Recent Bellanca Events
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"Not-So Recent" Events (1998-2000)
Updated: February 12, 2005
Contact me if you have a report on a recent Viking event that you'd like to see published here...Tom
Lake Havasu City, AZ Fly-In
January 28-30, 2005
We had a fine trip to Lake Havasu on the Az/Ca border this weekend. Nonstop just over 4hrs (proud of my copilot for surviving a record leg-length) in perfect conditions (excepting a small headwind) at 10.5 we arrived Friday around 4pm. Rugged terrain is Arizona! Met the other arrivals and Scott and Ed greeted us. Active airport, a lot of planes. Hotel check-in and then dinner at the Montana Steakhouse was very good (we were starved too). Next am, we got up to a rain-soaked city (heavy thundershowers I slept right through); and to the airport by 8am for my first ever Poker Run, to 4 airports. What fantastic scenery! Past Lake Havasu and the London Bridge, down the Colorado river to the Parker Dam (which defines Lake Havasu), jagged rocks and deep shadows, around to Parker field to pickup the first playing card. No shut-down, just off again to the east; back along the river (watch the inbounds), to a wide flat valley beyond the mountains east of Lake Havasu, miles of flat dirt and gravel cut up by miles of road...someone's dream of a development? there were only a few lonely trailers and such out there.Trying to keep the other 2 airplanes in sight... Tom/Barb and Len/Kay were ahead of me while watching the weather, the map, programming the gps, entering VORs and frequencies - a good mix of sightseeing and airmanship. Then closer to the mountains again, and around the corner into Kingman, an ex-USAF training base. Saw about 6 airplanes go past in the narrow valley, probably more Poker Run crowd. Much colder; higher elevation and hemmed down by thick grey overcast... the mountains to the east were all snow covered. Stopped in for a break and chatted with the FBO-man. Asked him about the local industry and also the local electrical generating plant "is it oil/nuclear/coal?" He said none of the above, it is driven by steam. Still not sure what's up there. Entry to the FBO is adorned with a huge 3-blade prop off a Convair (he said).Back aloft again, but 10 miles behind my group thanks to traffic. Firewalled it, and took some shortcuts through the harsh granite hills shrouded by grey snow-clouds, and then back again into the Colorado river valley where I caught up with them in the pattern at Bullhead City.
Almost took a wrong turn here, there are three north-south strips along the river at BH City. GPS is only helpful if you dial in the correct Bullhead City airport! Back into the warm sunshine, land at the narrow SunValley private strip and off again across the river into California: Needles this time (home of Snoopy's uncle). A large strip on the side of a slope, surrounded by desert, kind of a long way from anywhere. Got my last card and away again to Lake Havasu back to the south. Now we are 4 planes arriving Tom, me, Len, then Kale, and several in the area and pattern. Kind of busy but no problems. Straight to the lunch tent where Scott made us tasty hamburgers. Noticed a 421 rolled down the hill and was pressing aggressively into an older 172. Went and checked it out. Someone said the 421 was just delivered the night before and not chalked or tied. The lightening and rainstorm from Friday night sent it for an expensive ride into the 172. The 172s rt wing was pushed down a couple of feet, and the strut bent at an extreme angle. Both had major tailfeather damage. Sad error.
The 99's put on the food, gave away prizes and then the FAA had a safety seminar. Janet and I missed the seminar, as we wanted to see London
Bridge (imported brick by brick from England) and we also found a fantastic ice-creamery and caught a flick.Great dinner at a Mexican place, enjoyed discussing our planes, and flying with Gary Robinson and Scott.Back to the hotel and chatted in the lounge for an hour or so before bed. Up for breaky at 8am and back to the airport. Weather at destination was reported as zero and an 1/8th; whatever - let's go. Climbed on top to 13.5... picked up that wind that confronted us on the way in, but now a nice push instead. 175kts for much of it, 185kts GS at one point. Stayed on top the overcast past Prescott, Payson, Phoenix, Safford and Silver City thought I'd have to air-file at one point due to rising cloud bank. Finally Deming appeared through the breaks and then Las Cruses and El Paso were in the clear as forecast. FSS says its better at home so we non-stopped it 3.6 this time! 12 gph and landed with more than 2 full mains. Love my 92 gallons for flexibility they provide.
MANY THANKS TO SCOTT AND DONNA HARRIS, AND THE 99's - also Ed, and anyone else involved that I was not aware of, for arranging a fine weekend. Let's do it again!
Dave Taylor
Thanks Dave...Barb & I had a great time too, it was fun seeing you and Janet again! And my thanks also to Scott & Donna and Ed and especially the 99s for one of the most fun flying events I've ever taken part in. If I'd have realized the fuel price was only $2.09, I might have flown it twice! We're looking forward to next year. Tom
Viking Attendees:
Don Ames & friend Doug in his ‘58/14-19-2 from Tucson, AZ
Bill & Lillian Bruu sans their ‘75/30A from Wasilla, AK
Kayl & Kaye Craig in their PA28-180 from Tucson, AZ
Scott & Donna Harris with their '85/30A from Lake Havasu
Gary Robinson in his '78/31ATC from Carlsbad, CA
Tom & Barbara Russ in their '78/30A from Tucson, AZ
Len & Kay Spina in their ‘79/30A from Tucson, AZ
Dave & Janet Taylor in their '67/30 from Fort Davis
Ed Weber now with his '77/30A from Lake Havasu
Fly-In Photos!!!
Natchitoches, LA, Fly-In
October 22-24, 2004
(From the City of Natchitoches, Louisiana)
Thanks to all the Bellanca Fly-In participants for visiting our City during October 2004. There were 93 people at the hangar barbeque on Saturday. We appreciate you coming and hope you come back soon. WHAT FUN you guys are! Ron and Peggy Bianchi are amazing at putting a fly-in together.
For those who didn't, attached are photos of what you missed.
Also attached is a flyer on our airport. We have a 5,000 ft main runway, new runway lights, new AWOS, no tie-down fee, pilot's lounge and courtesy cars available. Check out
www.natchitoches.net
when planning to travel this way. We're the Bed and Breakfast Capitol of North Louisiana and the oldest permanent settlement in the Louisiana Purchase Territory, home to a National Landmark Historic District.
Thanks again,
Janice Bolton
Community Development
City of Natchitoches
P. O. Box 37
Natchitoches, LA 71457
(318) 357-3838
(318) 357-0957 fax
jbolton@ci.natchitoches.la.us
Fly-In Photos!!!
Tim's Fly-In Photos!
Victor's Fly-In Photos!
Labor Day Santa Fe (SAF) Fly-In
September 3-6, 2004
Fortunately about three-quarters of us made it into Santa Fe before the Friday afternoon storms let loose, and although it cleared a bit following the afternoon burst the Four Corners area remained unsettled and Saturday’s weather was even worse! I should have known when the entire preceding week the Weather Channel showed nothing but sunny forecasts for the weekend!
After rounding up those that had made it in so far, we gathered for dinner Friday evening at Chilacas, a local Mexican favorite, only to be reminded of just how hot Santa Fe food can be! Fortunately the Dos XXs and mediocre margaritas did manage to cool the fire, but most of us were satisfied with ‘good ole ‘merican’ eats for the rest of the weekend as we tried to recover!
Most of Saturday was rather horrible as far as flying was concerned, but the overcast was near perfect for strolling the downtown shops. As with most holiday weekends in Santa Fe, the entire town plaza was covered with individual tents with artisans peddling their arts and crafts…and there were some pretty good deals to be had. For dinner Saturday evening we had reservations for the 8:30 show at La Casa Sena’s Cantina. The Cantina is a “must-do” in Santa Fe, a lot of fun, excellent food, and a wait staff that keeps you entertained all evening by belting out Broadway show tunes!
By Sunday everyone had scoped out the area‘s local attractions and as several of us took an enjoyable ride on the Santa Fe Southern Railroad, others headed up to Los Alamos for a little history lesson. Afterwards, we managed to gather one more time for dinner at the Cowgirl BBQ and Steakhouse, a funky little spot with some very good food! Monday morning seemed to come too soon, especially since nearly everyone wanted to launch early. Fortunately Monday’s weather cooperated beautifully for flight most anywhere in the entire west, so good-byes were said and several Vikings clawed their way to once again be “at home in the air”!
