January 11, 2005

NEW - We have a new URL for the web site!  Although the old one will still work, this one will be easier to type in and remember: http://eaa72.tripod.com

1999 OFFICERS

PRESIDENTS CORNER By Chapter President Burrall L. Sanders

With the November meeting only a week away and the Holiday season right after that, it is time to be planning to attend our annual Holiday Banquet. This year promises to be an extraordinary event. It will be held on December 14, beginning at 7pm at BENNET'S STEAKHOUSE on North Academy Blvd. This year, it will be more of an awards banquet then recent years past. Your Chapter officers are hard at work putting together some nice awards. I urge all members to bring guests. It will be a fine time for everyone.

Another good time can be had at the Chapter's newest regular event, the monthly cookout, held every third Saturday of the month. It is at Howard and Duke's very comfortable and warm establishment on Meadowlake airport. Please plan on stopping by sometime between 9am and 1pm. You can get a muffin and a bottomless coffee cup for a buck, or a hamburger or brat with a soda for a buck fifty. Where can you beat that?

On October 2, the Chapter officers and nominees held an executive meeting at my house to discuss the future of the Chapter and exchange ideas for steering the Chapter into it's 5th decade!! Wow, there is an amazing history to this chapter and it's founders. You can learn more at the banquet. The meeting was also designed to help the new administration get off to a running start. Believe me, these guys are full of ideas and energy. You can look forward to many new and exciting things in the EAA and especially Chapter 72. Fly High--Fly Often!! Burrall

Best Regards, Burrall

MEMBER OF THE MONTH
PETE GONZALEZ

Member of the Month—November, 1999 Pete Gonzalez and his T18

When I became a member of 72 a few years ago, like all of you, I met Pete. Clearly, if you pay attention it soon becomes obvious that he is one of the most dedicated and active members we have, selfless and unassuming, what people in the EAA are supposed to be all about. When I told Pete I wanted him for my 1st member profile, he declined and said plenty had been written about him in the past. That is not true, there was a small article about him about 2 1/2 years ago, but it did not begin to encompass the full story, neither can I, but here's what I do have.

Pete was raised in the small Iowa town of Newton, the major business there a large Maytag factory, where his father worked. He graduated high school in 1941, after Pearl Harbor where a friend was killed, he joined the Navy and spent the next 4 years and one day in service to his country. Discharged in California and ready to start college at San Diego, he was called home because his father had a stroke. Pete went to work in the same Maytag plant his father had worked in and he started working on his pilot's license in a Cub. His training in the Navy had to do with wind and weather, so he went to Des Moines to the U.S. Weather Bureau station there to see about work, although it would be a pay cut, it would put him closer to airplanes.

So it was in 1947, with no college, Pete got a job for the U S Dept of Commerce, Weather bureau. They immediately sent him to their station in Grand Junction, Colorado, with a new job and a new pilot's license. After about 4 years a job opening came along, with a promotion and Pete applied with his boss's blessing, it included giving pilots a weather briefing, there in Grand Junction.

He had met and married his wife, Lorain. Then because of racism, Pete was denied the job. The bureaucrats in Kansas City thought he could not speak english well enough to brief pilots, a boy raised in Iowa, but named Gonzalez.

On to Colorado Springs

Soon the same job opened in the Springs, Pete came over to look around and liked the place. Although his wife wanted to stay on the western slope near her relatives, they decided to try for this job. His boss lied and told the big shots Pete was studying english in the jr. college and could speak english really good now, and so it is, ironically that we benefited from this discrimination. It brought Pete to our area, in 1951. Soon he became involved with Chapter 72 and then Meadowlake airport, being one of the original 6, in EAA Hangers incorporated. The first hangers ever built at 00V. Pete is still treasurer for that group.

On and off for the past month, I have been studying the old papers and newsletters of chapter 72. Pete was not there at the very beginning, he came along a year or two later. But I can not find a time when he was not active or an officer in this chapter for over 30 years. In the almost 3 hours I spent talking to Pete at his home last week, one thing became very clear, this community has been enriched by the participation of Pete Gonzalez. He has taught almost 400 hundred people to fly, many still here at Meadowlake. At no time did he have a single 40 hour job, most of the time after work at the Weather Station, he was training students to fly. If that didn't keep him busy enough, he was president of Chapter 72 for a number of years ( by my best count 7 years in a row from 1970 to 1976) and building his T-18, while getting day labor jobs on the side in house construction to finance his own house. Pete flew the Thorp T-18 in August 1972 after about 6 years construction at his home.

While I was on the nominating committee, I was told a number of times by people in the chapter, how they are too busy to hold office. Pete puts us all to shame. He has held the treasurers job since 1980. He was active in a chapter project, a PL 4, which was located in his garage for a time (they ended up selling it). He has helped rebuild a number of planes at Militair, where he spent a good deal of time teaching. Somewhere in here he decided to be the maintenance guy around here, changing burnt out bulbs, mowing, and all the little things an airport needs, still doing some chores until the board relieved him of those duties this year.

