“Judy Scholl is a great lady, you should totally interview her.” This was quite a compliment coming from a teenage boy who looks like a football linebacker and flies a Cessna 172 like a seasoned veteran. Nate Russell has worked for Judy for the past two years and can’t say enough good things about her. His opinion proved valid.

Judy Scholl possesses a confidence and optimism that could light up Chicago for a week. She sat in her office, surrounded by pictures of Art Scholl, her late husband and world famous aerobatics pilot, as we talked about then and now. Art and Judy met in Calgary, Canada at an air show. Judy was working as a volunteer and Art was the headline performer, thrilling the crowds with his innovative aerobatics routine. For months he found every reason to stop over in Calgary. Finally the travel became too much and they married, starting one of the most successful pairings in aviation history.

Art went into business in 1958 at Flabob (Riverside, California) as a flight instructor and moved his growing enterprise to Rialto (California) in 1978. His work evolved to include Air Racing Formula One Racers, Air show Aerobatics and work in the movie business flying the camera platform in both helicopters as well as fixed wing aircraft. People have said that for years it seemed like you couldn’t see anything on the large or small screen with an airplane in it that didn’t have Art Scholl’s name in the credits. He would work all week for the production companies and spend his weekends on the air show circuit. He was so popular that he kept an airplane on the east coast and another one on the west coast to accommodate his packed schedule. There are a couple of stunning videos of Art Scholl on YouTube, which demonstrate total mastery of his airplane and himself, by any standards. One of his signature maneuvers was to end the show by flying back by the crowd, standing on the wing, flying the airplane with a control extension and waving to the crowd triumphantly. He earned his PhD in Aeronautics and was the head of the Aeronautical Division at San Bernardino Valley College, pioneering the department that has since trained thousands of pilots and mechanics thanks to his hard work and vision.

There was a variety of planes that graced the Scholl hangars over the years, Art’s most famous airplane, the Super Chipmunk, is now in the Smithsonian Museum, as a tribute to his legacy and stature as a pilot.

Judy used her multi engine rating to fly a Seneca in the family business in support of Art’s air shows. Even now she lights up when she remembers the years flying her Tiger Moth; the flight school owned a Piper Tomahawk used for aerial photography with the door removed, and she currently flies a Piper Archer for the sheer joy of flying.

Judy remembers Art as a genuine person who had no problem admitting when he had made a mistake. One year, on a flight home from Oshkosh, Art was flying low taking photographs of his hometown to show her where he had lived as a boy. She was running the store at Rialto Airport where they owned a thriving flying school, maintenance operation, fuel concession and pilot shop. Art called and said, “Judy, you know that money we were saving to put an addition on the cabin? I spent it.” Judy said “What do you mean you spent it?” “Well,” he paused, “I crashed the Chipmunk.” He explained that when he had finished taking pictures and had returned the camera to his briefcase, he had shoved the briefcase back into the front seat. It had leaned the mixture and killed the engine. The airplane was so low at the time that all he could do was set up to land in a cornfield. Unfortunately, as is so often the case, the cornfield which a moment ago looked so welcoming, suddenly was all too obviously sporting a tightly secured barrier of power lines. Art pulled up and stalled into the cornfield. Not the landing he had imagined. For years whenever the story came up, Art was always quick to acknowledge his errors, no excuses and

no apologies. Art pioneered many amazing aspects of

aerobatics including a night routine which used a unique pyrotechnic display. The first time he performed it was in response to a call from the Calgary Stampede. They asked if he could do a night performance and he said yes, and then spent the next month figuring out how to make it happen. Later he performed a pyrotechnic night aerobatics routine around the St. Louis arch. A spectacular photograph tracing the looping arcs of light hangs in the Art Scholl Aviation lobby at Rialto Airport.

At the very young age of 53, Art lost his life while filming a POV sequence for the movie Top Gun. He was out over the ocean off Carlsbad Airport doing flat

Judy Scholl at Rialto Airport.

spins, a maneuver he had performed successfully many times before. The NTSB report listed the cause of the crash as Spatial Disorientation. Judy said “It is one of those things, you could drive yourself crazy second guessing what might have happened but you can never really know and in the end, it doesn’t change the bottom line.”

Many people would have given up long ago in the face of loss and the everyday struggles of politics and the whims of government rulings beyond all reason and logic. But Judy does not merely persevere, she thrives. She rents airplane mock-ups to the film industry for movies, television shows and commercials. Also as a part of Art Scholl Aviation at Rialto Airport she sells Chevron aviation fuel, rents hangar space, and has a well stocked pilot store with nationwide sectionals.

