September 2013 – Ponca City Aviation Booster Club Newsletter – Page 1

Ponca City Aviation Booster Club Newsletter September 2013

Last Fly-In Breakfast Flight Breakfast – September 7, 2013

Our First-Saturday Fly-In Breakfast was a success with 58 aircraft arriving from all over. We served 502 hungry guests and had a great time doing it. The weather was great, although I would have preferred it to be a bit cooler. We started out with absolutely clear skies (okay, a little hazy) and a light breeze from the south. Temperature was 77 to start but it climbed well into the eighties (maybe even nineties) by quitting time around 10:30am. Many of our guests opted to eat outside under the awning and watch the come and go of aircraft. It was a good day to bring the kids to see airplanes – we counted some 47 kids under 12. We had numerous classic/antique cars and quite a few motorcycles and trikes. Aircraft started arriving shortly after sun up and I caught Don Short taxiing his RV-7 past the rising sun.

Tom Auerbach, PCABC Newsletter Editor

The following had volunteered this month for the Flight Breakfast: Christian Branch, Tanner Epperson, Kobe Cain, Kaitlyn Perry, Deante Rogers, Carter Wyatt, Cathleen Wyatt, Ila McKee, Sandy Stotts, Don Nuzum, Tad Murphy, Scott Rower, Jim Yates, Steve McGuire, Delores Swain, Robert & Ardetha Christensen, Nancy Jane Mayfield, Heather Cannon, Pat & Dean Henson, Harold Taylor, Mike Caldwell, Bert & Sandra Blanton, John & Alec King, Don Crawford, Merle Helt, Rex Heintz, Tom Auerbach and any I may have missed.

Volunteers are always needed to make this monthly flight breakfast a success, so if you would like to donate your time please call me at 580-761-5884 the Wednesday before.

Bruce Eberle, Breakfast Coordinator

Next Club Meeting The next regular meeting will be held Tuesday, September 17th (the usual third Tuesday of the month) at 6:30 p.m. in the clubhouse on the grounds of the Ponca City Regional Airport. The main entrée this month will be Grilled Pork Chops prepared by Steve McGuire. Members should bring a vegetable dish, a salad or dessert. The Host & Hostess are Merle & Cerita Helt.

Invitation: Members of EAA chapters and other aviation clubs are welcome to attend. A side dish is not necessary but may be brought if desired.

Meeting Program Some may have noticed the mammoth crane located at the Phillips 66 Refinery just south the airport. The crane is visible from the airport as shown below and is of interest to pilots flying in and out of the airport. Fully erect, the crane stands 577 feet high (1,567 feet MSL).

Robert W. Gingerich, Phillips Refinery HR Manager, will share information about the refinery coke drum replacement project. The huge crane will be used to remove the old coke drums and their supporting structure and move the new coke drums and new structure into place to replace them. The project has taken three years to plan, have new drums built and shipped to Ponca City, and now to complete.

CRANE

September 2013 – Ponca City Aviation Booster Club Newsletter – Page 2

PCABC Officers for 2013 President: Merle Helt 580.762.7580 (Sept. thru December) mchelt@cableone.net Vice President: Bert & Sandra Blanton 580.762.3794

bert@cableone.net pa11@cableone.net Treasurer: Bruce Eberle 580.762.5735 ou444@yahoo.com Secretary: Nancy Jane Mayfield 580.765.5330 njmayfield@cableone.net Director: Jim Yates 580.765.7907 (2013-2014) jeyates@cableone.net Director: Tom Auerbach 580.762.9830 (2012-2013) m20c78956@sbcglobal.net Director, EAA: Ed Jones 580.762.9797 (EAA 1046 Rep.) eddwj@cableone.net Newsletter Ed.: Tom Auerbach 580.762.9830

m20c78956@sbcglobal.net Clubhouse Phone: 580.765.1726

Next Fly-In Breakfast October 2013 Our next Flight Breakfast is scheduled for Saturday morning, October 5th (the first Saturday of the month; rain or shine) at the Ponca City Regional Airport. Breakfast is served from 7:00 to 10:00 a.m. The requested donation is $6 adults, $3 children. The menu includes pancakes, scrambled eggs, bacon, sausage, potatoes, biscuits & gravy, orange juice, coffee, and fruit. Cold soda pop and bottled water are available at 50¢.

PCABC Officers/Directors Meeting – Sept 5, 2013 Pre Breakfast Meeting September 5, 2013 Minutes

Attendance: Merle Helt (President), Bert Blanton (VP), Bruce Eberle (Treasurer) Nancy Jane Mayfield (Sec), Tom Auerbach (Dir), Jim Yates (Dir), Steve McGuire, Dean & Pat Henson.