Attendees:
Ron & Penny Blake of San Jose, CA
Cary & Linda Carson of Utopia, TX
John & Adele Christensen of Livermore, CA
Kayl & Kaye Craig of Tucson, AZ
Carter DuBois of Santa Fe, NM
Tom & Barbara Russ of Tucson, AZ
Glenn & Kathleen True of Ojai, CA
Gray & Sharon Wangelin of Monticello, UT
& Sharon’s sister & brother-in-law of El Paso, TX
Harry & Kathy WildOne of SomewhereIn, OR
Jack & Carolyn Woodul of Arlington, TX
Plainview, TX (PVW) Fly-In
July 9-11, 2004
Victor's Fly-In Report!
IVOG's July 4th Joseph, OR Fly-In
July 2-5, 2004
Joseph, Oregon…where’s that, people ask, and why the heck would you go there? Well what a surprise, it’s a real jewel in the Pacific Northwest and we went to visit friends and talk airplanes, of course. Barb and I departed Tucson Friday morning heading for our interim fuel stop at Ely, Nevada. Flying alongside Len and Kay in their newly acquired Super Viking we had beautiful weather, smooth air and moderate tailwinds enroute for the three hour flight. With tanks and tummies topped off we launched for the final 2.5 hours that would have us meandering through the mountains of northern Nevada as the afternoon buildups were getting a very early start, then passed Boise and on to a little piece of paradise.
When we taxied in, we could see there were already about a dozen Vikings on the ramp. A good start for the weekend, I thought. It wasn’t long before Tom Binder met us with the “Viking Van” and carted us into town for check-in. Tom and the van were on-call all weekend long…I wouldn’t be surprised if he logged 25 hours or more for the weekend! Thanks Tom.
After checking in, and seeing a few old friends we made the short walk over to the Stubborn Mule for some lunch. By the way, for anyone planning a future visit to Joseph you must know, there’s not a bad restaurant in the town and they all serve huge portions at a down home price! Well, the Mule was so good we ended up there again at dinnertime and sampled some of the local brews.
Several other Vikings made there way in during the day and by Saturday a.m. there were 19 plus a Cruisemaster on the ramp. Light rain and some low clouds developed on Saturday and a few more planes from the Portland area that were expected to show, had to cancel out. The cloudy skies and cooler temps made it a great a day to go out and explore the area. Many of us headed for the base of the surrounding mountains to take a tram ride to the top. Once there, half of us decided to hold off ‘til the next day as reports from the top of the mountain were 51 degrees and IFR! The folks that went, had a great time and took some beautiful pictures. Another group of us walked on down to the glacier-fed lake, hung out by one of the fast moving streams that fed the lake and had a very relaxing time. A few of the ladies went horseback riding and reported some beautiful trails. There was plenty to do!
The afternoon cleared off nicely and many folks gathered at the picnic table at the Indian Lodge while others went to the airport to kick tires, swap lies, and mostly drool over John’s new firewall-forward engine job! That evening we gathered for a big outdoor prime rib dinner in the beer garden of the Mule. Forty-eight people in all ate, drank, and enjoyed a beautiful evening as our hosts Tom & RJ handed out some very nice fly-in awards. Again, great job guys!
Sunday morning it was back to the airport to look at John’s engine some more! We took the tram ride in the afternoon, had lunch at the Summit Restaurant and enjoyed the birds eye view of the lake and town below (be sure to checkout the pics). Sunday evening was reserved for the fireworks display at the lake. All along the lakeside drive folks had roped off and reserved parking and viewing areas for the late evening display and the friendly folks at Joseph airport had done the same for us (thanks to Buck & his parents!). Wanting to get a real early start on the morning flight home a few of us left early and walked back to the motel before the big show started. But we were surprised to find that the view from the motel was virtually unobstructed and we got to see the entire show before turning in for the night.
So it came, the end of another fine fly-in, another chance to visit old friends and make a few new ones.
Attendees:
Don & Shirley Ames in their ‘58/14-19-2 from Tucson, AZ
Allan & Doris Anderson in their ‘71/30A from Langley, BC
Tom & Karen Binder in their ‘76/31ATC from Gresham, OR
Ron & Penny Blake in their ‘78/30A from San Jose, CA
Bill Bruu in his ‘75/30A from Wasilla, AK
John & Adele Christensen in their '79/30A from Livermore, CA
Rola & Candace Cook & friend in their ‘74/30A from Molalla, OR
RJ & Juanita Lint in their ‘74/30A from Forest Grove, OR
Dave & Dana Lovitt in their ‘80/30A from Willits, CA
Don & Catherine Lunt in their ‘73/30A from Bellingham, WA
Billy & Diane Morgan in their '98/30A from Battle Ground, WA
David & Pepe Morrison in their ‘79/30A from Roseburg, OR
Bob & Bette Nixon in their '69/30 from Willits, CA
Tom & Barbara Russ in their '78/30A from Tucson, AZ
Ross Seabrooke in his ‘73/31A from Coeur d'Alene, ID
Len & Kay Spina in their ‘ 79/30A from Tucson, AZ
Doug & Susan Tyce in their '74/30A from Lantzville, BC
Harry & Kathy WildOne in their ‘73/31ATC from SomewhereIn, OR
I know I’m forgetting at least a couple, so let me know if you’re one of the forgotten!
Fly-In Photos!!!
...and RJ's Fly-In Photos!
Branson, Missouri Fly-In
October 18-20, 2002
Victor's Fly-In Report!
Bellanca-Champion Club East Coast Fly-In
Pottstown, PA October 4-6, 2002
Please visit the Bellanca-Champion Club's website for photos and full report on the event.
Fly-In Report!
Pacific Northwest Fly-In---Sunriver, OR (S21)
August 31-September 3, 2002
The Pacific Northwest Fly-In to Sunriver is always a good time. But this year's was an exception...it was the best! The annual Labor Day event almost didn't happen this year but as it turned out, it was one of the best attended and by most accounts (definitely mine) it was the most fun. Barbara and I started our holiday weekend as soon as we got off of work on Thursday. Time to get packed for the weekend getaway, enough time to take a 20 mile spin on my newly purchased Ducati...then out to the airport to meet Craig & Sharon as they flew in from Houston. As everyone was hungry *and thirsty* we headed for a local pub for a few beers and a bite to eat before turning in for the night.
Our planned early launch out of Ryan Field (Tucson) didn't happen 'til sometime after 9 a.m. but it was a beautiful morning for flying formation, at least until somewhere north of Las Vegas where the bumps started. Our formation loosened up a bit from that point if for no other reason than it was just too much work to stay close. We had decided to make Reno's Stead Field our fuel and lunch stop. Stead is the home of the Reno Air Races and with the races just two weeks away, the crews were very busy spiffing up the bleachers and seal coating the ramp and taxiways. It didn't seem to be too big a deal as the airport manager cautioned us of the work crews and helpfully led us to the self serve fuel pumps. He also warned us that the seal coating in the area of the pumps had not quite set up yet and was 'kinda wet' so he met us at the pumps with paper towels and plastic garbage bags to put over our shoes! Too late for me as I jumped out and headed for the pumps! Made a mess of our shoes to say the least and there were some pretty funny contortions as we deshod and climbed back in the plane without getting any of the mess on the wingwalk or in the plane! First time I ever flew barefoot...very strange. Anyway, just under four hours for that leg and now it's off to Sunriver. After a formation takeoff it sure was tempting to take a spin around the pylons, but I figured the ladies wouldn't find it quite as much fun, oh well, another time maybe.
We continued to see good VFR weather on into Sunriver although it was plenty bumpy. Again, a loose formation was flown for the ease of it. An hour and forty-five minutes later we landed and taxied to the ramp. Before I had even shut down I heard a radio call from Doug & Susan about ten miles out. What timing! Having not talked with our "roomies" in weeks and coming in from opposite directions, Tucson & Vancouver, we land within five minutes of each other...couldn't have planned it any better. We were soon met on the ramp by Billy & Diane and Bob & Bette who had arrived earlier in the day. We were soon followed by Harvey Wilkens, then Daryl & Betsy and Gary & Kathy who flew formation up from Stockton. A bit later John & Adele arrived followed by Ed and Connie from San Diego. A pretty good showing for a last minute fly-in!
