just outside
the West Gate security check point. The Century Circle features
fighter jets from the century series -- North American YF-100A
Super Sabre, McDonnell F-101B Voodoo, Convair TF-102A Delta
Dagger, Lockheed F-104A Starfighter, Republic F-105D Thunder
Chief, Convair F-106B Delta Dart -- positioned around the
YA-10B Thunderbolt II and NF-4C Phantom II displayed
in front of the AFFTC museum.
There is a problem! Since 11 Sept. 2001, access to Edwards
AFB and the museum is limited to those individuals with official
business on the base who have appropriate credentials to enter
the installation. When Maj. Gen. David Eichhorn, Air Force Flight
Test Center commander, spoke at the Flight Test Historical
Foundation Gathering of Eagles in October 2009, he address
this problem. He stated, "The FTHF is working to help share
this heritage, our history, with a lot more people; we are looking
at moving the present museum outside the gate. We have a
lot of great airplanes that we can put out for display—the SR-71,
for example, which just got a new paint job. We want to move
it outside the gate and are planning hangars and a restaurant—
thought maybe a Pancho Barnes restaurant would be
The Century Circle display is open to the public; F-104A
parked in front of the tower.
EAA Chapter 723 - April 10 2010 - Page 3
restored control tower that was used at Edwards from the 1950s
to 1988. All of the fighters are on loan from the National
Museum of the USAF. Notably missing is an F-103. The Republic
F-103 Thunder Warrior, planned to operate at Mach 3 at high
altitude, was cancelled at the mockup stage. Looking out of
place on its own sand pad behind the fighter collection is a
These aircraft are all products of the Lockheed Skunk Works
that operated in "beautiful downtown" Burbank, Calif. until their
1990s move to Palmdale, Calif. The secret location that
produced the XP-80 became known as the "Skonk Works" in
1943 after a reference to a location in Al Capp's Lil'Abner comic
strip. Eventually, in 1973 Lockheed trademarked the name and
logo as the "Skunk Works". The Skunk Works became famous
for its Dragon Ladies (U-2) and Blackbirds (A-12/SR-71) spy
planes. Testing of the secret planes took place at Groom Lake,
Nev. now better known as "Area 51". The first U-2A arrived at
Groom Lake on July 24, 1955; the first A-12 on Feb. 28, 1962.
Two excellent resources for information about Lockheed Skunk
Works and the Blackbirds are Lockheed Secret Projects inside
the Skunk Works and Lockheed SR-71/YF-12 Blackbirds, both
by Dennis R. Jenkins.
The YC-15 is parked on a sand pad next to the Century
Circle fighters.
McDonnell Douglas YC-15 prototype. Although it never became
a production aircraft, it provided data for the C-17 program.
The Edwards AFB North Gate has NASA's NB-52B Stratofortress
Mothership on display just outside the gate. It is one of two
NB-52 aircraft used as launch aircraft for various projects
including the X-15. The public can access the display from
Highway 58 between Mojave and Boron.
The AFFTC Museum three acre Blackbird Airpark annex located
on East Avenue P at 25th Street East adjacent to Air Force Plant
42 in Palmdale, Calif. opened in Nov. 1991. On display in this
unique collection are the A-12 (SR-71 predecessor for the CIA),
SR-71A reconnaissance plane, once ultra-secret D-21 drone,
U-2D Dragonlady and recently an F-117 Nighthawk.
Rogers Day Lake is an ideal location for testing aircraft.
Poster artwork courtesy of AFFTC museum
It seems that aviation history can be found around every corner
in the Mojave Desert Antelope Valley. The City of Palmdale
operates the Joe Davies Heritage Airpark adjacent to the
Blackbird Airpark. (See: www.cityofpalmdale.org/airpark ) Both
of the Airparks are in the shadow of the famous Lockheed Skunk
Works at Air Force Plant 42. Tracing the facility back to 1940,
the Palmdale Airport was activated as the Palmdale Army Air
Field and was used for B-25 training during WWII. Later it
transitioned to being a municipal airport and eventually back
to the Air Force.
Rocket engines that were used in the X-Series research
planes are in the AFFTC museum.
As you travel around the Palmdale/Lancaster/Antelope Valley
area, you are reminded of the areas' aviation heritage by
additional museums and monuments to aviation: Fox Field,
Lancaster, Milestones of Aviation Museum -- collection of large
vintage aircraft; Boron, Saxon Aerospace Museum; Douglas
EAA Chapter 723 - April 10 2010 - Page 4
Continued on page 5
Continued from page 4
Advertising Policy
The For Sale and For Rent Ads are Free to EAA members and
run for two issues unless you notify the editor at least two
weeks in advance.
Send Ad to:
Avril Roy-Smith,
616 Avenida Del Platino, Newbury Park. Ca 91320
D-558-II Skyrocket, mounted on a pole at Antelope Valley
College; McDonnell-Douglas F-4D Phantom II, mounted on a
pedestal at Boeing Plaza, Lancaster; NASA McDonnell-Douglas
F/A-18A Hornet mounted on a pedestal in front of the Jet Hawks
Stadium. (For more information see: www.air-andspace.com/Antelope%20Valley%20Airplanes.htm )
For Sale:
Flight Bag: Jumbo size, Soft sided and padded. Includes a
matching accessory bag which attaches to the flight bag.
Mfgd. by Cencal Aviation Products. In very good condition
…$40 for all
Burt (805) 482-7076
Hanger Space for Rent
Artifact and photo courtesy of AFFTC museum and
Pancho Barnes Trust Estate Archive.
Share box hanger. Small aircraft preferred.
805-376-8221
The Lancaster Aerospace Walk of Honor was covered by Airport
Journals in an October 2007 article: Aerospace Walk of Honor
Recognizes Five Distinguished Aviators by Fred "Crash"
Blechman.
Wanted:
partner to finish building Tricycle Q-200 (Quickie) which is
now in my garage in Winnetka. It needs new fuel tank, panel
and engine (0-200, 100 hp) plus a few small items. This is
very much like the Dragonfly with canard and main wing, 2
seats and cruises about 160 mph on 5 GPH.
Contact Mike Evans, 818-383-3614 (cell).
The Mojave Desert Antelope Valley, cities of Palmdale,
Lancaster, Rosamond, Mojave, Boron and Edwards AFB are
located about 80 miles north of Los Angeles.
For Sale:
Unstarted Quickie Q200 kit at $6K. Includes the carbon fiber
spars for the LS1 canard, O-200 cowl sections, fuselage
sections, foam, glass, plexiglass canopy, tires, wheels, disc
brakes, etc.. The kit does not include epoxy. More images
and details on request. Clint Seal 805-383-2953,
sealconstruction1024@gmail.com
Flight Instructor/Instrument Safety
Observer Available: Ken Taylor, CFII, MEI, a
Chapter Member and Retired Naval Aviator, offers Flight
Reviews ($200, providing up to four hours ground and air
instruction), Instrument Proficiency Checks ($200, providing
up to four hours ground or air instruction), flight and ground
instruction ($50/hr), and free “ride-along” as safety observer
in your aircraft. Phone (805)389-6824.
Email
kennethwtaylor@yahoo.com .
Unmanned Boeing X-36 tailless fighter agility research
aircraft display.
Photos by Harlis Brend -- Except as noted
EAA Chapter 723 - April 10 2010 - Page 5
NEXT MEETING
April 10, 2010
Doors Open at 9:00 AM at Chapter Hangar Number One
EAA Chapter 723
501 Aviation Drive Camarillo, CA 93010
(805) 383-0686