Judy says the greatest gift Art gave her is a love of aviation. She said that “to spend the day at the airport everyday is a great blessing”, she said it is like having her own private air show. Her dream is to one day have a perfect flight, but she says, so far, as she mentally reviews each new adventure, she finds that there’s always room for improvement. Art taught her that flying is about precision and if the pattern altitude is 2500 feet that doesn’t mean 2,450. She has always seen it that way, but her pure love of the sky is evident as she looks outside her hangar door and marvels at “what a great day it would be to go up and play in the clouds”. As the spring storm starts to break up over head she looks westward and says, “It going to be a beautiful sunset.”

An Aerial View of Aviation.

The greatest gift Art Scholl gave me is a love of aviation.Lani Rocket

Art Scholl in his Super Chipmunk above Highway 18 in the San Bernardino Mountains.

Key Lime Pie is elixir from another dimension of space and time, check out this ultra simple version, perfect for a hangar party barbeque, with some optional, flight surgeon approved, healthy changes.

Instructions:Put the Lime zest and egg yolks together, whisk, or attack with a fork, in the milk and lime juice.then spread evenly into the crustBake for 15 Minutes at 325 degreesRefrigerate for 3 hours before serving.If the pie is stubborn when you try to extricate it from the pie pan,dip it in some hot water, that ought to show it who is really in charge.

Ingredients:I graham cracker crust:(buy one if you want, otherwise...)

1 1/2 cups fine graham cracker crumbs1/4 cup sugar or equivalent Splenda6 tablespoons unsalted butter or Earth Balance Spread in low fat

Press into a pie pan and bak for 8 minutes at 350 degrees.

Filling:I- 14 ounce can of sweetened condensed milk4- Egg Yolks

1 Rounded tablespoon of Gratedlime zest (optional)

1/2 cup of freshly squezed lime juice(Use Key Limes if possible: they really aredifferent)

How fifteen minutes of density altitude calculations can save you losing your empanage to a garbage truck.

Local lore is filled with stories of plane crashes at Big Bear Airport that involve skies filled with warming air and an airplane attempting a takeoff with tanks filled with fuel, passengers filled with pie and a baggage compartment filled with Grizzly Bear Novelty Items. The additional weight coupled with the dropping air density as the day heats up pushes the airplane well beyond design limits. Basic information on Density Altitude calculations can be found in the ever present FAA Pilot’s Handbook of Aeronautical Knowledge, a real page turner, for sure. Read up on Chapter 10 for Aircraft Performance. On Page 10-7 of the latest edition, it states that “An increase in altitude will also increase the power required and decrease the power available. Therefore, the climb performance on an airplane diminishes with altitude. The speed for maximum rate of climb, maximum angle of climb, and maximum and minimum level flight airspeeds vary with altitude. As altitude is increased, these various speeds finally converge at the absolute ceiling of the airplane. At the absolute ceiling, there is no excess of power and only one speed will allow steady level flight.

Flying is so many parts skill, so many parts planning, so

many parts maintenance, and so many parts luck. The trick is to reduce the luck by

increasing the others.

— David L. Baker

Top 10 Reasons to Fly to Big Bear

10. City Subsidized (Cheap) Fuel 9. Chinese Restaurant (Where else?) 8. Walk into town (Grizzly Bear Totems) 7. Cool Weather (bring a sweater) 6. Hospitality (nuthin’ like mountain Folk) 5. Winter Sports (only in the winter, though) 4. Boat Rentals (watch out for lake sharks) 3. Pine Tree Scented Skies 2. Great Photo Ops over the Lake

and the number one reason to fly into Big Bear Airport is...

1. Gives you the perfect chance to do some Density Altitude Calculations, with an actual purpose this time!

Consequently, the absolute ceiling of the airplane produces zero rate of climb”. A great website on the subject for those among us less likely to turn pages is Canyon Flying.com, containing excellent insider information from a backcountry flight instructor with over 20 years experience. The generally recognized source book specifically for mountain flying is cleverly titled, Mountain Flying by Sparky Imeson. Mr. Imeson tragically lost his life in a plane crash in March when he clipped a tree during a photo flight, a lesson to us all of the unforgiving nature of our passion.

