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The Flypaper
Vol. 19, Issue 10
SCOTT VALLEY PILOTS ASSOCIATION P.O. Box 1136, Fort Jones, CA 96032
November 2014
Next Meeting is a
Change of Pace. It will
be a joint dinner meeting
with EAA Chapter 654 at
Bob’s Ranch House at
6pm on Friday, Nov. 14,
2014, with dinner starting
around 7pm. (Details on page 3)
Greetings Everyone,
We had quite an exciting work day! It
was exciting in a traumatic sort of way for the
first arrivals who pulled the six or seven five gallon pails of old 2001 "Moreline" paint out of the
Miller's hangar. I'll admit that I should have
checked the paint more closely during 'preflight'.
When we popped the top off the first can
we discovered that the volatiles of the paint had
managed to mostly escape from the container!
Only the heavy oils and the pigments were left!
It took many foot-pounds of torque to start the
stirring process. Nelson's 1/2 inch drill started
smoking. Sample painting showed us that there
wouldn't be enough paint to do the job. The rollers would not survive the ordeal. The ramp
would be too rough to taxi on safely. Panic
started to set in and we had to coolly find a solution quickly before the workers left the scene in
disgust!!
About that time our illustrious PRESIDENT Jopson arrives on the scene. He offers up
to run out and find the two key ingredients that
were missing....acetone and xylene. Acetone and
xylene in Scott Valley?? It looked like at least 2
gallons were missing from each can so I suggested six gallons of each. He thought we only
needed two of each and of course the VP defers
to the P and off he goes. In the mean time we
take turns stirring the goo until the drill was
smoking so bad that Nelson took over to protect
his property from permanent damage.
The arrival of the needed solvents soon
turned into moments of joy. They did the job on
the paint and we could see the potential of job
completion with the paint we had. However, it
soon was apparent we needed more solvent. The
P rushed away not to be seen for an hour or so.
More panic! This was some Sat., Oct. 18!
When he returned his hair was quite
windblown and he looked stressed. He had been
all over Scott Valley. One place was out of the
stuff and another had closed for the day. He had
wound up in Etna! They only had acetone. He
bought all they had! So now half of the SCOTT
VALLEY ramp sign has a new, secret formula in
the paint, so Heaven only knows what will happen on the ramp under the sun!
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- Chuck K, VP
There are lots more you can read about.
Then there are the pilots I can tell you about who
saved lives. Such as my old friend, Carl Newfang, who was diverted to Sondrestrom,
Greenland, from Thule in a C-54. Even in 1955
it was an old, tired airplane. Carl touched down
with zero braking on an icy runway. Rapidly running out of real estate, he tromped on the left
brake and advanced power on the No. 4 engine.
As the plane swung around in a wide arc, he
brought in power on 1 & 2 engines, straightened
the plane out, and stopped it straddling the runway lights. Over 40 people may have owed their
lives to Carl.
Safety Corner
by Bob Downs
Well over a half-century ago, I edited a
monthly flying safety magazine for the old Military Air Transport Service (now the Air Mobility
Command). Every October, we had a special issue focused on winter flying. That was done obviously because flying airplanes is more difficult
in the winter and my goal was to at least warn air
crews of what to expect in case the hazards had
slipped their mind.
The biggest factor in our winter aviation
accidents—as it is today in general aviation—
was the weather. And as our equipment and training improved over the years, the accident rate
dropped. Perhaps you have some idea of what the
arrival of the jet age and increasingly sophisticated simulators meant to pilots even in 1959
when I got checked out in the T-33 and later in
the C-141. That turbine reliability was a dream.
Anyway, Lynn and I have departed Fort
Jones. See you when the daffodils bloom.
--Bob Downs
Things haven’t changed much for recip
pilots. Recently, I glanced at the NTSB monthly
data base and the usual suspects can be found in
the accident reports:
--A noninstrument rated pilot attempted a
night instrument approach with a quarter-mile
visibility at Amarillo. Perhaps he deserved to die,
but certainly his two passengers didn’t.
The Scott Valley Pilots Association is organized
as a chapter of the California Pilots Association
--A King Air owner/pilot didn’t check his
fuel status before departure and ran himself out
of petrol. Destroyed the airplane, himself, and a
passenger who trusted him.
Website:
svpilots.org/
Officers:
--A Cessna 310 pilot attempted VFR
flight when Instrument Meteorological Conditions prevailed near Lubbock, TX. Both he and
his passenger died in a probable spatial disorientation.
Pres. Chuck Jopson 467-3784 [email protected]
V.P. Chuck Kittle 468-5702 [email protected]
Sec. Bob Downs
468-5880 [email protected]
Treas.Lynn Wright 468-5880 [email protected]
(summer, alternating during winter with Nelson Harding
468-2498 [email protected])
--Several witnesses observed a Cessna
Caravan fly over an Alaskan airport and disappear in marginal VFR conditions. Four people
died in the murky night crash.
Safety Bob Downs
468-5880 [email protected]
Flypaper Terry Weathers 468-2234 [email protected]
Webmaster Kevin Martin 467-5369
[email protected]
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Remember! Joint Dinner Meeting
with EAA Cahpter 654 at Bob’s
Ranch House, Etna Fri. Nov. 14
EDITOR’S NOTE
6 pm social hour, 7 pm dinner
from the menu. (Bob’s now offers
beer and wine.
Our thanks to Nalva for the fine memorial
remembrance for Cheryl.
Our thanks and photo credits to Chuck
Kittle for documenting the great (and more difficult than expected} job the work crew did on
brightening up our faded SCOTT VALLEY on
the ramp.
- Ed.
To give Bob’s a rough idea of how
many are coming, please tell
Terry Weathers)
tel. 468-2234, cel 598-2234
email [email protected]
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