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Holding Aviation to a HIGHER STANDARD™ July 2006 ISSN: 1930-0131
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Happy 4th of July It's the time of year when we celebrate our freedom in the United States. So, get out and fly - it's one of our last great freedoms.
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California to Lock Haven and Back
Did I mention he is the type of guy everyone wishes was based at their airport? Oh, and did I mention he is doing all of this at the age of 75? Keep up the good work Len and we really hope to see you again in the near future. Here are some stats on Len, his Cub, and his trip:
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I SCREAM . . . YOU SCREAM IT'S TIME FOR ICE CREAM SINFUL SUNDAY JULY 9, 2006 1:00 - 3:00 ESDT (OR UNTIL WE RUN OUT OF ICE CREAM) | |||||||||||||
Special Attention: We have just received notice that Jim Barrett a highly respected photographer, will be here for the entire upcoming weekend (July 7-9) to take high quality photographs of the airport, the scenery, and the aviating that occurs here. These photos could end up just about anywhere in the aviation world (not able to say at this time). Please drop by on Saturday and especially Sunday (Sinful Sunday) if you would like the opportunity to see what's going on. Who knows, you might become part of the scenery that Jim is looking for??? | |||||||||||||
Results of the last survey Last month's survey drew in a record amount of votes. These things are great fun and we really hope you will all continue to participate. As we suspected, almost everyone at least dreams of living on their own flying field. Amazingly, over a fifth of the respondents indicated that they already live on one. As for the others, we are doing our best to create a place for you. Keep dreaming and we'll keep working.
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Why Didn't he email? July 2006 NORDO News Survey
Up until recently, whenever I would email Tom Poberezny he emailed rather quickly. Sometimes, he would respond within an hour and other times he would write back within days. Yet a few weeks back, I sent an email and he has never responded. In the email I asked him why Board Member candidates were not available for interviews before the election and that I would very much like to interview each one of them before Oshkosh so that I could report on who these people really are, where they come from, and why they want to be on the board. Have you ever thought about that?? Nobody outside of current EAA board members gets to interview or has interviewed these people. It's crazy I know and giving them the benefit of the doubt, I figured nobody had asked. So, this brings us to this month's survey: "Why hasn't Tom responded to my email?" It may be humorous but don't forget it is a serious subject. | |||||||||||||
70 knotters
There is no real newsletter, no official email list, and no scheduled events except for the annual summer caravan that leaves sometime, heading in a general direction, in hopes of ending up somewhere near a point chosen by someone in the group. That’s it; really! And what a great thing.
There are people from all walks of life, in all types of aircraft, joining up and breaking off as the trip rolls on. It generally lasts between one to two weeks and it happens every summer. Fortunately for us, this year they made a stop at Lee Bottom to spend the night and ended up turning an average weekend into a memorable one.
They were all great people and we hope to run into them soon. If you are ever at a fly-in and you see someone with a 70 Knotter shirt on, be sure to go up to them and ask them how to join. If I remember correctly, they require you to be laid back and easy going with a strong distaste for organization but excellent flying skills. Sounds like a heck of a lot of fun doesn’t it? | |||||||||||||
staggerwing . . .
I cannot explain to you how nice this plane is. It has everything and then some. It might even have a little too much for your typical sunny Sunday pilot but that’s not Steve. Over the years, he has put 1400 hours on this plane with landings in every state but Hawaii and that includes one in Barrow, Alaska. A while back, Ginger and I were driving down the road discussing how we wouldn’t want to be flying as it was such a gloomy and gusty day and had just commented on the trees swaying to twenty plus knot winds when a shadow went over the car. Twisting our necks to see what it was, we were tickled to see it was Steve in the Staggerwing. When I got home, I emailed him and he responded, “It was such a nice day, I couldn’t leave her in the hangar” and he was sincere. It was a great attitude determines altitude moment and it reminded me why so long ago he added himself to our airport family list.