Editorial Staff

The desert Earth rotated smoothly under the Cessna 152’s wings as Thermal, Califor-nia moved ever closer. Most women pilots really hope to land in a place with a sense of security and a certain level of accommoda-tion, at least a clean restroom. Once on the ground and into the lobby, you realize that the Jacqueline Cochran chronicled in the books Amelia Earhart’s Daughters and Fly Girls is the flier this airport was named after.

You’ll likely be met by the sweetness of the counter personnel, then see Jackie’s military uniform blouse displayed with

some photographs of her and memo-rabilia from her fame as one of the most decorated pilots in aviation. A peek around behind the blouse will help you know she was actually that small. Her courage and accomplishments suddenly seem greater in light of the fact that she was no giant like her resume would suggest, but more of a doll like figure. A woman in my office who had known Jacqueline Cochran personally

was asked if Jackie was actually that small and she paused for a moment, “Only on the outside!” Pilots are by nature huge figures of courage, exploration and adventure, who conquer the skies and find the fuel pumps and wrestle with weather and aviation charts and radio communications. Jackie’s legacy teaches us that we can all do great things with tenacity and courage. The sky is a brave place and we are heroes all.

Jacqueline Cochran in her Lockheed Lodestar in 1953. on a compaign flight. She was running for Congress in California’s 29th District on both the Republican and Democratic tickets. She had returned from her work during the war in the Pentagon as head of the World War II WASPs, the all woman ferrying group that freed up male pilots for the armed services.

Jacqueline Cochran at the flight controls of her Lock-heed Lodestar in 1953. Photos without photo credits are from a single magazine page purchased in an Arizona antique store .

Girl Talk

Big Bear City Airport, (L35) Elevation 6,753. Photo Courtesy of City of Big Bear.

Lani Rocket

Kevin Plunkett

The Journal of All Things Aviation.

The number one Aviation Supplier in the world is Aircraft Spruce. They sell everything from a single bolt to a com-plete airplane kit. If it has anything to do with airplanes or pilots, you can probably get it there.

They first set up shop in 1956 as Ful-lerton Air Parts; luckily they were located in Fullerton at the time, so it was a great name. The company was founded by Flo and Bob Irwin, the parents of the current owner, Jim Irwin. In less than a decade they grew into one of the largest retail aircraft suppliers in the west.

In 1965 the Irwin’s started a new company which sold only one product, aircraft grade spruce lumber for aircraft construction and restoration. They quickly added more products to their inventory and adopted the name “Aircraft Spruce & Specialty Co.” In the time between 1965 and now they have gone from a one page pamphlet to a hefty 800 page catalog.

In 1997, Aircraft Spruce moved into a new 62,000 square foot facility in Corona, CA and in 2004 Aircraft Spruce East moved from Griffin, GA to their 52,000 square foot facility in Peachtree City, GA. Aircraft Spruce Canada was also opened in Toron-to in 2006. The underlying principle in all three facilities is still the same as it was in the beginning – fair prices and good ser-vice. That is why Aircraft Spruce has kept customers coming back for over 50 years.

They carry a wide range of items for

home built planes, as well as factory built parts for Cessna, Beech, Piper and Mooney. Say you’re in the market for a 1450hp P51 carbon fiber Mustang with a Rolls Merlin engine to race, check out the Aircraft Spruce Website. Or maybe you’re looking for a little more fresh air; check out a Breezy hardware kit for around five hun-dred dollars. If you prefer something in the middle that is absolutely breathtaking, check out the Kit Fox, all under the kits tab on the www.aircraftspruce.com website.

In addition to the wide variety of items from all around the aviation world, the staff is easy to deal with and they will help you find exactly what you need. When you land in Corona just call the store at 951-549-7774 or 1-877-4-SPRUCE and they will send a shuttle to pick you up at the airport as well as bring you back when you have completed your shopping, that is if you can ever tear yourself away.

Aircraft Spruce, more aviation stuff than is humanly conceivable, available today, unless you’re reading this on a Sunday, then you need to go online.

As with all pilots, Ted and Cindy Gablin are pioneers in Aviation. Not every pilot designs a new engine, begins manufac-turing dirigibles at prices everyone can afford, develops a means of processing a Magnesium Aluminum alloy to produce a lighter and stronger fuselage, and not every pilot can ascertain enough I-can-fly-thousands-of-feet-above-the-earth-so-clearly-I’m-the-one-in-charge charisma to take over the known world. But each of us, in our own way has experienced some-thing unique, knows something, has done something, feels something about flight that nobody else does.