We ate, drank, and swapped stories in the bar at the lodge and talked about the weekend's activities. Saturday morning was reserved for hanging at the airport, where we looked over each others birds and their latest add ons or improvements. Doug had recently purchased the new STC'd fuel caps from Tom Witmer, so they were of special interest to all that had the thermos-type caps on their plane. FYI the new caps appear to be extremely well made, exquisitely machined and the overall design is simple and by all appearances should work quite well. As the ladies bored of airplanes and the urge for food began to take over, we all bicycled up to the lodge where we enjoyed a nice lunch cooked out on the patio. After lunch we all cycled down to the marina where each couple rented a canoe and headed off for the two hour trip down the Deshutes River. After a few races and some serious paddle wars we determined the Contis beat the Lycs 4 to 2! We tied all the canoes together and floated formation for the last half of the run, had lots of laughs and some of us didn't even have to do anymore paddling (thanks John and Sharon)!
We met at the local pizza joint for dinner. It must have looked like this group hadn't eaten in days! There were at least 8 pizzas on the table and probably more than 8 pitchers of beer. Why are pilots always so thirsty? More good times were had as various stories made their way around the table. Much of it centered around the next day's whitewater rafting trip. We had rafted with Craig & Sharon for the past two visits to Sunriver and have had some terrific times. This year when the word went out it was a pleasant surprise to find our rafting crew had grown to 12 people! This is going to be fun!!!
Sunday morning's raft trip started when the Sunriver Lodge van picked us up around 7 a.m. for the half hour drive up to Bend, where the rafting company is headquartered. Sign in, pay up, wait around a bit then climb in another van (all 12 of us plus our two guides) for the hour and a half road trip up to Maupin where we were to 'put in' for our 13 mile adventure down the Lower Deshutes River. It was probably near 10:30 by the time we actually got on the water for the first leg of our float. The river starts out pretty tame, but before long we're into some pretty serious water with rapids named "Boxcar" and "Cyclops"...serious enough that some of us had a little trouble staying *in* the boat! Don't want to mention any names here, but be sure to check out the picture of Craig's boat as they hit Cyclops (hint: who's not in the boat). Believe it or not, it is unbelievably exhilarating as the 55 degree water douses you at will and the adrenaline rush is incredible. After some four miles of the river we pull off for a prepared lunch of grilled chicken, plenty of sides and way too many chocolate chip cookies.
Some nine miles of fun left as we donned our life vests once again and headed out. Plenty of time for more paddle wars, a few more 'extreme' sections, and also time to sit back, take it easy and absorb the gorgeous scenery. Towards the end of the trip there's a couple hundred feet of whitewater that you are allowed to take on your own, sans boat, if you wish. It is an awesome feeling as you jump into the rushing river and get swept downstream through the mild whitewater. Maybe it was the water temp, but it takes your breath away! Ask Daryl, he did it twice!
Needless to say, the van rides back home were not quite as rowdy. The river had really taken it out of us...in a good way of course. We did muster the energy to put together a steak cookout at the rental house (Big thanks to Gary and Daryl for your generosity) after Craig talked the neighbor out of his grill for the evening. Doug cooked up the filets and T-bones as the ladies cooked up the corn on the cob and baked potatoes, and prepared the bread and salad. And did I mention wine? Many, many dead soldiers again at this gathering. Very, very delicious...thanks to all. It seems these impromptu ideas turn out to be the most fun. I think it's safe to say, we all had a great time and can't wait to do it again in 2003!
Attendees:
John & Adele Christensen in their '79/30A from Livermore, CA
Craig & Sharon Gifford in their '79/30A from Houston, TX
Billy & Diane Morgan in their '98/30A from Battle Ground, WA
Bob & Bette Nixon in their '69/30 from Willits, CA
Gary & Kathy Robinson in their '78/31ATC from Carlsbad, CA
Tom & Barbara Russ in their '78/30A from Tucson, AZ
Ed & Connie Stephan in their '73/31ATC from San Diego, CA
Doug & Susan Tyce in their '74/30A from Lantzville, BC
Daryl & Betsy Wilkens in their '73/31ATC from Linden, CA
Sunriver Photos!!!
Plainview, TX (PVW) Fly-In
July 13-14, 2002
Unfortunately we were unable to attend this year's "special event"...
a big THANKS to John Hartnell for providing this report & photos!
Weather was an issue in getting to the fly-in at Plainview. A heavy line of storms in a line across north of Plainview required a detour west to Colorado before clearing enough to allow the flight south.
Our Friday afternoon arrival was punctuated by a waiting chauffeured van heading to the hotel and a flight line (actually two lines) of marvelous Bellanca Vikings. Quite a sight to see 25 to 30 of these grand flying machines in one place. The line crew made sure that the planes were well attended and that the pilots were comfortably situated in hotels.
Miller’s and the local Bellanca owners provided a delicious picnic of hamburgers, beans, chips and lots of desserts that was followed by a tribute to James Miller. Marge Mitchell and Marlin welcomed all in their gracious Texas style. A captivating video of a conversation some passing airplane aficionados made of James and Marge in the offices of Miller Aviation was an unexpected delight for the crowd of about 100. As the video rolled James and Marge answered questions and related experiences about their beginning association with Bellanca Aircraft. After the video family and friends were moved to relate their stories of experiences involving James and Bellancas. The evening passed all too quickly.
Special thanks to Miller Aviation for sheltering all the magnificent machines overnight in their hangars away from the impending threatening storms---rain and possible hail.
Coffee and donuts accompanied an informative maintenance seminar Saturday morning. Thanks to Dwayne Mitchell for the information about oil recovery and exhaust systems. Numerous questions, concerns, and AD’s were discussed.
Again the flight line of Bellancas was resplendent in their show of colors and paint schemes. Each aircraft with its unique air was proudly discussed by its owner.
On the other side of the field Hutcherson Aviation and the Plainview Lions Club sponsored a fly-in lunch with raffle and aircraft display. The emcee explained to all about the aircraft that included some experimentals and ultralights. The pilots were coerced to talk about the performance of the “long easy” and the ultralight. They also gave a flight demo to the delight of the crowd gathered for the delicious lunch. Raffle winners walked away with everything from Waylan College t-shirts, lawn chairs and restaurant certificates to the grand prize---a handheld radio.
Waylan College and the local auto dealer provided van transportation back and forth across the field.
While Fly-In guests continued to look at and discuss Vikings many pilots left for home. The line crew at Miller’s gave a demonstration of a game similar to Bocce. The strategy and skill needed is similar to horseshoes. Each player had three balls that were thrown trying to get closest to a small target ball.
Saturday evening the pilots staying over all met at the Elks Club where all enjoyed a wonderful meal and continued conversations about flying experiences and the virtues of those wonderful Bellancas!
Fly-In Photos!
Bellanca-Champion Club West Coast Fly-In
Columbia, CA (O22) May 31-June 2, 2002
Report by Troy Foster
Am I the luckiest person alive or what? Having planned to attend Bellanca-Champion's West Coast Fly-in 2002 for exactly 24 months, I had all but resigned my self to staying home, watching paint dry on bedroom walls; my plane is broken. I'm not making this up, my bird is in a bazillion pieces on Dan Torrey's hangar floor. We're doing something called an annual inspection which really should be more properly characterized as a 1.5 month inspection since it CAN'T take a year, can it?
Saturday Morning: To my rescue is my dear friend Mike Carr. Since his airplane is never in more than seven or eight pieces he suggested we fly to Columbia for the day on Saturday. Mercifully, my bride, having cancelled her trip due to the bazillion piece deal, was intelligently gambling at the Pechanga Casino with my mother on her eightieth birthday. Free to roam, I helped Mike reassemble his plane and off we went. He even let me drive! Since Mike navigated we got there quickly and got rained on infrequently Our uneventful flight nearly terminated eventfully as I let the nose wheel down with a bunch of corrective rudder still pressed. Got my attention as Mike spewed forth with a barrage of expletives directed at my flying skills. After I explained that my flying was superb - it was the landing that sucked - we taxied for parking.
Being famous, I'm immediately greeted by a host of airworthy dignitaries who gleefully filled me in on Friday night's escapades. "Gee Troy... you missed the bla bla and we did this and that, and so-in-so was doing the you-know-what and did you hear about ...." Naturally I lit a cigar and ignored the tantalizing post-game details and found beer. Mike, now finished rebuilding his nose gear, joins up and offers a new degree of rectitude in our evaluation of the planes. I just voted for Mike's Viking for low wing and Bob Szego (whose plane wasn't even there) for high wing because I'm a namby-pamby butt-kisser who wants in good with the Pres... and wants a ride back home.