A big thanks goes out to Steve. He brought his plane here, put me in the driver’s seat, gave Ginger the Staggerwing ride she had been wanting, and then sent me an email when he got home to let me know he was sending us an airport operating fund donation. What do you say in response to something like that? Thank you just isn’t enough. The next time you see Steve, be sure to thank him for being a true friend to aviation and thank him for supporting our efforts. And one more thing, thank him for being the consummate aviator. | |||||||||||||
Are these crop circles???
We received several really good photos this month. However, this was the most unusual. This photo taken of Schaefer's Corn Maze from a Luscombe near Little Rock, Arkansas . Perhaps others can send in examples of Agricultural Artwork that only we pilots get to see and appreciate, often unexpectedly when out flying in our low & slow flying machines. Do you have a favorite photo you'd like to see here . . . email it to us info@LeeBottom.com | |||||||||||||
SWALLOW migration almost complete
Once that was accomplished, Charlie and I set out to find another window to go pick up the Swallow and bring it back to Indiana. Unfortunately, we could never find a common window so I recently went back out by myself in an attempt to ferry the plane home. This time, the first flight was made with the intention of finding out if it would get high enough to get out of the valley. Fifteen minutes into the flight, I was two miles outside of controlled airspace and just under the 7000’ required to get me and the Swallow out of the valley when I turned back to land and load up for the trip home.
Shortly after calling the tower and starting my decent I got my first OX-5 surprise…..a dead engine. Fortunately for me, the Swallow has a lot of wing and after gliding the five plus miles, I had to do a few turns overhead to get it down. Without an engine you learn real quick how a machine flies and this one does great. Yet, without our engine problems solved, we decided to take the plane apart and truck it home.
One week later we were back in the air but this time over Columbus, Indiana. Mike Williams was kind enough to find space for the rare machine at his restoration facility and we have found Columbus to be the perfect test flight airport. Every day possible we have been putting a half hour at a time on the plane and working out the bugs.
If only we could nail down the reason for a miss that comes and goes, it would be ready for the American Barnstormers Tour and the trip to Oshkosh. For now though, if you are in the Columbus, Indiana area keep your eyes peeled for a black and yellow piece of history belonging to the Laird Family. It will be doing a lot of flying over the next few weeks and if you happen to run into Charlie or his dad, be sure to thank them for keeping this valuable piece of aviation alive and flying. | |||||||||||||
The hangar is getting a face lift
They have done a lot to help us out and we’ve had a lot of fun with them here. Unfortunately, it has been real hard to get a good picture of them doing work around here as Ginger says they are usually done with a job before we can get the camera out and the one photo we did manage to take was lost in a computer disk crash. Not only are these guys a tremendous help but they can fly an Air Hog with the best of them. And, oh yeah, they’re pretty good in the Cub too.
Thanks Guys ! | |||||||||||||
What's your attitude? by Ginger Attitude has always been important to flying. Our aircraft understand attitude very well but what about a pilot’s attitude? Over the past couple of weeks, I've taken a new personal pilot's attitude and now I better understand everyone else in aviation because it makes me feel much better. And, I find myself singing the words to Patti Labelle’s song called “New Attitude”.
I think it is a new attitude that I’ll continue because it is the one that follows the crowd. And, if the crowd is doing it, then it must be right. Right? It really worked for me this week so I believe everyone is right and I'm sorry they forgot to tell me this little secret to aviation when I signed up to get my student pilot certificate 19 years ago. I was able to fly almost every day, do a little instruction, work on some projects around the airport, invite a few aviation friends over for a campout, and overall just have a great time. I wish someone would have told me about it sooner.
Wow, look at everything I was worrying about. Now I see why this new attitude is so much better and “I’m feeling good from my head to my shoes”.
However, since I’m new to this style of thinking, I can use some help. In my search to have a better month of “I just don’t care”, let me know what else I shouldn’t care about over the next month. I want to get them ALL out of my mind. I’m feeling much better already and I think that I could be flying high over the next few weeks if I can manage to hold on to this attitude everyone else seems to have.
What else should be added to my list? email it to info@leebottom.com | |||||||||||||
LOOK WHO WILL BE HERE
Not only are Air Classics and Aeroplane Monthly Magazine going to be here this year, but now Sport Pilot TV has told us they would like to attend and have placed us on their schedule. This is great news for the event, the airport, and more importantly you the people that support us. Many of you have often mentioned how little coverage the Ohio Valley gets when it comes to the great people and aircraft we have around and now you will get your chance let everyone know you’re here. All three of these organizations have told us they plan to get as much material as possible so be ready to tell them about your aircraft and yourself if they ask.