Constructing the RV7-A kit from Aircraft Spruce has been a 3,300 hour project over a span bordering on 5 years. Outrageous? perhaps not as outrageous as it seems. Having the plane delivered in stages and constructed gradually makes the project much more manageable. One advantage to building a kit aircraft is that because you constructed more than 51% of it, you are licensed to perform your own annuals. Another is the confidence in your craft that comes with knowing that each bolt, wire and mechanical component was installed with your own hands, rather than entrust-ing that to a factory. Being able to cus-tomize your plane to fit your exact needs

and desires is also a major advantage of building it yourself.

After having airplane components strewn throughout their house for years and working steadily on the assembly for a few hours a day, it is all paying off. By taking into consideration the smallest factors that could affect weight, Ted and Cindy’s plane cruises at over 200 miles an hour burning about 8 gallons an hour and can carry 100 pounds of baggage, a vast improvement over their previously owned Piper Cherokee 140. As Ted and Cindy’s relationship began to blossom, he introduced his passion for aviation, flying her on a date to Cable. Now, year later, Cindy has her pilots license as well, and tears come to her eyes as Ted talks about how the project would not have been pos-sible without the support of his wife. They are looking forward to being able to fly in the sum of all their labor, the completed RV7-A.

Ted advises, “Stick to it, stay committed, the entire project is bigger than you are. It’s like life, take it one day at a time, take the plane one piece at a time.”

Ted Gablin, Airborne in his newly finished RV7-A

Liam savage

Kevin Plunkett

Mission Aviation Fellowship is the theme for this years EAA air venture at Oshkosh.

In 1944 a World War II pilot decided to start a missionary aviation organization. A 1953 Red Waco Biplane is purchased and Betty Greene flies it to a jungle location in Mexico. In 1954 a Piper Pacer is equipped with floats and begins work in New Guinea planting the seeds for what is now Mission Aviation Fellowship (MAF). Last year MAF flew 2.7 million miles, completed 36,000 flights, transported over 120,000 passen-gers, and delivered 10.3 million pounds of cargo all on nearly 1,700 rough, unim-proved dirt and grass airstrips as well as waterways. In the past 12 months, MAF planes saved workers more than 63,000 days of travel time, over 260 work years.

In June MAF brought their new Kodiak, Single Engine Turbo Prop to Redlands (KREI) to show it off before it heads to Indo-nesia. A fleet of these specially built craft has been ordered from Quest aircraft and will be delivered in stages to their destina-tions all over the world.

The following excerpts are from the jour-nals of a former MAF pilot, Sandy Toomer while flying in Shell, Ecuador, that gives insight into what our day would be like if we were ever to take the controls of one of these bush planes.

“My typical day has me come to the hangar with the rest of the gang at 8 AM for prayer and a rundown of the day’s schedule both in flight and maintenance.

Rain is a constant companion here where we receive more than 22 feet of it annually.

“Capitán there’s a snake bite patient in Molino. As soon as the weather breaks we’ll send you out. It’s a small boy…he was bitten in the face…yesterday.”(Molino: Less than 500 meters, uphill, one way.)

After landing on the gooey surface I can see it is bad. His head has swollen to the size of a soccer ball and his breathing is labored as his mouth and likely his throat are closing off. I customarily shake hands

with as many people as I can then load the boy and his mom on board my 206 for the flight back to Shell.

By 2 PM I finish up and I’m ready to leave Makuma for another five landings and take-offs to pick up more medical emergencies and run them over to a jungle hospital operated by the Ecuadorian government, in Taisha.

By 5 PM, I depart Taisha still with one last stop. Go by San Carlos and pick up a carpenter, his crew and tools. They have been building a new school building in the village. From San Carlos we’ll head back to Shell.

As I get closer to Shell it indeed looks dark, very dark, dreary and gray. The approach controller is still calling the visibility better than 10 kilometers (VFR here) however with rain to the north of the airport, moving closer.

Switching gears, I pull out the instrument approach plate and give it the once over like a hundred times before. The primary approach we use into Shell is a VOR/DME Arc beginning 8 kilometers out. However we also have another straight-in VOR/DME approach and of course what would life be without one of those wonderful NDB approaches, the epitome of “non-precision”.

Once I’m on the radial, I strain through the rain and haze then finally see runway three-zero ahead and call “Runway in sight”. Within three minutes I taxi up to the large Shell hangar just as the bottom drops out.