Saturday Afternoon: We attend the informative seminar hosted by Dan Torrey (name's familiar some how) on what can mess up your day. They year's theme was "Pre-flight Actions Taken by Prudent Pilots and Other Stuff" We get into lots of questions and answers where someone asks about Nixon Bolts or Alternator belt tension or tire pressure and Dan tells them how much. Not how much actual pressure, but how much it will cost to find out. He sorta lubes up your wallet with some FAA approved grease and plunges head-in. After this was some round table discussion but we decided to head into Dodge... By the way, how do you pre-flight a plane in a bazillion pieces?
Town: I'm in heaven; my personal Cockaigne. All my friends (except honeymooners Daryl and Betsy) are there. And so many neat planes. Columbia is a glistening pearl in a string of California beauty that stuns the imagination and delights the senses. Fully cognizant that we were dreadfully short of Merlot, Mike and I venture into town over terrain that the forty-niners must have endured - the Frank O. Dondero Nature Trail - which, for the un-informed auto traveler, is a small dirt path with a fancy name and lots of rocks and weeds. It opens into a breath-taking view of the visitor's center and a Frosty Freeze where you are transported back in history at least 30 years. We quaff the splendor and venture further where we are transported even further back in time. A saloon, now a shell of its former glory when drunk cowboys gambled and drank and occasionally shot each other, is host to bikers that gamble, drink and occasionally shoot each other. Mike drinks a beer, settling at once his nerves after my landing, and I drink two. He kicks my butt at billiards after professing to have only played such game once when he was a kid. Sure Mike.
We enter the town store and select numerous bottles of Merlot. I place them on the counter and the observant maiden (dressed in period garb) says... "You guys are pilots here for the fly-in --- Right?" We reluctantly admit that we are and she speaks of last year when she sold a record number of wines to - who else? PILOTS! Not a wonder G/A gets a bad rap. We buy cheap wine.
Dinner Time: Saturday night is always the highlight and with the exception of Lee McGee's absence this year, it still was. Most people had Tri Tip, but since the girl liked me and gave me an extra piece I had Quad Tip. As usual the salad was so-so, the beans great, the meat delectable, the garlic bread to die for, and the aged-in-cardboard wine: barely palatable. I think these 2-wol-uh-me county Airport people are the greatest. They work hard for us and we owe them a hearty round of drinx - er, uh, I mean thanks. As usual there were speakers assigned to introduce speakers, who in turn introduced someone who thanks everybody for everything and then turns the podium back over to the person who introduced him so the award winners could be introduced. There were awards for oldest plane, longest flight, nicest low and high wing planes, closest thing to an acceptable landing (I did NOT win) , and flower bombing. As a horticulturist I hate people who deliberately try to destroy flowers, but to these folks its a game. Like cock-fighting or pit-bull rings, just a game. Plus it's discriminatory. Try it from a Viking. A high wing conspiracy says I.
Anyway the oldest plane was won by a Bellanca 14-14 which looks like a torpedo with Cruise-Air wings. It has a 135 horse Franklin engine and an Aeromatic semi-efficient 1 or 2 blade propeller. Longest flight went to a gentleman from Manitoba who flew his 90 horse high-wingy-thingy in. They raffled off tickets for a ride in a Stearman and I missed the winning number by only ten. There were eleven entries.
We adjourned to camp and tried to replay last year's events. It was only partially successful as Tom, Barb, Scott, and Harriet, formerly of wine drinking fame, bugged out for some hot Jacuzzi action. I wasn't invited. Standby alcoholics Dan, John, Chris, non-drinking chaperone Adele, Mike and yours truly were able to mince a few bottles and the ensuing commotion attracted a bevy of neighbors. Before the night was over we had a renown heart surgeon, a wine-making PhD / AP-AI and other assorted hangers-on. For this I am truly grateful as I only drink alone or with somebody. Should have heard the horrible jokes (or maybe you did). Thankfully we survived the earthquake with only minor damage - a collapsed tent.
Sunday Morning: Unhappy about missing a chance at a ride in the Stearman, Adele arranges for John a hair-raising ride in a P51D Mustang conveniently parked close by. John can no longer hold his mouth right. Although raddled, an erumpent grin characterizes John's experience. I asked how it flew and he said "normal". Hmmmmm.
Another wonderful feather in the cap of All who worked to bring us this fly-in. Extra thanks to Chuck Sanford, Ozzie Levi, Brian Farrell, Paul Klingborg, George and Linda Butts, Amy and Drew Peterson, and of course, all the other un-named people who work behind the scenes to make this fly-in the greatest.
Your Airplane-less Servant
Troy
Fly-In Photos!
Paso Robles (PRB) Wine Country Tour
November 9-11, 2001
Counting Alice and I we had a total of 24 people for the three days. Ron and Penny Blake of San Jose, Stephan and Janet Dunbar from Oklahoma, Mark and Tova Lynn of Amarillo, Craig and Carolyn Delk from Las Vegas (Cherokee Six-300), Mike and Liz McCann from El Paso, Bill Baily and local friend Jill from Napa, Ed and Connie Stephan of El Cajon, Daryl and Betsy Wilkins from Stockton, Troy Foster (sans Shirley who had family matters to take care of) from Long Beach, and Jim and Joanne Gryder from Eureka, Kansas.
Good weather was ordered and it really was. Bright, sunny shorts weather Friday, light front Saturday night, clearing with beautiful cumulous Sunday. We all stayed at the Paso Robles Inn, a 125 year old primo hotel and spa which has been completely restored. Friday of course was fly in and look at, and talk about, airplanes. The cafe at the brand new exec terminal is not operational yet, so we all enjoyed a deli treat of our own in the new terminal conference room. Friday night we went salooning at a western saloon, McClintocks. Great food, not great country music, and lots of laughs.
Saturday, from 9:30 AM on we wine toured in two 15 passenger vans. We particularly kept to the well established private vintners rather than to the big names. At Norman's 40 year old establishment we learned every thing you need to know about making wine, from picking to pouring. One thing we REALLY found out, was that it is NOT a low risk business. Ate lunch in an old, active ranch, now wine town of Templeton. It doesn't know for sure which way it wants to go, but you can bet it will go with the wine money. The restaurant is a 130 year old western "Manse" (whatever the hell that is) with one of those super wrap around and wide verandahs. We ate on the verandah.
All were turned loose in Paso Robles to shop the afternoon away (Or nap), or bath in the sulfur, mineral water located on site of the hotel and separately run to many of the rooms, and to a fine outdoor oversized hot tub pool. Dinner at the hotel was great for Saturday night, plus the fun of watching the waiter set all the alarms off with a major flaming flambeau something or other.
We ate at Margies Sunday morning where you get the biggest meals in town. Margies motto is that she does not serve "bare plates" Margie is an old timer western gal who grew up when ranch hands really chowed down when they ate. Aside from McCann's who left early to get back to El Paso before dark and not run a chance of going in blind because of voltage regulator problems, an item he replaced brand new on arriving Friday (I guess he just keeps them handy in the baggage compartment). Everyone was up and out by 1:00 PM.
Alice and I immediately drove home and took a nap. And since waking up refreshed we have been remembering and chuckling over the really neat and fun things we all did, and that happened.
Go Vikings!
Leonard and Alice Delk
Fly-In Photos!
B-C Club's East Coast Fly-In (N47)
Pottstown, PA October 12-14, 2001
Please visit the Bellanca-Champion Club's website for photos and full report on the event.
Fly-In Report
IVOG's Pacific Northwest Fly-In (S21)
Sunriver, OR August 31-September 3, 2001
Report by Craig Gifford
"Sunriver is a numbers game"
11------------------------------Vikings on the Sunriver ramp (one unknown)
9,816----------------------miles flown by participants to get there and back
65--------------------------------------------fewer hours to everyone’s TBO’s
916--------------------------------------------------gallons of avgas consumed
4-------------------------------------diehards who did the flyout to Tillamook
300----------------------------------length of Tillamook hangar, in YARDS !
2--------------------------number of times Tom Binder flew to S21 and back
4------witnesses that RJ actually owns a Viking and sprung for that MX20
0---------number of other people up at our house when Sharon went to run
8-----------------------steaks cooked to perfection by Doug on Sunday night
1-----------------------------number of times Craig got thrown out of the raft
80----------------------------------------------------------------high temperature
11--------------------------hours of formation time logged by Tom and Craig
1-------------------------------------------------------------hell of a good time !