EAA Chapter 72

In a lot of ways, the early story of this EAA chapter is the story about Pete, Bruce McCombs, Hurstle Stidham and Larry Dale. I have found 3 documents about that time in the archives, the 1st official meeting to organize on Sunday Feb 18,1962 at the home of Captain Bill Porter, who became the 1st president of the chapter at the next meeting in March 1962, with Bruce McCombs as vice president and Art Greenwood as Sec/treasurer. A newsletter from 1966, they are scarce then, mentions Pete and his T-18 project, Hurstle and his Spezio Tuholer, and Bruce and his EAA biplane.

Last Christmas Eve Pete had a triple heart bypass. By most accounts he missed one, maybe two, chapter meetings. This January he will be 77 years young, yet at the last Young Eagles fly-in, guess who was the guy standing out in the middle of a field to give parking directions for about an hour and a half. I guess you can tell I'm fond of Pete and all he's done for us, years before we ever met. He got his pilots license the year I was born. In '62 when the chapter was founded, Burrall, our current president was nine. In his office at his home Pete has a lot of momentos of his 52 years of flying, awards and such. While looking at all that collection, one sees a true HERO OF AVIATION. Thank God for that damn racist all those years ago.

By Richard Martin

Fly-out : Garden City, Kansas Chapter 377

72’s Fly-out Gang: Ray, Loyd, Bob, Sandy, Joyce, Burrall & me

A last minute change to the fly-out on Saturday, November 6^th, saw four planes heading to Chappell farm near Garden City, after Greg Vanderputte had to turn back to Meadowlake, for the last fly-in of the year for the Garden City, Kansas Chapter 377. The RV’ers, Bob Hall and Loyd Remus led the way for Burrall and Joyce Sanders in their Tri-Pacer and Richard and me in our BD4. It was a smooth 2400’ grass strip and it was the largest fly-in they’d had with a record 25 planes showing up. Check with the guys for all the different ones there.

This is a very active chapter and they plan to fly over for a Saturday Cookout since that is the day of their chapter meeting. We’ll be sure to let you all know and we can plan to have a good turnout for them.

By Sandy Martin

Lil’ O Cookout!

Duke Prichard and Howard Day have offered the use of their hangar canteen at Meadowlake Airport to Chapter 72. At the last meeting we decided to start out with a monthly “get together” to just hangar fly, eat, drink coffee and visit. Nothing fancy, just muffins and coffee for the early risers, followed by hamburgers and brats around the noon hour. We will be charging nominal fees just to cover expenses. We decided that it would take a couple members each month to man the canteen. So far the list of volunteers includes Burrall Sanders, Hank Bartlett, Chuck Grow, Don Wallis, John Westfall, Bob Hall, Don MacNiven, Aaron Sliwinski, Brent Bidus and Richard Martin.

Our first cookout was Saturday, October 30^th but the next ones will be on Saturday following the monthly chapter meeting on Tuesday. In addition to good food and conversation, Howard got out the L5 and Richard flew his BD4. We had a good turnout. Many members and others from the airport showed up. We’ll start sending notices out to other chapters and hope to see some of them fly-in.

So come by this month on the 20th. You can’t miss us over by Leading Edge Air Foils.

By Sandy Martin

FEATURE BUILDER
ROGER BLOOMFIELD

MX ULTRALIGHT

The other day I arrived at the familiar blue hanger to find flight testing underway. Fred Carter and Roger were busy with final adjustments to his MX ultralight. ( Tip for future newsletter writers, do NOT show up for interviews on flight test day, this is a busy time ) After Fred took off for some high speed taxi time, which later turned into 1st flight time ever, for Fred, I cornered Rog "for the rest of the story."

Roger bought the ultralight about 12 years ago and put over 200 hours on it, but found the engine location very unsatisfactory. It was right behind the pilot's head and ears, in fact sometimes he bumped his helmet on it in flight. So because of the extreme noise he quit flying it 4 years ago and went to work on other projects. Then a little while back after test flying his Jenny, he and Fred started to modify the MX, a new engine location away from head and ears, a new drive system and replacing the spoilers with ailerons. Both are happy with the changes, and lots of "test flying" went on til dark.

MINNESOTA FARM BOY

Roger and his older brother got the flying bug as kids in Minnesota, where they grew up. An adventurous lad, his first flying experience came in an original design autogyro at age 16. The design was based on Bensen's, but because the spherical bearing was too expensive, Roger came up with a plan for his own universal joint, which he later sold for the cost of the project to an engineering firm, which they then patented. The gyro, however was lost when a strong updraft broke the towrope and Roger crashed leaving him unhurt but without a 'bird'. (sound familiar Chuck Grow? ) He spent every cent he could get his hands on in high school to further his flying with real lessons, getting his license in 1963.