Merle Helt called the meeting to order. PCABC is still in the black. The September breakfast falls on

Saturday, September 7. The forecast is for good weather and light wind. We plan to serve 550 breakfasts. Bruce will take care of staffing the breakfast.

Old Business None

New Business The calling committee list was updated.

Parker Pest Control completed the annual termite inspection.

OK18 will be flying into our November breakfast.

The monthly meeting resumes Tuesday, September 17. Pork chops, cooked by Steve McGuire, will be served. The program will be on the huge crane at the refinery. Merle and Cerita Helt will be host and hostess.

We encourage members to bring guests.

Respectfully submitted, Nancy Jane Mayfield, PCABC Secretary

Sept 7 Breakfast Photos

September 2013 – Ponca City Aviation Booster Club Newsletter – Page 3

chase on the day that Chuck Yeager first broke the speed of sound in the Bell X-1. Hoover makes a compelling argument that – had it not been for a youthful indiscretion immediately before the record-breaking flight – it would have been he rather than Yeager who made that historic first supersonic flight. "Following his career in the military, Hoover became a corporate test pilot, first for Allison Engine and then for North American Aviation, where he helped to develop and then showcase both the F-86 Sabre and the F-100 Super Sabre. During his time at North American in the mid-1950s, he convinced the U.S.A.F. Thunderbirds to switch from the F-84F Thunderstreak to the more cutting edge F-100 Super Sabre, an aircraft the team then used for nearly a decade.

"It was also during his time with North American that he first became involved as an air show performer, using a surplus North American P-51 Mustang to promote the company and its products. Drawing on a lifetime of difficult and demanding flying, Hoover was a natural performer. During an air show career that spanned nearly four decades, Hoover built a reputation on his remarkable skills as a pilot and his ability to entertain and inspire audiences. He flew before tens of millions of appreciative fans, sparking an interest in an aviation career among countless thousands, as chronicled in the following Smithsonian Air & Space Magazine article. Indeed, during much of the 1960s, 1970s, 1980s and 1990s, a substantial portion of new pilots were inspired to fly, at least in part, by having watched Hoover fly at a local air show.

"Hoover’s many accomplishments have been recognized by others over the years. A small selection of his honors includes:

• Jimmy Doolittle, a past recipient of the Wright Brothers Memorial Trophy and an aviation legend in his own right, called Bob Hoover “…the greatest stick-and-rudder man who ever lived.”

• In its Centennial of Flight special edition, Smithsonian Air & Space Magazine named Hoover the third greatest aviator of all time.

• During his military career, he earned the Distinguished Flying Cross, Soldier's Medal for

LONG OVERDUE! Bob Hoover Nominated For NAA's Wright Brothers Trophy Fri, Aug 30, 2013 – Aero-News.net Nominating Letter Signed By An Astounding Group Of 19 Leaders From The Aviation Industry A veritable "Who's Who" in the aviation community has banded together to nominate legendary aviator Bob Hoover for the National Aeronautic Association's (NAA) Wright Brothers Memorial Trophy -- an honor that many think is LONG overdue. As a matter of fact, the big question is simply this... why did it take so long for the legendary (in every meaning of the word) Bob Hoover to be even considered for an honor that he is so clearly suited for? This can't possible be the first time his name has come up...

The current effort, a massive one we might add, is being coordinated by GAMA's Pete Bunce. In a letter to the nominating committee, Bunce and the leaders of 18 other organizations outline Hoover's long career in aviation.

The text of the letter reads:

"It is our great pleasure to nominate R.A. “Bob” Hoover for the 2013 NAA Wright Brothers Memorial Trophy. As the leaders of the nation’s general aviation associations, we hope you will recognize Bob with this coveted award for inspiring generations of aviation enthusiasts with his acrobatic flying in the nation’s air shows—more air shows than anyone else in history.

"A young country boy from Tennessee, Hoover enlisted in the National Guard with the intention of becoming a fighter pilot. An Army Air Corps pilot during World War II, he was on his 59th mission—flying a British Supermarine Spitfire in the U.S. Army Air Corps’ 52nd Fighter Group—when he was shot down over Germany and taken prisoner. After 16 months in a German POW camp, Hoover escaped, stole a German Focke-Wulf 190 and flew it to the Netherlands and freedom.

"After World War II, Hoover was assigned to test flight duty for the new U.S. Air Force. He was back-up pilot and flew

continued – see Bob Hoover, page 4

September 2013 – Ponca City Aviation Booster Club Newsletter – Page 4

Valor, Air Medal with Clusters, Purple Heart and the French Croix de Guerre.