Have you made your plans for this year’s fly-in at Lee Bottom? If not, we would really encourage you to do so. The event is well on it’s way to becoming a two day event as the Friday night cookout continues to grow and more people try to come from farther away.
If you are someone who prefers a motel room over a tent and needs a rental car, you would be wise to start scheduling them now as there are a limited number of each and those are only available until August 15th. Furthermore, we expect this year’s fly-in to be the biggest ever as we have reached our tenth anniversary and are starting to draw a crowd from the aviation media. Did I mention the part about not forgetting to make your plans early?
PLEASE NOTE: If you make a reservation and decide to cancel for some reason, please call or email us prior to canceling so that we can reallocate your room to someone that might be on the waiting list for a room. If you don't, they go back into the general pool and we may or may not have access to them. | |||||||||||||
SPORT AVIATION ASSOCIATION FLY-IN
While there, we took a tour of the Frasca International factory, checked out some interesting aircraft, and snapped a few photos. Just before leaving Rich took Rudy Frasca's grandson for a flight in Mike William's Tiger Moth and landed just in time to watch the Spitfire fly. The flight home was absolutely perfect with mid-eighties temps, low humidity, and absolutely no bumps. It was a great charge for our personal batteries.
Note: If any of you get a chance to bend Rudy’s ear, please let him know that Lee Bottom “is not too far” for a flight from Urbana, IL and that his Spitfire, Wildcat, P-40, and Aeronca C-3 would fit right in during the fly-in. We just can’t imagine someone would own planes like that and not fly them somewhere for fun every now and then. | |||||||||||||
David Lord's artwork
A while back we mentioned that our good friend David Lord was working on some artist’s concepts for the future of Lee Bottom. David lives right next to the Indy Speedway and is known throughout the world for his automotive/racing artwork yet wants to do more work with aircraft as the subject. If anyone has anything they would like painted, let him know; That’s what we did. Now we have some fantastic watercolors that will help everyone interested in the future of Lee Bottom Flying Field share our vision. We are so sure you’ll like them, we hope to have prints available for David to personally sign during the fly-in; all proceeds going to our museum budget. | |||||||||||||
| DOES YOUR BUSINESS SUPPORT GENERAL AVIATION ??? If the answer is yes, keep reading. The Wood, Fabric, and Tailwheels Fly-In could use your help. We are currently searching for sponsors for this year's event. No, we aren't looking to rename the event to the YOUR BUSINESS NAME FLY-IN, nor are we looking to commercialize the event to the point where it loses its essence as we realize that non-commercialization is one of the things that makes the event a favorite but we are looking for a few sponsors who promote and support general aviation to help us do the same. You see, this is the 10th year for the event and it has increased in attendance by 20 - 25% every year. As you can imagine, this also means that the cost to host this event has increased by at least that much every year. Since it is now to the point where we could purchase a another plane like the one in the next article with the costs associated with hosting the event, we figured it was time to look for other ways to help us cover the expenses. So, it is your turn to step up and show us that you also promote general aviation by helping us with the expenses to keep aviation alive. It is really very simple. Since we've painted the hangar, it will now be converted into the "Banner Wall". Each square foot of banner placed on the "Banner Wall" will cost $10 (with a minimum of 10 square feet). Yes, for only $100, the banner from your business can grace the freshly painted "Banner Wall" at Lee Bottom Flying Field to promote general aviation, your business, and the 2006 Wood, Fabric, & Tailwheels Fly-In. Additionally, a local airport supporter has agreed to create a basic 10 square foot banner for $25 - which is quite a deal. Of course, larger sizes are also available for those that want to do a little more and make their banner stand out in the crowd. To learn more about this opportunity, email Jim Nolen at sponsorship@LeeBottom.com. | |||||||||||||
A Chief looking for a new home
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Want to help out??? After last years' fly-in, several people stepped up and asked if they could help this year. Since the event has grown to the point where the 2 of us can't do everything and maintain our sanity, we are taking them up on their offer. It was also suggested to us that we put out a call to see if anyone else is interested in volunteering to make the event better for everyone.