Labor Day weekend brought the annual IVOG Sunriver flyin, and this year Billy ordered up some great weather. Tom and Barb and Sharon and I arrived mid-afternoon Friday. Several others had come the night before. By the time we had pushed our planes back and parked, John and Adele were on final with John adding plenty of power to make the runway – we all laughed about it until he made a squeaker of a landing. I guess he heard us laughing though, because he decided to pull in and park on a different row from the 9 other Vikings! This, in spite of me standing in front of his airplane waving him around…
So, now that everyone was at the airport, the guys decided to do…what else, stand around and lie, I mean talk airplanes. The girls quickly decided that was enough and flagged down the courtesy van. So, we headed for the rental units, some food and a change of clothes. The evening brought beer and desserts at the Lodge. Be absolutely sure not to miss the Strawberry Shortcake next year – it was fabulous. Tom and I tried the local pale ale while watching the “big” table get ignored by the waiter. At evening end, Billy and Diane awarded travel chairs as a door prize. They were won by Bob and Bette Nixon. Funny, it was Bob’s hat they used to pull the numbers and every paper slip I saw in the hat said 7379V on it…
Most of us packed it in pretty early Friday night to rest up for big Saturday plans. The Russ’ and Gifford’s went white-water rafting. We had a great time and I believe our stories have convinced a few others to join us next year. Others stayed in Sunriver and roamed the airport. Rumor is RJ stopped in to show off his new panel, but he left before we got back. Saturday night brought another group gathering at the local pizza parlor. Great food, more pale ale, and lots of stories.
Sunday morning everyone was up at 6:00 am – because that’s what time Larry revved up the big Lyc and roared out of Sunriver. You could hear him for miles! We all met for brunch and the ladies rented canoes for a little river trip. Tom, John, Doug and I piled into N28054 and C-GOWB for the flight over to Tillamook. Tom and I got the rare pleasure of seeing C-GOWB flash past us within a couple hundred yards as we made a 360 turn. Vikings look great at 300 kts closing speed! It’s a pretty neat museum, but the two best things are the size of the old blimp hangar and the flyable Bellanca Aircruiser. What a beast, but it can fly 165 mph and lift 6,000 lbs of payload – more than its own empty weight! Sunday night brought steaks and more lies, I mean hangar flying.
Monday we all packed up for the flights home, some short some longer. Tom, Barb and Sharon and I flew together to Bryce Canyon, Utah and then parted ways. I think everyone but Sharon and I made it back that day – we had to stop in Midland that night to wait out a frontal system.
All in all, a great trip. Well worth the flight, even from Texas. For those of use in the Southern US still living with 100+ temps in September, Sunriver is a trip we definitely look forward to each year. Make sure to join in next year so there’s no room for that Cessna at the end to park in our row again!
Attendees:
Tom & Karen Binder in their '75/31ATC from Portland, OR
John & Adele Christensen in their '79/30A from Livermore, CA
Craig & Sharon Gifford in their '79/30A from Austin, TX
RJ Lint in his '74/30A from Forest Grove, OR
Dave & Dana Lovitt in their '80/30A from Willits, CA
Billy & Diane Morgan in their '98/30A from Battle Ground, WA
Bob & Bette Nixon in their '69/30 from Willits, CA
with their daughter Kim & her husband Richard
Tom & Barbara Russ in their '78/30A from Tucson, AZ
Larry & Sally Smalley in their '73/31A from Rifle, CO
Doug & Susan Tyce in their '74/30A from Lantzville, BC
& N4102B, an Unknown '77/31ATC
Fly-In Photos!
Chalet Suzanne Fly-In (X25)
Lake Wales, FL August 11, 2001
Report by Tim Averett
The initial gathering of Vikings in this part of the country was a fine success and was enjoyed by all who attended. "Woody", our 77' 17-31ATC, carried Juliana and me to Chalet Suzanne on Friday afternoon to join our friends, Susie and Bob Schlernitzauer (J-3 cub). Around mid morning on Saturday, Wolfgang Klug with his son, Bernhard "Bernie" and girlfriend Tina arrived. They own a 76' 17-30A in Germany and thankfully, the timing of this fly-in coincided with their trip here on holiday. Although their Viking was there only in spirit, they hope to ferry it across the pond to the USA in a year or so.
While waiting for the other's to arrive and after taking Wolfgang up. Bernie and I left in "Woody" to survey the area and search for incoming Vikings. We were rewarded with the appearance of Lee Burt arriving from Ft. Lauderdale in his 80' 17-30A. Unfortunately, Lee's wife and copilot Linda could not be there, but we look forward to seeing her the next time. Anyway, we chased Lee's Viking down the runway past the Chalet soup plant and back in for a landing. By the time we were both parked, Luke Closson was making his approach in his 75' 17-30A. Luke came down from Valdosta, GA with his wife, Sandy and friends, Kim and Charles. Luke is usually found guiding a Delta MD-11 to places abroad, but took time out to join us for this event.
The August heat in Central Florida can be oppressive, so it didn't take long for all of us to retreat to the Swiss Room for lunch. We enjoyed fare that ranged from Chalet's signature "Moon Soup" (Romaine soup that was taken aboard Apollo missions) to sweet broiled Grapefruit, to main courses of Crab, Chicken, etc. Cherries Jubilee made for a fine dessert for some. Our lovely host and the owner of Chalet Suzanne, Vita Hinshaw welcomed all of us while sporting a Bellanca Viking T-Shirt. Vita's husband, Carl Hinshaw, was a dealer for the Viking back in the heydays of the 70's.
Lee and Luke were day trippers and they each departed with their Continental's howling at full song. The heat and thick St. Augustine grass are still no match for the capable Viking. We convinced Wolfgang to spend the night and so after they checked in, we all spent the balance of the afternoon taking dips in the pool and quaffing cold German Beer. After a wonderful dinner, a good night's sleep and breakfast with our new friends, it was time to reenter the rest of the world. As we made our celebratory pass down the runway to signal goodbye, standing near the gazebo was beautiful Vita, waving to us a fond farewell.
I'm sure it won't be long before the Vikings return to rest again at Chalet Suzanne.
left to right: Lee Burt, Tina, Bernhard Klug, Juliana & Tim
Averett, Wolfgang Klug, Kim & Charles, Sandy & Luke Closson
Plainview, TX (PVW) Fly-In
July 13-15, 2001
By RJ Lint, with support and input from Marlin Miller and Tom Russ:
The National Weather service was baffled by the sudden and violent flow of air out of the Gulf of Mexico and the Pacific Ocean, starting on Thursday, July 12, 2001. Initially, the NWS reported it as a mid-summer monsoonal flow. The Weather Channel reported it as an upper level disturbance, pulling moisture into the mid sections of the United States. CNN reported it as another example of poor leadership by the Republicans and GW Bush. It wasn’t until Saturday morning, July 14, 2001, that the true cause of the weather was determined and reported.
The source of the weather disturbance was centered around a small town in Texas. The name of that town is Plainview. It appears that from Thursday until Saturday a total of 31 Bellanca's, 2 Citabria's, and one crazy YAK had arrived at the Hale county airport.
Their continuous arrivals, high entry speeds, and high speed passes acted as a catalyst, causing the air to spin in a clockwise direction pulling moisture up from the gulf. Most of these planes departed on Sunday, however, because of the extra weight gained from eating at the Miller’s BarBQ, Lions brunch and air show, and dinner at the ELKs, these Planes were much slower, having little effect on the atmosphere.
On Thursday, John and Adele Christensen arrived from Livermore California. It should be noted that this is the first time John has landed at a fly-in a day early, in the daylight, and not during a rain or hail storm. L.A. Berry from Texas arrived, as did Ron Bianchi from Louisiana, where apparently it is important to announce your every intention and trim change. This resulted in a plethora of calls from “75 miles out and inbound for landing” from the Oregon branch of the family tree, RJ Lint (Forest Grove, Oregon) and Tom Binder (Troutdale, Or) Mike and Liz McCann (from TX) also arrived on Thursday, capturing both “OOP’s awards” for the weekend. Mike was warded the first one for is serpentine run through the flight line, sand blasting all the other planes. The second “OOP’s award” was presented for lifetime achievement. He captured it for flying all the way to the fly-in with the gear extended (PS: he was still faster than Bianchi) because his emergency gear handle was down. In true Miller fashion, they suggested the obvious fix to his problem and didn’t charge him.
The list of life time achievement “ “OOP’s award” holders are:
1995 Gary Robinson – kicking the main wheels out from under the wing.
1996 Gary Robinson – having a dog jump through his pilot window
1997 RJ Lint - Flying 1.5 hours with the oil cap off (twice in one month)
1998 RJ Lint – having his wife finding the electric trim was turned off after complaining for hours that it didn’t work
1999 Larry Smalley – Putting a 5-gallon bucket of water in his hangar to increase humidity, and for being generally gullible.