Next was a degree at University of Minnesota as an aeronautical engineer and work for a small aerospace company building the first mach meter, while at home he went to work on his 1st real airplane project, a Pietenpol Aircamper. Almost done on the Camper, with the engine running and ready to cover he got a great job offer that took him to Jackson Hole, but unable to house the plane he sold it to a fella in Wisconsin, where it was finished and is still flying. Next, Roger started building and flying hang gliders based on Volmer Jensen's ideas, with a fixed wing and control surfaces.

COLORADO SPRINGS

Now with his own company starting to take off and little space to manufacture in Jackson Hole, Roger and his wife decided they could live anywhere they wanted and picked Colorado Springs. With his design of a fastening system that works like a zip lock for cloth to metal, which is in Jeeps and Suzuki's that have a soft top, he set up his company here in the early 70's.

Jump ahead to nine years ago and Roger became a member of EAA 72, then about 6 years ago the work started on the Seahawker, which like Larry Dale's has many mod's, but because of the problems with the design Roger decided to put it aside for awhile. In the meantime he decided to build a 2/3's scale Jenny. He started about 2 years ago and test flew this summer, no kit, just plans. It was to be a test bed for the engine he wants to use on the Seahawker, a Geo. He has 4 hours on the Jenny and he used his own design for the carburation and ignition. Right now it's back in the shop for more tinkering.

Roger's pretty happy with the engine's success and has tested the wings on the Hawker to 5.7 G's negative and plans a static test to about 8 G's positive real soon and then on to finish on this last plane, but he and his brother have a firm belief that as "one project is finished, two are always started", but that’s another story.

By Richard Martin

OFFICER NOMINATIONS

Nominee President: Don MacNiven

Don grew up in an Air force family and began flying at the age of sixteen, soloing in a Super Cub. He attended the Air Force Academy, graduating in 1972. Air Force assignments in Oklahoma, Guam, Alabama, Colorado, New Hampshire and Turkey occupied most of the next 21 years. He retired from the Air force in 1993 and returned to Colorado Springs. He is married (wife Karen) and has two children (Jennifer and Kevin).

Don has been an EAA member since 1979 and belonged to local chapters in numerous locations including Chapter 72 from 1982-1986 and again from 1993 to present.

He has been an aircraft owner since 1979 (1940 Piper J-3 Cub) and in 1997 after a 7+ year building process flew his RV4 for the first time. The RV-4 now has over 140 hours logged and the poor Cub spends most of its time in the back of his hangar at Kelly Airpark. Don has attended numerous fly-ins over the years including trips to Oshkosh, Sun N Fun, the Southeast and Rocky Mountain regional events.

Since retiring from the Air Force, Don has worked as a Two Pilot at the Air Force Academy, was a production supervisor with Integrated Flight Systems, and most recently hired on as the T-3A Maintenance Supervisor (a questionable career move!) Don is an A&P mechanic and holds commercial, instrument, multi-engine, CFIA and CFIG ratings and has over 3500 flight hours.

Chuck started flying in 1964 in Wichita, Kansas while in High School. His inspiration was the jets on final approach to McConnell Air Force Base. By the age of 18, he had a commercial license with an instrument rating, and a flight instructor license for airplanes and instruments. He went to Parks Air College in St. Louis where he graduated with a degree in aeronautics. He chose that program because it included an Airframe and Powerplant certificate.

His previous building experience, before his current project, was a Bensen Gyrocopter when he was 19. Hew made the blades and another fellow built the airframe. He flew on a tether for about 2 seconds before his rotor blades hit the ground. He was very lucky; he was not injured.

He has over 5000 hours flying, about half of it in light twins. He has flown for commuter airlines, 135 flight operations, and even a summer in a PB47 slurry bomber.

He is currently employed as a software engineer at MCI-Worldcom. He is currently a flight instructor with the Aeroclub at the Academy and with Eastman Aviation at Meadowlake Airport.

Bill is originally from Nebraska and relocated to Colorado Springs in1990.  He went to Emery Aviation College in Colorado Springs and earned his Private ticket in 1995. 

He has no previous building experience aside from restoring classic German & British cars in the early '90's, and partially building the wings of a Sonex homebuilt before he sold it and bought an RV-8A kit  He is currently working on the empennage of his RV-8A kit in his garage at home.  You can track his progrees on line at: http://vondane.tripod.com

He is currently employed as a Senior Systems Engineer at Atmel Corporation, and is currently the Web Site & E-mail list administrator for the chapter.

MEETING

Tuesday November 16, 1999, 7:30 PM
Roger Bloomfield’s Hangar

Gil, our feature builder last month, will be bringing over his Pietenpol Aircamper

FOR SALE

Ultralight for Sale - Quicksilver Sport

Assembled by Leading Edge Airfoils (LEAF) Aug 1996. Approximately 165 hrs TT. (I am still flying it at every opportunity, so this will change.) Rotax 447, BRS Chute, Instrument Pod (CHT, VSI, Altimeter, Tach, Hobbs, Hall Airspeed). Big wheels and brakes, steerable nose wheel, tail braces. Always hangered. Excellent condition. $7000.
Mark Carlson
markcarl@pcisys.net
(719) 593-0681, Colorado Springs, CO