We could use a few more helpers in the following areas - email if you are interested info@LeeBottom.com:
We are also looking for entertainment for an hour or two on Saturday - preferably a Dixie Land band, Babershop Quartet or something else reminiscent of the 1930 and 1940's era. There are also a few items that would make the event better. If we could borrow or have the following donated, we would appreciate it. If you are able to help us with any of the following, please email info@LeeBottom.com. We are looking for:
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Some Parts Missing Our good friends Hank Gilpin and Ray Sanders, from Kalispell Montana, recently sent us this great antique aircraft classified translation guide called "Some Parts Missing." Anyone who has been around aviation for more than a day has seen a least of few of these. We thought it was a great piece and decided to include it. Pretty funny hu? We thought so too but quickly realized there are a few new ones popping up that should be added. Here are our additions to the list: Translation #1: There are only three of these on my airport. Translation: Ready for that sucker that's born every day. Translation: Only flown twice in five years. Translation: I paid someone $$$$ to tell me what I wanted to hear. Translation: Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. | |||||||||||||
Gone west A few weeks back, I received one of those call which I never hope to receive again. It was a friend telling me another friend of ours, Tracy Dart, had been killed in a plane crash. While trying to sort it all out, I mentioned it to several other people who never knew Tracy and after trying to describe her in many ways, I eventually wrote them and email similar to this:
Anyone out there who knew her will know exactly what I am talking about. She will be missed. | |||||||||||||
Looking for Somewhere to fly? Try one of these events scheduled over next 2 months . . . Note: Click on the event to see more information
Event Search now also available from www.NORDONews.com under the events tab.
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DON'T FORGET OUR SPONSORS These are the companies who help make this publication possible. Be sure and thank them with your business. | |||||||||||||
Len Buckel recently stopped by to visit with us on his way back to California. He had flown over in years past but always happened to come by when we were gone. Fortunately for us, this year we were home. 
How many of you have ever heard of the 70 Knotters? This group has been flying caravans since the seventies and they are not letting up. Originally a few guys with Breezy's would call up a few people to get the annual flight going and it would take on a life of its own. Today, there is a fairly large number of “members” in the 70 Knotters but you would never know it as they value being unorganized. 
The other morning I was lying in bed when the low rumble of a 985 overhead brought me to my senses. Although I was unsure of what it was attached to, the engine was easy to identify and my mind immediately began wondering. Having lived here long enough to get a feeling for each pilot’s pattern of operation, this left me with only two guesses. When Ginger ran inside to let me know it looked as though the plane was landing, I knew it was our friend Steve Johnson in his Staggerwing. As it turns out, Steve had actually brought a friend for a picnic lunch (now, you know when I wake up) and we were just lucky enough to be here…….but there’s more.
We have had two regional jet pilots, Phil Pecoulas and Jason Johnson, helping us out around the airport for awhile now and we felt the need to acknowledge them. These guys have been showing up for over a month helping us paint the hangar, do odd jobs, and burn gas in the Cub. 
We recently visited the Sport Aviation Association Fly-In at Frasca Field in Urbana, Illinois. The weather was great and we were told it was their largest event yet. Once we arrived, we were pleased to find many of our Lee Bottom regulars on-site who were showing their support for Paul, Rudy, and the members of SAA. 
As we mentioned earlier, Charlie Laird has been working overtime to get his Swallow ready for some upcoming events. What we failed to point out though was that he is overflowing with aircraft and has run out of hangar space. This is bad for him and good for you . . .at least any of you who want something reliable and inexpensive to fly. Charlie bought this plane a few years back for the very same reason and now would prefer to pass it on to someone who would enjoy it and keep it flying to pancake breakfasts and grass strips. Therefore, he is willing to let you get it for what he has in it, $13,500. That's correct, you heard it right. But don't wait; Charlie is in the mood to sell and told us it needs to move before July 14th so the Swallow will have a nest.