2000 Karen Binder – for complaining that her husband, Tom Binder, passed noxious gas every time they got to pattern altitude, which put them downwind of the paper mill and over the sewage plant, at their home airport.
2001 Mike McCann – flying to Plainview with the emergency gear lever down
2002 IT could be YOU
Arrivals on Friday at Hale county airport were: Gaylord Hoyt and Gary Rice, TX; Edgar, Karen, Whitney and Kelly Babin, TX; Carter DuBois, NM; (in his YAK – ODE) Curt Richmond, TX, Victor and Becky Catalanotto, TX, Billy Dixon, UT; Don Loughran, TX; Dean and Demita Crofford, TX;
Friday night was the annual Bellanca BarBQ, attendance was 120 people. (33 Bellanca’s, 120 people, that’s 3.64 people per plane – where did they all come from???) This year instead of Barbecuing' a Beech Bonanza, we had Burgers, Beans, and Bellanca Stories (BS). At each table, you could hear people talking about flying at 200 knots, at tree top level, at 86 inches of MP, or how they never look at their airspeed indicator, or how to fix that all important problem with duct tape.
Others in attendance at all or part of the BarBQ festivities were: Tim, Ashley and Carley Hardage, Bill Hardage, Kent Akin, Toby Tomasu, James Miller, Marlin Miller, Marge Mitchell, David Williams, Roger and Raj Horan, Charles Stair, Ray Lee, Glen Pendergrass, Dennis Hill, Ronnie Robbins, Dwayne Mitchell and Randy Reed.
Saturday arrivals missed a wonderful BarBQ but were spared a lot of exaggerations and technical arguments: The following arrived on Saturday: Craig Gifford, TX; Ted Bonds, TX; Scott Mahr, ?; Jim Blanton, TX; Bryan Rose, TX; Bill Dean, TX; Buddy and Darrel Ford, TX; Tom Russ, AZ; Jack Shaunessy, TX; Carter Williams, TX; Lee Moore, TX; Skip Burroughs, TX; Floyd Brown, TX.
On Thursday, Friday and Saturday, Adele Christensen played taxi driver for many of the Bellanca Pilots (Thanks, Adele) while her husband spent time trying to get his eggs and any meat served to him raw. None of those “sprouts” for him like all the other wimpy Californians. He’s a “real caveman”! On Saturday morning, many went to the Lyon’s breakfast / lunch and topped that off with a maintenance presentation by Dwayne. Entertainment during brunch included a spot landing contest as well as the occasional high speed fly-by. A pair of F-16 fighters paid a visit, first doing a low and slow formation pass in the landing configuration. They followed that up by a high speed pass hitting their afterburners halfway down the runway and pulling up into a near vertical climb. They threw in a roll on the upline for good measure!
Since the Oregon Boy’s (RJ Lint and Tom Binder) feared the worst from the WX forecast, they mounted their respective Vikings and charged in to the air and headed home before the maintenance presentation ( and yes, the Turbo Viking was and is consistently 20 knots faster than the TCM power Viking but the Continental was smoother and had more paint left on the wings at the end of the trip). Ask Tom, someday, what hail and rain can do at 200 miles an hour! Unfortunately, “the Boys” ran into the major part of the front just outside of Grand Junction (GTW) and had to turn back to ALS, they attempted an end run around the front but got trapped for the night in Cedar City, under CB’s with tops to FL44.
We did hear that wonderful information was provided, once again, at the maintenance presentations. The high points of Dwayne’s talk were about exhausts cracks, gear leg cracks, alternate air door failures and in addition Dwayne talked at length about the oil pump AD on the Lycomings (96-09-10). It seems the compliance period for installing the newer oil pump/gears runs out 07-15-2001. Of particular interest was his statement that all the "wide-deck" IO-540-Ks used in the Vikings already have pumps/gears that satisfy the AD. Although the Lycoming Service Letters don't mention this model specifically for exclusion, the suggestion was to get your mechanic to call Lycoming and get verification that it was built with the right pump. Apparently they are aware of the omission, but have never corrected the service information. He noted that all the "narrow-deck" engines, unless previously complied with, would require the new pump and gears.
Dwayne also had the latest spin-on oil filter adapter from F&M Enterprises, which is STC'd for the Continental engines. Their latest version is a good bit shorter, making it more suitable for the Bellanca 260's application where the engine-to-firewall distance is much smaller than on the Viking. It is a very simple unit which uses a standard Champion filter, requires no additional hoses or plumbing, and costs around $500.
Some additional information provided at the maintenance talks for you grease monkeys is: 1. Use Loctite, CAS, Copper based anti-seize grease for muffler ball swivels: #51007. 2. Use LPS-2 for Aileron Rollers 3. Use DC4 for aileron guide tube near wheel well.
On Saturday night, while the “Oregon clan” wasted away in a hotel some where in Utah, the rest of the Bellanca family had a very enjoyable evening at the Elks, with great conversation and very good steaks. They did miss having James and Marge at dinner. We just can't get enough of their priceless stories and history, but they were a bit tired from the weekend's festivities and needed the rest.
On Sunday, (it is rumored) that some blasted through a low level fog/cloud bank on their way to 4OOO, shouting “thank God Troy or Tova didn’t come”, bringing to a close of the Famous “2001 Plainview fly-in and BS (Bellanca story) session. Hope to see every one (except Troy and Tova) at next years fly-in.
Thanks for the report RJ...
Fly-In Photos!
IVOG's Pagosa Springs, CO (2V1) Fly-In
June 22-24, 2001
Our initial radio call when nearing Pagosa was followed by a call from another Viking approaching from the north. Barb and I were approaching from the south and both planes were about fifteen or twenty miles out yet. I recognized the voice and call sign, 1SV, to be the 2000 model Viking belonging to Fred & Kay Olson...and knowing Fred, I figured the race was on! So we dashed for the airport, and although Fred was reporting groundspeeds near 200 kts, I was able to sneak into the pattern just ahead of him! Shorter distance traveled, I guess!
The biggest difference from last year's fly-in was the weather...just perfect. Dodging thunderstorms and being jolted by the mountain turbulence made for a very memorable arrival to the 2000 event! This was much more pleasant, Barbara didn't turn green once! Moving the event forward two months on the calendar was a good idea. After stowing the plane away in the hangar for the weekend, it was off to town to check in and freshen up before meeting for dinner.
We gathered at JJ's Upstream Restaurant for dinner. The setting was fabulous, outdoor patio dining right alongside the San Juan River, and the food was great. As the evening cooled, the thought of taking a dip in the hot springs was foremost on our minds. So for us, it was back to "The Springs" and a nice long relaxing sit in the 105 degree tub! A fine cap to a fine day.
Most of Saturday was spent hanging at the airport, checking out the planes while many of the ladies went over to the Hannay's house to visit with the horses. We lamented over the twisted remains of a Maule which had been flipped over by a sudden wind storm just days before! It was not a pretty sight. But what was pretty, were all the Vikings that showed up. One of the things that was very obvious to me at this fly-in, was the relative newness of the planes attending...more than half of them had fully enclosed nosewheels! It was a great opportunity to look over the newer Vikings and compare and inspect some of the changes and improvements that have been made to the recent production.
Again Curt and Mary Jo put on a very nice cookout at their home on Saturday evening. About twenty of us were there to enjoy the fine food and drink, the awesome scenery, and swap a few stories. Since most everyone traveled quite some distance to attend, we were all up and ready for the return flight early Sunday morning. As Fred directed traffic while circling overhead in 1SV, five Vikings launched one after the other and headed in all directions for home, promising to return for next year's third annual event! Thanks again Curt & Mary Jo...another great time!
Those attending:
John & Adele Christensen of Livermore, CA in their '79/30A
Curt & Mary Jo Hannay of Pagosa Springs with their '73/31ATC
Dave & Dana Lovitt from Willits, CA in their '80/30A
Diane & Billy Morgan of Battle Ground, WA in their '98/30A
Bob & Bette Nixon of Willits, CA in their '71/30A
Fred & Kay Olson of Harrison, AR with their '00/30A
Tom & Barbara Russ of Tucson, AZ in their '78/30A
Bellanca-Champion Club West Coast Fly-In
Columbia, CA (O22) June 8-10, 2001
Report by Troy Foster:
The Bellanca Champion Club has again raised the bar for those who would aspire to host a "successful" fly-in. With better than eighty aircraft loosely divided between 'normal aircraft' and those whose wings are on 'down-side-up' AND more than a hundred and fifty happy campers (two hundred if you count those who weren't subjected to the nightly singing contest at camp Sing-A-Long) this gathering spelled success! Setting aside the evanescent happiness of certain camp neighbors, all seemed in good spirits when dawn broke each day.