It’s nearly 6 PM. After twelve landings, 3.5 hours of Tach-time, forty minutes of actual instrument conditions and an approach to minimums my day is done. Hey, and it’s just Monday!”

For more information on what is required to fly for Mission Aviation Fellowship or to find out how you can be part of the solution in some other way, log onto

www.maf.org.

Photograph by Liam Savage Flight Lines Newspaper

Kodiak Aircraft coming over the fence at Redlands, California (KREI) in June.

Flight PlanAircraft Display Days and Car ShowJuly 18th, and August 15th Flabob Airport, Rubidoux, CAhttp://eaach1.org/calen.htmlJoin hundreds of aircraft and car enthusi-

asts as they “strut their stuff” at this fun-filled, and family friendly, summer event. Admission is free! Don’t forget about “Famous Friendly Flabob First Friday (5 F’s)”, a film festival showing classic motion pictures. It runs the first Friday night of every month, beginning at Five pm, admission is free.

Palm Springs Air Museum745 North Gene Autry TrailPalm Springs, California 92262http://air-museum.org/Come tour the Palm Springs Air Museum. The

museum is home to one of the world’s largest collections of WWII aircraft and includes a vari-ety of original artifacts and artwork. Hours of operation are 10:00am to 5:00pm.

EAA Young Eagles Flight ExperienceRedlands Airport1745 Sessums DriveRedlands, CA 92374www.youngeagles.org/programs/youngea-

gles for dates of upcoming events

The EAA Young Eagles program sponsors public flights for our younger aviators. Kids have the opportunity to see friends and fly in an airplane piloted by local volunteer pilots. With this popular family event, reservations fill quickly. The program beings at 9:00am at the main lobby.

Oshkosh Air Venture 2009July 27th to August 2ndOshkosh, WIhttp://www.airventure.org/Known as the “World’s Greatest Aviation

Celebration”, Oshkosh supply’s a phenomenal atmosphere for aviation enthusiasts. Since its first gathering in 1953, this annual event has grown into the largest of its kind, with over 10,000 aircraft and 650,000 spectators. From the food, fly-by’s and aircraft demonstrations, to the performances of Jeff Dunham and the Doobie Brothers, the 2009 Oshkosh is the avia-tion event to attend this summer.

Chino Airport Open HouseSaturday, July 11th 7000 Merrill AveChino, CA 91710http://www.planesoffame.org/

The Chino airport “Planes of Fame Air Museum” monthly open house is Saturday, July 11th. The Planes of Fame Air Museum opens at 9:00am; the open house begins at 10:00am and lasts till 1:00pm. The museum will be showing its diverse collection of aircraft along with a flight demonstration (weather permitting). For more information, call (909) 597- 3722.

Liam savage

Brian Ingalls

Children learn to fly with amazing success. Lani Rocket

Children are natural pilots, ask most certi-fied flight instructors. The sky is a big open playground to a child.

MY Air Flight School at Redlands Munici-pal Airport currently has three young stu-dents from 11 to 15 years old, two boys and a girl, all working toward their private pilot’s license. The youngest member of this prestigious group is the girl, Tempest Evans, 11 years old, who is home schooled. She took her first airplane ride in Febru-ary and was instantly hooked. She started lessons in May with a shiny new logbook

Flying can be a lot of fun, but flying with a mission in mind is even better. Nothing compares with a search around the Southern California area to find the best pastrami sandwich, tuna melt, biscuits and gravy, or whatever meal holds a special place in your stomach. If an emergency were to occur, keep in mind to first look for the best place to eat, then decide your emergency landing spot; I believe that should be in the check list.

D and D Airport Café can be found in front of the South side transient park-ing of the Riverside Municipal Airport main terminal. The brief stroll from our plane to the restaurant is appreciated, unlike other “airport” cafés that require a three mile walk to reach the restaurant, and by that time the effects of starvation may have taken its toll. D and D is a true airport café.

Visually, D and D’s classic diner feel is one that everybody loves. Benches are placed next to the counter for the grumpy old charter pilots who wish to eat their meal in peace, followed by family sized booths for larger parties, and even tables for two. With model airplanes hanging from the ceiling and some authentic pictures on the walls, the comfortable atmosphere is optimal without being overly filled in the decorations department. Every seat in the house seems to offer a full view of the runway and landing aircraft. For an even closer look at the planes, outdoor patio seating is available and worth your while.