• Hoover is an honorary member of the U.S. Navy Blue Angels, U.S.A.F. Thunderbirds, and the American Fighter Aces Association.

• Hoover was inducted into the National Aviation Hall of Fame in 1988.

• In 1995, Hoover became the inaugural member of the Air Show Hall of Fame.

• In 1992, he was inducted into the Aerospace Walk of Honor.

• In 2007, he received the Smithsonian's National Air & Space Museum Trophy.

• In 2010, Hoover delivered the Charles A. Lindbergh Memorial Lecture at the Smithsonian Institute's National Air & Space Museum in Washington.

• Also in 2010, he received an honorary doctorate from the U.S. Air Force Test Pilot School.

"Although Bob’s mind is as sharp as ever, we don’t know how long we will have the aviation icon still with us. We sincerely hope we will be able to see Bob accept the Wright Brothers Memorial Trophy this year and take his rightful place among the best in aviation. Simply put, we can’t think of anyone more deserving of this highly prestigious honor." The letter is signed by the leaders of AAA, AEA, AFA, AOPA, CAF, EAA, EAA Warbirds of America, GAMA, HAI, ICAS, NAAA, NAFI, NASAO, NATA, NBAA, RAF, SAFE, Texas Flying Legends Museum, VAC

NAA established The Wright Brothers Memorial Award in 1948 to honor the memory of Orville and Wilbur Wright. The association created the Wright Brothers Memorial Trophy, which has been presented by the President of NAA annually on or near the anniversary of the historic first flight, at the Aero Club of Washington Annual Wright Memorial Dinner. The trophy is awarded annually to a living American for "significant public service of enduring value to aviation in the United States." FMI: http://naa.aero, www.facebook.com/pages/Bob-Hoover/129761472959

FAA Responds To EAA Young Eagles Petition Sat, Aug 17, 2013 – Aero-News.net Sport and Recreational Pilots May Not Seek Compensation for Fuel Costs on Volunteer Flights This week the FAA responded to an EAA petition, filed in April 2012, which would allow volunteer private pilots flying Young Eagles to be reimbursed for fuel consumed during sanctioned Young Eagles events.

In its response, the FAA said "a partial grant of exemption would be in the public interest. The FAA has previously determined that it is in the public interest to allow a volunteer pilot who holds at least a private pilot certificate to accept limited compensation for providing orientation flights to participants in the EAA Young Eagles program. The FAA finds that the EF/YE flights are similar to sightseeing operations offered by commercial entities on a for-hire basis. However, we acknowledge that the EF/YE program is unique and designed strictly as a tool to familiarize the non-flying public with general aviation operations. For that reason, we find it is worthwhile to assist EAA’s cause, and to place conditions and limitations that provide an equivalent level of safety and meet the general public’s expectations."

However, the agency said that "the minimum level of pilot certification to operate under the terms of an exemption for the EF/YE program is at least a private pilot certificate. The inherent limitations of the recreational pilot and sport pilot certificate do not lend themselves to quasi-commercial flying of this nature."

The EAA said in a news release that the Young Eagles and Advocacy/Safety departments are reviewing the exemption to determine what, if any, benefit it provides to the EAA-member volunteer pilots who fly Young Eagles.

"We need to carefully analyze the FAA's response to our request and this exemption," said Brian O'Lena, manager of the Young Eagles program. "We need to be sure that the exemption, as written, provides clear benefits to all participants in the Young Eagles program."

EAA will provide additional information to EAA chapters and Young Eagles pilots as it completes its analysis.

FMI: FAA Response

Bob Hoover – continued from page 3

September 2013 – Ponca City Aviation Booster Club Newsletter – Page 5

Sept 7 Breakfast Photos

Alva OK Breakfast Fly-In August 17, 2013

Claremore OK Luncheon Fly-In August 31, 2013

September 2013 – Ponca City Aviation Booster Club Newsletter – Page 6

Enid OK Breakfast Fly-In August 24, 2013

FAIRMONT FIELD FRANKFURTER FEST SEPTEMBER 22, 2013

September 2013 – Ponca City Aviation Booster Club Newsletter – Page 7

Gainesville Texas – October 11-13, 2013 Welcome to the Fall Festival of Flight, hosted by the Texas Chapter, Antique Airplane Association, with the cooperation of the City of Gainesville, Texas. It is a chance to see the planes of the past and meet the pilots who lovingly maintain them. It is a chance to make new friends and renew acquaintances with pilots and airplanes who are long time friends.

Airman Acres Bean Dinner September 28, 2013

September 2013 – Ponca City Aviation Booster Club Newsletter – Page 8

Ponca City Aviation Booster Club 2320 Oxford Drive Ponca City, OK 74604-1668

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Photo by Tom Auerbach