Arrival: The bride and I arrived without fanfare Friday at exactly 1300 hours (fanfare, as you know, was my first grass landing) as we were allowed to land on the asphalt runway. Chuck Sanford performed flawlessly his ground directorial duties and we tied down... Luckily I had the presence of mind to remember that we were instructed to bring our corkscrew-auger-tiedown-anchors. The only thing Shirl and I forgot was the dynamite. Maybe our anchors are flimsy; they don't go into solid granite so good. Since the world sucks, I determined that the Viking would be held in place just fine by gravity for two days. One high-wing dude was nervous with the gravity arrangement and tied his unit down to the reinforced-concrete-segmented-circle after discovering that he had forgotten his blasting caps. I would learn later that Vikings have - perhaps - a bit greater inertia than a Champ or Scout.
Obstacle: During our post-flight trip to the Jill, we learned of the near death experience of the previous party - an encounter with the Brobdingnagian rattle-snake. An alert passerby, Randy, saved the day and with the spar from a local Citibria beat the snake senseless then buried its head and body in separate graves. Can't tell ya just how much I appreciate the dissemination of this information to my ophidiphobic bride. "Mammals including humans have an inborn capacity to react fearfully to dangerous stimuli, such as loud noises and the sight of certain animals. Squirrel monkeys freeze instinctively at the sight of a snake, as do infant rodents when exposed to cats. The fear response appears to serve as a protective signaling system to help animals elude predators even before they understand the nature of the threat." You get the picture, don't you?
Moving in: We off-loaded our supplies which naturally included tent, sleeping bags, pads, snacks, suitcase, cigars, chairs, community tent peg hammer, no pillows (damn), and of course a case of locally produced Merlot, and sought refuge under a giant oak tree. The spot was great. Good neighborhood, flat land, two zillion ear-wig-bugs, a handy dandy combination Bar-B-Que / Ashtray, and hot and cold running water. We pitched our tent with pride as we watched our next-door-neighbor's tent collapse under the weight of its awning. The problem? Wrong hammer. We lent the community hammer to the effort and all was well.
Doing duty: After we had arranged our temporary quarters, we offered to person (politically correct version of the verb 'man') the booth. After Ozzie carefully checked the booth for toothed reptiles, Shirl and I were allowed to sell T-shirts and ice water to wary travelers. Actually we looked quite important at the booth, taking names down on prepared papers and such. I thought "I could do this" and then suddenly we were permanently relieved of duty - all because we left the lid open on the moneybox during the afternoon windstorm. Anyway, time was approaching O-beer-thirty and we had people to meet, beer to drink, and dinner to worry about.
Friday Din Din: We enjoyed a fine dinner. We feasted on hamburgers, four kinds of macaroni salad... I'm not making this up, they had salad with onions and without, with curry and without, with flavor and with more flavor... and we were issued the infamous plastic fork-spoon-knife set. They had wine as well. I don't know about you but I worry when the wine box label indicates that the wine "includes natural flavors" and has an expiration date on the top panel.
Friday Evening: As evening drew near, a group assembled in our neighborhood. I won't name names so Tom and Barb, John and Adele, Lee, Shirl and Troy, Jeffrey, Ron, and others were not there.They weren't singing and drinking much Merlot either. Lee was not playing his guitar nor did he hand it to John who didn't play it either. When it was handed to Adele I didn't say "hey Adele, its a twelve string" and she didn't respond with "DDuuuhhh". We definitely did not get tipsy either. Tipsy hell... And NO cigars were smoked. I guess that the adage "If you can't beat 'em, join 'em" really means something to Ron. The main group did get a bit worried when he walked up from nowhere, sat down, and began speaking in tongues. The night really deteriorated from there. We put a hat on the ground and people threw money into it while others took turns doing stand-up comedy. Phwew.
Saturday AM: Thanks to an insomniatic helicopter pilot we were up at O-dark-thirty showering with the earlybirds. Feels good to get the ear-wig-bugs (which, incidentally, commit suicide by the thousands by bathing in partially empty glasses of Merlot) out of the nostrils and other orifices. Apparently there are a lot of earlybird people, or the whirly-bird dude woke the camp. I had to stand in line for the shower at 0600. A bunch of us who couldn't remember each other's names headed to the Peppermill Restaurant for some breakfast and hangover medication. I forgot my hat at the Peppermill and took a cab, er, uh, jogged back to get it before meeting everyone for a few post breakfast beers. New arrivals were touching down in between the flower bombings. Things must have looked interesting on final approach for those who knew not of this scheduled ritual.
Saturday Afternoon: While most of the guyz wanted to stay for Dan Torrey's famous "Bad Stuff that Happens to Yer Plane" talk, the feminine contingent went into town where, I'm not making this up, they went Merlot shopping. I say MOST of the guyz because one guy, Scott, insisted on going Merlot shopping with the Fems. By the time we saw him next, he insisted he knew more about our wives, their feelings and desires, than we knew in a collective century of marriage. Poor Harriet. Anyway, his feminine episode lasted only a few hours as later, when he was drunk, he admitted he only had Harriet around to take down e-mail addresses when his fading coordination no longer permitted him to write legibly. What a guy! While Scott talked fashion and stuff, we listened to Dan tell the high-wing dudes that they had better quit ground-looping their planes or risk having the FAA install aluminum spars in their up-side-down thingies. That got their attention and they promised to plant the tail wheel from now on. A lively discussion on inspection covers rounded out the forum and we went to town in search of Scott and the Fems.
Saturday Columbia: Unable to find the Fems we stopped for refreshment at the local ice-cream parlor. It was there that a Fem scout spotted us having fun and alerted the rest of the contingent. We were arrested, forced at bottle point to ascend stairs and drink wine on a precarious balcony. Being afraid of heights, this was pure torture for me. I cadged one more glass of Merlot and had to leave as Scott had become far to mellifluous for comfort. Mercifully Shirl and I were greeted by George Butts and were swiftly escorted back to camp in a vehicle. Felt good as we dreaded the long walk back.
Saturday Din Din: Time for the Grand Finale! Steaks, Grilled Chicken, Beans, Salad, Garlic Bread... Wine-in-a-box, it was all there. Even desert. While some vegetarians averted their eyes, I wolfed down the grilled quadruped. After dinner the awards were given for Spot Landings, Flower Bombing Accuracy (winner DID NOT hit the Chinese Embassy), longest haul or something like that, and a very special award to a very special person. It was a special moment, one that brought a tear to my eyes, when Ozzie Levi was given an award for his efforts above and beyond the call of duty in making the last two Columbia fly-ins the best there could ever be. Thank you Ozzie, thank you a lot. They evening ended with Lee McGee plugging in the twelve string and singing a few songs. No one really knew how disillusioned the high-wing dudes were last year when Lee sang only a low-wing song. It became quite clear however when we saw their jubilation with Lee's new Citabria Ballad. Lee finished with "Cruismasters in the Sky" and we all cheered. A really great consummation to an even better fly-in.
Saturday Night Sing-A-Thon: Friday night's record of 8 bottles of Merlot was handily smashed by a larger contingent of special neighborhood guests. Some even slummed from the downtown hotel. We had liars of every kind, but no better joke tellers or singers. Apparently the "if you can't beat 'em - join 'em" mentality rubbed off. They came from all around to drink, sing, and be merry. Cool, eh man?
As always Shirl and I met some of the bestest ever people and had more fun that it should be legal to have. If by my accidental exclusion of your name you think I don't appreciate what you did, think twice. I love you anyway. I just gotta really bad memory. Special thanks to Bellanca Champion Club and its members, Tuolumne (so I can't spell, hell I can't even remember) County Airport Association - affectionately known to me as the Columbia People, Ozzie Levi, and all the others great people. I just love these things. Airplane people are the best. Bellanca-Champion fly-ins are a class act. See you all next year. So Sorry about the prop-wash that tumbled the sign-up booth over. I promise to be more careful next year (assuming I am not banned from these events)
Your servant,
Troy
Normally I like to include a list of all those attending, but frankly there were so many of us there that it makes it near impossible!...Tom
3rd Annual Valentine's Viking Gathering
Tucson, AZ (TUS) February 16-18, 2001
Report by Troy Foster:
FRIDAY: Upon our transition into KTUS airspace we were handed off to a controller that could deliver vectors like an Uzi delivers lead. This guy never missed a beat. Being handed off to tower was like entering a different - strangely quiet - world. Anyway we taxied to the ramp to find nothing unusual; Gary, Kathy, and Myron had again beat us to destination. And that in spite of having departed an hour and twenty minutes after we. AND Gary was on Mountain time to boot! Independent of what the Texas Five say, there were TX planes on the ramp. Mike McCann's plane would have been there but he ended up losing a wing and had to make an emergency landing in Octopus Falls.