“D and D” originates from the owners David and Delmy, who have been in business since 1995. The rustic dinner menu contains all the essentials. Burg-ers, breakfast, steaks, salads, sodas and milkshakes are among the many choices. Whether you order from the senior menu or the junior menu, also known as the “Snack for the Nervous CFI Soloing a Student at the Riverside Airport”, the food is sure to fulfill your expectations. On the rare occasion the food takes longer than anticipated, it means they are making it extra special and is definitly worth the wait.

D & D Airport Cafe6951 Flight RoadRiverside, CA 92504909-688-3337 Telephone

Solution Set

and a truckload of enthusiasm. Her first lesson, on a thick chair pad to lift her small frame higher and farther forward to reach the yoke and rudder petals in the Cessna 152 trainer was a great success. She flew to San Bernardino airport to practice land-ing on the nearly two mile long runway, then up to altitude for a little maneuvering practice and back to Redlands for three landings. Her instructor, James LaDue, who has taken on the training duties for all three of the young students, announced “She’s a natural”. He said that she was completely without fear and could always tell him pre-cisely which direction Redlands Airport was on the ground.

Tempest’s impression was simple, “It’s

James LaDue

Nick Kanavas, 14 years old, coming in on final approach at Redlands (KREI) California

awesome!” She said that she was flying the airplane the whole time. When asked if flying was good for kids she said, “Of course! It’s fun, and I already know how to get to San Bernardino.” She said that if she could talk to other kids about airplanes she’d yell “Go flying!” During the de-briefing she was cautioned about the studying needed for the written portion of the exam and her confidence never wavered as she stood up even taller and announced, “I’ll zip through it.” This is not the reaction of most adult pilot license candidates, but one look at Tempest and it isn’t hard to imagine her climbing into the cockpit of a jumbo jet someday and being addressed at Captain.

The other two students studying at MY Air are boys, Matt Miller, 12, a sixth grader from Redlands Christian School and Nick Kanavas,15 years old and an incoming Sophomore from Redlands High School. Matt mows lawns to earn the money for his flying lessons and has a little bit of hesitation each time he hands it over to the school, a carefully smoothed stack of $2o dollar bills, collected for two weeks before each lesson. Lessons run around $100 dollars each including the aircraft rental, fuel and

the instructor’s fee. Matt’s goal is to one day be an entrepreneur who flies himself to his ventures. Nick says he wants to fly more than anything and his goal is to be a com-mercial pilot one day and fly for a living. Both boys land the planes themselves with great precision. One pilot watching the spectacle said “there are guys out here who have been flying for years who will never land that well”.

As we were packing up to leave the air-port Mr Ngeuyn, a vietnamese immigrant, was waiting for his son, who was taking an airplane ride for his sixteenth birthday, his third airplane ride recently. He had told his dad he really wanted to learn to fly. Knowing that playing in the band at Yucaipa High School was Will’s greatest joy he asked, “Would you be willing to give up band to learn to fly?” The boy had replied, “I give up everything I have to learn to fly.” So the dad vowed that as long as there was work for him, he would provide for his son’s flying lessons.

We can all be encouraged to scratch up a little more resources to make our dreams come true. Maybe there’s a little entrepre-neur in all of us.

Matt Miller, 12, checks fuel levels as part of preflight on Cessna 152 he rents at Redlands (KREI) for lessons

Tempest Evans, 11, (center) Instructor James Ladue (right), mother, Janet (Back) and Brother, Tierney (Left)

Join the ClubEAA Chapter One at Flabob :Excerpted by permission from EAA Chapter One’s Newsletter the WingNut

Eleven year old Chris Felton was agog with excitement on November 17, 2001. The tow-head youngster from Riverside was one of a number of young people about to take their first flight in a “little” airplane at EAA Chap-ter One Young Eagle Rally at Flabob Airport. Flabob fixture and photographer Andy Ander-son was the pilot who took young Chris for a ride that day in his beautiful 1959 Cessna 150, N5641E. Chris became another of the 341 Young eagles that got their first flight in Andy’s classic airplane.

Years pass. Andy continued to fly young-sters in 41E until 2006, when, at age 87, he flew his last Young Eagle. Unable to continue flying for fun and introducing Young Eagles to flight, Andy this year donated his beloved classic 150 to The Walthen Foundation.

At Chapter One’s Young Eagle Rally on April 11th, 2009, the shiny straight tail 150 once again took to the skies carrying Young Eagles. Its pilot this time was Chris Felton-all grown up and a private pilot in love with aviation, taking Young Eagles for their first aviation experience in the same plane that had given him his...eight years before. A young eagle come full circle.

Chris is one of Flabob’s stand-out young people. he has been a member of Walthen Foundation’s Stinson 108-3 project for sev-eral years. He also has been active in the Chapter One Young Eagle program, dem-onstrating to hundreds of young people how to preflight an airplane. Members of the Stinson 108 team each received a special deal from The Walten Foundation:

work four hours on the Stinson project and earn one hour of subsidized flight training. Young Chris took advantage of this and on July 5, 2008, he earned his private pilot ticket.

The Wing Nut article goes on to describe Chris’s upcoming entrance to Embry-Riddle University thanks to his

monumental efforts to gather funding for himself as well as his plan to have four careers to fall back on when completing college and his overarching dream to be an airline pilot one day. If this is the sort of group you would like to be involved with, go ahead and Join the Club at eaach1.org for a skinny 12 bucks a year.

Global Explorer, Bush Pilot and Scientist Art Mortvedt flew from Hawthorne, where his plane had just arrived by ship, to Redlands and on to the North Pole, by way of Oshkosh, having already completed a flight to the South Pole. The plane has been affectionately dubbed the Polar Pumpkin due to its bright orange paint job, you’ll need a crayon here to get the full effect, go ahead, we’ll wait.

P-38 Lightning photographed at Chino Airshow 2009. Did you fly a P38 in WWII or do you fly one now? We would love to do an article describing what it feels like to fly one of these amazing machines. Do you have a great story to tell? Contact FlightLines at flightlines.com

Tell Us Your Story

Chris Felton and Andy Anderson with Andy’s beloved Classic Cessna 150, N5641E, at Flabob Airport.

Photo Courtesy of the Wingnut EAA Chapter 1 Newsletter

San Bernardino Valley College wins the distinction of being the first school featured in the column First Class Schools because it is where I took ground school. Ok, ok, I know, that’s a little self serving, but since I went there I can personally vouch for the high degree of excellence maintained year after year since it was about 40 years ago that my own big brother went through the same program and had the same great experience. His ground school instructor was none other than the late Art Scholl himself, the world famous aerobatics champion who was instrumental in starting the program. My teacher was a thirty five year veteran in the ground school arena, Dr. Richard Thompson, an icon in local aviation circles. When you complete that semester you know the information guaranteed, “as long as you’re willing to do your part in the process” as he says. Dr. Thompson earned his PhD by developing the materials for the San Bernardino Valley College Aeronautical Department’s Ground School as an FAA Part 141 program. The ground school classes run from August through December and January through May each year, two nights a week for three hours a night. We fell so in love with Dr. Thompson we threw him a party for his birthday and nearly gave him a heart attack. To take part in this program is less than a hundred dollars including books, check eBay for used books. A great trade off to paying a CFI for hours to explain things to you one on one. In the classroom setting you constantly benefit from the questions and struggles of your desk mates, cutting down on the possible trauma and embarrassment of admitting you also haven’t got a clue what he’s talking about. There is the option to do a home study course, but the opportunity to see an enthusiastic teacher break the material down piece by piece in a logical progression is a great advantage when you walk in tall to the written test and the oral portion of the check ride. If you are studying for the CFI written it is a great refresher as well. For pilots working toward a degree, ask about posting the 6 units for work you’ve already completed when you got your license. Once you’ve taken the class you can attend again

for life, anytime you want to brush up on a particular area, just drop in on that session. San Bernardino Valley College has just been awarded a fully operational Jet Engine by FedEx for the Aircraft Maintenance Technology Department. Speaking of

maintenance, Valley College offers a top rate program offering an Associate of Science Degree specializing in Airframe and Powerplant Technology for about one tenth the price of comparable private programs such as Spartan in Oklahoma. They offer four certificate programs the first is the Aviation Maintenance, then an program for an Airframe Maintenance Certificate,a third is the Powerplant Maintenance Certificate and also an Avionics Technology Certificate which is designed to provide students with the fundamentals of electronics technology as it applies to avionics. It’s exciting to see all of the airplanes in the school yard, there’s a Piper Cub, a Piper Twing engine, a heloicopter and several engines inside the work hangars. Just being in the area makes anyone who loves airplanes heart beat a little faster. San Bernardino Valley College is located at 701 South Mount Vernon Avenue in San Bernardino, the Aero telephone number is (909) 384-4451 and their website lives at www.valleycollege.edu click on instructional programs and then aeronautics and then you’ll find a link to the Aeronautics Department. August 17th begins the next semester, with classes on Monday and Wednesday evenings. Go.

lani Rocket

Jet engine similar to the one donated to Valley College by FedEx.