We arrived at the hotel where in exchange for our credit card, they gave us some useless pieces of plastic that were supposed to open our door. After several trips to the front desk begging for access to our suite, we were assigned a bellman charged with opening our door. Satisfied in that Shirley and I received vectors to the cocktail lounge where the Robinsons were, of course, finishing eating. One drink and we were rushed to the Davis Monthan Boneyard tour. The group was herded into the crowded van Tom and Barb rented and delivered to DM at 0.81 Mach. Even at that speed I think we were late. Mercifully I got to ride in Julia's carseat at Mach 1.
The DM 'boneyard' tour was quite revealing. While Jerry chipped Titleists from the roof of the tour bus, we enjoyed an interesting narrative on how 5000 military aircraft ended up in suspended animation in the last eight years. BUT, never fear we were told. Dubya was ordering all units reactivated to finish some business with Saddam. Imagine, if you can, touring for a full hour through row after row of mothballed fighters and such. Awesome. Simply awesome. While responsible folks returned to the hotel for rest, Jerry, Roxie and I visited his hangar to drink several bottles of Chardonnay and I think look at his airplane. We fired up a couple of fine handmade cigars and started telling lies. Jerry is sooooo considerate. He opened Roxie her own bottle so she wouldn't have to suffer the aroma from the smokes. Wasn't that nice?
Returning from the hangar we collected Shirl and met the rest of this fine group of non-Texans at the restaurant at the base of KTUS's tower. The place was ours. Served buffet style was baked beans, cole slaw, and some of the finest BBQ beef sloppy joe stuff you would want to clog yer veins with. AND there were cookies. Cookies; oatmeal-raisin, chocolate chip, and - yes - chocolate brownies. I loaded up. Are you aware of exactly how good oatmeal-raisin cookies are with chardonnay? Scrumptious.
Back at the ranch we sorta met up and drank some beer at Tom and Barb's multi-room complex dwelling that probably had operating door keys besides having 17 rooms and 5,600 square feet. Mike McCann and I stole out for a cigar and I learned of his hair-raising ordeal over Octopus Falls. Seems while flying along fat-dumb-happy at FL 210 his left wing departed the plane and he had to descend through 20,700 feet of solid overcast and deadstick an approach in below minimums. Good work Mike. Who said Texans can't fly?
SATURDAY: Up and atem at 0600 for mess call at the hotel restaurant. Thankfully it was on the house. I would want to actually recognize the food I was eating if I had to fork out cash for it. In one posnet was a concoction loosely resembling porkfat. Emeril Lagasse would have been ecstatic. Another hosted some potato-like substance that should be used to seal wing root fairings, and yet another had reconstituted, powdered egg substitute. While cold, at least the coffee was semi-recognizable.
PIMA Air Museum: Van load after van load of people (including some from Texas) were hurriedly ushered to the PIMA air museum where we were left to our own devices with strict instructions to return to the drop off point at 1300 sharp. The museum is fantastic. They have every kind of plane imaginable there. Bombers, fighters, observation units, rescue craft, trainers and tankers, Presidential Air Force One stuff, you name it. Even a Blackbird SR 71. We took a tour of the Air Force One that was used by Presidents Kennedy and Johnson. It is sorta compartmentalized. A compartment for the secret service, one for crew, one for press, a special mini oval office for the President and quarters for Marilyn Monroe. The crew consisted of five persons, pilot, co-pilot, navigator, radio operator, and flight engineer. This particular plane actually had dual ADF's! Wow!
At 1245 we decided to pay too much for a tasteless cheese burger and wolfed it down when I felt some strange vibes emanating from the area in front of the museum. I hastily turned to see Barb Russ who was standing there, sorta surreal, radiating out get-yer-ass-back-to-the-van-now signals on 122.95. Shirl and I promptly complied but some people were apparently immune to Barb's signals and remain lost even today. Perhaps their were abducted and mistakenly returned to earth somewhere in the Lone Star State. By this time Tom had modified the van for operations at Mach 0.92 and demonstrated that performance on the way to the Titan Missile Silo Museum. Craig Gifford was dropped off at the hotel for a nap since he was going to fly back - against all apparent reason - to Texas (which we all know was closed) at night. Stud Pilot.
The missile silo tour was pretty cool. As an engineer I was significantly impressed. Come on here, they designed this stuff with slide rules. After a quick video on 'Mutually Assured Destruction' (which basically means if anyone pressed one button the world as we know it would turn into a Texas-like wasteland) we descended approximately 920 feet - or 2321 steps - under ground to the control room. This room, where control of the future of the earth could be accomplished, was like a mad scientist laboratory from a low budget science fiction movie from the '40s. Analog gauges, wind-up clocks, and other outmoded controls were all that stood between the human race and Armageddon. One thing can be said about the construction though; only the people in this armored facility would have lived through an atomic blast.
Tom, now having further modified the van for travel at the speed of light, dutifully picked us up and zoomed us to our hotel where we relaxed, drank beer, and freshened up for the grand finale; dinner with our very special guest speaker, Gene AKA BAT-21 Hambleton. While the dinner consisted of mini-portions of turkey medallions or some such thing, the conversation at our table was profuse. Mike McCann, a medical doctor, and Dave Taylor & Janet Greathouse, doctors of veterinary medicine, engaged in technical conversation about various similarities between animal and human diseases. I tried to avoid getting mad cow disease by plugging my ears.
The din of chatter turned to dead silence when Gene Hambleton rose to speak. I won't go into his ordeal (rent the movie BAT 21 as Shirl and I did last night for those details) but this man is truly one of our American heroes. His tale of survival and the courage he mustered to survive his dozen days in the jungles of Viet Nam are second to none. I salute you Gene. Every American and millions of other the world over owe you and others like you the debt of deepest gratitude for our freedom. Thank you. Thank you!
This was common to every fly-in I've been to; too damn short. Sunday came too soon and the special camaraderie shared gone too soon as well. Shirl and I got to meet so many great flyers - people we chatted with on the group - friends of theirs, etc. We sometimes just don't know how lucky we are. Thanks to everyone for this grand weekend. We won't soon forget it. Our very special thanks to Tom and Barbara Russ for their tireless devotion to the Viking organization, and the special efforts to stage this fine event. Thank you Gene and Gwen. Thank you all.
Those attending the fly-in were:
Frank Abel of Tucson, AZ with his '66/B-260
Tim & Rose Alton of Santa Fe, NM sans their '73/30A
John Ashurst of Lakeside, AZ in his '97/30A
Dan & Jennifer Baumgartner of Lithia Springs, GA sans their '73/31A
Jerry & Roxie Braun of Tucson, AZ with their '72/30A
Angelo Chiarenza of Deer Valley, AZ in his '79/30A
Dean Crofford & Demita Cagle of Hereford, TX in their '73/30A
Carter & Clara DuBois of Santa Fe, NM in their Piper Aztec
Troy & Shirley Foster of Downey, CA in their '69/31TC
Craig Gifford of Austin, TX in his '79/30A
Curtis & Mary Jo Hannay of Pagosa Springs, CO in their '73/31ATC
T.T. Havins of Yuma, AZ in his '76/30A
Jon & Dietta Hitchcock of Roswell, NM in their '72/30A
Mike McCann of El Paso, TX sans his '75/31A
Myron, Gary & Kathy Robinson of Carlsbad, CA in their '78/31ATC
Tom & Barbara Russ of Tucson, AZ with their '78/30A
Frank Smith Sr. & Frank Smith Jr. of Mesa, AZ in their '73/31ATC
Dave Taylor & Janet Greathouse of Fort Davis, TX in their '67/30
Lou Willis of Tucson, AZ with his '73/30A
Guests: Fred Pascoe, Gene & Gwen Hambleton
Fly-In Photos!
Note: All references to any wing separation were purely for jest. No such thing happened...Tom
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