Skydiving is an experience not to be missed, you will be about 3 inches taller, 42 IQ points brighter, 2 times more confident and generally speaking, you will never look at the world quite the same way again.

Perris Valley airport is a rich vein of adventure treasure just waiting to be mined if you have just a little insider information and a few bills in your pocket.

If you’ve ever spent a lazy couple of hours with a movie like The Bucket List, Point Break, Air Force One or Terminal Velocity, you’ve witnessed a little sam-pling of the sheer joy (and movie industry work) of Jim Wallace. In Terminal Veloc-ity, Jim actually climbs out the top of a biplane and onto the ramp of a cargo plane in mid-air. Jim has more skydives under his jump harness than any other human on earth, over 20,000. As a jump master instructing students at all levels for over 30 years, he’s never had a student seriously injured.

Skydivers have a saying, “If you have to get out of a boat to swim, you have to get out of a plane to fly.” It is a beautiful thing to do a slow floaty 360 degree turn at 12,000 feet with no windshield or side windows or wing struts between you and the atmosphere surrounding the earth. I went there to check it out and stayed for years, making a total of 26 jumps, truly some of the best days of my life, no doubt.

Most people don’t realize that the big DeHaviland Otters fly faster than the jumpers fall, so when you leave the door you actually slow down. It feels like you could just drift away. There is no sense

of falling whatsoever, that’s what BASE jumpers get because they start from a standstill rather than over a hundred miles an hour. And it is easy to breathe, just like on the ground, another common worry dispelled. It’s just like those dreams where you can fly under your own power. In a turn it seems like you hold still and the earth rotates below you. And if you are ever so highly blessed as to fall past a cloud- you’ll be sure later, when you tell the story that the cloud floated up to you.

Start by making an appointment for a tandem jump, the ultimate thrill ride, for around two hundred dollars with the good people at Jim Wallace Skydiving School (www.jimwallaceskydiving.com) at 800-795-3483 for Saturday, since this is the Weekender to Remember column. For Sunday, to cap off your memorable weekend, consider a trip across the park-ing lot to the wind tunnel to practice free fall skills for about a hundred dollars fol-lowed by your first Accelerated Free Fall jump for around three bills, another bit of pre-scheduling an appointment time will be required for these adventures, of course.

Don’t worry, Accelerated Free Fall (or AFF) just sounds faster, actually it is pretty peaceful. By the time you board the plane you’ve had hours of personalized training, and when you jump you have two jump

masters who hold on to you from both sides until you deploy your parachute, so you feel very secure. Then you land with the help of a calm voice in your earpiece directing you safely back to earth.

When you fly in, be sure to carefully monitor the radio on the field, frequency 122.775, not the 122.9 marked on the chart, and get clearance from the diver drivers up top as to a good time to enter the airspace, leave a good ten mile radius for those lovely falling humans in the vicinity, until you’re sure it’s safe to enter.

There are accommodations on the field in the way of a rustic bunk house for under $20 a night where you can stay, there are also showers. Or there’s upscale, laid back Temecula nearby if you want to rent a car,

Enterprise delivers cars and they’re right in town. Perris Valley is home to a nice café called the Bomb Shelter plus a swim-ming pool, playground for the little ones and an extreme sense of camaraderie. The skydiver’s version of a pilot shop is a good experience on its own with t-shirts that say things like “My sport ate your sport for breakfast” as well as exciting skydiving videos, books, posters, sun glasses, etc.

Push yourself to the edge of what you thought you could do and you will learn that you are capable of a great deal more than you ever realized. Life is short; make it as sweet as you possibly can.

Jump!

Flight LinesThe Journal of All Things Airborne

Editor Lani Rocket Managing Director Liam Savage Food James LaDue Technical Consultant Kevin Plunkett

Calendar and Events Brian Ingalls

Guest Writers: Editorial guidelines available and submissions accepted for consideration contact liam@flightlinesnewspaper.com

Jim Wallace, right and Gail Sims, left from Jim Wallace SkyDiving School, fly an AFF student in the crystal blue skies above Perris Valley Airport.

Lani Rocket